Friday, November 24 NID: no school for students

IB Program Open House & Information Night 6:00 to 7:30 pm November 21 & 22 

The IB program is a rigorous, pre-university course of studies taught in Grades 11 and 12. It provides a well-rounded education that meets the needs of highly motivated students by promoting excellence, self- directed learning, responsible citizenship and international understanding. Any parent and/or student who is interested in learning about our IB program is invited to attend one of our information sessions!

IB Exam Fees Due 

All students who are registered in 30-Level IB courses this year will be writing an IB exam in May. The $200 fee for each exam is payable through MyCBE and is due on December 15. The final drop date for Exam level IB courses is October 31, 2023. Any students registered in courses following this date will be charged for the exams.

Congratulations to all Honour Roll recipients for Grade 10 and 11 Last Year!

This week, Honour Roll Certificates were handed out in TA to last year’s recipients for both Grade 10 and 11. We would like to congratulate all 296 Grade 10 students and all 294 Grade 11 students for receiving Honour Roll status (an average of 80% or higher in courses taken at J G Diefenbaker only). These numbers equate to virtually half of our students in grade ten and eleven achieving excellence in their studies! Well done, and keep up the amazing work!

Casino Volunteers Needed

Hello fellow Diefenbaker parents and guardians. We are having our 2 day casino fundraiser next week and we are still short 12 volunteers! This fundraiser brings in $50,000 - $80,000 for just 2 days of fundraising. Parent council uses this money to support all areas of the school; core classes, options and clubs.

If we don’t get more volunteers then we will have to cancel this event and forfeit our money for the school. Please sign up if you can. You don’t need training for this, as long as you are over 18 you can volunteer with us. Consider bringing a friend and doing it together!!

There are still slots available morning/evening on Tuesday November 21 and Wednesday November 22. Casino is at Ace Casino by the airport. You get a free meal at the casino as well when you volunteer! Once you sign up I’ll send you the final details. If you have any questions please e-mail.

Please volunteer your time and sign up so we don’t have to cancel this event and fundraiser!!

• JGD Casino Fundraiser sign up genius

Student ID Card

All Diefenbaker students are required to have a school ID card. If you have not received your ID card yet, please see Ms. Richards in the Library Learning Commons. If you have lost your ID card, you can get a replacement card for $5.00.

JGDMPA Fundraiser

It is that time of year again to start thinking about the Winter Season and all the Festive Holidays that take place. John G. Diefenbaker music students are enjoying their music education and will have fun performing at various concerts and festivals. To support these activities the John G. Diefenbaker Music Parents Association are running two fundraisers this November; Purdy’s Chocolates Winter Fundraiser and Growing Smiles Winter Fundraiser (thru Devry Greenhouse).

Why do we need to fundraise, you ask? Well, due to restructuring of funding for schools the J. G. D. Music Parents Association and the music program now rely more on fundraising to cover expenses for all the activities that our Band and Choir students do throughout the year.

Both of our fundraisers will run at the same time from November 1 - 22. The pick up date for both will be Friday December 8 in the Band room at John G. Diefenbaker. Please follow the following links to access the different fundraisers.

• Purdy's
• Growing Smiles

We hope you will support us generously, thank you. John G. Diefenbaker Music Parents Association

Unique Pathways: Application due date is Monday, November 20  

Unique Pathways opportunities for Semester 2 are now posted. There are a variety of programs available. Dual Credit courses provide high school 30 level CTS credits as well as credit toward post-secondary classes. These courses are the same courses that are offered to post-secondary students. There are also a number of exploratory programs that will introduce students to possible career paths such as trades or recreational leadership. These will give Work Experience credits.

Check out the programs at www.cbe.ab.ca/uniquepathways For more information, see Mrs Jennifer Canu-Budd Mondays, Wednesdays and occasionally Fridays at her desk in the learning commons. Schedule posted at the desk. You can also email questions to jlcanubudd@cbe.ab.ca.

Artist Spotlight

Raymond P is a visual artist currently in Grade 12 at John G. Diefenbaker High School. He began practicing his art skills at the age of six and has continued doing so up to present.

Raymond finds his inspiration through various video game concept artists and illustrators. He is also inspired by what he sees in the media and visual arts. Raymond uses art to help express his thoughts, allowing him to portray his ideas to others. Graphite and charcoal are the mediums that Raymond prefers to use when creating his art pieces. He tends to begin with a rough sketch and then continues on to the good copy. Raymond finishes by adding more intricate features, ending with a beautiful final product.

When he is drawing he likes to play around with the lighting and perspective of the art pieces, experimenting with the various ways he can portray his ideas. Raymond expresses his personal voice through subtle and dramatic themes visible in his creations. He plans to enter the Alberta University of Arts in Calgary and pursue a career in the game industry. Raymond is aiming to take classes in character design and major in a Bachelor of Design.

-      Written by Irene L

Morning Student Drop off and After School Student Pick up

See our Parking and Drop-off page.

REMINDER: School Engage (Demographic Verification and Annual Authorization required:

Student demographic verification is required each and every school year. If you have not verified your demographic information for the 2023-24 school year, please log into your SchoolEngage account and verify your student’s information. Technical support/instructions are available here.

Annual authorizations requiring parent consent are also required for the 2023-24 school year. These are: CBE Use of Student Information: outlines instances when we would like to share student information publically in our day to day work. Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups (Third Party): provides information pertaining to including students in media events where images may be recorded and used by the third party.