HDC Weekly Sept. 22-26 | School Council AGM, Truth & Reconciliation Week and Orange Shirt Day, Forms, Cardboard Needed, School Store, LEAD Program

Posted on 2025-09-24 16:59:21.838 +0000 UTC

Dear HDC Families

Thank you so much for taking the time to join us at our Meet the Teacher evening this past week. It was wonderful to welcome families into our school, share information about student learning, and connect as a community.

We had a wonderful Terry Fox Run as a school community on Friday (more information below) and are looking forward to our annual Fall Field Day this coming Friday!

Have a wonderful week!

Jim & Brandie

Important Upcoming Dates

September 22: HDC School Council Meeting 6:30 – 7:30 PM
September 25: Orange Shirt Day at HDC
September 26: Fall Field Day
September 29: Non-Instructional Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – SCHOOL CLOSED

Dates of Significance

September 21 – 27: Gender Equality Week
September 22 – 24: Rosh Hashanah
September 22 – 27: CBE Truth and Reconciliation Week
September 22: Treaty 7 Day
September 22: Fall Equinox

HDC School Council Annual General Meeting – Monday, September 22

Please join us for our September School Council meeting  tomorrow, Monday, September 22, at 6:30 PM in the HDC Learning Commons. This meeting is open to ALL parents and guardians of HDC students.  Being involved in School Council is a great way for parents to be involved in our school community!

This will be our first meeting of the year and serve as our Annual General Meeting. We are looking to fill several key positions on our school council this year so are looking forward to a big turnout.  

National Truth and Reconciliation Week and Orange Shirt Day

HDC staff and students will be taking time throughout this week to reflect, recognize, and honour residential school survivors, their families, and communities. We encourage all HDC students to wear orange on Thursday, September 25 to recognize Orange Shirt Day and that Every Child Matters.

To learn more about Orange Shirt Day you can visit https://www.orangeshirtday.org/.

REMINDER – Student Demographic Forms & Student Health Plans

Thank you to those families who have completed the Student Demographic Form. This form is a legal requirement by Alberta Education and can be completed in School Engage. We will also be sending home hard copies of them with students whose families have not yet completed them. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office.

Another thank you to all those families who have submitted Student Health Plans to the office. This form needs to be completed and submitted if your student has a physical or medical condition that:

is important that the school is aware of
may affect the student’s attendance at school
that requires medication is to be taken at school

These forms need to be reviewed and updated annually or sooner if there is a change in the student’s health concern or school registration.

https://www.cbe.ab.ca/FormsManuals/Student-Health-Plan.pdf

Cardboard Donations Needed for Carnival!

This term, Grade 7 & 8 Design students are creating a cardboard carnival of original games for the student body to enjoy at school this coming January. In order to design and build our awesome games, we need lots of cardboard to work with as soon as possible.

If you have any cardboard at home that is destined for recycling, please bring it to school and we will put it to good use! We will take anything from small cereal boxes to extra large appliance and furniture boxes. The bigger the better! If you are unable to transport large cardboard to the school, Mr. Tanner Cassidy would be happy to pick it up in his truck.

Donations can be brought to the Art room or Drama room.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Tanner Cassidy at atcassidy@cbe.ab.ca, or Katie Fraser at kjfraser@cbe.ab.ca.

Terry Fox Run and Donation Collection

Students participated in the Terry Fox Run on Friday and did a variety of activities and learning around Terry Fox the person and Terry Fox the event. Ask your child to tell you what they learned and how many laps they ran! The 65 votes were counted in our “Save it or Shave it” Fundraiser, and Mr. Leong will be SHAVING his moustache! Thank you to all who participated in the vote!

We are still accepting donations to support the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research until Friday October 3rd. You can send cash donations to their homeroom teacher or the main office, or donate online at https://schools.terryfox.ca/HDCartwright

School Store for HDC Gear

Our school store will be open from September 24 - October 6. Kodiak Sports offers a wide variety of high-quality clothing and its great to show school spirit! All orders will be sent to the school when they are ready, the week of October 27th.

https://store.kodiaksports.ca/stores/cartwright-cougars

City of Calgary LEAD Program at HDC

The City of Calgary is partnering with Calgary Afterschool to offer a LEAD program at HD Cartwright School. This free afterschool program is open to any student in Gr. 7-9 and aims to help youth build upon their leadership skills, gain valuable leadership experience, and will give them an opportunity to make a difference in the community. This interactive, creative and fun certificate program is designed to teach positive self-esteem, teamwork, positive relationships with peers and the community.

There are still a few spots open in the program. Students who are interested in participating pick up and return forms to the office.