December Advent Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ~Matthew 24:42~

Transcription

1 750 Leger Way, Edmonton, Alberta, T6R 3H4 Phone (780) Fax (780) December 2018 Advent 2018 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ~Matthew 24:42~ Advent is upon us, and once again, we feel that sense of preparation and excitement. We know that Jesus will arrive soon, and we are making our hearts, our schools, and our homes ready to receive Him. Our scripture passage counsels us to be alert as we wait for this precious gift from God. Theologian Henri Nouwen shares with us: It is this joyful expectation of God's coming that offers vitality to our lives. The expectation of the fulfillment of God's promises to us is what allows us to pay full attention to the road on which we are walking. We wish you a wonderful journey to Bethlehem in these next weeks; a journey filled with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love! School Advent Celebrations On December 3 rd at 9:15 a.m., all students and staff will celebrate the start of the Advent season in the gymnasium. Weekly celebrations for the second and third week will be shared each Monday morning for individual classes to celebrate during the week. Advent Reflection The Advent wreath is part of our long-standing Catholic tradition. The symbolism of the Advent wreath is beautiful. The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life. Even these evergreens have a traditional meaning which can be adapted to our faith. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. Any pine cones, nuts, or seedpods used to decorate the wreath also symbolize life and resurrection. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. A tradition is that each week represents one thousand years, to sum to the 4,000 years from Adam and Eve until the Birth of the Savior. Three candles are purple, and one is rose. The purple candles symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, representing rejoicing. The light again signifies Christ, the Light of the world.

2 Mark your Calendars AJM Elementary Christmas Celebrations December 11 6:30 p.m. Elementary Christmas concert for grades K, 2A, 2/3B, 4A, 6A December 12 6:30 p.m. Elementary Christmas concert for grades 1A, 1B, 3A, 4B, 5A, 5/6B Costumes and attire: Kindergarten - Sunday best Grade 1 - black bottoms and white tops with some nativity costumes (costumes provided by the school unless otherwise informed) Grade 2,3,4 - black bottoms and white shirts and blouses Grade 5,6 - black bottoms and white shirts. (Some students may be asked to bring in Elf hats and other costuming) Gym seating We will be having a seat raffle for the 1 st row for the Tuesday and Wednesday evening performances with all proceeds going directly to the music program to cover the cost of the concert. In an effort to have as many families given the opportunity to have front row seats, seats will be grouped in pairs and by date of the performance. Starting Tuesday December 4th, tickets can be purchased from the office daily from 8:30-9 and 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. until Monday, December 10 th noon. Tickets are $2.00 each, 3 for $5.00, or 15 for $ The draw will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, December 10 th and winners will be notified after the draw. Each winning ticket drawn will receive 2 seats in the first row at the Christmas Concert! Draws will be made only for the evening performances. Seating for the remainder of the seats will be on a first come, first serve basis. Matinee Performance: Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. Show: 1:00-2:00 p.m. Evening Performance: Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Show: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Sign of Hope Collection at the Gym Doors during the Christmas Concert The Sign of Hope campaign offers many programs that benefit people in our community they offer over 100 programs that help over 60,000 people each year. The generosity of countless individuals, business owners, corporations, and social organizations allows Catholic Social Services ministries to help people in need of all faiths (or no faith) and all cultures. Through your donation to the Sign of Hope, you can help Catholic Social Services create brighter futures. Thank you!

3 Celebrate the Season at the Legislature Performing: Archbishop Joseph MacNeil Elementary Choir (Grade 4) Date of Performance: Friday, Dec. 14 th, 2018 Arrival Time: 12:00 p.m. Time of Performance: 12:30 p.m. 12:55 p.m. Where: Legislature Rotunda All parents and grandparents are invited. Hour of Code December 3-7, 2018 All students of AJM will be participating in the Hour of Code event. Hour of Code is a global movement that is supported by Code.org with the purpose of reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming. Coding is a great way to develop literacy, numeracy, creativity, and thinking skills.

4 ATHLETICS at AJM We would like to thank our teacher coaches and teacher sponsors for their tremendous efforts in providing our students with the opportunity of gaining skills and confidence in the diverse team sports offered at AJM. Our coaches donate their personal time to build and foster character through sports for our students. A big thank you goes to the following coaches for their time and efforts! Junior Boys Volleyball Mr. Misiaszek Senior Boys Volleyball Mr. Shinkaruk and Mr. Sharkey Junior Girls Volleyball Mrs. Bunker and Mrs. Porter Senior Girls Volleyball Mr. Fairfield and Mrs. Grattan Junior Boys Basketball Mr. Barron Senior Boys Basketball Mrs. Liogier and Mr. Schipper (parent volunteer) Junior Girls Basketball Mr. Mendez and TBA Senior Girls Basketball Mr. Gonzalez-Rico and Mrs. Arnold (parent volunteer) Curling Ms. Gaborak and Mr. Mendez This time of the year is a busy time for Social Justice Activities across the city. The projects that AJM is presently supporting assist people in our school and our community. On behalf of the project coordinators and the recipients, we are appreciative of any support that you able to give. Thank you! God Bless! Elves of Edmonton Christmas Social Justice Project 2018 Grade 8 students at AJM will once again participate in Elves of Edmonton program. This is the eighth consecutive year that our school has partnered up with Kindergarten, Gr. 1-3 at St. Francis of Assisi School. Grade eight students receive the name of a child from Kindergarten, grades one, two, or three from St. Francis of Assisi and some information about him or her. Students are then asked to go out and shop for their secret buddy. During the last week of school prior to Christmas Break, Grade 8 students from AJM, all dressed in RED and GREEN along with ELF hats will deliver their gifts and spend some time with their buddies. They will also spend some time getting to know their buddies by sharing Christmas gifts, talking, playing and reading a Christmas story. The visit concludes with sharing hot chocolate, singing Christmas songs, and being treated to a visit from Santa. This year s event will occur on December 20 th. Thank you to our Junior High teachers and Mrs. Skeels for supervising this wonderful project.

5 Parents: Let s Talk Literacy Give the Gift of Reading! Have you started your Christmas shopping? There s no better gift for our children than the gift of reading. Be sure to add books or magazines to your Christmas shopping list! When choosing books, consider your children s interests. Be open to various topics (fairy tales, sports, insects, animals, space) and various genres (picture books, non-fiction, graphic novels, novels, magazines). Check out these best picks! Babies and Toddlers Alphaprints ABC by Roger Priddy Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg Jane Foster s Books (ABC, 123, Black and White, Things That Go, etc.) Time for Bed by Mem Fox Preschoolers and Kinders Alphabeasties by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss Press Here by Herve Tullet Today by Julie Morstad Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland Grade 1-3 Students The Bad Seed by Jory John Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (and subsequent books) by Ben Clanton Twig by Aura Parker The Hockey Song by Stompin Tom Connors Grade 4-6 Students Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly Inkling by Kenneth Oppel Weird But True by National Geographic A book is a gift you can open again and again. - Garrison Keillor

6 Parents: Let s Talk Numeracy Did you know that the school purchased an online subscription for each and every student at Archbishop Joseph MacNeil from Kindergarten up to Grade 9? Students should be accessing this resource at home on a daily basis! Another excellent learning resource that is free: Another excellent free resource:

7 Food Bank Collection Each class will put together a food collection based on the following list. Each student will be responsible for ONE item. All donations will be given to the Edmonton Food Bank. Thank you for your continued generous support.

8 Mark your Calendars Full Day on Thursday, December 20, 2018 Santa s Breakfast December 21, School Council is hosting Santa for breakfast on our last day of classes before the Christmas break for all students Grades K-9. Early Dismissal Friday, December 21, 2018 CLASSES RESUME Monday, January 7, 2019

9 NUMERACY A N D LITERACY HOW AJM PARENTS CAN HELP Have your child help you count out items of produce at the grocery store. Practice rhyming words on the way to school in the morning. Encourage your child to help you calculate GST on your next shopping trip. Allow your child to choose any book from the library that they are interested in. Practice skip counting in the car on the way to your child's next activity. Your child can read the recipe for your next cooking or baking activity (hint: this is Math, too!) Ask your child to calculate the area of your driveway before they help you shovel snow. Name all of the things in the kitchen that start with certain letters.

10 December 2018 Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, JM Neale translator) Advent is upon us as we begin the month of December, and it is a time filled with joy and promise. The activities in our schools mirror the sentiments of the Advent season as we excitedly prepare for the celebration of Jesus birth. Although our activities are vastly different today, this anticipation links us back to the Jewish people all those years ago. Our Messiah is soon to arrive, and it is a time of hope for the future! Each fall, many of our schools and our staff participate in the We Care Challenge. This outstanding endeavor raises significant funds for two Catholic organizations, the Edmonton Catholic Schools Foundation s Dreams for Kids campaign and Catholic Social Services Sign of Hope campaign, that have tremendous impact on our ECSD community and beyond. Special thanks to our students, staff, and families for participating in this endeavor. As I am writing this newsletter, we are preparing for the presentation of our 2018 Audited Financial Statements and our Three Year Strategic Education Plan and Annual Education Results Report at our November 27 Public Meeting of the Board. After that meeting, you can click on the links above or visit to view those reports. Our All-City Choir is having their Christmas Concert on December 3 at 7:30 pm at McDougall United Church (10086 MacDonald Dr NW). The All-City Band s Christmas Concert is on December 12 at 7:00 pm at the Myer Horowitz Theatre ( St NW). Tickets are $5 at the door, and these concerts will be amazing! The District Satisfaction Survey will run from November 26 - December 7. Every household will receive one parent survey per child enrolled in an Edmonton Catholic School. Please respond to each survey separately from the point of view of each child's educational experience. You can either return your parent survey to your child s school or use the postage paid envelope and Canada Post. If you don t receive your survey, or if you would like more information about a question as it relates to your school, please phone the principal.... 2

11 This year s Hour of Code event takes place from December 3-7. This is the fifth year that Edmonton Catholic Schools will be participating. Hour of Code is a global movement that is supported by Code.org with the purpose of reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming. We live in a world surrounded by technology, and we know that whatever fields our students choose to explore as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works. This is a great time to introduce our students to computer programming and for them to see how coding is part of the way the world works. Coding and Computer Science also help to enhance literacy and numeracy skills through computational thinking, collaboration, and problem solving. Our goal is to have 27,000 student and teacher coders participate! As 2018 comes to a close, I wish you many opportunities to spend time with your family and friends reflecting on the many graces and great love that God has shared over this past year. In 2015 at the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis shared the following thoughts on the gift of Jesus to the Holy Family: And His Son, where did He send Him? To a palace? To a city, to start a business? He sent Him to a family! God came into the world in a family. And he was able to do this because this family was a family that had its heart open to love, that had the doors open to love. (09/27/15) Have a blessed Advent and Christmas season! Sincerely, Joan Carr Superintendent

12 December 2018 Dear Friends, In December, we celebrate the event that changed history the birth of Jesus. On Christmas Day, we will hear these words from the Gospel of Luke. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:7). Last year in my Christmas message I offered you some opportunities to make room for Jesus in your hearts, by listening to the Word of God both at home and in your schools. I ask you to continue to make room for Jesus not only by listening but also by your actions. That is why I am very pleased that Edmonton Catholic Schools has chosen Walking Together in God s Love for its theme this year. This theme finds its source in the words of the prophet Micah. He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) Children and youth who attend our Catholic schools are given an opportunity to practice the way of life outlined by the prophet Micah. Through the modeling that they receive from their parents, teachers and support staff they learn to live the Christian way of life. They are encouraged to act with justice in their dealings with all they meet, not only at home and school, but also on the field, court, ice, streets everywhere. In this way they are of service to others. Youth and children are fortified in their witnessing by the love of God, which leads them to act with kindness. Lastly, they are inspired to walk humbly with God through acts of worship. In our Catholic Schools, students are given the opportunity to learn about the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. They are introduced to the parish and to the life of worship. As Christmas draws near may we come, like the shepherds, to worship Christ! To all the staff, students and parents of the Edmonton Catholic Schools, I pray that you have a Blessed Christmas! Sincerely Yours in Christ, Richard W. Smith Archbishop of Edmonton

13 Chapter 3: Gaudete et Exsultate As we continue to explore Pope Francis most current Apostolic Exhortation: On the Call to Holiness in Today s World, this month we reach chapter three. This chapter is at the center or heart of the exhortation both literally and figuratively. Chapter Three: In the Light of the Master, focuses on the life lessons Jesus shared during the Sermon on the Mount. After explaining how to live a blessed life, Jesus says, Rejoice and be glad! (MT 5:12) This is the title of Pope Francis apostolic exhortation on holiness in everyday life. Living our faith is a lifelong journey. The Beatitudes are a roadmap that steer us towards holiness. Also referred to as Blessed are, the Beatitudes demonstrate what it means to be blessed or holy. Pope Francis uses these to remind us of the practical ways we are called to holiness in our everyday life while doing so joyfully. Let s review the Beatitudes. While reading, call to mind that Jesus spoke these words to his people who were being persecuted and judged on his behalf. This was a difficult and challenging time: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (MT 5: 1-12) Jesus is encouraging all of us to give ourselves to God and live a life that is filled with virtue. When we do so, we receive true life: the happiness which we were created for. If humankind would live out these Beatitudes, life would be simpler, just, peaceful, empathetic, loving, and joyful. People would put their trust in God first and foremost. Today this continues to be a path that goes against the flow and is often opposite to society s message. We are constantly called to challenge this and live our lives with mercy and forgiveness. This involves serving others and it also includes forgiveness and understanding. These are two central themes to Pope Francis papacy and reach the heart of this exhortation. Pope Francis Exhortation encourages us to look deep within and ask the questions: Where am I on the path to holiness? How do I rejoice and be glad in my faith journey? God Bless, Kathleen Nguyen, Elementary Religious Education Consultant Edmonton Catholic Schools

14