Westmount Charter School Newcomer's Guide

A Newcomer's Guide to Westmount Charter School

If you're reading this page, you're likely the parent of a student recently admitted to Westmount - or a parent who has been here for a while, and is still wondering about the culture and rhythms of Westmount - or a student looking for a sense of how things work at Westmount.

With a K-12 school, and the wide range of personalities and learning styles within a gifted student population, it's hard to find one-size-fits-all answers... but a great starting point is the Student/Parent Handbook, which you can download here. It covers the following topics:

Academic Integrity
Attendance and Extended Absences
Communications between Home and School
Dress Code
Electronic devices
Emergency Contacts
Entrances
Expectations of Staff, Parents and Teachers (“Our School”)
Hallway behaviour
High School Diplomas
Illegal Substances
Internet Use
Learn Alberta Website
Locks and Lockers (grades 6-12)
Lunch Break
School Closure notification (eg. Snow Days)
School (Parent) Council
School Hours
Smoking
Student code of Conduct
Student Council
Student Services
Telephone use
Transportation
Valuable personal property
Vandalism
Vending Machines (grades 6-12)
Visitors
Westmount Website

Here are some additional FAQs regarding life at our school - click on the keyword in each question for the answer!...

THE SCHOOL YEAR

Do you have any orientation for new students?

What should my child bring on the first day of school?

When are the report cards? Do you use percentages or letter grades?

When do I meet my son/daughter's teachers? How do I book a time to meet with them regarding student progress?

Are there opportunities to get to know other Westmount parents? What is expected of me as a Westmount parent?

Do you have a Christmas Concert, or other school concerts? Do all grades K-12 participate?

My child is in the Kindergarten program at Westmount. Is it true that they have to re-apply for grade one? How do I do this?

Do Westmount students in grades 1-11 have to re-apply each year?

DAILY ROUTINES

If my child is going to be away at a medical appointment, or is ill and will not be attending school, how do I notify the school?

How do you work recess at a K-12 school?

My child forgot to bring his/her lunch. What happens next?

Does Westmount offer before and after school care?

FACILITY

I see that the parking lot is for staff and students only. Where do parents park when we come to help in classrooms, accompany field trips, or attend special events?

I see that you share the Viscount Bennett Centre with another school. Should I be concerned?

Is there a map of the school?

Every time I turn around I see a different Office. What are the different offices for?

We're planning to move to a different part of Calgary and would like to move closer to the school. I hear rumours that you might be building a new school sometime soon...?

Are you part of the CBE (Calgary Board of Education)? I'm still a bit confused about Charter Schools.

Another source of information is this website! Check the right-hand side of this web page (and all pages in the public part of this website) for all kinds of information about our school. In addition, the "log in here" area of the website (see blue bar, above) has teachers' email addresses, links to teacher blogs and homework pages, newsletters and much more - just use the same username and password that you used for student registration, or the general student username/password (which has been emailed to you, and is contained in the daily planner given to students in the fall).

If you have other questions that need answering, contact a teacher, the main office (admin@westmountcharter.com or 403.217.0426) or the communications coordinator.

We wish you a rewarding experience with Westmount Charter School!

WESTMOUNT CHARTER SCHOOL The Centre for Excellence in Gifted Education Calgary, Alberta, Canada Publicly Funded established 1996 • K-grade 12

A Newcomer's Guide to Westmount Charter School

WESTMOUNT CHARTER SCHOOL
The Centre for Excellence
in Gifted Education
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Publicly Funded
established 1996 • K-grade 12