School Message
Good Afternoon to our Western families,
As we're now into June, and coming to the end of our school year, we want to acknowledge our students and the various celebrations that have taken place - graduation, academic awards, athletic awards (Night of the Redhawk), Honours Society, and French Immersion certificates. We know that, collectively, our students are dedicated to their studies, and this shows up in a number of formal and informal ways at the school - especially at this time of year. While It can be easy to fixate on a particular mark, at times, there is so much more that goes into being a great student, and we appreciate that our students have represented Western so well, whether finishing grade 10 or 11, or about to graduate.
Related to that, we want to recognize our city champions in our spring sports - Jr Boys' Soccer, Sr Girls' Field Hockey, Girls Rugby (off to provincials). We also want to recognize Tryne M and Jacob B, representing Western Canada High School this week at the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association Regatta (Nationals for High Schools) in St. Catharines, Ontario. While we haven't heard their results yet, they are wearing Western attire and representing the Redhawks with pride, racing in the single and mixed double events.
Finally, Thoren Land Vivian K participated in the Canadian Gymnastic Championships last week. Thoren medaled in two events, and Vivian competed in a new skill that is now named after her. Congratulations!
A quick reminder regarding next week's schedule for students:
MONDAY
- Pl class in the morning, P2 class after lunch (except for students writing the FLA diploma)
TUESDAY
- P3 class in the morning, P4 class after lunch (except for students writing the FLA diploma)
WEDNESDAY ONWARD
- Diplomas and final exams, opportunities for credit recovery arranged between students and teachers
Thank you,
Darrin Whitbread, Principal | Western Canada High SchoolUpcoming Dates
Student Spotlight
Congratulations to Eirena W and Jasmine W for their incredible performance at Canadian Debate Nationals!
A huge congratulations are in order for these two wonderful debaters. They attended Sr Debate Nationals on May 22-24th and made it all the way to the finals and came away as silver medalists. It is one of the strongest results for AB debate in many years, and especially impressive as they are still in Grade 10.
Following the nationals, they both attended the Team Canada National Team tryouts, and both students have earned one of the twelve prestigious spots on this team. This means that Western has had a member on this team for the last four consecutive years, a feat that has not been achieved by any other public school across Canada!
Congratulations to Allen G-L and Luotong S for their success at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.
Their project received the following awards.
Excellence Awards - Excellence Awards recognize outstanding STEM achievement in each grade category. These medals represent a significant accomplishment among Canada's brightest young minds.
- Gold Medal (Awarded to the 10 highest-scoring projects in each grade category)
Grand Awards - Represent the pinnacle of achievement at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, recognizing projects that demonstrate exceptional innovation, scientific rigour, and the potential to create meaningful change in our world. These prestigious awards highlight the very best young scientific minds in Canada.
- Youth Can Innovate Awards - For each grade category, recognizing exceptionally innovative and original STEM projects that demonstrate a practical application in advancing the economic, medical, social, or environmental well-being of society.
- $1000 for Top 8 Project in Senior Category + $7000 for Top 4 / You Can Innovate Award.
Check out their project here.
You can also find their interview with CBC here.
Winning big at City’s for Architectural Design!
2025/2026
Every year, Western’s Design Intermediate and Advanced students participate in the BILD Calgary (bildcr.com/) High School design competition. Students spend about 30 classes developing architectural solutions to meet a client’s needs. The competition allows participants to put into practice principles of architecture, interior, and landscaping design. Through this real-world experience, students explore potential post-secondary education options. They also had an opportunity to meet and get feedback from industry experts.
This year, 193 design students from across Calgary competed in BILD's 54th annual competition, with 26 students from Western submitting to the intermediate level and 12 to the Advanced. The judges were very impressed with the level of creativity, functionality, and professionalism of all our students’ submissions. This shows in the number of awards Western won again this year. Special congratulations go to Mathew S. for receiving the top award in the competition. Below are the standings for Western students.
Intermediate level
- 2nd place – Jordan N. and awarded $400
- Honourable Mention – Troy A.
Advanced level
- 1st place – Mathew S. and awarded $1500
- 3rd place – Emilie N. and awarded $850
- 4th place – Aubin G. and awarded $650
- Honourable Mention – Demetrios N.
- Honourable Mention – Roman P.
- Honourable Mention – Stephanie P.
- Honourable Mention – Venkat G.
Please congratulate these students on their amazing design work. All the hours they have invested have paid off.
Images from the students’ submissions will be posted to the school website shortly.
Updates
IB Exam Results
Official IB results are published on July 6th at 10 am. Students who did not receive their personal code and PIN from Ms. Rivers should email her before the end of June so that they can log in to check their results over the summer. Anyone having trouble checking their results should also email Ms. Rivers: serivers@cbe.ab.ca
IB Exam Registration for Next Year
Students entering Grade 11 or Grade 12 who are writing official IB exams next year can follow the link below to fill out which exams they are taking in May of 2027.
https://forms.gle/wZqjyNoqzKR7uHdZ7
IB Transcript Requests (Free)
Grade 12 students who wish to have their official IB transcript sent to universities in July should email Ms. Rivers with the name(s) of the institution(s) before the end of June. If you have already emailed, you should have gotten an email confirmation from Ms. Rivers (please email again if you have not had a response). You must have written IB exams (or done the official IB Art / IB Music) in order to request the transcript. Anyone not requesting one from Ms. Rivers can order their own directly from IB for $18USD per institution after results are issued on July 6th.
IPP's
Individual Program Plans (IPPs) will be handed out to IPP students on June 8th & 9th by their classroom teacher. If your student is not in attendance on June 8th and 9th, please ensure that they stop by the office to pick up their IPP during exam break. Please sign the 4th (Final) review section, and return the signature page to the main office or to jadixon@cbe.ab.ca.
Student Services
2026/2027 Course Requests:
As we are fast approaching the end of the school year, we encourage grade 10 and 11 students to review their course selection for the 2026-2027 school year in PowerSchool. If they need any changes to their course selection, students should connect with their counsellor in person (through drop-ins) before June 9th. This is for course selection only. The schedule will be available by the 3rd week of August, at which point students can fill out an online form for adjustments. This will be directly communicated to families in August.
Summer School Confirmation:
Students who registered for summer school classes can expect to receive confirmation emails from CBE-Learn the first week of June.
Summer School Withdrawals:
Any student who registered for a CBE Summer School course and no longer wishes to take the course must meet with their counselor in Student Services by June 25 to withdraw from the course.
To complete the withdrawal process, a parent or guardian must also email the student’s assigned counselor requesting withdrawal from the course.
GRADitude Project
June Exam Schedule
June’s exam schedule has been finalized and is available on Western’s website. It can be found under the tab Teaching & Learning, then Exam Schedule.
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.
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!
Independent Student Form
Age 18 is the legal age of majority in Alberta, which affects the rights of parents/guardians of students who reach the majority to receive certain information from The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and CBE schools concerning that student.
When a student reaches the majority, he/she/they become an “Independent Student” under the School Act. Alberta's Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) prevents the CBE from disclosing personal information concerning an Independent Student to any persons (other than that individual), including to the parent/guardian, unless the individual consents in writing. Without such written consent being received by the CBE from the Independent Student, CBE is not able to share personal information with the parent/guardian concerning the Independent Student. Such information includes, but is not limited to, attendance records, parent/teacher conferences, field trips, suspensions, report cards, and similar matters.
The required consent form is emailed to students in advance of them turning 18. Students may also obtain a copy of the form from the main office.
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.
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.
Grad Fees – Now Due
Grad fees this year are $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 we ask ALL outstanding fees, from current and previous years, be paid in full prior to the end of the year. 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 MyCBE account and are available from the start of the school year until June 30. Please check out more information here.