Important Dates

• Veterans’ Food Bank Donations needed – November 14-21
• IB Information Night – November 20
• Parent-Teacher Conferences Online – November 28
• Photo Retakes – December 3
• Jostens Grad Rings– Dec 1 & 2

IB Information Evening for Grade 9 Students and Guardians: November 20, 2025

Doors open at 5:45 PM

Presentation at 6:00 – 7:30 PM

Join us in our school’s Learning Commons and meet with our current Grade 11 and 12 IB students. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about their experiences in our program. The Chinese Academy will also be available for information about Chinese IB courses and other programs available with their school.

 From 6:00 – 7:00

Meet our IB Coordinator in the Learning Commons. Learn about the International Baccalaureate Program, it’s benefits and what it looks like at Diefenbaker High School.

Can’t make it on November 20? This presentation will be repeated at our school’s Open House in January. Please watch our school’s website for more information on timing for that presentation.

Not sure of your designated IB School?

Check out CBE’s Find a School page.

Questions

Please contact our IB Coordinator Tamara Ulanicki at tjulanicki@cbe.ab.ca

Parent-Teacher Conferences - Virtual

Student Progress Conferences are being held on Friday, November 28 virtually from 8:00AM – 4:00 PM. Parents can sign up for one 10-minute meeting with each of your students’ teachers through MyCBE starting November 17 at 8:00AM.

School Fees

Please log in to MyCBE in order pay all school fees (Course Fees, Field Trip, Goods/Service and Yearbook etc.) or come to the Business Office to pay directly.

School Council

Your voice as a parent/guardian is an important part of our school community. This is your invitation to share your thoughts, ideas, and feedback directly to the Principal, Jason Arrell.

Next School Council meeting is November 18 at 6pm.

Please use the following FIXED link to confirm your attendance School Council Meeting. Attendance and Questions.  November 18. 6pm – Fill out form

Student ID Cards

All students must have a Diefenbaker student ID card. If you do not have one, please see Ms. Richards in the Library/Learning Commons to get your photo taken. Replacement cards are $5.00, payable at the Business Office.

Casino Fundraiser

JGD Chiefs’ Parent Association is urgently looking for volunteers for our upcoming casino fundraiser in less than a month on November 21 & 22, 2025. This will take place at Ace Casino Airport at 40 Aero Crescent NE, Calgary, AB. For Friday we need 3 positions and 5 on call backups filled, and Saturday we need 10 positions and 3 on call backups filled.

This fundraiser is one of our major sources of funding to help the school pay for such things as sporting equipment, arts supplies, IB resources, computers, and so much more! It is very important that we fill all positions, including backup positions, to ensure that the Casino can run their tables those days and we don't lose our opportunity to fundraise like this in the future.  No previous experience is required, and training for each position will be provided on-site. Meals and snacks will be provided for volunteers during their shift as well. Reimbursement for transportation can also be arranged, if required. Come out and meet other parents as part of this great volunteering opportunity! 

Please follow the link to sign up and get more information about the timing of various shifts and the various roles to be filled (Banker, Cashier, Chip Runner, Count room, etc.).

JGD Chiefs Parent Association: JGD Chiefs Casino Fundraiser

Please feel free to forward this link to family/friends.  
Thank you for supporting our students! All proceeds from the casino will benefit your young adults at John G. Diefenbaker High School!

School Engage (Demographic Verification and Annual Authorization required)

Student Demographic Verification is required annually. If you have not verified your demographic information for the 2025-26 school year, please log in to your SchoolEngage account and verify your student’s information. Technical support/instructions are available here.

Annual authorizations requiring parental consent are also required for the 2025-26 school year.

These are:

• CBE Use of Student Information: outlines instances when we would like to share student information publicly in our day-to-day work.
• Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups (Third Party): provides information pertaining to including students in media events where images may be recorded and used by the third party.

OurSCHOOL Student Survey Administration

Diefenbaker will be participating in an online school perception survey for students called the OurSCHOOL Student Survey. This anonymous survey is completely voluntary for all CBE students.  Please find the details of the survey implementation below. 

CBE’s Education Plan prioritizes student voice and well-being in our decision-making processes.  Responses from this survey are used at the system and school level to recognize and improve what is necessary for students to feel safe, welcome, and cared for when at school.

Grades 4-12 students provide feedback on:

• sense of belonging
• positive relationships
• anxiety
• feeling safe at school
• life satisfaction
• general health
• orientation to well-being
• goal-oriented
• self-regulation
• cultural awareness of others

Additionally, Grades 6-12 students provide feedback on:

• depression
• self-esteem
• cultural awareness of self

Demographic questions are also asked on this survey for norming purposes. These are:

Grades 4-12 general

• age, gender, Indigenous status, immigrant status, home language.

Grades 6-12 specific

• grade repeater, reasons for changing schools, disability or medical conditions that limits participation in school activities or learning.

At Diefenbaker, our OurSCHOOL Student Survey administration plan is as follows:

• Who: All students (Grades 10-12)
• When: November 18th 
• Where: During Period 3 classes.

Any students who do not have a personal mobile device will be directed to the Humanities Open Area to use a computer.

If you have questions or would like to request more information about Diefenbaker’s upcoming implementation of the OurSCHOOL Student Survey, please contact Ryan Hurley, Assistant Principal at rjhurley@cbe.ab.ca

Basketball Tryouts

The Calgary high school basketball season begins next week with morning workouts and evaluations. Any interested athletes should attend workouts with appropriate gym attire and a water bottle. Please note that any football or volleyball athletes still competing in playoffs will not be permitted to participate until their season has been completed to avoid over-training and/or injury. Coaches are aware that some multi-sport athletes will not be able to attend the first few workouts.

• Monday November 17 - All Boys 7:15 AM Main Gym
• Tuesday November 18 - All Girls 7:15 AM Main Gym
• Wednesday November 19 - All Boys 7:15 AM Main Gym
• Thursday November 20 - All Girls 7:15 AM Main Gym
• Friday November 21 - All Boys 7:15 AM Main and East Gym (Split)
• Friday November 21 - All Girls 3:00-4:30 PM Main and East Gym (Split)

Please forward any questions to our Athletic Director, Matthew Kerslake - mrkerslake@cbe.ab.ca

Athletics & Events Schedule

Jostens’ Grad Rings

On Monday, December 1 and Tuesday December 2, Jostens will be set up in the Mall area for our Grade 12 students to come, see and reserve their Diefenbaker Grad 2026 ring.  Please mark in your calendar.

Indigenous Student Post-Secondary Recruitment Fair

​In friendship with the Post Secondary Indigenous Recruitment Association of Alberta (PIRAA), the Indigenous Education Teams from the CBE and Calgary Catholic School Division are hosting an Indigenous Student Post-Secondary Recruitment Fair on Thursday, Nov. 27 from 4:30 - 7 p.m. at Our Lady​ of the Rockies High School.

This event is open to Indigenous students currently in high school in Calgary and area. Students and families will have the opportunity to visit with post-secondary representatives from across Alberta sharing their programs and information specific to Indigenous students.

Apply Now for Semester 2!

Unique Pathways and Dual Credit Programs in Semester 2 are now open for applications! Application deadline is November 21.

Unique Pathways & Off-campus Education

We collaborate with post-secondary institutions, industry partners and community organizations to offer a wide-range of unique opportuni​ties for students. These range from practical, hands-on learning experiences in Exploratory programs to Dual Credit courses and programs that allow students to participate in post-secondary learning with the support of a supervising CBE teacher. These programs allow students to complete high school their own way, and set students up for future success by easing the transition to post-secondary learning and/or the workplace.

No tuition fee for CBE students participating in our Unique Pathways programs.​​​

More information: CBE - Unique Pathways & Off-campus Education