December 18, January 8 – Upcoming Healthy Hunger fun lunches
December 15 – 19 – Spirit Week activities (see message below)
December 19 – Last day of classes before Winter Break and Winter Solstice celebrations
December 20 – January 4 – Winter Break – no classes, school closed
January 5, 2026 – Classes resume
Athletics - See updates on our Athletics Page
For this week’s update message, I am going to go in a different direction and speak to the exciting week we have coming up next week in advance of Winter Break and our annual Winter Solstice celebration – easily one of my favourite experiences in my entire career.
To honour the spirit of giving, community and connection, we will hosting our annual Winter Solstice Celebration on Friday, December 19. Starting Wednesday, December 10 and running until Friday, December 19, Riverside School will be collecting gift cards and/or cash donations to donate to our partner, Fear Is Not Love, formerly known as the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter (CWES). Our donations have always been enthusiastically received and well utilized. Upon speaking with a representative from the CWES, the biggest need is gift cards from stores such as Walmart and Superstore since they sell groceries, clothing and personal essentials. Donations can be made online at the following website:
www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/riverside-school-cwes-2025-fundraiser/
Gift Cards can be sent into the school with your child. We will also collect cash at the school for our special spirit days.
The timetable on December 19 will run as follows:
8:10 – 9:00: Class time/locker cleanout
9:00: Solstice Assembly (due to fire regulations, we cannot have any parents at our assembly)
10:00: Snack/nutrition break
10:15: Buddy STEM challenge work
11:15 – 12:00: Lunch – Potluck lunch - Families are invited to bring and share
food items and eat with us (please watch for a sign up from your child’s
homeroom teacher).
12:00 – 12:25: Classroom cleanup time - Classrooms need to be fully cleaned,
parents are requested to take home leftovers and to help with clean up
We are inviting parents and family members to join their children for a potluck lunch in their classroom from 11:15 am – 12pm. We encourage families to bring a favourite family recipe or food item to share. Please remember that all items must be nut free. To be as environmentally conscious as possible, we ask you to send your child with a reusable plate and cutlery for the potluck lunch. Hot food items must be hot already and in a container that will maintain the heat – ie. crockpot (we have no facilities to keep food warm), while cold food must remain cold.
Next week, we will also invite students to participate in Spirit Days, as follows:
Monday: Dress in Ravens colors (K-3 Orange, 4-6 Blue, 7-9 Black)
Tuesday: Jersey Day
Wednesday: PJ Day
Thursday: Matching Day
Friday: Sparkle – Dress Your Best
Of course, students may choose to wear their uniform if they prefer. If they wish to participate in the Spirit Day theme each day, we are asking students please donate $1 per day, with funds going directly to the CWES fundraiser. If students or families cannot donate this amount, students will be welcome to participate if they wish.
Looking forward to an amazing week and Winter Solstice celebration,
Steve Radder, Principal
Riverside School