BISHOP GRANDIN HIGH SCHOOL
111 Haddon Road SW Calgary, Alberta T2V 2Y2
Telephone: 403-500-2047 Fax: 403-500-2247
“ Something Extraordinary for Every Student ”
www.cssd.ab.ca/bishopgrandin
@BGrandinCCSD
August 2014
Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year at Bishop Grandin High School. Our school provides “Something
Extraordinary for Every Student” which includes a very positive and safe Catholic school community, high
quality academic programs, and a wide range of outstanding extracurricular offerings. Our goal is for each student
to grow spiritually, achieve academic success, and get involved in our many extracurricular programs. Our school
has four vice-principals who oversee the different grade levels: Mrs. Anita Sedor—Grade 12, Mr. Mike Billinton—
Grade 11, Mr. Craig Kittelson–Grade 10, and Mr. Dan Farrell—Diverse Learners. Pease feel free to contact us
with any questions. Best wishes for a great year!
Mrs. Kate Miller
Principal
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014: FIRST DAY FOR ORIENTATION, HOMEROOM MEETINGS
Check your schedule for teacher advisor (TA) name and classroom number
Grade 10: Students come at 9:00 am and remain until approximately 11:30 am
Grade 11: Students come at 12:00 pm until 1:30 pm
Grade 12: Students come at 2:00 pm until 3:00 pm
Regular scheduled classes for the full day begin on Wednesday, September 3rd, at 9:00 am. Please be sure to keep
your timetable with you at school. In each class teachers will be instructing students on required supplies, course
outlines, evaluation procedures and homework expectations.
STUDENT HANDBOOK
The Bishop Grandin student handbook containing students’ expectations and other information is
available on the BGHS website as well as D2L. All students are required to read and become familiar with the
handbook.
SCHOOL WEBSITE
Please see our school website: www.cssd.ab.ca/bishopgrandin for information about our school, school
expectations, calendar, academics, sports, etc. You can also follow us on twitter @ BGrandinCCSD as school
updates can be found there as well.
LOCKERS
Only school locks are to be used. Grade 10 and new students will be given a lock for their locker; all returning
students should bring their school lock from last year, or purchase a new lock. Students taking Phys. Ed. will be
given an additional lock to be used for Phys. Ed. lockers.
SCHOOL ID PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs will be taken on Tuesday, September 2nd, with retakes taken on Friday September 26, 2014.
All students must have their photo taken for use on ID cards which are needed to obtain textbooks and bus passes.
Students will be required to have school ID while in the school.
BUS ROUTES
In addition to regular bus routes, Calgary Transit provides specialized bus service directly to and from Bishop
Grandin for the following communities: Auburn Bay, Copperfield, Cranston, Douglasdale, Douglasglen,
Mahogany, McKenzie Lake, McKenzie Towne, Mountain Park, New Brighton. Regular Calgary Transit schedules
and these specialized school routes are posted on the Calgary Transit website at http://www.calgarytransit.com/
students_transportation/school_frame.html. Students will access these buses using regular Calgary Transit bus
passes.
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BUS PASSES
In order to receive a rebate on the purchase of a monthly youth Calgary Transit pass for the months September 2014 to
June 2015 inclusive, students must meet the eligibility criteria. Students residing 2.4 kilometers or more from the school
are eligible for a rebate. For further information, refer to www.cssd.ab.ca and follow the Transportation link.
The process for receiving a rebate is as follows:
 (1) Parents complete and submit to their child’s school the Calgary Transit Pass Rebate 2014-15 form
 (2) Parents or students purchase a bus pass each month for use during that month at Calgary Transit rates from a
retail outlet.
 (3) Students who qualify for the subsidy will bring their monthly youth Calgary Transit pass and their student ID to
the school to have them scanned each month, according to the schedule established by each individual school.
 (4) If students miss scanning their pass for a particular month, they may bring in passes for previous months of the
school year at any scanning period during any of the following months.
 (5) Scanning of a monthly transit pass and student ID for eligible students will generate a payment of the rebate
amount directly to the bank account defined by the parents/guardians on the Calgary Transit Pass Rebate form.
 Students are advised that they must purchase their September bus pass before the first day of school in order to show
it to their bus driver, otherwise, they are expected to pay cash for their bus ride.
GRADE 12 PARENT & STUDENT INFORMATION NIGHT: PLANNING FOR GRADUATION AND YOUR
FUTURE
Grade 12 students and parents are encouraged to attend this planning meeting to plan and prepare for high school
graduation and post secondary on September 25th at 7:00 p.m. in the theatre.
COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS
Please e-mail the school secretary, Linda Laforest, at linda.laforest@cssd.ab.ca to provide an email address or update any
changes to your email address. When need be we send out e-mails to all parents who have an e-mail on file. D2L allows
parents to monitor student progress in classes. See enclosed information sheets. Parents are encouraged to communicate
with subject teachers or Teacher Advisors as needed. Messages can be left by voicemail or e-mail. A list is on the school
website under About-Staff.
ATTENDANCE
Few things are as vital to your child’s success in high school as regular attendance. Students are expected to attend all
their classes on time. Many studies have shown that students with high absenteeism have poor achievement and often
drop out of the school. The following is a statement of our attendance policy and some suggestions on how you can help
us to improve attendance:
Parents must phone the school at 403-500-2047 to report absences or lates (press 1 for the absence line which is in
operation 24 hours a day). Please call in advance of the day of the absence, if possible, and no later than the day after
the absence and provide the reason for the absence. Telephone calls from students are not accepted.
Absences will not be excused without an Alberta Education approved reason. Legitimate reasons for reporting absences
are illness, medical and dental appointments, death in the family, and medical emergencies. Students away on approved
school activities will automatically be recorded as excused. All other absences are unexcused. Should the student be
leaving school during class time a note from you to the teacher excusing him from class is a good idea.
PARENT/VOLUNTEER PARKING
There are visitor parking spots at the back of the school and limited visitor parking spots in front of the school. Please do
not enter the one-way in front of the school to pick up students at the end of the day. With all students leaving at that
time it creates unsafe conditions.
REQUIRED TIMETABLE CHANGES for 2014-2015
Prior to the first day of school (September 2nd), a course change request form may be brought to Bishop Grandin
during regular office hours (8:00 am – 3:30 pm August 18 - August 29). The form is available on our website and
provides detailed information to explain what constitutes a required timetable change. Please print legibly on this form.
Beginning September 3, information will be given directly from the teacher advisor to the students to address the
procedure for accessing a counselor to have a required timetable change.
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UNIQUE REQUESTS REGARDING A TIMETABLE
Unique requests that fall outside of the required change criteria will only be considered once the required changes
for the student population have been addressed. Students and parents may access a form to ask for unique
requests starting September 9. This form may be picked up in counseling or the front office.
REMINDERS
Students and parents are reminded to follow the above procedure and not e-mail or phone counselors to have a
timetable change. Counselors will, however, be available to meet with parents and students regarding other issues.
BISHOP GRANDIN GHOSTS FOOTBALL PROGRAM 2014
Attention: All potential football players
The first official day of practice will be:

Wednesday August 27th at 2:30 pm in the main gym for the Junior football players. This is
where we will be equipment fitting and testing for all new grade 10s interested in trying out for the junior
football program.

Wednesday August 27th from 12-2 pm for the Senior Football players, followed by a practice at 4-6pm.
In order for players to be fitted for equipment, a $50 non-refundable fee must be paid beforehand. This is a try-out
fee and covers the cost of a girdle, mouth-guard, and equipment rental. It is highly recommended that players have
their completed information packages along with their cheque on the first day.
Registration for the fall football season for all interested current grade 9 students will take place via e-mail.
Please see the school website under Activities—Jr. Football Registration for more information.
We look forward to meeting with all of you in the near future. Please direct any questions and
concerns to the appropriate coaches:
Jr. Boys Football Head Coach: Mr. Derek Fink email: derek.fink@cssd.ab.ca
Sr. Boys Football Head Coach: Mr. Wade Buteau email: wade.buteau@cssd.ab.ca
BOOK STORE, BUS PASS & OFFICE—VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED!
Would you like to stay involved with your child’s school? There are a number of areas within Bishop Grandin
where any parents who are interested in volunteering are welcome. An hour or two once or twice a month would
help out with the scanning of bus passes. The Textbook Rental Office is very busy the first week of school and
needs help in the distribution of the students’ books. In the office there are a multitude of tasks that need to be
done at the beginning of the year. Please call the school at 403-500-2047 ext 340. We appreciate your assistance.
FOOD SERVICES FOR STUDENTS
Our Culinary Arts program provides students and staff with healthy choices at lunch and before school. Food
service begins in September as follows: Sept. 3-5 kiosk only, Sept. 8 full service starts for full café including
breakfast service. Please come down and enjoy our students’ fantastic culinary delights.
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2014-2015 Bishop Grandin High School Calendar
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
April
May
June
2 First day of classes (revised schedule)
25 Grade 12 Parent & Student Graduation Meeting 7 pm
10 PD Day (no classes)
13
23
28
31
10
11
19
5
12
30
2
5
12&13
16
2
20
26
2
13
17
15
18
22
23
9
11
24
26
Thanksgiving Day (no classes)
Parent Conferences (evening only) 4 pm to 7:30 pm
In-Province Post-Secondary Fair
Faith Day (no classes)
Parent Conferences (no classes) 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
Remembrance Day (no classes)
Christmas break (classes finish at 11:40 am)
School re-opens
Last day of regular classes
Semester 2 starts
AP & French Immersion Night
Open House
Teacher’s Convention (no classes)
Family Day (no classes)
PD Day (no classes)
PD Day (no classes)
Parent Conferences (evening only) 4 pm to 7:30 pm
Easter break (classes finish at 11:40 am)
School re-opens
Parent Conferences (no classes) 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
PD Day (no classes)
Victoria Day (no classes)
Grad Mass & Ceremonies (no classes)
Grad Dinner & Dance
Meet the TA @ 5 pm & 6:30 pm for next yr. grade 10 students
Last day of regular classes
Gr. 12 Awards Night 7:00 pm
Last exam & school office closes at noon
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Dear Parent(s),
Re: School Fees
The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) fee management and online payment system is an easy
and secure way to pay school fees for the 2014-2015 school year from the comfort of your home or
office. Payments can be made by credit card and debit card.
The CCSD online payment system allows you to pay school fees applicable to each child including, but
not limited to:
General School Fees, Instructional Resource Fees, Extracurricular Fees, Activity & Field Trip
Fees, Program of Choice Fees, Textbook Rental Fees, Yearbook Fees, etc.
The fees available and the timing of fee collection will depend on each school’s individual setup.
For Bishop Grandin High School, individual student fee invoices will be distributed by Sept 19,
2014.
Once you receive your invoice you may pay online. All payments are due Sept 26, 2014.
Advantages to using the CCSD online payment system:
Make fee payments for all students in the family at one time
View payment history
View all upcoming fee payments in one place
Accepts credit card and debit card
Provides a convenient and secure transaction
Available 24 hours a day
Electronically transfers payment information to the school
Convenience of paying multiple fees in one place
Accessible from anywhere there is an Internet connection
Streamlines fee management and collection processes for parents and the district
Saves school office staff the time of manually keying payments into accounting and student
fee information systems
Provides better fee reporting at the school and district level
The Calgary Catholic School District does not store or keep any credit information. All fee transactions
paid online are processed by a third party (Moneris).
For more information or to pay fees online, please visit www.cssd.ab.ca and click the icon on the
homepage. For general inquiries, please email feeinquiry@cssd.ab.ca.
For those who cannot pay online, cash and cheques payments only will be accepted at the school
business office starting Sept 22, 2014. All payments are due by Sept 26, 2014.
To view the Bishop Grandin Fee Schedule please visit our website at: http://www.cssd.ab.ca/
bishopgrandin
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Semester 1 Schedule - 2014/2015
Period
Period
Interval
Period
Length
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sem. 1
1
9 :00 -10:25
84 min
1
1
1
1
9:00 - 10:46
1
66 min
TA
10:28-10:38
10 min
TA
TA
TA
TA
NO TA
2
10:41-12:06
84 min
2
2
2
2
10:07 – 11:11
2
66 min
L
12:06-12:32
30 min
LUNCH
LUNCH
LUNCH
LUNCH
11:11 - 11:34
LUNCH
28 min
3
12:37-2:02
84 min
3
3
3
3
11:39- 12:43
3
66 min
4
2:05-3:30
84 min
4
4
4
4
12 :46 - 1:50
4
66 min
Semester 2 Schedule – 2014/2015
Period
Period
Interval
Period
Length
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sem. 2
1
9 :00 -10:26
85 min
1
1
1
1
9:00 - 10:10
1
68 min
TA
10:29-10:39
10 min
TA
TA
TA
TA
NO TA
2
10:42-12:08
85 min
2
2
2
2
10:13 – 11:23
2
68 min
L
12:08-12:34
30 min
LUNCH
LUNCH
LUNCH
LUNCH
11:23 - 11:46
LUNCH
25 min
3
12:39-2:05
85 min
3
3
3
3
11:51 – 1 :01
3
70 min
4
2:08-3:34
85 min
4
4
4
4
1:04 - 2:14
4
68 min
C
September 2014
CALGARY CATHOLIC
SCHOOL DISTRICT
1000 Fifth Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 4T9
403-500-2000
www.cssd.ab.ca
ONNECTIONS
CALGARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT MONTHLY NEWS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ WELCOME BACK MESSAGE
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to extend a very warm welcome to our Calgary Catholic School District family as we start our 2014–2015 school year. This year, we will
open the doors to over 52,000 students who will attend our 105 schools and we look forward
to engaging them with the very best in a faith-filled Catholic education.
Our commitment to all of our students is seen in our Mission Statement, Living and Learning in our Catholic Faith. Whether a student is just beginning their journey of faith and learning with Calgary Catholic, or completing their education with us, our vision of engaging our
students with the best in a faith-filled education is the same. Achieving this vision demands
the dedication, passion for excellence and collaborative relationships that are the hallmark of
Calgary Catholic. The authentic, effective relationships that we nurture between our parishes,
staff, parents, students and trustees are essential as we create opportunities and meet challenges. It is this collaborative work that creates outstanding educational opportunities.
Our faith theme, ‘Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God’ (Micah 6:8), was
introduced at the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year. Last year, the district focused on
“Do justice.” The creativity, depth of thought and beautiful expressions of doing justice is a
great illustration of who Calgary Catholic is. Whether this theme was expressed though the
arts, as one of our schools accomplished through opera, or a district wide initiative to support those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the district’s response to its faith
theme was nothing short of remarkable.
This year Calgary Catholic will focus on “Love kindness” where we will see a multitude
of expressions of faith and learning through loving kindness in our schools and workplaces.
Without a doubt, we will be once again amazed by the creativity, compassion and expression
of our faith on the part of our staff and students. It is this commitment to our students that
will set the stage for an outstanding school year.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we welcome those of you who are new to Calgary
Catholic, and to those who are returning, welcome back! We look forward to working with
you to create the wonderful opportunities that this school year will bring to each and every
one of our students.
Sincerely,
Mary Martin
Chair, Board of Trustees
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CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT’S WELCOME BACK MESSAGE
On behalf of Calgary Catholic I am pleased to welcome you back to a new school year. I hope
your summer was filled with fun, relaxation and family time. Whether you were away on
an adventure; doing much-needed work around the home; or simply enjoying each day as it
came, I hope you found time to reflect and renew in preparation of the great school year that
lies ahead.
This is an exciting and busy time not only for our students, but for the district as a whole
as we embrace a fresh school year filled with new students and new staff. We are grateful that
you have entrusted your children to us. We truly care about what they are learning and what
kind of person they are becoming. Guided by shepherd leadership, team work and innovation, I’m certain that this school year will be filled with success and opportunity.
Surrounded by the message of God, we are strengthened and renewed by His words and
spirit. This year, we move on to the second part of our three year faith theme from Micah 6:8:
“Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.” This year’s theme of “Love Kindness”
will guide our teachings and actions through this coming year as we also remember the ways
in which we can continue to “Do Justice” in our daily lives. As faith-based learning is integral
in our classrooms and school communities, we find strength and are united by God’s teachings.
As we progress throughout this school year, let us embrace the opportunities presented to
us, knowing that we are growing spiritually within. We will continue to inform, engage and
celebrate with our students, staff and families.
We are committed to the importance of Catholic education and the continued success of
our students. We look forward to working with you and your children to help them develop
into successful and engaged leaders.
Be kind to yourselves; be kind to each other and model kindness for our children by your
actions.
Have a wonderful year and God Bless!
Gary Strother
Chief Superintendent
ONLINE FEE PAYMENT
Did you know that you can pay your child’s school fees online? Our fee management and
online payment system is an easy and secure way to pay school fees from the comfort of your
home or office. Payments can be made by credit card or debit card.
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The CCSD online payment system allows you to pay school fees applicable to each child
including, but not limited to:
•General School Fees
•Program of Choice Fees
•Instructional Resource Fees
•Textbook Rental Fees
•Transportation Fees
•Yearbook Fees
•Extracurricular Fees
•High School Graduation Ceremony Fees
•Activity & Field Trip Fees
•High School Graduation Banquet Tickets, etc.
To pay online, simply visit www.cssd.ab.ca/parents/fees/online-fee-payment.
Calgary Catholic School District does not store or keep your credit information.
OUR NEW WEBSITE HAS ARRIVED!
We have launched a new external website. The new website aims to better meet the needs of
parents, students and the CCSD community and to improve the user’s experience. The upgraded technology features more user-friendly tools and has intuitive navigation.
Keeping with similar structural and colour themes, the new website makes it easier than
ever for you to find information quickly. Everything is within three clicks of a mouse. Even
better, the site is completely responsive, meaning that it will look great on your cell phone
and other mobile devices.
Our website will continue to provide users with important information and news, as well
as details about our various support services, resources offered and career opportunities.
In the coming months, we will invite you to provide feedback on the new site. Until then,
please sit back, explore and enjoy our new website at www.cssd.ab.ca!
NEW LEARNER SUPPORT PLAN
This year’s academic theme is “Engaging all students for success.” As part of this theme, we
will be piloting a new Individualized Program Plan (IPP) now called the Learner Support
Plan (LSP). The aim of the new Learner Support Plan is to streamline goals and strategies for
students who require additional learning support.
Parents of students with diverse needs will have opportunities to provide feedback to their
child’s teacher in the creation of the plan. If you have questions about the Learner Support
Plan please contact your child’s principal.
PROVINCIAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST UPDATE
This is the second year of the phase-out of provincial achievement exams in grades 3, 6 and 9.
For the 2014–2015 school year, Grade 3 and Grade 6 students will not write provincial
achievement exams.
Instead, Grade 3 students will write the new provincial electronic exam, “Student Learner
Assessment,” between September 29 and October 10. Also close to this time, Grade 6 students
will write a diagnostic exam created by the district that focuses on Language Arts and Math.
Grade 9 students will be the only grade writing the traditional Provincial Achievement Test
that will take place in June, 2015.
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