School Message
Hello to our Western families,
Please take note that there are no classes this Friday, as there is a system-wide PD day.
Final marks/comments from semester one will be visible on Monday, February 2nd.
Most class enrollments have now settled, and we thank everybody for their patience as we’ve made our internal changes. All staff emails, including those who are new, can be found on our website under the “About Us” tab, and then “Our Staff”. If you need to contact a teacher, a counselor, or admin with a question/concern, please feel free to do so in that manner.
Please be reminded that tutorials take place twice daily, Monday through Thursday, from 8:40-9:00 am and from 3:20-3:40 pm. This is an opportunity for students to connect with their teachers more informally - to ask clarification questions, to build in travel time for off-site trips, and to take advantage of more time for an assessment. While we generally encourage students to use this time as they see fit, there may be other times when teachers invite students in for a specific reason.
Finally, we are going to be tightening up makeup opportunities going forward. We do understand that students end up missing assessments occasionally, due to illness/appointments/field trips/etc. When this happens, we would ask that students or their parents be diligent in connecting with their teachers right away. While the ability to do these assessments will continue to be provided, directly with the teacher or via our afternoon Test Centre, we are going to be pushing for this to happen within two weeks of the initial assessment. When it takes longer, it impacts the ability for meaningful review by teachers for those students who are waiting for feedback.
Thanks,
Darrin Whitbread
Principal | Western Canada High School
Upcoming Dates
- Friday, January 30: Non-Instructional Day
- No school for students
- Thursday, February 12th and Friday, February 13th: Teachers Convention
- No school for students
Updates
CAREERS INTERNSHIP FAIRS
Paid internship opportunities for Alberta youth
Date: February 24, 2026
Location: Central Memorial and CT Centre
- Learn about paid internship opportunities
- Connect directly with employers hiring youth
- Explore off-campus education pathways
- Discover careers in in-demand industries
- Pre-register for a chance to win door prizes - https://tinyurl.com/2kjp6tpe
- Includes parent-focused sessions on supporting your student and “Apprenticeship 101” presentations.
SUMMER JOB
Interested in a summer job in tech, trades, animals, or urban planning—there’s a place for you at The City of Calgary. Interested post-secondary students and youth ages 15-24 are invited to attend January 30th’s information session Hosted by the Youth Employment Centre.
Learn about upcoming 2026 Summer Student jobs and additional seasonal positions available at the Virtual Information Session on Friday, January 30, 2026, from 3–4 p.m.
Register to attend: https://tinyurl.com/5be63afp
Extended Absences
It is the school’s responsibility to ensure parent(s)/legal guardian(s) understand the impact that extended absences may have on their child’s education. When parents/guardians wish to remove their student from school for an extended period of time (longer than 3 days) for reasons other than illness or bereavement, we ask that an Extended Absence form, available in the main office, be completed and submitted.
Celebrate Western
On behalf of the Friends of Western, we would like to pass on messaging connected to our annual Celebrate Western online auction. While this has typically happened earlier in the school year, the decision was made to postpone for this particular year to the last week of February. While they now have enough volunteers, the next ask is for auction items. Please see the attached message for more information. Similar information can also be found (and shared) via Instagram @celebrate_western_fundraising. As always, all support is appreciated so very much by our school.
Friends of Western Donation Form
MyCBE Accounts
Parents, legal guardians, and independent students will need to create a MyCBE account to complete required forms, pay fees, etc. To create an account, please see the MyCBE Support page HERE. If you are experiencing difficulties in creating your account, please see Ms. Hanley in the main office.
Attendance
To report your child’s absence, please call 403-228-5363, option 1, or email westerncanada@cbe.ab.ca. When providing an update, please include: The student’s full name (spell the last name slowly and clearly if leaving a voicemail). The reason for the absence. The timeframe of the absence. Please note: Attendance updates may take longer during transit delays, winter weather, or other events affecting attendance, as the school manages records for approximately 2,250 students. Updates may take up to one school day. To avoid delays, please do not leave multiple messages unless correcting a previous one. Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Subscribe to Stay Informed
Due to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), you need to subscribe online if you want to receive email or text messages on “commercial” school topics such as the Weekly Update or IPP communication.
Graduation Ceremony – Fee Now Due
The fee for the graduation ceremony this year is $85, including GST. This fee has been added to your graduating student’s account and is now payable via your MyCBE account or in person at the Business Office.
A reminder that ALL outstanding fees, from current and previous years, must be paid in full for students to be able to attend the graduation ceremony and banquet. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please see below how to apply for a central fee waiver. This waiver must be completed for a student to be considered for a school-based waiver of fees.
Centralized Fee Waiver
No child is ever denied access to an education in the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) because of an inability to pay. If you can't afford the fees, there are several ways to qualify for a central fee waiver.
Waiver applications for the current school year are found online through your MyCBEaccount and are available from the start of the school year until June 30. Please check out more information here.
Student Associations
Student associations resume Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 3:40 – 5:00 on the second floor math hallway! See your association's executive for their planned activities!
Semester 2 Peer Tutor and Tutee Sign-up
Thank you to the over 150 students who were involved in the peer tutoring program in the first semester! If you are looking to become a tutor or continue being a tutor, please fill out the Google Form link. If you anticipate needing help in any of your second-semester courses, please fill out the same Google Form link. We will email the tutor & tutee as soon as we have established a compatible connection, but any questions can be directed to serivers@cbe.ab.ca. https://forms.gle/iqM8huu2C29zBVQ18
First Semester Diploma Update
Even though January diplomas have been cancelled, students who have taken a course in the first semester can still CHOOSE to write the diploma in either April or June. These diplomas are non-jeopardy, so if the diploma mark is lower than their school awarded mark, the school awarded mark will be the final grade. If the diploma mark is higher, the final grade will be adjusted with the diploma worth 30% of the final grade. Either way, if students choose to write the diploma, the diploma mark WILL show on the transcript, even if it is lower and doesn’t affect their final mark. If students are interested in this, they need to sign up in the main office with a DEADLINE of Friday, January 30th. If students need more information, they can connect with Mr. Wiebe at Shwiebe@cbe.ab.ca
Graduation Banquet Information
This year’s graduation banquet will be held at the Hyatt Regency Calgary (downtown), due to unavailability at the BMO Centre. Venue capacity limitations at the Hyatt will restrict each graduating student to purchase a maximum of three tickets when ticket sales begin next month (this includes a ticket for the grad themselves plus 2 guests). Subject to overall interest, additional tickets may become available for purchase. Further instructions regarding how to purchase tickets, as well as how to request additional tickets, will be communicated at a later date.
Student Services
Second Semester Classes:
As a reminder, Student Services is only processing timetable changes for students who are requesting to drop a course, move to a different level of an academic course, fill an unnecessary open block from their timetable, or pick up missing graduation requirement courses. The deadline for course changes was January 9. Thank you for understanding.
Career and Post-Secondary Planning
Students who are unsure about their future plans may benefit from exploring the following Career and Education
planning tools.
Language Challenge Exam:
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) offers students the opportunity to challenge a language proficiency exam and earn 15 high school credits. Students must be proficient in the language they wish to challenge, as the exam is written at the Grade 12 (30-level).
Languages available for challenge include Spanish, French (3Y and 9Y), Arabic, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi, Cantonese, Japanese, Ukrainian, German, and Filipino.
Students interested in registering for a language challenge exam are asked to visit Ms. Irwin in Guidance to obtain a registration package or please print the registration package at the link below and return to Ms. Irwin.
French & International Languages Course Challenge Guide for Students and Family