Newsletter - Edmonton Catholic Schools

7814 - 83 Street Edmonton, AB. T6C 2Y8
Phone: (780) 466-1247 Fax: (780) 465-5979
Administration Message
May 2016
at a Glance
•
School Closing Celebration
•
2016 - 2017 Registrations
•
Best Conference
•
Hot Lunch
•
School Activities
•
Transportation
•
Year Book Contest
•
Superintendent’s Message
•
Archbishop’s Message
Dear Parents,
As we enter the last two months of school, we have many significant events. On May 3rd we will be hosting a breakfast from 7:00 to
10:00 a.m. to say thank you for all the amazing work our parent
volunteers do to support learning in our school. The grade 3 and 4
students will be attending swimming lessons at Bonnie Doon Leisure
Centre for 4 days in May. In addition our Grade 6 students will be
attending Camp Encounter for two days. We will be holding our last
Terrific Kids Assembly on May 18th. Students will be recognized for
showing “Hospitality”; being friendly, welcoming, and respectful to
all.
On May 11th we will be hosting a “St. James School Closing
Celebration”. This momentous occasion is an opportunity to
celebrate all past and present students and staff who have been
part of the St. James Family community since it’s opening in 1953.
We invite everyone to join us from 5-7pm. Please RSVP to the
school if you are coming.
Motherhood is more than a stage, it’s a lifelong calling from God.
With it He gives us hearts that love deeply, hands that serve
tirelessly, and vision to see His blossoming image in the precious ones entrusted to
our care. Author Unknown
School Council Meeting
Please join us!
May 18th, 2016
6:00 pm
Next Newsletter
May 30th, 2016
Thank you to everyone who makes St. James such an amazing
place!
Sincerely,
Lori Lundeen
Acting Principal
A Prayer to Share
Thank you mom, for all the love you give to me. I love the hugs and kisses, I love
the food you make, I love the games you play with me, I love when you read to
me, I love all the cuddles, I love when you li me up and make me feel like everything is ok. I love you so much. Thank you God for giving my mom to me.
Amen
Mrs. Jatani’s Kindergarten class
Principal: Mr. Dale Astill
Assistant Principals: Mrs. Lori Lundeen
Administrative Assistant:: Mrs. Annette Abbenhuis
Web
We
b Site: www.stjames.ecsd.net
St. James School
Closing Celebration
Provincial Achievement Exams
It’s hard to imagine, but soon our Grade 6 students
will be writing their Provincial Achievement Exams.
Our School closing celebration will take place on
All Provincial Achievement Exams will be starting
Wednesday, May 11th. We will start with formal
presentations in the gym at 5:00 p.m. and from 5:30 at 9:00 a.m. Students in Grades 6 will be writing
practice exams on paper and on computer in the
- 7:00 p.m. we will have a “Walk of Nostalgia
throughout the school. We invite everyone to come next few weeks in preparation. Please remind your
and sign our “Memory Tree” canvas. Please RSVP to child to do his/her best to prepare for all tests, to
get plenty of rest and to eat a healthy breakfast
Mrs. Lundeen or Mrs. Abbenhuis by May 2nd.
before each testing day. For further information
I
regarding provincial testing visit:
www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/testing/achievement or con2016 - 2017 Registrations
tact your child’s teacher. The testing schedule is on
the attached school calendar for your convenience.
We are accepting registrations for the 2016 - 2017
St. Brendan school registrations. Kindergarten
students must be 5 years of age on or before March
Yellow Bus Transportation to
1st, 2017 to register for Kindergarten. 100 Voices is
St. Brendan School
a pre-Kindergarten program for children who will be
turning 3 before October 1, 2016 or 4yrs before
2016 - 2017 BUS PASS FEES
March 1, 2017.
Family
GRADES
Regular
Rate
Wellness Day: Pray, Eat and Move III
Kindergarten
On Wednesday, May 25, 2016, St. James will be
hosting our third annual Wellness Day. It is a day
whereby presenters will be providing sessions in Religion, art, dance, yoga, and game playing. Students
will be making their own lunches that day. Please
send their lunch kit and a juice. Healthy bread
meat, and an assortment of vegetables and fruits
will be offered. Some say this is the best part of the
day. Thank you to the Parent Council for providing
and preparing the food for the day.
Plan
Replace-
(families of ment Cost
3 or more)
Free
n/a
Free
Elementary (Yellow )
$32.00
$28.00
$5.00
Elementary (ETS)
$32.00
$28.00
$71.00
$320.00
$280.00
$5.00
$50.00
$50.00
$46.00
$46.00
$5.00
$71.00
$500.00
$460.00
$5.00
Annual Pass (Elementary)
Yellow only non-refundable
Junior/Senior (Yellow)
Junior/Senior (ETS)
Annual Pass (Junior/Senior)
Yellow only non-refundable
All New students from K - 6 who have not
previously taken Yellow School bus transportation
to St. James school and are eligible for transportation for next year are required to complete a
Transportation Application form for 2016 - 2017
school year. Please print the application form at the
end of the school newsletter and remit to the school
office. Deadline for Transportation Applications is
May 29th if you wish to have transportation in place
for the September school start. Students who are
currently taking Yellow Bus Transportation do not
need to complete a new transportation form.
Best Conference April 16th
In true Star Wars’ action, the BEST conference blasted off with a thick
cloud of smoke, crackling light and deafening sound. The force was strong
with the students as they explored the technology of light sabers, droids
and the BB-8 racing. The students enjoyed exploring and experimenting
the Star Wars’ universe of light reflections, planetariums and makeymakey-gos. Thank you to the many students, presenters and of course, the
BEST committee. In the words of Yoda, “A day it was to remember.
Behaved well they were! Good learning they had!”
May 2016
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them “Receive the
Holy Spirit.”
~John 20: 21-22~
This Gospel passage is very important to all Catholics, but especially to those in Catholic education. It comes from the reading for Pentecost Sunday. In it, Jesus appears to his disciples
and sends them forth to carry on his mission. Just as he came to show us the enduring love of
Our Father, so he tells them to go forth and to carry on in his name. This is the essence of
our mission as Catholic educators. We are called to help our students know the peace and
love of Jesus each and every day. That is the gift of God’s grace that comes with our vocation
to Catholic education.
We are getting so close to the end of the school year, and this brings a flurry of activity to our
vibrant Catholic educational community. May 4th is our 27th Annual Celebration of the Arts at
the Jubilee Auditorium. This event is a showcase of the amazing gifts that our students have
in the visual and performing arts. May 5th is World Catholic Education Day. This day, which is
always on Ascension Thursday, offers Catholics around the world the opportunity to give
thanks for the gift of Catholic education. Here in Alberta, we are particularly fortunate to have
the gift of publicly funded Catholic education.
Edmonton Catholic Schools is proud to host the 35th Annual Ben Calf Robe Traditional Pow
Wow on Saturday, May 7th from 1:00-10:00 p.m. at the Commonwealth Recreation Centre.
This day is an amazing expression of indigenous culture and spirituality. Visit our website at
https://www.ecsd.net/news/pages/35th-annual-ben-calf-robe-annual-traditional-powwow.aspx to learn more.
May 2nd – 8th is the Canadian Mental Health Associations’ 65th Annual Mental Health Week.
Again this year, CMHA is asking Canadians to GET LOUD for mental health, by using
#GETLOUD. On May 4th, 2016, Albertans are invited to wear a hat to raise awareness of the
importance of good mental health.
To support mental health within our district, we have developed a Mental Health Strategic Plan
that is currently being implemented district wide, with a focus on the health promotion and
prevention of our students. Staff will be trained in Mental Health Literacy, so we can support
the needs of all students. We want our students to be healthy, happy individuals and positive
mental health is vitally important. It involves how we feel, think, act and interact with those
around us. By focusing on a comprehensive, collaborative, continuum of support, we will be
responsive to the needs of our students, staff and families within Edmonton Catholic Schools.
We are diligently working with the now-released provincial budget to build our District and
school budgets. We are thrilled to have had more than 2300 parents provide their feedback
through our online budget survey. Hearing the voices of all of our stakeholders is crucial in
helping us to be a responsive educational system. Our District Budget will be presented at the
May 31, 2016 Public Board Meeting at 4:00 p.m. As always, you may choose to attend or to
watch online.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has recently released the much anticipated Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia-The Joy
He speaks at length about the challenges faced by families today.
One of the areas that Pope Francis speaks about is the education of the child, both within the family and as a whole.
He states that “(education) involves forming persons who readily understand that their own lives, and the life of the
community, are in their hands, and that freedom itself is a great gift” (Amoris Laetitia, 262). This rich document is a
wonderful resource for all families. Please visit our website to find links to the document, Archbishop Smith’s letter on
the piece, and other resources. https://www.ecsd.net/aboutus/catholic-identity/holy-father-pope/pages/apostolicexhortation-on-the-joy-of-love.aspx
of Love following the 2015 Synod on the Family.
Finally, our commitment to providing the best quality faith formation for our students is grounded in the ongoing faith
formation of our staff. Faith formation is a lifelong journey. On the afternoon of May 26th, our staff will be participating
in our annual Grace for the Heart and Soul- Care for Creation Staff Faith Formation Afternoon. This is just one more
element of our commitment to high quality Catholic education.
As we begin this month of May, dedicated to our Holy Mother, Mary, let us take a moment to pray for all of the women
in our lives who nurture us to help us become the great people that God has intended us to be.
A Prayer for Mothers
All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old.
We pray for young mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy.
We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle
ways.
We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict; May they feel the
loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away.
We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion.
We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our
memory and nourish us with their love. Amen.
Taken from Lordcalls.com
Wishing you a blessed month!
Sincerely,
Joan Carr
Superintendent
St. James Year Book Front Cover Contest
Requirements: Hand drawn and coloured title page (no tracing allowed)
Size: 8½ x 11 page – Portrait page.
Theme: “Life of Grace, Journey of Love”
NO WORDS ONLY DRAWING
Write your name and grade on the back of your drawing (Please use a pencil)
Deadline: All entries must be turned into Mrs. Osuch by May 24th, 2016
The Winners will have their title page used for the front of our 2015 -2016 Year Book.
Their names will be printed in the newsletter and they will receive a prize.
Contest open to all students of St. James School.
ONE ENTRY PER STUDENT
ONE PERSON PER ENTRY
Hot Lunch Day May 20th Little Italy Pasta
Deadline for paper orders May 13th
(order forms may be picked up at office)
Deadline for Online orders, Sunday May 15th.
Edmonton Catholic School District
May 2016
Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord – Aspiring to New Heights
The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is celebrated forty days after Easter. According to the
Gospel of Mark, Jesus is seated at table with the remaining eleven disciples. He instructs them to “go into all the
world and proclaim the good news.” Then Jesus was taken about or ascended into heaven and sits at the right
hand of God the Father. After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples, guided by the Holy Spirit, indeed “went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that
accompanied it” (Mark 16: 20).
Ascension. Arise. Climb. I confess. I’m afraid of heights. It wasn’t always like that. As a teenager I used to
love spending time with my dad on various carpentry projects he did for neighbours. The projects sometimes included shingling roofs of houses and garages. At the time I thought nothing of scrambling up the ladder and onto a
roof. Heights didn’t bother me then. Things changes when I got older. As a young priest, an incredible opportunity
presented itself. At the time, Saint George’s Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Edmonton was working on an ambitious
iconography project. World renown iconographer Heiko Schlieper was chosen to paint the interior of the church,
telling the story of our salvation through icons.
On one of my visits to Saint George’s Parish to check on the progress, the late Father Volodymyr
Tarnawsky, the parish priest of the time, invited me to take a closer look at Mr. Schileper’s latest work: he was
painting an icon of Christ the Pantocrator in the main dome of the church. If you’ve ever been in a Byzantine
Church, you know we’re talking several stories high! Like an excited school boy, I quickly ascended the scaffolding
up towards the dome, but half ways up my knees began to shake. Father Tarnawsky encouraged me on upwards,
assuring me that I would never have such an opportunity in my life again. I replied, “It looks fine from here.” He
smiled but I knew he was thinking “chicken.” One of the characteristics of Eastern Christian church architecture,
including Ukrainian Catholic churches, is the huge domes. Upon entry into one of these churches, your eyes are
immediately drawn up into the heights of the dome. Not only your eyes but your entire being as well. It’s as if your
spirit, your very soul, is lifted from earth into the heavens. And that’s exactly what the architect intends, not just the
human architect who designed the church, but the Divine Architect – God.
You see, the story of Jesus’ Ascension is also our story. Where Jesus is, he wants us also to be, with his
Father in heaven. So forty days after his resurrection, Jesus becomes a source of strength for the disciples. He encourages them by telling him that he would always be with them, in his Word, in the Eucharist, and through the
Holy Spirit. With Jesus’ work on earth complete, he returns to the Father. The disciples must now continue his
work, telling others – you and me – of the love and mercy of the Father, and that our home on earth is not our final
destination, rather that our faith journey leads us on a path of ascension, aspiring to new heights, towards our true
home in heaven, with God. “When you had fulfilled your plan for us and united things on earth with those in heaven, you ascended in glory, O Christ our God, in no way distant, but remaining inseparable, You cried to those who
love you: I am with you and there is none against you” (Kontakion of Ascension). With Jesus, I no longer have to
be afraid of heights! And neither should you.
God bless!
Bishop David