Our Lady of Mount Carmel School

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1 Our Lady of Mount Carmel School Avenue Administrators Message November 2018 Dear Parents: November has arrived and it is great to be in the full swing of learning at Mount Carmel! This month promises to be filled with many wonderful activities such as our Demo of Learning, a Remembrance Day Commemoration, and the Book Fair! We invite all students currently in Cadets, Scouts, Girl Guides, Brownies, Sparks, etc. to wear their uniform for our service marking the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War 1 that will take place in our gymnasium on Thursday Nov 8 at 11:15 a.m. Parents are of course more than welcome to join us for this or any other school event. (Note that there will be no school on Monday, November 12th in lieu of Remembrance Day). Our Elementary Demonstration of Learning and Junior High Interviews will be held on November 28th from 3:30 to 5:15 and from 6:00 to 8:00. We hope to see many of you there. More information on this evening will be sent out prior to the event. A reminder to all parents and students that our teachers have their own virtual classrooms/websites. Students and parents can use these to keep track of assignments, exams, and other important matters. This feature, along with PowerSchool which communicates all JH assessments, is one of many tools we use to help students and parents stay informed. Mr. Kevin S. McGoey Ms. Diane Bowers-O Neill Principal Assistant Principal Remembrance Day Prayer We remember those who stood for love and truth, We thank them for the sacrifice they made for me and you. We can now enjoy peace and learn to love, not fight, We can now sing and play, and not be scared or hide. We pray for other countries where children live in fear, And there is war and fighting and many are in tears. Please help to make things better, and bring some peace to them. Protect all those who try and help to make friends again. Amen.

2 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Canteen News The Junior High canteen is open four days a week offering many healthy choices such as quesadillas, carrot sticks & hummus, burritos, and even Perrier! Many thanks to Ms. Pilquil and her student team for their ongoing dedication and effort! Book Fair Dear Parents and Students, The Scholastic Book Fair is again coming to our school during the week of Nov 26. What better way to promote reading than by supporting this key literary event!! We invite your entire family to participate by purchasing the latest and greatest in children's books. Your support is a key part of helping us obtain new books and resources for our library and classrooms. You will find hundreds of quality books at our Book Fair with a wide assortment for all reading levels. Visit the Scholastic Book Fair's website at to get more detailed information about these books. They would be great gifts, especially for Christmas! Don't forget to mark the Book Fair dates on your calendar! Watch for posters in the school for more information. We look forward to seeing you during the week of November 26. Thank you for believing in books and the impact of reading on your child's future. Sincerely, Fresia Pilquil Book Fair Chairperson Book Fair Dates: November 26 th - November 29 th, 2018

3 OLMC Fun with Learning The Kindergarten through to Grade 3 students have enjoyed developing their skating skills at South Side Arena. It was inspiring to watch them grow in confidence and skills throughout the 6-week program. A special thank you to all the parents who helped with the skate tying activities! We hope that you can join us when we go for an outdoors skate at Victoria Oval some time over the months ahead!

4 Grade 4 Bible Celebration Father Joby from our nearby St. Anthony s Parish provided a thoughtful homily on the importance of God s Word in our lives today. He then blessed the Holy Bibles and handed them to each of our Grade-4 students. At the end of the celebration, students and parents enjoyed a What Would Jesus Eat Luncheon. We thank our Parent School Council for helping to pay for the Bibles!

5 Trickster Theatre October 9th-12th OLMC students enjoyed a week filled with theatre and drama during our residency with the Trickster Theatre group. Throughout, Elementary students and our JH Performing Arts members reflected on what Walking Together in God s Love looked and sounded like. They used the virtues shared in our theme book You Hold Me Up. The kindness, sharing, learning, playing, laughing, singing, comforting, listening, and respecting was wonderful to witness! Each grade chose one virtue and presented what they believed it looked like through drama. The students put on an amazing performance which many parents had the opportunity to enjoy! It was a wonderful way to focus on and explore this year s theme.

6 Performing Arts Academy What a busy, but amazing month October was for the Performing Arts Academy. We accomplished so much? The students were kept busy learning all about designing a show with the Trickster Theatre group. Josh and Joleen from RapidFire Theatre also stopped by to help us improve our improv skills. Elementary students worked diligently on their singing skills and performed at our Thanksgiving Celebration at St. Anthony Church. They did a phenomenal job! Junior High students had a month of movement, learning not one but three new dances choreographed by our coach, Mhairi. One of these will be shared with the school during our Remembrance Day commemoration on November 8th at 11:15 in our gymnasium. Junior High students also took a tour of Allard Hall at MacEwan University. I believe a few of them can picture themselves there in a few years We also had a little bit of fun welcoming Samantha King into our classroom to learn about theatrical/gore makeup! The students were so creative and, with some guidance, were able to create some Spooktacular gruesome effects! Here s what we are looking forward to for this November: November 5 Josh from RapidFire visits November 8 Remembrance Day Service at school November 19 Joleen from RapidFire visits November 21 Citadel Workshop at school November 27 Tuck St. Albert s Children Theatre -Ms. Kim Clarke Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to. William Defore

7 Hockey Academy News Dear Hockey Parents: October was the first full month in our new groups for the Academy school year! In elementary, we have the Roadrunners and Comets, while in junior high, we have the Moose, Bears and Wolves! Our theme for naming this year s groups derives from current American Hockey League (AHL) team names. After an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from both students and family members, we are excited and happy to announce that we are bringing back the Super Series! This year there will be one game per group scheduled near the end of each month. All groups were recently split into two teams. Hello s and Goodbye s Last June, we said goodbye to the Mt. Carmel Hockey Academy founder and Program Director, Bil La Forge when he accepted an offer to be the Seattle Thunderbirds General Manager. It was a bittersweet farewell though we are extremely happy for Mr. La Forge and proud of his accomplishment. Bil has already popped by the Academy this year, and will run a session or two when able. This month we also said goodbye to another long-time Academy staff member, lead instructor Jared Crooks. He too has joined the Seattle Thunderbirds as the Skill Development and Video Coach. Jared was with the Academy for five years and we wish him the very best of luck on the west coast! The Academy warmly welcomes new staff member Jordan Biro. He is the son of Mount Carmel teacher and Soccer Academy Director Ms. Poulin-Biro, and currently plays for the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL. Next fall, he will attend the University of Denver on a hockey scholarship. Andrew Zvonkovic Mount Carmel Hockey Academy Program Director- Head Instructor Ave. Edmonton Alberta Phone: (780) Fax: (780) Andrew.Zvonkovic@ecsd.net

8 Recreation Academy News The Recreation Academy students had a lot of fun participating in a variety of activities in October: volleyball, swimming, archery and rock climbing. In November, we look forward to kayaking, martial arts, cross fit indoor soccer, and much more! October Recreation Academy Students of the Month Spencer Z Samantha P Cooper G Your Recreation Academy Team Mrs. Belous Mr. Cormier Mr. Poplawski Soccer Academy News We just completed the first outdoor portion of our program. Despite some challenging weather, the students were very successful. We have now moved into our indoor portion, travelling to the southside center Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays. As in the past, Mondays are our fitness day when we stay back at the school. Sincerely, Dawn Poulin-Biro Mount Carmel Soccer Academy Director-Instructor Ave. Edmonton, Alberta Phone: (780)

9 Senior Boy s Soccer Congratulations to the Boys Soccer Team! After a rocky start to the season, Mount Carmel played very well in the playoffs, beating Sir John Thompson (4-1) in the quarter-finals and J.J. Bowlen (2-1) in the semi-finals. In the final against Joseph Moreau, the Tigers fell behind by two goals in the first half but rallied to tie the game in the final minute of regulation time! In overtime, Joseph Moreau managed to score to win Gold and our boys settled for Silver. The team showed extraordinary teamwork and dedication this fall and I congratulate them for a tremendous season! Coach: Miss Sydora Goalie: Scott (9), Connor (8) Defense: Adam (9), Braden (9), Emmett (9), Nikolai (8), Spencer (7) Midfield: Nathan (9), Juan (9), Evan (9), Stefano (9), Liam (8) Forward: Zach (9) GO TIGERS GO!

10 Senior Girl s Soccer The girls completed an unbelievable season this year! They were very entertaining to watch and went undefeated from the start of league play to winning the final City Championship game. Each and every player competed to the best of their ability, and it was due to this combined effort that they were able to take over games and defeat their opponents. On behalf of the school, Congratulations to all members of our Girls Soccer Team! Dawn Poulin-Biro GO TIGERS GO! Mount Carmel Soccer Academy Director-Instructor Ave. Edmonton Alberta Phone: (780) Fax: (780)

11 Chaplain s Corner Blessings Mount Carmel Families! October was another awesome month for students and staff alike at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, one filled with spiritual gatherings, celebrations, and moments of prayer. On October 5 th the grade 4 class had their Bible celebration where they each received a new bible. They were very excited to receive this special gift and to read God s word and scriptures from their own bibles. On October 9th, we had our school Thanksgiving Mass at St. Anthony Parish. Father Joby delivered inspiring messages of gratitude and compassion while everyone in attendance participated beautifully through song, prayer, and reflection. Mount Carmel students also began their annual social justice project entitled We Scare Hunger. We are gathering food items for some of the less fortunate and struggling families in our city, and encourage those families that can to send food items with their child to fill up our classroom hampers. Collections will end on November 9th. Our upcoming month of November is often referred to as a month of kindness, with World Kindness Day being held on November 13 th, Kindness isn t always about big gestures, but also the simple gestures that give us a warm feeling inside such as holding a door open for someone, helping a friend at recess or in class, or talking to a friend who is walking alone. These are just a few of the many ways we can show our kindness and demonstrate that we all Walk Together In God s Love. When do so, we show one another kindness and compassion on a daily basis! Take home activities for this month: Come up with a daily goal of how many new acts of kindness you can do each week. Can you do 2-3 things that are perhaps out of your comfort zone or ones you haven t done in a while? On the way home or over supper, discuss the different acts of kindness you observed during the day. What acts were done towards you or did you see being done for others? Read through stories in the New Testament to find the many acts of kindness and compassion. What did Jesus teach us through these stories? How do these acts show people walking together in God s love? Have a wonderful November and may Christ's peace be with you always! Peace and Blessings, Amie Bayduza Chaplain, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School

12 School Council Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Annual General Meeting on Oct 2. We are excited to have so many parents sign up to be Classroom Representatives! We could use a few more, especially from the junior high homerooms, so please contact us at olmcsac@gmail.com if interested. The next Hot Lunch is Booster Juice on November 16. Remember the Healthy Hunger order deadline is always five days prior. Please join us for the next parent council meeting on Tuesday November 6, at 6:30pm in the library. Happy Fall to All! Your School Council Weather News As the weather cools off, please ensure your child has appropriate clothing and footwear to enjoy the outdoors!

13 YOUR CHILD! YOUR VOICE! We would like to gather your input through an online survey. The survey can be accessed through the District Website, School Website, PowerSchool or by using the URL address provided. URL Address: Click on the following link or enter the address in the web browser The survey is open from November 1st to November 16 th, We encourage all families to fill out the survey. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete.

14 November 2018 Let us thank God for His great love in having blessed Edmonton with the gift of giving so much joy, so much care and so much love to all those who in the last 100 years in educating and preparing the young people to know, to love and to serve God. ~ Message of St. Mother Teresa to Edmonton Catholic Schools for our 100th Anniversary~ We are so fortunate in this day and age to have made connections to modern saints during their lifetimes. 30 years ago, Mother Teresa sent us congratulations on our centennial anniversary. Her message is one which endures, for the love of God remains always at the centre of all that we do. November 2, 2018 marks exactly 130 years since we opened our first Edmonton Catholic School in On that day, schools across the District will join in a special celebration of gratitude for this legacy and for our present and future. Our story is one which speaks to the ongoing tenacity and advocacy of the nuns who were our first leaders, and of the Catholic community since then. This is followed by Catholic Education Sunday on November 4, which provides us all with the opportunity to give thanks for and to advocate for publicly funded Catholic education in our Province. Visit our website to learn more. We are pleased to have entered into an agreement with St. Joseph s College at the University of Alberta to support the Certificate in Catholic Education as an excellent opportunity for pre-service teachers to focus their formation on living out their vocation to Catholic education. This partnership offers us mutual support in training our future Catholic teachers so that they are prepared to help our children grow in Christ. The end of the month of October is always very exciting for us as it is the time when several of our accountability measures are made public. We are very proud of our student achievement. There are 2 sets of results, the grade 6 Provincial Achievement Tests and the Diploma Examinations, that give us feedback on how our students are performing relative to the Province. The Accountability Pillar, October 2018, our overall report card from the Province, brought great news! Edmonton Catholic Schools had better results than the Province in 12 of 16 measures and no areas were identified as needing improvement. The high school completion 3-year (85.6%) and 5-year (89.1%) rates are 7.6 % and 5.7% above the Province respectively. Our drop-out rate (1.2%) is almost half that of the Province. Parental involvement and Diploma excellence in our District improved significantly according to the Accountability Pillar. For more detail visit or click here for the Accountability Pillar and PAT and Diploma results.... 2

15 Who Do You Say That I Am? Dr. Eugenia Kowalczyk, Principal - Catholic Identity Identity is complex. Many of us would describe ourselves based on our personal, social, professional, or cultural characteristics. I might describe myself as being Italian, or that I am a wife, daughter, or sister. Further I share that I am an educator. Ultimately, I could articulate that I am Catholic and a person of faith. While these labels appear simple, the totality of their parts creates a kaleidoscope of what it means to be human. Catholic identity is at the heart of Catholic education. Who we are as people of God within our educational communities, our family, and our church is shaped and influenced by our life experiences and our social interactions. Catholic schools serve as the fertile soil where seeds of faith are sowed and nurtured. How blessed we are knowing that when we send our children to a Catholic school we can rest assured that their social, academic, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are looked after. What a precious gift we have in Catholic education. The great philosopher Thomas Groome (2002) explained how, we need a sense of identity to live humanly, without it we literally feel lost. From the Latin identitas, meaning the same, repeatedly, identity is that which holds together a continuous sense of our human being as a person or a community. It is the metaphorical glue that binds who we are as individuals and who we are in community. It is who we are and how we live...identity is the center that holds...otherwise...things fall apart. Catholic identity provides each of us to view the world using a Catholic lens. Together we strive to understand and develop a deeper relationship with Christ. According to another great philosopher Walter Feinberg (2006), religious identity is constructed systematically and formally across many landscapes; school, church, and home. It is in these different places where students learn the practices, rituals, beliefs, and commitments that distinguish their religion from others, and where they take on the identity of a specific faith community. Realizing that the faith formation of our children is central to their education, we collaborate to understand the shared responsibility between parents, educators, clergy, and community. Together we work in mutual cooperation and understanding towards a common vision of what comprises faith formation of children within the broader landscape of personal identity. Inspired by the late Sr. Annata Brockman to love tenderly, act justly, and walk humbly with our Lord, let us remain faithful to the commitment of Catholic education. Might we never forget the most precious gift of all; our students each one created in the likeness and image of God. Their Catholic identity, inspired by the Holy Spirit, calls us all to give witness to our faith and remember that Christ is the reason for Catholic schools. In answering the question, who do you say I am? the response, a child of God paves the understanding of how together, in communion, we nurture our Catholic identity.

16 Apostolic Exhortation October CHAPTER 2: TWO SUBTLE ENEMIES OF HOLINESS While Pope Francis apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate: The Call to Holiness in Today s World will take some time to digest and to unfold the gift that Pope Francis has given us, the Holy Father reminds us that we are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. In Chapter Two, Pope Francis warns us against two obstacles that may hinder our journey towards holiness: Gnosticism and Pelagianism. While these words may be difficult to understand, Gnosticism and Pelagianism were essentially two heresies that arose in the early church. They were corruptions of the real Christian message. Gnosticism claimed that only knowledge was necessary for salvation, saying that the mind was good and the body was bad and evil. Pelagianism focused on the will. It was the belief that one could be saved on the basis of their good works alone; there was no need of God s grace or mercy to help them. In his exhortation, Pope Francis states that these two distortions of the Christian message still exist in our community today and may lead us away from the true path towards holiness. We may fall into the trap of believing that our understanding of the faith is the only right way, basing what we believe on our own subjective experiences. This is present-day Gnosticism. The biggest temptation is to pick-andchoose those aspects of Christianity that we agree with and reject the rest. We love God, but we do not want to live by Christ s commandments. We love Christ, but we find the Church too burdensome. At the same time, we may fall into the trap of believing that our holiness only depends on our good works. We may feel good because we are doing so much and look down on others who do less or do not spend as much time in service to their parish or local community. This is contemporary Pelagianism. We may think we are perfect and have no need of God s grace, but we need God s presence in our lives. We cannot buy God s friendship with our good works. Rather, we recall Jesus commandment of love: love God and love neighbor. These are not two formulas but two faces; the face of God reflected in the face of our neighbor. In the end, Chapter Two provides us with advice on how we can be good Christians. The answer is clear: We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount (Pope Francis). Because the life of a Christian is a constant battle, we need God s strength and courage to reject evil and to proclaim the Gospel. Sandra Talarico, Religious Education Consultant

17 November 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS 5 6 School Council 6:30 p.m. in Library 7 8 Remembrance Day Onsite 11:15 a.m REMEMBRANCE DAY No School In Lieu of Remembrance Day Take your G9 kid to work day No Kinders Book Fair Week 27 Elem RC s online at 3:00 p.m. 28 Elem and JH Demo Of Learning 3:30-5:15 & 6-8:00 29 Kinder Demo 30 Edmonton Catholic Schools Our Lady of Mount Carmel School Ave Edmonton, AB We Are Family Phone: Fax: web@ecsd.net