February B.G. Administration Team Message Walking Together in God s Love

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1 February B.G. Administration Team Message Walking Together in God s Love We welcomed the New Year on the first day back to school with a Happy Birthday Baby Jesus Celebration led by Mrs. Sobierajski, Mrs. Amendola and her afternoon Kindergarten students. Celebrating the birth of Jesus and knowing that this great gift, of Jesus, was given to us, so that we may have eternal life. We reflect on the following: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, Just as I have kept my Father s commandments and abide in His love. These thoughts I have spoken to you, that your joy shall be full. This is my commandment, that you Love one another as I have loved you. John 15:9-12 Bishop Greschuk School has much strength: spirituality, academics, arts, and athletics. The amazing artwork displayed around our school shows a variety of mediums and much unique expression. Our students continue with clubs: Improv Club, Study Hall, and Prayer Group. Our Floor Hockey Intramural program will begin Feb. 8th, Running Club resumes Feb 8th and Gr. 5 handbells will resume on Feb. 11th. As well, our students will have the opportunity to participate in the Knights of Columbus Basketball Free Throw competition on Sunday, February 24 th at St. Cecilia. For those that signed up, practices will be at 12:20 p.m. on Fridays. Please mark your calendars, as our ECSD Faith Development Day is on Tuesday, February 5 th and there will be no school for students on this day. Thanks for your cooperation. Lent is late this year. Shrove Tuesday is on Tuesday, March 5 th and all students, as per our Catholic tradition, will have a free pancake lunch; thanks to our generous SAC. Our Ash Wednesday celebration led by our Grade 4 students will be on March 6 th. Ashes will be distributed and all are welcome to attend. While we are half way through the school year, we do appreciate all the support given by our parents. Thanks for helping your child with their homework and setting them up for success; organizing our fundraising and family events; assisting on field trips and with classroom projects; providing hot lunches for our students and donating to our school community s social justice projects...thank you, thank you, thank you! May your February be full of love, kindness, care, and friendship. Karen Craig Principal Leslie Zydek Assistant Principal

2 February 2019 We are the salt of the earth, called to let the people see the love of God for you and me. We are the light of the world, not to be hidden but be seen. Go make a diff rence in the world. ~Go Make a Difference, Steve Angrisano~ Our Catholic faith is not a destination, it is a lifelong journey. Like anything that grows and transforms, faith needs nurturing all the time. February brings two very significant faith formation events to Edmonton Catholic Schools. On February 4, all of our grade 8 students will attend Father Michael Mireau Youth Faith Day. This amazing experience will see them learning from Steve Angrisano and celebrating a Eucharistic Mass together. It is inspiring to see so many young people gather to grow together in Jesus! Our entire staff will gather together on February 5 as Steve offers his thoughts on our theme for this year, Walking Together in God s Love. We, too, will celebrate the Eucharist as a community of Christ. As an annual check-up on the education system, the Accountability Pillar provides an opportunity for Alberta Education and school authorities to ensure that we are equipping students for success. The Accountability Pillar uses a set of 16 indicators. Data on these indicators consists of surveys of students, parents and teachers on various aspects of education quality, student outcomes such as dropout and high school completion rates, and provincial assessments of student learning. Alberta Education has selected parents to complete surveys based on the size of each school. If you have received a survey for your child, it is extremely important that you let your voice be heard and take a few moments to fill out the survey, because you represent a larger group of parents. If you do not know the answer to a question on the survey, please phone your school principal. They will be more than happy to provide you with the information that you need to form an opinion on the question. The survey closes on February 22. Our Board of Trustees engages in a comprehensive annual review of each of our schools. This review considers enrolment, utilization rates, neighborhood demographics, operating costs, 5-year deferred maintenance costs, and the facility condition index. As a result of this review, the Board of Trustees has initiated a series of public consultations to look at future plans for the communities of St. Gabriel, St. Jerome, St. Nicholas, and St. Margaret Schools. Information about consultations can be found on each of those school s websites. Pope Francis shared a tweet on January 4 that captures the essence of the message that both our staff and our students will listen to attentively in the upcoming faith formation events: Jesus is the gift of God for us. If we welcome Him, we too can be a gift of God to others. Yours in faith, Joan Carr Superintendent

3 A Reflection On God In Our Lives I am often asked, How is God working my life? I am not able to give you a definitive answer but reading this little reflection might give you a hint. To start, find a quiet place and sit down. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Then, when you are ready, read the following words quietly to yourself a few times, while paying attention to your reaction to them. Ready? Ok, go You are called to be a saint, to be holy. God loves you. How did you react to these words? Everyone s response is unique, but I find that the most common one is, Maybe other people, but not me. In fact, you may have had a specific, unfortunate memory that refutes the idea that you could be holy and a saint. If you reacted this way, you are not alone. In the Luke 5, we read that Simon Peter had been fishing all night without success. Jesus appears on the scene and tells him to lower the nets one more time. Doubtfully, Peter does so, and to his astonishment, the nets return bursting with fish. How does Peter react to this miraculous moment? He falls at Jesus feet and says, Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! I wonder what image popped into Peter s head, telling him that he was not holy, not worthy to be in Jesus presence? Jesus wants to heal that memory that blocks you from feeling called to holiness. He invites you to bring that memory into your prayer time with him. Doing so requires courage and trust, but this is often where the Lord wishes to work in your life. Fr Glenn McDonald, CSB District Chaplain CHAPTER 5: SPIRITUAL COMBAT, VIGILANCE AND DISCERNMENT 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 to 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 Five, Spiritual Combat, Vigilance and Discernment, we learn that while evil is present from the very first pages of the Bible, we should not dismiss the devil as a myth, a figure of speech or an idea. Rather, our path towards holiness is a constant battle against evil for which the Lord equips us with prayer, the Word of God, the celebration of Mass, Eucharistic adoration, sacramental Reconciliation, and works of charity. Here, the path of holiness is a source of peace and joy, given to us by the Spirit; a path that reveals itself through discernment a gift that requires no special abilities, but it does require listening: to the Lord and to others, and to reality itself, which always challenges us in new ways. We need the silence of prolonged prayer to better perceive God s language, to interpret the real meaning of the inspirations we believe we have received, to calm our anxieties and to see the whole of our existence afresh in God s own light. To be sure, the life of a Christian is a constant battle. We need the strength and courage to reject the temptations of evil and to proclaim the good news of the Gospel. God asks everything of us, yet he also gives everything to us. He does not want to enter our lives to diminish them but to bring them to fulfilment. In the end, 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. Sandra Talarico, Religious Education Consultant

4 Before and After School Supervision - IMPORTANT Supervision starts at 8:15 am. Please do not send your children before 8:15 a.m. Also, please ensure that your children are picked up promptly each day at dismissal time, which is 3:03 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and at 12:00 noon on Thursdays. Should you require before and after school care, please check our community bulletin board at the front entrance of the school for child care providers. Traffic Safety Reminders After school, do not park in the lay-by until all 5 daycare vans are parked. The lay-by is for quick drop off and pick up only. Have your children ready to exit their vehicle promptly. No left turn out of the lay-by during peak hours. Do not idle in the lay-by. Do not use the staff parking lot as a pick up and drop off area. You may wish to park and walk to help ease congestion in front of the school. We extend a huge thank you to our lay-by volunteers, Bernie, Amanda, Elssa and Kelvin for their commitment to keeping your children safe, and lay-by traffic flowing smoothly. We welcome additional volunteers - please call the office. Phone Calls It is very important that you make end of school arrangements with your child/ren before they leave for school in the morning. Our office continues to receive numerous phone calls asking for messages about pick up to be communicated to students and it is difficult to guarantee that these messages will be received. We thank you for understanding that we do not like to interrupt your children s classes for messages; we value our students instructional time. Student Attendance/Lates Please note that our first bell rings at 8:30 a.m. and instruction begins at 8:35 a.m. Students arriving after 8:35 a.m. are marked as late. Please remember to call the school AND your child care providers when your child is absent. Punctuality and regular attendance are important factors that positively affect student achievement. Parents have the responsibility to ensure that their children attend regularly and arrive to school on time. School Council Meeting Our next School Council meeting is on February 4th at 7:00 PM in the music room. All parents are welcome to attend.

5 Faith Development Day - No School for Students - February 5th On Tuesday, February 5th, all staff members will be involved in a district-wide Faith Development Day. There will be no instruction of students at school on that day. Grade 6 Babysitting Course The Grade 6 Babysitting Course will be held in the afternoon on Thursday, February 7th and 14th. Information has been sent home with Grade 6 students. Thank you to our Grade 6 teachers Family Day - February 18th I consider family to be the rock on which we build our community. It is important. Don Getty, former Alberta Premier A reminder that all schools will be closed on Monday, February 18th, as we take time to enjoy and celebrate our families. Teachers Convention There will be no school for students on Thursday, February 28th and Friday, March 1st, as teachers will be attending the Greater Edmonton Teachers Convention. PINK SHIRT DAY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 The dawn of social media brought with it a whole new way to interact. But in this digital world where filtered photos and crafted messages can be posted in an instant, it often takes more time and effort to say something mean than it does to say something nice. Kindness requires no manipulation, no focusing on the negatives, and no filtering of yourself. It s simply, truly nice. For social media users, we want them to THINK before they post. We want them to ask themselves if it is: True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary and KIND. On February 27 we encourage everyone to practice kindness and wear pink to symbolize that you will choose kindness.

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7 ECSD Oil Kings Family Fun Night A huge thanks to our BG Families that participated in the ECSD Oil Kings Family Fun Night. Together with other schools, we raised $2 900 for the Edmonton Catholic School Foundation. As well, thanks to Fr. Glenn, our District Chaplain, for teaming up with Mrs. Craig in the fun relay during the intermission. They won and an Oil Kings signed stick was donated to Bishop Greschuk School to be raffled off by our Gr. 6 Leadership Team, during our March Demo of Learning, with the proceeds going to Development and Peace. Many thanks! First Reconciliation & First Eucharist Registration 2019 St. Charles Parish News Is your child in grade 2 or up and ready to learn about and celebrate their First Reconciliation ("Confession") and Eucharist (Communion)? Come register your child at St. Charles Parish during the following dates: Thursday February 7, 2019 between 9AM and 6PM Saturday February 9, 2019 between 9AM and 12NOON You do not need to make an appointment, just come between those times with your child's baptism certificate and, if you are able to afford it, $50 cash or cheque for books and materials. Registration takes approximately 15 minutes. Class schedule is located on If you have any questions, contact Amber.Tweedy@caedm.ca or by phone ext. 105 Confirmation Registration 2019 Is your child in grade 6 or up and ready to learn about and celebrate their Confirmation? Come register your child at St. Charles Parish during the following dates: Thursday March 7, 2019 between 10AM and 7PM Saturday March 9, 2019 between 9AM and 12NOON You do not need to make an appointment, just come between those times with your child's baptism and First Communion certificates, and if you can afford it $30 cash or cheque for materials. You will also need at least one sponsor for your child (we require their full legal name and the Parish and date of their Confirmation - they must be over 16years old and a practicing Catholic). For more information including class times, check our website at If you have any questions, contact Linda.Boire@caedm.ca or by phone ext 103 **If your child has a special need, please connect with us so we can make any accommodations needed for each Sacrament**

8 Youth and video games Content provided by: Alberta Health Services Research has shown that playing video games (or gaming ) can affect youth in both good and bad ways. Playing certain video games can help youth develop thinking and fine motor skills and manage anger and stress. However, gaming can also result in lower grades and reduce the time spent with family and friends. Video game play can take away time from other healthy activities and sometimes may encourage youth to act aggressively. It is up to parents to help their child learn to enjoy video games safely and responsibly. The following questions will help parents decide whether video games are a problem for their young person: Is your child playing too much? Does gaming interfere with chores, school, work, family time? Too much gaming takes time away from sports, hobbies, sleep and other healthy activities. Does the game fit with the household norms or values? Games that include aggression, bullying, violence and discrimination can influence a young person s developing beliefs. Here are some ways in which parents can teach their youth to play video games appropriately: Make sure play comes AFTER important tasks like chores, school, work, meals and family time. Ensure play happens in a central location, not a bedroom, so it can be monitored. Set and enforce a time limit on play. Discuss with your teen the types of games that are acceptable to you. Play together. Playing video games as a family can be fun and allows parents to role model appropriate behaviour and monitor play Balance video game time with other fun family activities. Invite your teen to go for a walk or a coffee, throw a ball around, go for a bike ride, play a board game, cook a meal, watch a movie or do a puzzle together.

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10 February Feedback Form Please take a few moments to return this sheet and have your child s name entered to win a book. All sheets must be returned by February 20th, Congratulations to James (1A), Max (2/3) and Morgan (4A) for winning the January newsletter draw! Yes, I/We have read the February Bishop Greschuk Newsletter. General Comments: Parent Signature Student(s) name and grade (please print)