Principal Message June 2026
Dear Escuela Canyon Meadows Families | Estimadas familias,
Friday, June 26 is the last day of classes for the 2025-26 school year, and we can feel everyone’s excitement for the summer break. We are grateful for the unwavering trust, love, care, and ongoing support of our Escuela Canyon Meadows (ECM) families, and for the commitment, dedication, professionalism, and hard work of our staff, whose efforts contribute so much to our school community. Thank you so much! “¡Muchas gracias!”
School Events
In June, our second group of students had swimming lessons at Canyon Meadows Aquatic Center. We greatly appreciate the support of our School Council to subsidize these lessons.
On June 18th, we bid a fond farewell to our grade five students and celebrated their accomplishments. We paid tribute to our talented students through our Farewell Celebration. Their performance showcased their growing skills in singing, dancing, Spanish speaking and writing. Their thoughtful and heart-felt reflections on their years at ECM demonstrated the positive impact that ECM staff has had in them. The beautiful decorations showcasing our grade five students’ “maletas viajeras”/ travel suitcases, transformed our gym into a magical venue. Thanks for the donations, efforts and creativity of our parent volunteers. It was a memorable event for our grade five students and their families. Our students and families enjoyed taking pictures in the beautiful Learning Meadows Garden after the celebration. Our gratitude to the parent volunteers who spent countless hours ensuring our school garden was ready for the occasion!
It has been an honour to see our grade 5 students grow during their first six years of schooling. We now send them off to middle school with incredible second language skills and wisdom. We are certain they will make us all proud! ¡Bravo estudiantes de quinto grado! ¡Felicitaciones!
Class Size Reduction Grant
We are pleased to inform you that our school has been allocated 2 additional teaching positions for the 2026–27 school year through the Government of Alberta’s Class Size Reduction Grant.
This grant funds teaching positions that support improved learning conditions in kindergarten to Grade 9 classrooms.
This funding is specifically intended to help reduce class sizes in core subject areas (English Language Arts/Spanish Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies), with priority given to schools experiencing the greatest class size pressures.
This decision was made using system-wide data that considers:
- The number of classes exceeding provincial class size benchmarks
- Projected enrolment and class organization
- School programming and grade configuration
Our goal is to ensure students benefit from:
- Increased teacher attention
- Improved classroom learning environments
- Greater support for diverse learning needs
At Escuela Canyon Meadows, the 2 additional teaching positions will help reduce class sizes in core subject areas as outlined below:
- Grade 2 - 1 full-time teacher added for a total of 4 classes
- Grade 3 and 5 - 1 full-time teacher added to provide additional teacher support in grades 3 (0.5) and 5 (0.5)
We remain committed to supporting strong learning environments for all students and using our resources thoughtfully and strategically.
Staffing Updates
June is the time of the year we say goodbye to some staff members and welcome others.
We bid a fond farewell to:
Srta. Simonin, Kindergarten Teacher
Sra. Vargas, Grade 2 Teacher
Sr. Muntadas, Grade 2 Teacher
Sra. Lucas, Grade 5 Teacher
We extend a warm welcome to:
Sra. Abboud, Srta. Esteban, Sra. García Baena, Sra. Llopis, and Sr. Ugarte who will join our ECM teaching staff in the fall. We welcome back Sra. McGrah who will be returning to ECM in the fall.
We also welcome Sra. Pillai, Education Assistant who will join the Classroom Complexity Team (CCT) in the fall.
Grade Configuration for 2026-27
We anticipate having the following grade configurations:
Kindergarten 3 classes (2 morning, 1 afternoon) – class average 20/21
Grade 1 4 classes – class average 21/22
Grade 2 4 classes – class average 20/21
Grade 3 3 classes – class average 23/24 - Additional 0.5 teacher will support to reduce class size in core subject areas
Grade 4 3 classes – class average 23/24
Grade 5 2 classes – class average 28 – Additional 0.5 teacher will support to reduce class size in core subject areas
Please note that our grade configurations are dependent on the ECM student enrollment for Fall 2026.
School Hours for 2026-27
Soft Entry Schedule for 2026-27 is 7:55 am.
School Hours:
Kindergarten
AM Class
7:55 - 10:45 AM (Monday to Thursday)
PM Class
11:35 AM - 2:25 PM (Monday to Thursday)
Fridays
7:55 AM - 11:55 PM (Kindergarten classes attend on alternating weeks)
Grades 1-5
Monday to Thursday
8:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Lunch
11:00 AM – 12:16 PM (staggered lunch of two 36-minute periods)
Fridays
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM (no afternoon classes on Friday)
Feel free to access Canyon Meadows School Calendar 2026-2027 posted on our school website.
Gratitude
Thanks to our amazing School Council for their extensive fundraising efforts. The money they have raised has provided many enrichment learning opportunities for our students such as dance, sports, and Indigenous Education residencies. We are grateful for the support of our volunteers throughout this school year. Field trips and other activities could have not taken place without you!
Welcome Back
The week of August 26, our teachers will welcome students via email to parents/guardians. The email will state who your child’s teacher is for 2026-27.
We are looking forward to the 2026-27 school year. We wish every family a delightful summer.
Note the first day of school next school year will be Monday, August 31, 2026, for all students, Kindergarten to Grade 5.
Stay informed by checking our school website. You may review the Back to School page and the 2026-2027 school calendar for detailed information.
See you Monday, August 31, 2026! ¡Los esperamos con toda alegría!
Saludos cordiales,
Sra. Lilien Perera Pérez, Principal and Sra. Cecilia Gutiérrez, Assistant Principal