Dear Thomas B. Riley Families,

School Council Meeting

Our next School Council Meeting will be on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 6:00pm at the school in the learning commons. Please join us for some exciting updates at the school including a planned project for our basketball court and changes in boundaries next year to include students in the Montgomery Community.

Also our School Council will be looking for a new Treasurer in the near future to begin to transition this year into next school year. If you are interested in this very critical position please join us or email Mrs. Austin to let her know. 

TLC Open House this week on Thursday, January 22 @6pm

Due to a scheduling conflict we needed to change the date of this open house to January 22.

If you are interested in the TLC Program next year, our school will be hosting an Open House for all TLC students on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 6pm in the school gymnasium. There will be a brief presentation for all families followed by a school tour.

NEW families from Montgomery Community – Open House January 22 @5pm

We are pleased to welcome families from Terrace Road School in Montgomery to our school in the Fall of 2026. We will be hosting an open house evening for all new families from this community the same night as our TLC Open House. You are welcome to come for a brief presentation about the school at 5pm followed by a school tour. All families are also welcome to stay for our TLC presentation at 6pm if they would like to hear more about this program.

Missing Assignments and NER Emails

As we conclude this semester, some families may receive an NER (Not Enough Evidence) notification from classroom teachers. These are issued when there is insufficient evidence to assign a mark in the upcoming report card, most often due to missing or incomplete assignments and/or limited participation in required classroom assessments. All missing assignments are regularly posted on MyCBE under the Assignments section for parents and students to monitor progress, and a reminder was previously sent to support families in staying informed.

While we appreciate parental support, it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to take ownership of their learning by attending class prepared, engaging actively in lessons, and following up on missing work independently. Students have been provided with regular reminders of missing assignments all throughout this term. Increased independence is an expectation at the junior high level. Please note that assessment evidence cannot be completed solely at home; active participation and in-class learning tasks are essential components of student evaluation. We encourage families to continue checking MyCBE regularly and to support students in developing strong organizational and self-advocacy skills.

New Homeroom Class in Grade 9 for Term 2

This upcoming semester we are fortunate to be in a position to make an additional homeroom in Grade 9 which will be 9-6. We will be hiring a new math/science teacher for this position and a new humanities teacher as well. These changes will be in effect at the beginning of the new term starting on January 28, 2025 for the duration of the school year.

This change only affects students in the Regular Program in Grade 9 in homerooms 9-4 and 9-5. Students will be informed of any changes to their homeroom if applicable on Monday, January 26, 2026. The school will not be accepting requests to change homerooms as any changes were made thoughtfully and with the whole group of students and class composition in mind. This change will significantly reduce class sizes in this grade.

Changes to Options

In addition to changes in Grade 9 homeroom, we are also able to offer an additional two CTF courses this term in some blocks with the addition on these two staff members. This will also reduce class sizes in each course which are currently between 35 and 42 in some classes. This change is necessary to increase support for students in each of these classes.

Because of this change, there will be many changes to option classes that had been scheduled in the beginning of the school year. Term 2 is not currently viewable in Powerschool while we make these adjustments. All students will be provided with an updated timetable on Monday, January 26, 2026 for the second semester and their schedule will be viewable online on this date.

We ask for your patience, flexibility and understanding as we work through these changes. We ask that parents do not contact the school to request additional changes to their option classes as there is very limited flexibility to make further changes once they are in place. Thank you for your understanding and support in this.

Health Forms

All students in our school received consent form for Health that must be completed and returned no later than January 29, 2026.

In accordance with Section 58.11 of the Education Act, Alberta schools must now obtain written consent of parents prior to providing instructions or materials that deal primarily and explicitly with human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation. Students are unable to participate in this portion of the curriculum unless consent is explicitly granted.

Your student’s class will start learning about this topic on or after Monday February 2, 2026. Please refer to the table in the attached opt-in consent form for a detailed outline of the learning outcomes addressed in this unit. Parents/Guardians may choose to opt-in to all or selected outcomes. Your consent is required by Thursday January 29, 2026.

Parent/Guardian Options:

  1. Opt-In Full Consent – Your student will participate in all Human Sexuality lessons.
  2. Opt-In Partial Consent – Your student will only participate in the Human Sexuality lessons which relate to the learning outcomes you agree to. The teacher will provide alternative learning tasks and assessments.
  3. Non-Participation – Your student will not receive these lessons and will be provided with alternative learning tasks in a supervised setting.

Please note partially opting in or non-participation in these Human Sexuality lessons will not affect a student’s Health and Life Skills grade as the teacher will provide alternative learning tasks and assessments. Please connect with your child’s homeroom teacher if you have any additional questions.

The forms are linked here as well:

Grade 7 Human Sexuality Consent Form.docx 

Grade 8 Human Sexuality Consent Form.docx 

Grade 9 Human Sexuality Consent Form.docx 

Upcoming High School Open House Information

Families of Grade 9 students, please be aware of the following open houses for our students.

A reminder to all parents that students are designated to a High School based on address. If students apply and are accepted to alternative programs for High School families will be supported with transfer paperwork.

Representatives from High Schools will be coming to TB Riley over the next couple of months to talk about the High School and to support the transition from Junior High. TB Riley will also support a High School Tour for Bowness, Thirsk and Churchill for designated students.

Questions related to transfer of High School should be directed to the High Schools in question.

Robert Thirsk High School

Winston Churchill High School

  • Grade 9 Tour Date (school field trip) - January 27, 2026
  • Open House - February 10, 2026 SWC Grade 9 tours

Reminder of PAT Dates for Grade 9:

PAT Dates: (Please keep these open)

Thursday, May 21: Grade 9 ELA Part A

Tuesday, June 9: Grade 9 ELA Part B

Tuesday, June 16: Grade 9 Math Part A

Friday, June 19: Grade 9 Math Part B

Monday, June 22: Grade 9 Social Studies

Tuesday, June 23: Grade 9 Science


Updated Reporting Timelines

CBE has adjusted the reporting timelines this year due to the labor disruption earlier in the year. Report Cards will be viewable for all families on Feb. 24, 2026.

Upcoming Events this Week:

Monday:

  • Grade 7 Homework Club 11:20am-12:00pm
  • Boys Volleyball Practice (Jr and Sr) 2:45pm-3:45pm

Tuesday:

  • Grade 9 Homework Club 11:30am-12:00pm
  • Play rehearsal 2:45pm-3:45pm
  • Girls Volleyball Practice (Jr and Sr) 2:45pm-3:45pm

Wednesday:

  • Yearbook Club 11:30am-12:00pm
  • Pride Club 11:30am-12:00pm
  • Boys Volleyball Practice (Jr and Sr) 2:45pm-3:45pm
  • School Council Meeting 6:00pm

Thursday:

  • Girls Volleyball Practice (Jr and Sr) 2:45pm-3:45pm
  • Play rehearsal 2:45pm-3:45pm
  • Montgomery Open House 5:00pm; TLC Open House 6:00pm

Friday:

  • Business Fair for Enterprise and Innovation Class 9:30am-11:30am
  • Friday C


Have a great week!

Sincerely,


Tiffany Austin

Principal, Thomas B. Riley School