Dear William Reid Families,

What a pleasure it was to welcome families into the school over the past couple of days for conferences. Your support and genuine interest in your children’s learning is always evident, and we appreciate the strong partnerships we have with our community.

I’m also pleased to share the results of our Oktoberfest Fundraiser. Together, we raised just over $18,000 for our school (see # 7 below). These funds make a meaningful impact, especially because they can be used flexibly to support school needs and priorities. A heartfelt thank-you to the organizers and volunteers whose hard work made this event such a success.

As we look ahead to our Winter Celebration, we are excited to invite you to the premiere of our Trickster Theatre production. We hope you will join us on the evening of December 11 as we come together as a community to enjoy this special event.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Upcoming Dates and Events

• Dec 8                  Owl’s Nest Book Fair (see #3)
• Dec 9                  Cancelled School Council
• Dec 11               Winter Concert (see #2) / Last day to order Healthy Hunger
• Dec 15-19       Winter Spirit Week (see # 4)
• Dec 17               Winter Market Event (see #5)
• Dec 18               Healthy Hunger – Mucho Burrito
• Dec 22- Jan 4               Winter Break
• Jan 5                  Back to School
• Jan 13                School Council (7:00pm)
• Jan 15                Kindergarten & Grade 1 Open House
• Jan 27                Healthy Hunger - Subway

1. Chess Club

Starting December 3, 2025, Chess Club will take place every Wednesday at lunchtime in the gym!

• Bring your lunch
• Bring your own chess set (if you have one!)
• Or team up with a friend who brought a game

All skill levels are welcome—from beginners who want to learn the basics to experienced players ready to show off their best moves.

Come sharpen your mind, meet new friends, and have lots of fun.
See you there!

2. Winter Concert Event | December 11, 2025

Trickster Theatre worked wonderfully with our students, and we are excited to showcase the culminating performance on our viewing evening, as we know many of you would love the opportunity to see the production. Thanks to the generous support of our School Council, a film crew professionally recorded the show. We will be hosting a special Premiere Event on the evening of December 11, 2025, from 6:45 PM to 7:45 PM. All students and their families are invited to join us at the school to watch the video recording of the Trickster production together at that time.

Additional details about the Premiere Event will be shared in William’s Weekly on Friday, December 5, 2025.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

3. Owl’s Nest Book Fair | December 8-12, 2025

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Please sign-up if you have your clearance

Please note that the Book Fair will be open on the evening of December 11.

All purchases go towards new books for the library.

4. Winter Spirit Week | December 15 – 19, 2025

Our Student Voice Action committee has identified a number of days to help celebrate the festive season just prior to Winter Break. Here is a schedule for our special days. We are asking that students dress up to help us celebrate this festive season as outlined below.

5. Winter Market | December 17, 2025

We are excited to announce the Winter Market is back!!

On December 17th, students will visit a market in the gym and “shop” for holiday gifts for their loved ones. This will be similar to a garage sale, where gently used items are donated by you, our school community. Each child will be asked to bring a list of people they will be shopping for, and loonies, toonies and small bills to “buy” the gifts. Gifts range in price from $1 to $5. All proceeds from purchases are donated to the Calgary Food Bank. Once students have chosen their gifts, our busy parent volunteer elves will wrap each item so children can bring them home at the end of the day.

Starting Nov 24 until Dec 16, students are asked to bring in previously enjoyed “treasures” from home that you would like to rehome. We are looking for previously enjoyed books, puzzles, games, knick-knacks, jewelry, art, etc., for Dads, Moms, caregivers, sisters and brothers (not for pets). No large items that are hard to wrap or bring home by the student, and no stuffies. We would also love donations of gift bags, tissue paper and wrapping paper! 

Please drop off donations to Mme Moreau at the East entrance by the playground.

To make this special event a success, we need your help - come in and enjoy the holiday fun! Sign up to volunteer.

If you have any questions please contact Julie, julielinmccann@gmail.com, Rachel racheldekorol@gmail.com, or Mme Moreau jewalshmoreau@cbe.ab.ca

6. William Reid 2025-2026 Yearbook

 Order your 2025-2026 Yearbook now! The yearbook is a valuable keepsake which captures memories and key moments throughout the school year. The book contains 32 colour pages and features a custom cover created by one of our students – more details to come for this year’s cover contest in February!

Use this link to order: WR Yearbook Orders

Our Yearbook ID code is 14464826

7. School Council | Next Council meeting, January 13, 2026

William Reid is in immediate need of filling two roles for the William Reid School Council (WRSC) and William Reid School Fundraising Society (WRSFS).

• School Council Chair – Leads meetings, sets agendas, and liaises with the principal and school community.
• Fundraising Society President – Leads meetings, oversees fundraising, and ensures compliance. Holds signing authority.

These roles are not overly time consuming, but are crucial to the organization and success of Parent Council. Please contact wrchair@gmail.com with your interest.

8. OktoberFest | A note of Gratitude

Thank you to everyone that helped put together a fun and successful Oktoberfest fundraiser event on Friday. Thank you to all those that volunteered for the committee or the evening, that donated items and services, that solicited donations, that bought tickets, that bid in the auction, and that made monetary donations. Thank you to our venue Last Best for being a wonderful host.

A special thank you to all our teachers and staff that volunteered their lunch or after school time to provide special experiences for students. This is an exceptional gift especially considering the situation that teachers and staff have been in this year and it speaks to how special this school is. The William Reid families responded and these contributions alone raised $3565 in the auction!

Our target was to make $20,000 based on our successful 2023 Oktoberfest fundraising event. Between auction items and donations, we raised $16,300. Adding ticket sales and subtracting costs, we are sitting at just over $18,000 that will go towards supporting our children's learning, the school and staff, and the school community. We will leave the campaign open for a week to allow people to make any additional monetary donations and perhaps our net will exceed our target!

If you'd like to get more involved, please consider volunteering for one of the vacancies on the School Council and Parent Society and/or attending school council meetings.

Warm regards,
The William Reid School Fundraising Society

9. EvenStart Winter Hampers – Message from School Council 

It is an annual tradition at William Reid School (WR) to support the EvenStart Foundation, in partnership with the Heartland Agency in Calgary, by helping families during the holiday season. This year we have the pleasure of sponsoring five (5) families in the city of Calgary who need a helping hand.

We encourage parents to engage their children in the process. Our goal of having our children participate in the EvenStart Christmas hampers is to foster a sense of community citizenship, service and engagement.

Use the links below to review instructions and family lists to learn how you can make a meaningful impact this holiday season!

• Instructions: 2025 Christmas Hampers Instructions Letter
• Link to Family Lists (find the tab with the GRADE(S) for your child(ren): 2025 Christmas Hampers
• Gift drop-off deadline is December 12th.
• Tax Receipt Forms can be found here or in the 2025 Christmas Hampers google sheet.

Parent Volunteers

We are looking for 5 parent volunteers to collect gift items at their house for one Grade/Family. The pick up date by EvenStart Foundation is on Monday, December 15 between 9am and 12pm.

Volunteer Commitment Includes:

• Having your home address & cell phone number made available to your fellow grade parents.
• Collecting and storing donated gift items in your home until EvenStart comes to your home to pick up the donations on December 15. Please check off each gift item as they are dropped off using the table for your designated Grade/Family in the 2025 Christmas Hampers google sheet.
• Being home on Monday, December 15 between 9am and 12pm to ensure collection by EvenStart.

If you wish to volunteer or if you have any questions related to the EvenStart Christmas Hampers, please contact Sarah Simms at sarahasimms@me.com.

Thank you in advance for your generous donations!

In the spirit of giving, we will also be assisting William Reid families in need.

William Reid Families to support

We are also collecting gift cards for certain William Reid families that need our assistance.

Donations will be restricted to gift cards and prepaid credit cards. Suggested gift cards may be for Walmart, Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys. Please write the $ value on the gift card.

DROP-OFF location: THE OFFICE at WILLIAM REID SCHOOL

The collected cards will be evenly distributed among the William Reid families in need by the school’s Principal, Kenzie Rushton.

Please mark the envelope for William Reid families as this is not affiliated with the Evenstart Foundation.

10. Healthy Hunger Special Lunch Volunteers

Our next Healthy Hunger is on December 18, 2025 – Mucho Burrito

We are asking for three parent volunteers each month to come and help distribute the special lunches to each classroom. Lunch time for all classes is from 11:35am to 11:55am. The time expected for parent volunteers is from 11:10am to approximately 12pm.

Please click on the Sign-Up Genius link below to view the volunteer sign up for each month.

Healthy Hunger Volunteer Sign Up

11. Traffic Reminders

For the safety of our students and our community, we would like to remind you of the following regarding traffic flow around William Reid both before and after school.

• Please support students in using the crosswalks when arriving and leaving school. These are great habits for our students to develop. We have noticed an increase in J-walking
• Ensure that when you are parking your vehicles during pick-up and drop-off that our neighbor's driveways and laneways remain open and accessible. This supports our school in maintaining good relations with the school’s neighbours and ensures that they have access to their garages.
• 36th Ave North Side in Front School Doors  - This section is used as a “Kiss & Ride” - For safety, please do not park or get out of your car in the area on 36^th Avenue in front of the school doors, or stop there for longer then a quick hug
• 11th Street Cul-de-Sac East of the staff parking lot - For safety, treat this cul-de-sac as a one-way during peak drop-off and pickup times. If you’re planning to drop off or pick up your kids near the playground, please enter the cul-de-sac via 10 Street SW through the back alley that runs parallel to the large field, and then exit only through the cul-de-sac
• Bus Zone - 12 Street, between 36 and 34 ave - Please do not park or pull over at any time in the bus zone.
• Unload children on sidewalk side of the road, not on the narrow streets
• Do not drop off in staff parking lot
• No U turns on streets

Ongoing Fundraising Links

We have several ongoing ways that parents can contribute to our school financially throughout the year.

Financial Donations:

https://www.educationmatters.ca/project-matters/william-reid-school/

Bottle Drive:

Manchester Bottle Depot – 410 – 38a Ave SE – Donate your bottles here for William Reid School

If you return your empty bottles to the Depot mentioned above and let them know that you would like your refund to be donated to the William Reid, the funds will come directly to the school. 

Kind Regards,

 “Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things.”
Flora Lewis