School Update 

To the students and families of MRS, 

On Wednesday, students and staff at Maple Ridge School wore hats in support of Hats on for Mental Health Day. This was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness for mental health and continue promoting kindness, connection, and support within our school community. 

Grade 1 students had an exciting opportunity to meet Marmalade the Marmot and learn from the Calgary Wildlife Rescue team. Students discovered the important work Calgary Wildlife Rescue does and when people should contact them to help injured wildlife. They learned that marmots normally live in the mountains and that Marmalade was found in Calgary after accidentally “hitching” a ride in the engine of a truck. Due to a brain injury, she is unable to return to the wild and now helps educate others about marmots and wildlife care. Students also learned that marmots enjoy eating dandelions and roots, live in social groups, and hibernate during the winter, which connected perfectly with their current Inquiry learning about what animals do in winter. 

Yesterday, we completed our fifth practice fire drill of the year. Students and staff approached the drill seriously, responding just as they would in a real emergency. Teachers brought class lists and attendance was carefully taken. We are proud of how well our students handled this important learning opportunity. This leaves us with one remaining practice drill for the 2025–26 school year. 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Maple Ridge Staff 

Upcoming Important Dates 

🎵 Notes from the Music Room🎵 

This week, student musicians explored Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter; The Syncopated Clock; and The Waltzing Cat. Our listening and responding covered many concepts including form, instrumentation, legato (smooth) and staccato (bumpy).  Students in Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 used scarves to move to this music and show the changes from smooth to bumpy.  Ask your child to describe several ways the typewriter was used as a musical instrument! 

Grade 1 students practiced so-mi this week with a new song, Rain Rain.  We transferred this concept, using so and mi on the barred instruments to play and sing our song. 

Grade 2 students continue to work on melody direction with mi-re-do. After several singing games such as Hot Cross Buns and Tideo, students were introduced to the song Rain on the Green Grass.  It was wonderful to hear students recognize and sign mi-re-do in this new song.  We transferred this knowledge to play on the barred instruments, where students had the opportunity to sing and perform together. 

🎵🔬 Fun Fact:  Sound cannot travel through outer space because there are no particles for the sound waves to travel through! 

Next Year Planning 

As we are engaged in our planning for next year, we ask all parents of students who would be attending our school next year that are not planning to attend, to please email David directly at drlidlaw@cbe.ab.ca. 

Kindergarten Orientation | May 14 | 5:30pm – 7:00pm 

We are thrilled to welcome our new Kindergarten students to the Maple Ridge School community for the 2026–2027 school year!  

As part of our commitment to supporting a smooth transition for our incoming Kindergarten students, we invite you and your child to attend our Kindergarten Orientation on Thursday, May 14th at 5:30 PM. Doors will open at 5:15pm.   

This in-person event will give you the opportunity to:  

• Meet our Kindergarten teaching team and school staff 
• Learn more about what to expect in the upcoming school year  
• Explore the Kindergarten classrooms  

We are excited to meet you and begin this important journey together. 

School Council and Parent Association  

Flower pick up day has arrived! Pick up is at 10212 Maplemont Road, head to the garage in the alley behind the house. Volunteers will be waiting for you. Thank you again for all your support! 

Our in-person School Council & Parent Association meeting is May 21st, 2026. We hope to see you there. To RSVP and let us know if you will be using our babysitters club in the gym click the link https://forms.gle/nGR6iZ4Qc98CBFLt8 

May 26th is our in person parent workshop on how to improve corestrength in our children. MRS received feedback from the Occupational Therapists & Physio Therapists that work with our students about the need for “tummy time”. Have you ever noticed your child moving in their seat a lot? Do the lean on table or wall to get support? This workshop is for parents to assist their child in short exercises that can be done at home in 5-15 minutes with a goal of 3x a week to strengthen those core muscles. Come take the workshop on May 26th to find out more about how to strengthen the core, and what resources available through AHS. 

Reach us anytime at mapleridgecouncil@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram. 

Next Year Considerations  

As we prepare for the year ahead, we are entering the initial stages of planning for our classroom configurations. If there are specific learning considerations we should know about your child when planning class lists, we would appreciate your input. Requests for specific teachers should not be made as staffing changes can vary from year to year in terms of who is teaching at our school and what grades they are assigned to teach.     

Please put your requests in writing and email them to drlaidlaw@cbe.ab.ca no later than Friday, May15th, 2026. While no guarantees can be made, we will make every effort to consider your request. Please be assured that we put many hours into creating classes that have the best possible configurations to support the learning of all students. 

request | Bottle Caps Still Needed  

Grade 4 students in Room 11 will soon be starting a creative art project, and we need the school community's help. We are collecting clean plastic bottle caps of any size, shape, or colour. 

If you have any bottle caps at home, from water bottles, milk jugs, soda bottles, or other containers, please consider sending them to school with your child. All caps should be rinsed and free of residue. Thank you for helping make this project a success! 

Student Safety Reminders 

We would like to remind all students and families about an important safety procedure at dismissal time. If a student’s parent or caregiver is not at their designated pick-up location, students are encouraged to return to the school office where staff are available to support them. The office remains open until 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday and until 1:15 pm on Fridays to ensure all students have a safe place to go. 

Police Clearance for Volunteers 

We are pleased to share that the EPIC system used for Police Clearances is now working again. If you require assistance or are still experiencing challenges obtaining a valid clearance, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kelly at kebryceburns@cbe.ab.ca or contact the school at mapleridge@cbe.ab.ca. We are happy to support you through the process.