Parent Gathering Event Survey

The GPA is exploring the idea of organizing a parent gathering event to help parents connect, socialize, and build community.

We invite you to complete a short 2-minute survey to share your thoughts. Your feedback will help us plan an event that works best for everyone.

CLICK HERE to complete the survey.

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) offers free, evidence-informed resources for parents and caregivers. Their expert speakers provide reliable information and practical strategies to support the development and mental health of children and youth.

• A variety of free parent education sessions are available from March to June, covering topics such as youth mental health, teen sleep, ADHD in girls, technology use, and building resilience.
• These sessions are led by experts and provide practical strategies to support children and teens’ well-being and development.
• Please register using the posters for each session.

09 Apr 2026 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Can We Talk: Sex Ed for Parents

23 Apr 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – The Effects of Screen Time and Social Media on Children’s Development & Mental Health

CES Current Sessions

Volunteer Opportunities

We’re looking for a Henry Wise Wood Site Representative!

If you enjoy staying involved and supporting the GATE community, this is a great way to contribute.
Interested? Email:info@gatecalgary.ca

GATE Parent Education Session & General Meeting

Date: Monday, March 2, 2026
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: Virtual

“Giftedness Beyond Grade Levels: Understanding Growth and Challenge in Schools”
Presented by Dr. Karen Rambo-Hernandez.
Professor and Fulbright Research Chair, University of Calgary.

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. *Click on the Poster/PDF icon below the correct session to register*

11 Feb 2026 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Youth Crime

17 Feb 2026 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Talking to Youth with Complex Needs About Sexuality

24 Feb 2026 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Mental Health & Youth

26 Feb 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – Navigating Technology with our Youth

09 Mar 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – Mental Health & Youth

10 Mar 2026 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Sleep Matters: Understanding and Supporting Teen Sleep

11 Mar 2026 | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Mental Health for Highly Sensitive Teens; Unique Struggles for Emotional Feelers

12 Mar 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – Growing Resilient Teens

18 Mar 2026 | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM – Unmasking ADHD in Girls: Insights, Strategies, and Next Steps

25 Mar 2026 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Community Drug Awareness

09 Apr 2026 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Can We Talk: Sex Ed for Parents

23 Apr 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – The Effects of Screen Time and Social Media on Children’s Development & Mental Health

Volunteer Opportunities

We’re looking for a Henry Wise Wood Site Representative!

If you enjoy staying involved and supporting the GATE community, this is a great way to contribute.
Interested? Email:info@gatecalgary.ca

Meet Your New GPA 2025-2027 Executive

The GPA held its Annual General Meeting on September 23, 2025. Elections are held every 2 years and this year was a voting year. Here are the election results:

Executive Positions:
President – Zahra Ansarizadeh
Vice-President – Faezeh Eshragh
Treasurer – Darrin Gallant
Secretary – Gangani Perera

Non Elected Positions:
Past-President – Stephanie Labowka
Parent Education Chair – Chris Peng
Social Media Administrator – Chetna Jaraim
Casino Coordinator – OPEN
Fundraising Coordinator- OPEN

Site Reps:
Louis Riel – Aisha Hammouda
Queen Elizabeth – Chris Peng
Hillhurst – Kristin Lalji
Henry Wise Wood – OPEN

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Stephanie Labowka. She has done a tremendous job as President over the last two years, transforming and modernizing the GPA. We are so grateful for her continued involvement as Past President. 

Thank you also to Sunita Chowdhury for her work over the last 4 years and for Jodi Staples for her work over the last year. 

Queen Elizabeth High School – Casino Volunteers 

Queen Elizabeth High School’s biggest fundraising opportunity – the volunteer casino – is coming up over Thanksgiving weekend. 

Sunday October 12 and Monday October 13, 2025 at Pure Casino Calgary – 1420 Meridian Road NE, Calgary  

If you are able to support, sign up here. 

NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED. Training will be provided when you arrive. Volunteers will receive a free meal and snacks during their shift. 

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. *Click on the Poster/PDF icon below the correct session to register*

Oct 6: Digital Dilemma: Screens, Social Media, and Gaming

Oct 7: Is Your Child Struggling at School? It May be Time for a Psychoeducational Assessment

Oct 8: Level Up: Exploring the Impact of Gaming and Tech on Adolescent Learning and Cognition

Oct 15: Mental Health & Youth

Oct 20: Cyber Safety

Oct 21: ADHD is Awesome!

Oct 22: Executive Functioning: Essentials for Parents

Oct 22: Vaping: What’s Really Going On?

Oct 29: Stressed but Strong, Anxious but Awesome: Understanding your child’s worries through a strength-based lens

Oct 30: Navigating the Pressure to Perform: Benefits of Well-being Centered Identity Development for Children and Teens

DID YOU KNOW you can access pre-recorded sessions for free HERE.
ALSO CHECK OUT resources available through Mental Health Literacy HERE.

Call For Volunteers to Audit GPA Financial Statements

We need two volunteers to assist with our annual internal audit process. This involves reviewing our two financial statements and the spreadsheet behind them, asking questions if necessary, then signing the statements and an audit letter.

The time commitment is 2-4 hours and the review will be done between July 21 and August 8. You do not need to be an accountant! If you are able to help, please email at info@gatecalgary.ca.

Thank You Casino Volunteers! 

The March 2025 Casino raised $82,995 for GATE students! These funds will go towards field trips, classroom supports, science and math supplies, artist residences, and technology for our GATE students.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who volunteered your time at the Casino fundraiser.

MENSA Canada Annual Gathering

The MENSA Canada Annual Gathering is happening August 8–10, 2025, in Calgary at the Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Hotel.

You can learn more about the Youth program at the event website.

Parent Education Session – Thursday May 22 at 7:00pm

Supporting the Social & Emotional Health of Gifted Students

Gifted students often face unique emotional and social challenges, such as heightened sensitivity, perfectionism, and isolation. In this presentation, Ley-Anne Folks and Heather Lai from Westmount Charter School will discuss ways to support their well-being, which involves creating a safe, understanding environment, promoting peer connections, and providing access to mental health resources. 
 
General Meeting
Immediately following the presentation, we will hold a short GATE Parent Association General Meeting. If you have a student registered in GATE for this current school year, you are a member of the GPA.
 
Date: Thursday May 22, 2025
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: Virtual meeting (Zoom)
 
REGISTER by May 20, 2025.
Non-GATE parents are welcome to attend this session.

VOLUNTEER WITH THE GPA

Do you take an active role in your gifted child’s learning? Are you interested in supporting the GATE program and advocating for gifted learning? 

The GPA offers a chance to connect with other GATE parents and make an impact in the lives of GATE students. Consider taking on a role in the fall!

You can learn more about the different roles on the GATE Parent Association website or email us at info@gatecalgary.ca for more information.

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. *Click on the Poster/PDF icon below the correct session to register* You can access pre-recorded sessions for free HERE.

May 5, 2025: How does Puberty Affect the Brain
This presentation will address: 
• Changes in thoughts and feelings that occur at puberty.
• How these changes are triggered in the brain.
• Implications of these changes on children’s public and private behavior.

May 6, 2025: Navigating Technology with our Youth
The message of this presentation is not only based on technology, but also about a child’s healthy brain development and the necessary parenting/caregiver role in creating healthy, emotional, regulated, and integrated brains. This presentation will address the underpinning of a child’s emotional brain development and how to grow it, as well as how technology can dangerously hijack this. The presentation is facilitated by a therapist from Juno House who has years of both clinical and facilitating experience. 

This workshop is designed to give attendees the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• An understanding of the basic neuroscience behind healthy brain development,
• The dangers of technology for healthy brain development,
• Technology use rules that will help your child
• When building healthy brains, how to identify emotions in your child/student, and
• How to become your child’s/student’s emotional coach in only five steps and in that, build a resilient child.

May 14, 2025: Stress Management for Children and Youth
This presentation will address: 
– Signs of stress and how to recognize them
– Support for kids and teens in stress management
– Stress sources and levels
– How stress affects our body and mental health

In case you missed it, guest Speaker Dr. Matthew Makel presented on the “Goals of Gifted Education”. Dr. Makel is Professor and Research Chair in High Abilities Studies in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on academic talent development and open science research methods.

Dr. Makel provided many insights on gifted education. He encouraged parents to consider what the student and family are trying to get out of gifted education. Building problem solving skills? Exceling in areas of personal interest? Academic achievement? Leadership skills? He outlined 3 distinct paradigms for viewing the goals of gifted education and shared numerous ways for better understanding the uniqueness of each gifted learner. 

His presentation analyzed the historical outcomes of different approaches to gifted learning, including acceleration, inter-class ability grouping, and in-class differentiation. He noted that some schools tend to focus on “differentiating up” versus “differentiating down”, meaning that resources are targeted towards students who are struggling and fewer resources are dedicated to those who are gifted. He provided insights into the various benefits of a learning environment focused on gifted learning.

You can watch a recording of Dr. Makel’s presentation on the GPA website.

VOLUNTEER WITH THE GPA

The GPA is a great way to engage with your child’s education on GATE-specific matters! We will need new volunteers in the 2025/26 school year. Come volunteer now and consider joining the GPA executive next school year. Elections will take place at the September 2025 AGM. 

We are currently looking for volunteers to fill the following roles: 

• Site representatives for Louis Riel and Henry Wise Wood Schools. This involves attending school council meetings and GPA meetings and sharing school updates between the two
• General Fundraising Chair
• Parent Education Chair

Email us at info@gatecalgary.ca for more information.

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. *Click on the Poster/PDF icon below the correct session to register*

April 1, 2025: Navigating Children’s Mental Health in Calgary and Area

This presentation will discuss:
• Different programs Access Mental Health can refer to and the most common community resources parents can find helpful.
• Access Mental Health and their centralized intake to AHS and Recovery Alberta programs. What to expect when calling for help and how to access services.
• Early warning signs your child and or adolescent may be struggling with their mental health and when to seek help.
• Common questions parents have about accessing mental health and addiction supports for their child.

April 7, 2025: Parent Guilt
This presentation will:
• Define the experience of parent guilt according to research.
• Understand the risk and protective factors that influence the experience of parent guilt according to research
• Learn practical strategies to help address parent guilt.

April 17, 2025: Building Resiliency in Today’s Youth
Before High School graduation, one-third of adolescent girls will experience depression, anxiety disorders, self-harm or an eating disorder. However, there is an incredible power in caregivers who can support our youth, both young women and men, before they seek therapy.

This workshop is designed to give caregivers the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• Basic introduction of interpersonal neurobiology,
• Where emotions live in our brains,
• The essential role emotions play in mental well being,
• How to identify emotions in youth,
• How to become an emotional coach in only five steps.

DID YOU KNOW you can access pre-recorded sessions for free HERE.
ALSO CHECK OUT resources available through Mental Health Literacy HERE.

Parent Education Session – Monday March 3 at 7:00pm

Goals of Gifted Education
There can be many goals of gifted education. In this talk, Dr. Matthew Makel will provide example goals that have been established by the gifted education field, while also providing context for how parents can assess whether their own goals are being met by the services that their children receive. Dr. Makel is Professor and Chair in High Ability Studies at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, and a Child Health & Wellness Researcher at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute.  
 
General Meeting
Immediately following the presentation, we will hold a short GATE Parent Association General Meeting. If you have a student registered in GATE for this current school year, you are a member of the GPA.
 
Date: Monday March 3, 2025
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: Virtual meeting (Zoom)
 
REGISTER HERE by February 28, 2025.
Non-GATE parents are welcome to attend this session.

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. *Click on the Poster/PDF icon below the correct session to register* You can access pre-recorded sessions for free HERE.

February 24, 2025: Managing Challenging Behaviours
Everyone has intense emotions, the trick is being able to navigate them.
Through this presentation you will learn about the crisis cycle and how to intervene at a different moment to reduce the risk of an intense emotional outburst. You can use these strategies with anyone in your life, despite their age.

March 4, 2025: Navigating Technology with our Youth
The message of this presentation is not only based on technology, but also about a child’s healthy brain development and the necessary parenting/caregiver role in creating healthy, emotional, regulated, and integrated brains. This presentation will address the underpinning of a child’s emotional brain development and how to grow it, as well as how technology can dangerously hijack this. The presentation is facilitated by a therapist from Juno House who has years of both clinical and facilitating experience. 

This workshop is designed to give attendees the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• An understanding of the basic neuroscience behind healthy brain development,
• The dangers of technology for healthy brain development,
• Technology use rules that will help your child
• When building healthy brains, how to identify emotions in your child/student, and
• How to become your child’s/student’s emotional coach in only five steps and in that, build a resilient child.

The Arnica Foundation is offering the following sessions for parents and families:

April 8 and 9, 2025: The Power of Showing Up: Clinical Application of Interpersonal Neurobiology, and
Supporting Parents of Teens with the Brain in Mind

In this two day workshop, Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel Siegel will look at what the science says about the best predictors for how kids and teens develop, and how clinicians can work with parents in to cultivate secure attachment, and responding to challenges.

The GPA Casino Fundraising Event is coming up on March 6 and 7, 2025 at Pure Casino (1420 Meridian Rd NE). We are in particular need of volunteers on the evening of Thursday March 6, as well as in the count room on both nights.

This casino event is expected to raise approximately $70,000 for GATE students! These funds are vital to be able to provide our students with curriculum enhancement opportunities such as: science equipment, technology, field trips, drama and music workshops, classroom literacy materials and math resources. Without these funds, each experience would be an additional cost to parents, or not take place at all.

Training for each position is provided on-the spot and no special skills are required. It is also a nice way to meet other GATE parents and hear about student experiences in other grades/schools.

Stars For Scholarly Youth are offering their mentorship program to GATE students. This is SSY’s fifth year running this program with GATE students. We have received great feedback from our previous mentees and many have had the chance to make informed decisions about their post-secondary careers. 

This program aims to prepare students for better integration into post-secondary life in the future. Mentees are paired up with a postsecondary student Mentor. The students meet a minimum of once a month online or in-person to discuss University, career aspirations, useful resources, and purpose. The mentor is responsible for engaging the mentee in these conversations (mentees are likely to be shy), but conversation topics and some resources will be provided. 

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS
The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required.

February 4, 2025: Healthy Relationships
This is an interactive workshop to learn how to navigate those sometimes awkward but essential conversations that foster well-being, healthy relationships and informed decision-making. We empower parents with knowledge, skills and confidence to engage in open, honest and supportive conversations about sexuality and sexual health with their children.

In this workshop, we will describe and explore healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationship patterns. We will learn about effective communication and practice discussing topics related to romantic/intimate relationships in ways that are grounded in your values. February 6, 2025: ADHD and Executive Functioning
The session will provide an overview of ADHD and how issues with impulsivity and/or inattention impact children’s ability to manage their environments. The session will also explore the impact ADHD has on Executive Functioning and how it relates to managing everyday tasks, and meeting daily expectations at home and at school, including social, emotional, behavioural, and academic demands.

February 24, 2025: Managing Challenging Behaviours
Everyone has intense emotions, the trick is being able to navigate them.
Through this presentation you will learn about the crisis cycle and how to intervene at a different moment to reduce the risk of an intense emotional outburst. You can use these strategies with anyone in your life, despite their age.

March 4, 2025: Navigating Technology with our Youth
The message of this presentation is not only based on technology, but also about a child’s healthy brain development and the necessary parenting/caregiver role in creating healthy, emotional, regulated, and integrated brains. This presentation will address the underpinning of a child’s emotional brain development and how to grow it, as well as how technology can dangerously hijack this. The presentation is facilitated by a therapist from Juno House who has years of both clinical and facilitating experience. 

This workshop is designed to give attendees the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:

• An understanding of the basic neuroscience behind healthy brain development,
• The dangers of technology for healthy brain development,
• Technology use rules that will help your child
• When building healthy brains, how to identify emotions in your child/student, and
• How to become your child’s/student’s emotional coach in only five steps and in that, build a resilient child.

DID YOU KNOW you can access pre-recorded sessions for free HERE.

ALSO CHECK OUT resources available through Mental Health Literacy HERE.

Reminder: AGM – Monday September 23, 2024

The Annual General Meeting for the GATE Parent Association will be held on Monday September 23, 2024 starting at 7:00 pm. We will be discussing the work of the GPA in prior years, discussing goals for the upcoming year, and presenting our audited financials for the previous year. As two of our board members are unable to continue on in their roles due to their children leaving GATE, we will also be appointing a new Vice President and Treasurer to take over for the second year of the two year term. The appointees are GATE parents who answered our call in the Spring and have been shadowing current Executive members since then.

Our bylaws require that you provide the following information in order to vote at the meeting:

• Full legal name
• Name of your student(s) attending the GATE program
• Name of the school your student is attending
• Grade of the student
• Home Address

You will be asked to provide this information during registration for the meeting, as well as your email address so we can send you the meeting link. It will be held online via Zoom and a link will be sent to all registered attendees prior to the meeting.

Register HERE for the Meeting

Minutes from the last AGM will be approved at the start of the meeting.  You can review our last AGM minutes here.

UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS

The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. *Click on the Poster/PDF icon below the correct session to register*

September 23, 2024: Cross Cultural Parenting Program – Session 1 

10:00 AM – Noon, provided by Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA)

Participants will learn:
• Challenges of parenting in a new country and culture
• Social and institutional pressures
• Norms, values and laws in Canada with a focus on supervision and child abuse laws

September 24, 2024: ADHD Essentials for Parents
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours, or over-activity. There are three different types of ADHD, depending on which symptoms are strongest in the individual, and each of these subtypes may impact children differently. Neurological deficits, not unwillingness, keep kids with attention deficit disorder from learning and behaving in expected ways. Adults are key in setting these students on a path to success! In this session, we will discuss ADHD diagnosis, the ADHD brain, ADHD as a disorder of Executive Functioning, treatment, and setting kids up for success.

September 26, 2024: Navigating Technology with our Youth
The message of this presentation is not only based on technology, but also about a child’s healthy brain development and the necessary parenting/caregiver role in creating healthy, emotional, regulated, and integrated brains. This presentation will address the underpinning of a child’s emotional brain development and how to grow it, as well as how technology can dangerously hijack this.

We believe that talking does not grow neurons; experience grows neurons. This workshop is designed to give attendees the skills to become their child’s emotional coach. The workshop will provide participants with:
• An understanding of the basic neuroscience behind healthy brain development,
• The dangers of technology for healthy brain development,
• Technology use rules that will help your child
• When building healthy brains, how to identify emotions in your child/student, and
• How to become your child’s/student’s emotional coach in only five steps and in that, build a resilient child.

The presentation is facilitated by a therapist from Juno House who has years of both clinical and facilitating experience. Juno House was founded in 2008 as a Centre of Excellence for adolescent girls and young women who are experiencing anxiety-based mental health issues of self harm, obsessive compulsive disorders, depression and eating disorders.

DID YOU KNOW you can access pre-recorded sessions for free HERE.

ALSO CHECK OUT resources available through Mental Health Literacy HERE.

 The Calgary Catholic School District recently announced it will no longer be accepting students into its gifted education program. This has been reported in the news and has been attributed to lack of funding for specialized programs.

We have received inquiries from CBE parents with concerns that this may be a trend. GATE program funding within the CBE has been approved for the upcoming school year, but the CBE is also seeing a large increase in student numbers that will continue to necessitate making decisions on priorities. Interested parents may wish to proactively reach out to their MLA to communicate the important role of the GATE program and advocate for their students.

Gary Perfect, GATE learning leader at Queen Elizabeth High School, gave us a fascinating and insightful look at GATE student work. (November 2023)

Chris Radu, Director of Inclusive Education at the CBE, shared information about the GATE program and held a Q&A with parents. (March 2024)

Dr. Ana Pardo, specialist in diversity, inclusion and equity, shared information and advice for students requiring accommodation in their transition to post-secondary education. (April 2024)

Volunteers Still Needed! 

CONGRATULATIONS TO GATE GRADUATES! 

Congratulations to all students graduating this year! If your student is leaving the GATE program, you may wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list.

WELCOME NEW GATE STUDENTS! 

If you know someone who is new to the GATE program, invite them to subscribe to the GPA mailing list.