Principal s Message. Thank you to all parents who attended our last SAC meeting. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30 PM.

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1 November 2018

2 Principal s Message Catholic Education Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday of November each year. This year, it is on November 4 and its theme is Rejoice and Be Glad. In their letter celebrating Catholic Education Sunday, our Bishops take inspiration from Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation (Gaudete et Exsultate: On the Call to Holiness in Today s World). The letter highlights the important role that our schools play in nurturing the call to holiness for our children and youth noting that The universal call to holiness has particular importance in the life of a Catholic School. Catholic education invites students to respond to the personal call of Jesus to embark on a journey of holiness. They are encouraged to grow in the knowledge of how God is active and present in their lives. They are called to enter into a living relationship with God. We are so grateful for the gift of publicly-funded Catholic Education in our province. Let us rejoice and be glad that we have the opportunity to offer our students a Catholic education where each person is invited to enter into a living relationship with God. Please see our Board of Trustees and Superintendent Carr s joint Letter for Catholic Education Sunday. We are also pleased to announce the formation of GrACE a new advocacy group for Catholic Education. On Friday, November 2, our school will celebrate Edmonton Catholic School Districts 130 th year. We are so fortunate to be part of this proud tradition. School Council: Thank you to all parents who attended our last SAC meeting. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30 PM. Nov. 1-3 Nov 4 Nov. 6 Nov. 7 Nov. 8 November Events Concert Band & Jazz Band to Canmore Turn your clocks back 1 hour at 2:00 AM Grad Assembly- PLT PAC/SAC 6:30 PM Remembrance Day Celebration Humanities New York Trip until Nov 12

3 Nov. 9 Nov. 12 Nov. 15 Nov Nov Nov Nov. 30 PD DAY ALL DAY-NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS Remembrance Day Extension-School Closed Art Show- Atrium Spirit Week Junior High Feeder Volleyball Tournament Grad Formal Pictures in the SRC Taste of Mac Grad Information Grad formals are the week of Nov. 26 in the SRC. Sitting schedules will be posted early November for student s information. Fees have already been collected for these so no additional monies need to be collected for the initial sitting and proofs.

4 Student Services Confused about what career path to follow? In November, student services will be hosting two PLT sessions on career paths. This will be open to all grades. Depression is more than just a bad mood. DEPRESSION While it is normal to feel discouraged and frustrated during adolescence, when we are depressed, we feel trapped in our own minds. Depression in youth is more difficult to identify, because, as a teenager, you are already going through so many changes and the social, academic and family pressures that teens go through can make a low mood seem justified. If you are wondering if you might be experiencing depression, here are 5 things to look for: You feel lower than you have felt before, and the feelings are sticking around. Emotions such as guilt, anxiety, anger, hopelessness, loneliness, and shame are typical in depressed people. Unlike bad moods, which can come and go, these feelings persist beyond two weeks. You feel numb. Many people who experience depression do not find their emotions to be intense rather, they feel numb, flat and foggy. Their most noticeable depression symptoms are lack of motivation and no energy. Your body feels different. You may experience headaches or general aches and pains that you can t explain. You may feel tired all the time or have problems eating or sleeping. You may unexpectedly gain or lose weight. Your thoughts are harsh. It seems like there is a running commentary in your head of self-criticism. You might find that you think negatively about many things and people. Additionally, you may have a hard time concentrating. Depressed people find themselves saying: why bother? and what s the point? When things become really bad, you might even have suicidal thoughts.

5 Your behaviour has changed. You might be withdrawing from others, crying easily, or showing less interest in sports, games, or other fun activities that you normally enjoy. You might over-react and have sudden outbursts of anger or tears over minor issues. Do any of these sound familiar? You re not alone: at least one out of eight teenagers struggles with depression. Sometimes, the cause of depression is a mystery, while other times it can be linked to something going on in a teenager s life. Family conflict, bullying, social politics, pressures in school and shame about sexual orientation are all known contributors to depression in youth. Teens who struggle with depression can experience other serious problems, such as poor grades, skipping classes, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts or attempts. Depression is treatable. However, it might not go away on its own. When you feel helpless and powerless, keep in mind that these are a few things that you can do. Ask for help! Maybe you re holding out to see if you start to feel better without any help. The fact is that an untreated episode of depression can stick around for months. Talk to an adult that you trust. A parent, a teacher, a school counsellor, coach, or your doctor. Tell them how you ve been feeling, and let them know that you think you might be depressed. Depression can be treated, and treatment such as medication or counselling is often effective. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help right away. Suicidal thoughts are usually associated with problems that can be treated, believe it or not. Reach out to someone you trust to let them know that you need help and if you don t feel comfortable telling someone you know, you can always contact your local crisis centre. Don t believe everything you think. When we re depressed, our thoughts are harsh. We call ourselves names (loser, failure, ugly, stupid ). We find faults in everyone and everything. These thoughts seem accurate, but in fact, depression distorts our perceptions. Thoughts truths. Exercise. Any type of movement that gets your heart pumping can help your mood. Walking, dancing, really anything! If you re finding it hard to motivate yourself, try the 5-minute experiment. Aim to exercise for 5 minutes! If you decide to prolong it, great but if not, even 5 minutes is helpful! When we are feeling depressed, we sometimes assume that we are beyond help. If you feel this way, we encourage you to reach out. You are worth it! (Taken from Healthy Teen Magazine, September 2017) Athletics October has been an extremely busy month for MAC Athletics. Our curling team has been competing in exhibition games, preparing for league play to start in November, and our Cross-Country season wrapped up with six runners qualifying for provincials! Lauren McDowell and Elizabeth DeCorby placed 39 and 41 in the senior girls division,

6 Mathew Wafer placed 22nd overall in the intermediate boys, and Makenna Graham finished 6th in intermediate girls! Congratulations runners! Our volleyball teams have seen a lot of success this month as well. Our own Brittney Zilinski won Metro Athletics Athlete of the Week in October! Congratulations to her! On October 22nd we hosting Senior Night, sponsored by Panago Pizza. Our fans filled the stands as we celebrated our grade 12 players. It was a great night and we would like to thank Panago for their generosity. Our senior boys made it to the consolation final in the Notre Dame tournament in Calgary, and our senior girls won their side! Our senior girls are currently gearing up to play their semifinal match as they make their run at a banner. Good luck! Mac's junior teams have also had a lot of tournament success. Our junior boys won silver at the Lillian Osborne tournament, and the girls won gold! The junior girls team finished 4th in their division and are ready to take on St Albert in quarterfinals! Basketball season starts November 1 with our senior boys and girls tryouts. Junior tryouts will begin mid-november. Please listen to announcements and watch the TVs around the school for more information.

7 CONGRATULATIONS!!

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12 Edmonton Catholic Schools Online Financial Budget Survey YOUR CHILD! YOUR VOICE! Edmonton Catholic Schools believes it is essential to involve parents in providing input into the budget process. In preparation for the upcoming budget it is important that the district gather as much information as possible. Therefore, as a parent of Edmonton Catholic Schools, your feedback will provide a valuable contribution in the decision-making process. 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 District Website: Go to then go to the slider indicating the Online Financial Budget Survey and follow the directions. Powerschool: Parents log on to Powerschool as you normally would to check your child's progress. Once in Powerschool, click on the tab "Financial Budget Survey". This tab will take you directly to the online survey. 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. Survey results will be shared with the Edmonton Catholic School District Budget Committee in January for consideration during the budget

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15 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-and-choose 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

16 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.

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