Important Dates

• December 22-January 4 – Winter Break
• January 5 – classes resume

Calgary Speech Regionals – Silver Medal

Congratulations to Simer K., who won Silver at the Calgary Speech Regionals tournament at Sir Winston Churchill on Saturday, December 13th. Simer placed Silver (second) in a category of 44 competitors and was only .04 of a point off the Gold speaker. Way to go, Simer! She now advances to Speech Provincials at Strathcona Tweedsmuir School on January 31st. We wish her the best of luck!

Thank you to Foods Class

Thank you to the Foods Classes at Diefenbaker High School for the delicious cookies, treats, veggie tray, and fruit platter who prepared for the Diefenbaker High School Basketball Tournament! Your hard work, generosity, and tasty contributions were truly appreciated by all the referees, coaches and volunteers. We are very grateful for your support in making the tournament a success.

 From Diefenbaker Sr. Basketball Coaches 

Toys for the Children’s Hospital

Thank you, Diefenbaker families, for your wonderful support for the Children’s Hospital. There have been over three separate deliveries to the Children's Hospital because of all your generosity!

 Gingerbread/Sugar Cookie Houses

This week the students in all our Foods classes focused on baking and building gingerbread or sugar cookies houses.  Students were on task the entire first class; when the dough was prepared, it was placed in the fridges to chill overnight; with the remaining time in that class, the students were encouraged to select three ingredients: carrots, lettuce and ground turkey, and make anything that included the ingredients.  Tuesday, the students focused on cooking and then cutting the cookies into the desired shapes to prepare for the building that occurred on Wednesday. Thursday, the students finished up the construction of the houses and then began the decorating.  Students are having a wonderful experience engaging with this fun activity.

Seniore’s Pizza

A big thank you to Seniore's Pizza for generously supporting John G Diefenbaker every Tuesday and Thursday to provide students with hot lunches. Seniore's will continue to provide pizza in the New Year, we appreciate everything they do for our students.

Update | Modular Classrooms for John G. Diefenbaker

Dear students and parents/guardians, 

We would like to update you on the installation of six modular units at John G. Diefenbaker; providing additional space for approximately 150 students. We anticipate the work to install the modulars will begin early January 2026 and will be ready to welcome students in September 2026. 

Safety measures will be taken to ensure the safety of students, staff and community members who use the school site during the installation process. This includes enclosing the construction area in fencing and scheduling work to avoid disrupting learning. Learning will not be impacted, and crews will work closely with school administration to ensure work is aligned with school schedules.

If you have any questions about this work, you may email facilityprojects@cbe.ab.ca.  

Artist Spotlight

Meet Arlene Z!  She is a Grade 12 IB student along with a talented flute and piccolo player in Band 35.  It has been five years since Arlene started playing the flute, inspired by various factors, such as Shostakovich's 5th Symphony and Impressionist music, both of which drew her into the world of classical music.  Her love for music drives her to enrich and perfect her flute techniques after school.  Her flute teacher, Emily Phernambucq, and a respected soloist, is her role model in flute performance. In addition to the Diefenbaker Symphonic Band, Arlene is also part of the MRU Academy Program.  She believes that music communities truly allow her to express her passion for music and support her through her ups and downs.  Currently, Arlene’s goal is to learn and perfect her playing in the Flute Concerto No. 1 in G Major, written by W. A. Mozart; one of her favourite composers. 

You got this, Arlene!

Athletics & Events Schedule – Week of JANUARY 5

Parent Cell Phone Use

John G. Diefenbaker teachers and staff are following Alberta Government’s law regarding cell phones. Teachers only allowed students to be on their phones when it is an integral part of the learning. 

Parent please do not text or call your child when they are in their classrooms.  Or if you do text or call, please do not expect an immediate response. Students are not allowed to take calls or texts during the learning and if they do, they face consequences. If there is an emergency, please call our main phone number and ask one of the Secretaries to call into the classroom.  Parents contacting students during class time has become a concern in our building and we ask for your assistance!

Yearbook

Please purchase your yearbook as soon as possible. Deadline is last week of school in December!

How to Purchase Yearbook/Other Supplies

Step1: Sign In

Parents can access their children's accounts online to apply for waivers, pay fees, register for central services, view past receipts and print account statements.

To access the student fees system, log into MyCBE from your computer's web browser.

Step 2: Select Student Fees & Services Registration

From the left navigation menu, select Student Fees & Services Registration.

To purchase Yearbook, click on the child you wish to purchase the yearbook for, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select School Based Optional Fees. Select School Store Sale - Yearbook and after that you can add to card.

Step3: Payment

Click the shopping cart (F)to proceed to payment.

After that payment screen will be open.

Graduation Pictures

The website is officially open to book grad sessions.  Please find below the grad flyer for graduates to sign up for photos. 

To book a Prestige Session at John G. Diefenbaker High School visit the website.

Go to: 

• Enter School Postal Code shown on Flyer - Click on Continue
• Enter School Name - Select John G. Diefenbaker High School - Click Continue
• Enter First/Last Name - Click on Verify & Proceed
• Click Book Session - follow prompts to complete booking
• Appointment Email Confirmation will be sent upon completion

JGD Work Experience Program

Calgary Transit Busing Information

On Monday, November 24, we had our first major snowfall and it caused many delays in vehicle traffic.  Both the CBE and Calgary Transit were working diligently to help our JGD students arrive safely and in a reasonable amount of time on our dedicated 734,735, and 736 buses.

 The message from CBE is the following:

You are welcome to provide the information we have on our website: Calgary Transit | Busing & Transportation | Schools | CBE Home.

 Service Delays

Calgary Transit has several Rider Tools to stay informed along the way.

All traffic is affected in situations of poor weather. Students taking Calgary Transit have more options and flexibility as buses run more frequently.

It is wise for parents to create a backup plan and share that plan with your child. Your plan may include possibilities like carpooling with neighbours or dropping and picking up your children at school. We understand that these options are not possible for everyone and encourage you to develop a plan that is suitable to your family situation.

Available links on that page are: Traveling in Winter which provides resources for families to self-inform on service delays.

 Furthermore, our liaison with Calgary Transit shared the following message:

We encourage students and families to plan their trips ahead of time, as our buses face the same challenges as other vehicles on the road. Please remind students to dress appropriately for winter conditions to stay safe while waiting for their bus.

We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure the safety of all students during these challenging weather conditions.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact Cat Turner, cjturner@cbe.ab.c or call 403-608-8572.                                                                  

Arrival times and door opening times

All students must be under the supervision of a teacher while in the building.  With Basketball practices, Band practices and cold weather, students have been arriving earlier and earlier.  Students arriving for teams and classes, should enter the building via the door closest to their activities.  The front and mall doors will open for students attending regular classes at 8:00. 

Please do not drop off or send students to arrive prior to 8:00 am as they will not be let in

Student Drop Off

With the cold weather approaching, we see an increase in students being dropped off in the mornings.  We have a very efficient and safe drop-off procedure in the mornings. 

Please do not use stalls to park, drop off, and reverse out to leave.  This causes congestion and safety hazards. 

There are 3 safe and quick paths:

1. Enter from the south entrance on 4^th St, head north along the school, drop off by the flagpole, and turn left to exit either via the north entrance onto 4^th St or turn right to use the East exit by the portables.
2. Enter at the north entrance (by McDonald’s), go straight into the parking lot, drop off at the 2 large orange pylons, and exit via the East exit by the portables.
3. Enter via the East entrance by the portables (behind the McDonald’s), head west in the parking lot, drop off at the 2 large orange pylons, and exit via the north entrance onto 4^th St.

Cars can only turn RIGHT between 8:00 and 9:00AM if exiting onto 4^th St. and 3:30-4:00PM

We have also noticed many drivers driving excessively fast in our parking lots. For student safety we expect all drivers to drive slowly (under 15 km/h) while in our lots. With the snow coming and limited snow removal, our lot tends to get icy and excessive speed has resulted in accidents.
Please slow down for everyone’s safety.

Thanks for your cooperation to make drop off quick, efficient and safe for everyone.