Hello Tom Baines Families!
We are so excited to welcome you to the 2024 – 2025 school year! Our staff has been busy over the past few days preparing for the first day back. I know many families are filled with excitement and in some cases anxiety. Our staff is here to welcome and support all students. We know the year will be a giant success.
The main office will send out regular communications to families and post these on our website. Please refer to our website https://tombaines.cbe.ab.ca/ often for updates. Teachers will also have an online presence and will communicate this with families.
Please see below for important information.
Important Dates:
August 30 – Students attend 8:50 – 1:10 – Day B
September 3 – First regular day of classes
September 11 – Track and Field Meet
September 12 – Meet the Teacher 6:00 – 7:30 – More information to come
September 12 – First Fire Drill for students
September 16 – School Council AGM @ 7:00 PM in the Learning Commons. Please attend!
September 18 – Photo Day
September 20 – Terry Fox Run
Class Lists – teachers spend many hours forming new class lists. We realize that the class a student is in is not always their first choice. We can not accommodate switches so we ask that no requests come in. Students form new relationships all the time and staff is here to help our students achieve success.
Staff Updates – we welcome the following new staff to Tom Baines.
Chelsea O’Leary – Assistant Principal
Jenn White – Admin E Secretary
Jordan Mitchell – PEW Teacher
Harbir Khakh – SMATH, Computer Science Teacher
Annette Anderson – Learning Commons
Laura Croutch – Ed Assistant
Jen Jones – Food Services Assistant
Cell Phones – as you know, the Alberta Government has set expectations on cell phone use in school. They are ‘Away for the Day’. There is a specific story on the CBE website www.cbe.ab.ca and our school website. There are no cell phones or headphones permitted in the classroom at any time. Students are expected to turn their phones off and put them in their locker when they arrive to school and take them home at the end of the day. Grades 7-9 students are permitted to use them responsibly if they go off campus. Students who abuse these expectations lose privileges. If a student has a cell phone in the classroom the teacher will ask them to put it away. If it happens again the student will hand the cell phone into the office and a log entry will be made on their file. If it happens a third time, the office will keep the cell phone until a parent picks it up. The only exceptions are for medical reasons. If you need to get a hold of your child during the day, please phone the main office. Thank you for your cooperation with this.
Attendance – if your child is away or late for any reason, please let us know by emailing tombaines@cbe.ab.ca. This is our preferred method of communication.
Entrance/Exit Doors – we have 840 students and our hallways and doors can get very crowded. There will be assigned doors for each grade. While this isn’t always the most convenient for families, it helps reduce the chaos during arrival and dismissal time.
Grade 6 homerooms – Use the North Blue Pod Doors. These are the doors by the staff parking lot.
Grade 7 Homerooms – Use the South Gold Pod Doors. These are the doors near the basketball court. (Exception of 7-21 and 7-29 – they will likely use Blue Pod Doors).
Grade 8 and 9 Homerooms – Use the Main Doors.
Parking Lot – please do not enter the staff parking lot ever. It is reserved for staff and is not a place to drop off or pick up your child. Vehicles are also not permitted to park in front of the dumpsters. If you are picking your child up after school regularly, you need to make plans to have them walk somewhere in the community or to one of the church parking lots for pick up. Traffic gets very heavy before and after school and we need to make sure parents are following all traffic and school rules.
Teaching and Learning – this is our main focus at Tom Baines. We want to ensure that each child receives the best education possible. Social Media misuse continues to be one of our biggest challenges at school. There are many events outside of school hours that happen online that find their way into the classroom. Please monitor your child’s use of social media while at home. We need to prevent any forms of bullying or meanness between students. Thank you for your support.
Get involved! – We will have many opportunities for our students this year, from athletics to clubs to options to family events. Please encourage your child to try out for anything they’re interested in. Staff will send out information as it comes.
Thank you so much for your cooperation. We love being part of this community and are so excited to work together. For any questions please email tombaines@cbe.ab.ca.
Derek Siakaluk, Principal
Chelsea O’Leary, Assistant Principal