Oki, Tansi, Umba-wathtich, Danita ada, Aanii, Hello PFS Families and Caregivers, 

Construction will begin this week on Wednesday (October 9) on the Sandstone Stairwell at the PFS Main Front Entrance; therefore, our bus drop off will move to the east end of the school. Student pickup at the end of the day will move to the gym and east grass area. A fence will be put up around the construction site. The project will run from October 9 to November 2024. The entry door for the bus students, will be through the back door that students take out for recess. Students who arrive late will enter through the Colonel Walker School doors and be greeted in that office by Mira. Mira will be situated in the CWS office for the duration of the project. There will be approximately 25 stones replaced during the construction phase 

If you have not yet completed your demographic forms, or completed updates in your MyCBE Parent Account, these items are now past due. If you require support with these documents, please contact the office for assistance.  

Thank you for your patience with continuing adjustments and changes to bus pick-up and drop-off times. As more students are added to routes there are sometimes additional stops added, this in turn affects route timing. PFS is working closely with CBE Transportation to monitor route timing and reliability; we are hopeful that the reliability and consistency of transportation will continue to improve. Please remember to check your email for communication from CBE Transportation for information about updates to your child’s bus stop pick-up and drop-off times.  

It is important that we approach transportation as a team—home, school, drivers—committed to ensuring that all students have access to reliable and consistent transportation to and from school, this includes safety for all students while riding the bus. Several reports have come from parents, students, and drivers about student conduct on the buses that is neither safe nor expected. Please review the following safety rules with your own child to ensure that they are hearing the same message from home, school, and the bus drivers: 

• Be respectful of yourself and others—all students play a part in maintaining a safe environment on the bus for themselves, each other, the bus driver, and surrounding vehicles,  
• Stay seated in assigned seats at all times when the bus is moving, 
• No screaming or yelling on the bus—this is both a distraction for drivers and makes the ride chaotic and uncomfortable for all passengers, 
• Keep your hands to yourself, 
• No eating on the bus—this is both a choking hazard and creates a dangerous environment for some of our young students with life-threatening allergies, 
• Keep all parts of your body in the bus at all times—students are not to be standing and putting their hands, arms, torsos out of the windows, 
• Be respectful of the bus—do not leave garbage on the bus, do not cause intentional damage on the bus (drawing on seats/walls/windows, cutting seats, leaving food and wrappers on the floor, etc.), 
• Listen to the bus driver. 

Recognizing that there are times where busing does not proceed as ideally planned and that frustrations may arise, there are specific procedures and protocols in place for issues related to busing and transportation. The expectation is that parents/caregivers remain respectful in all forms of communication with Drivers, Bus Company Dispatch Operators, CBE Transportation Staff, and the PFS School Staff. Please remember that everyone is doing the best they can and working towards busing being reliable, consistent, and safe for all students. If you have a concern that pertains to transportation, please follow the procedures as laid out: 

Transportation Concerns and Issues:  

If you need to report a concern, please follow this procedure: 

1. Driver Concern: Contact the Bus Company (phone numbers below) 
2. Route Timing or Delays: Contact CBE Transportation, transportation@cbe.ab.ca 
3. Student Conduct or Behaviour on the Bus: Call the School 

Hand to Heart,  

Crystal Good Rider and Shauna Penner 

Principal & Assistant Principal