Dear Students and Parents/Guardians,

This letter is to inform you that O.S. Geiger School has reached its capacity and will be unable to accommodate any additional Cornerstone students that are being overflowed from Grant MacEwan School. Catherine Nichols Gunn School will now serve as a second overflow school to accommodate the growing Cornerstone community for the 2023-24 school year and beyond.

Effective immediately, all new Cornerstone registrations for Grant MacEwan School that cannot be accommodated at Grant MacEwan or O.S. Geiger Schools, including new registrations in SchoolEngage, will be overflowed to Catherine Nichols Gunn School.  

• Catherine Nichols Gunn School is in the community of Huntington Hills at 6625 4th Street NE, Calgary, AB T2K 5CK, phone 403-777-6620.

All kindergarten to Grade 6 students who live in the Cornerstone community and attend one of the overflow schools will be placed on a call-back list and offered a place at their designated school of Grant MacEwan or O.S. Geiger as space becomes available.

No changes for current students attending Grant MacEwan School and O.S. Geiger School.

All Cornerstone students who are currently attending Grant MacEwan School or the overflow school O.S. Geiger School will continue to attend their school, provided they do not move out of the community.

Why is this change happening?

In a notice sent on Sept. 23, 2022, we informed families residing in the Cornerstone community that all new kindergarten to Grade 6 students who could not be accommodated at Grant MacEwan School would be designated to O.S. Geiger School.

Enrolment continues to increase at Grant MacEwan School and O.S. Geiger School, as more families move into the Cornerstone community.

How does a call-back list work?

If space becomes available in Grant MacEwan School during the school year, that space will be offered to students on the call-back list who are currently attending either O.S. Geiger School or Catherine Nichols Gunn School. The student’s overflow school will notify you if a space becomes available. Students remain on the call-back list while they attend the designated overflow school. Students will be removed from the call-back list if they move out of the Cornerstone community or transfer from their designated overflow school.

Any new registrations received for the 2023-24 school year will be added to the call-back list based on priority designation and the date and time of their registration.

How do I register for the next school year?

Kindergarten registrations for the 2024-25 school year begin on Jan. 15, 2024. For more information on how to register, please visit our website.

The lottery process will be followed for kindergarten to Grade 6 for the 2024-25 school year and beyond. For more details on how we determine priority, please visit our website.

We will make every effort to keep siblings together at a single school. Families with a kindergarten or Grade 1 student who is unsuccessful in the lottery and has a sibling already attending Grant MacEwan School or O.S. Geiger School may choose to register all children at the overflow, Catherine Nichols Gunn School.

Alternating full-day kindergarten available for overflow students in the 2023-24 school year.

O.S. Geiger School and Catherine Nichols Gunn School will offer alternating full-day kindergarten for all overflowed Cornerstone kindergarten students starting in the 2023-24 school year. This means kindergarten students will attend school on Monday and Wednesday and alternating Fridays (every other week) or Tuesday and Thursday and alternating Fridays.

Transportation for students attending the designated overflow schools

Students are eligible for transportation to their designated or overflow school if they live beyond the walk zone. Overflowed students will receive transportation to and from school once the family submits a transportation registration and it is processed. Please note that transportation fees apply to overflow situations as well.

In the CBE and across the city, we are experiencing a school bus driver shortage that may impact the mode of service provided. Please be assured that we are doing everything possible to restore reliability to transportation services. Please visit Busing & Transportation for important information, or to register for transportation, visit MyCBE.

What if I have questions?

If you still have questions or require additional information, please contact the Area 4 office at Area4@cbe.ab.ca or 403-777-6233 (extension 0) or the Area 2 office at Area2@cbe.ab.ca or 403-777- 8720 (extension 0). 

 

Lisa Nachtigal Director, Area 4

Tori Healing Director, Area 2

Catherine Ford Director, Planning