St. Philip School March 2017

Transcription

1 St. Philip School March 2017 The last day of school for Kindergarten students will be on Thursday, March 23rd. Grade 1 to 6 will have a full day of school on Thursday March 23rd and a half day of school on Friday March 24th. Spring break is from March 27 st to March 31st. Classes resume April 3rd at 8:25am. IN THIS ISSUE: Demonstration of Learning 2 Order forms for the yearbook have been handed out to students on March 1st. Please submit order forms to the office by May 19th. Yearbooks will be delivered September 2017 A Message from Mr. Podilsky... Thank you to all our parents, staff and students who took part in our Feb. 8 Open House. Thank you to the CPLI Italian School and Bright Horizons Out of School Care for promoting and participating in our Open House. Finally, thank you to those who invited others to join our school community. We heard extremely positive comments about the Open House and some new registrants commented that they were sold by our Open House presentations. Presently, we have 19 registered for Kindergarten next year and hoping for at least 15 more. Please keep promoting. We now set our sites on Carnevale that takes place on Shrove Tuesday February 28. We hope all that came had a wonderful time and enjoyed this great Italian celebration with tradition, food, games, costumes and much more. Thank you to our Italian faculty for all their incredible work in preparing Carnevale You will also see that we are updating and upgrading our classrooms with new flexible working spaces. We are thankful to our School Council who is supporting the school financially with new furniture, seating areas and carpets. We hope to eventually get to upgraded hallways, as well. Good news!...during this upgrade most coat hooks will be moved out of the classrooms and into the hallway, opening up classrooms for new learning spaces. Phoenix Sports 3 Past School Events 4 Hot Lunch/ SAC 5 Superintendent's Message 6 Secondary Religious 7 Consultant Message Elementary Religious 8 Consultant Message Amoris Laetitia Chapter 6 9 Cardinal Leger 10 Calendar 11 Lastly, we remind you that in March our Term 2 Progress Reports will go out (electronically). You will have access to them through the parent portal of PowerSchool on March 20 at 3 pm. Demonstration of Learning in your child s classrooms will go from 3:10 to 6:30 pm on Thursday March 23. You are free to come at any time between those times. There will be no specific scheduled time you need to sign up for this year. Wishing you all a restful Spring Break and great spiritual renewal during our Great Lent. God Bless!

2 Term 2 Progress Reports will be available online via parent portal on Monday March 20th after 3:00 pm. If you need information on accessing your parent portal, please call the office at Demonstration of Learning will take place on Thursday March 23rd. This year there will be no scheduled appointments. Parents are invited to drop in with your child(ren) between 3:10 pm- 6:30pm. On Wednesday, Mar 1st, we held our Ash Wednesday Celebration in the school gym. Father Paul was there as the staff and students began their Lenten journey. Thank you to Mrs. Mollame-Borges, Mrs. Dent and Mr. Balice for organizing this special day. Congratulations to those students who have celebrated the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Confirmation! We would be honored if you would send a picture of your child from his or her special day to school. The pictures will be placed on a bulletin board to recognize these very important events and the students' names will be included in our school newsletter. The pictures will be returned to you at the end of the school year in June. Thank you!

3 Running Room Relay On Wednesday, February 22nd, the St. Philip Phoenix girls and boys running teams participated in the Running Room Relay Games at the University of Alberta Butterdome. Congratulations to the Grade 5 & 6 members of the running team for a great effort and for doing our school proud! Precilla Britney Taylor Breanna Mikyala Olivia Sofia P. Piper Megan Brigid Chiang Hilda Hossana Jessica Zemen Destiny Naher Dammy Latzio Emily Ayrton Katrina Mohamad M Jack Max D. Matteo S. Donato Z. Abdou Ilyass Victor Basketball Free Throw The Knight s of Columbus Basketball Free Throw Competition was held on February 5th. One high school and three elementary schools participated. Several St. Philip students shined during the competition. Congratulations to all and good luck to Rafic A. who made it to the Regional Free Throw competition which will take place on March 19th! Boys 10 2nd Cardin T. 3rd Rafic A. Boys 11 1st Jack F. 2nd Artur G. Girls 11 1st Carlayna M. 3rd Katrina D.

4 100 Days of School! Our Grade 1 and 2 students celebrated 100 days of school on Thursday, February 8th! Each class was involved in numerous cross-curricular activities such as dressing up as a 100 year old person, creating an unique masterpiece with 100 pieces in art, participating in 100 exercise activities in gym class, counting to 100 in math, building towers using 100 cups, making groups of 10 with our snacks and sharing what their favorite thing to do is after 100 days of school! St. Philip students and staff showed an incredible amount of support for Pink Shirt Day on Feb 22nd. We were able to enjoy an inspiring video during our School Spirit assembly to learn about, and showcase our intolerance of bullying behaviors. Thank you to all for an inspiring afternoon!!

5 The students will be served Burrito Libre (Fresh Southwest Grill). The day s theme will also be FUNKY SOCKS! Here s how to get started. Go to stphilipedmonton.hotlunches.net Click on Click Here to Register Enter Access Code SPHL2016 Complete the reset of the registration form. (Including your address will ensure you receive reminder s about lunch orders deadlines, and your child s lunch order for the upcoming month) Click the Register Now button on the bottom Follow the instructions to add each child in your family who attends St. Philip Once your child(ren) are registered, click on Orders Proceed to order lunch for your child Pay Pal: We only accept lunch order payments through PayPal ( No cheques or cash payments will be accepted at anytime. You can either pay with a credit card as a PayPal guest (Visa, Mastercard or Amex, or set up your own PayPal account to use your Personal Saving or Chequing Account. Jennifer Skinner Dora Hon Maureen Gamache Vanessa Davis Abuk Mareu Ian Montgomery Nicole Melville Denyse Mommersteeg Melissa Clark Brianne Plett Our next School Advisory Council meeting will be held on March 6:30pm

6 March 2017 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ~John 3:16~ The Gospel of John is deeply rooted in love-the love of our God and His Son for us, our love for God and his Son, and our call to love each other. This particular verse of the Bible is one which you will often see posted simply as a scriptural reference, John 3:16, on signs at public events, sporting events, and at roadsides as an example. It is a message that Christians love to share, and even non-christians recognize the symbolism. This passage is also a perfect one for us to reflect upon as we enter this Lenten season. This is the time when we realize that God s love, manifest in the gift of his Son Jesus, leads to eternal life. These words are the ever-present message that whispers to us from the cross. The Archdiocese of Edmonton is once again celebrating a Day of Confessions. The day will be held throughout the Archdiocese on Wednesday, March 8, Visit their website to find times in your parish. PastoralParishServices/DivineWorship/DayofConfessions-Hours The Spring brings many opportunities for our students to showcase their learning in the fine arts. This month, students from across the city will share their talents in many ways. Spring Into Art, a student art exhibition, runs from March 6-19 at the U of A Enterprise Square building. Band Share Day is on March 7 at the Winspear, and Heart of Glee is on March 16 at 7pm at the Myer Horowitz Theatre. Our Council of Elders is hosting a Pipe Ceremony to welcome and honor the Spring season at St. Francis of Assisi School on March 23 at 10 am. Visit the Council of Elders section on our website to learn more about their role in sharing knowledge with our staff and students and fostering relationships between our District and the Aboriginal community. This year, we have an increased focus on building a positive mathematical culture and creating environments of numeracy within classrooms and across the school. Whether it be a continued focus on deepening basic math skills or making authentic connections between daily learning in math and the broader world around us, our students are moving forward in their journey towards in-depth mathematical literacy. At the elementary level, a guided math structure enhances the learning of all students through targeted instruction by the teacher; over 100 teachers have attended workshops in this area this year. Our secondary students are deepening their mathematical skills through an intentional focus on problem solving, critical thinking and assessment. Students are experiencing success through engagement in rich mathematical tasks such as problems of the week, an example of which can be found at this link as well as many local, national and international math contests. Numeracy week happens March 13th-17th; we are looking forward to hearing exciting stories about mathematical learning! 2 As you prepare for your Lenten journey, I would like to share some words from Pope Francis. He reminds us that serving others can be as basic as acknowledging their sacred human dignity Lent is a favorable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognizing in them the face of Christ. Each of us meets people like this every day. Each life that we encounter is a gift deserving acceptance, respect and love. (Message of the Holy Father Pope Francis for Lent 2017, 07/02/17) Have a wonderful month!

7 Our Lenten Journey The season of Lent this year begins March 1, Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time to Create Ourselves Anew. It is a season for praying, fasting, and almsgiving to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christ's Resurrection at Easter and for our own Redemption. Often, we are asked, why do we need a special time of year to concentrate on these things... shouldn t we always be creating ourselves anew? Of course, we should always work towards being the best person we are called to be. The Church recognizes, however, that we are all human. We do need special times to remind us what it means to be a person of faith, a follower of Jesus. Lent is one of these special times. We often focus on fasting and almsgiving during Lent and sometimes forget about praying. There are many tools that the Church has given us to help us pray, including form prayers like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, and other practices like Lectio divina, Visio divina, and Ignatian Contemplation. Another form of prayer that is, perhaps, lesser known is the Examen, which was originally developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. This form of prayer, although it was originally prayed primarily by the followers of Ignatius, known as Jesuits ( Pope Francis is a Jesuit), it is certainly accessible to all of us. The prayer card to the right sums up the practice very nicely. The Examen is a contemplative form of prayer that allows us to take time out of our busy day to spend with God. The Examen is a prayer that helps us to seek the presence and the movement of God in the events of life as it is lived. The first time we do it, we may find that it goes kind of fast, maybe only 5 minutes. As we continue praying this way, however, we will find that the time passes quickly and we may end up spending 15 to 20 minutes or even half an hour. It is a wonderful way for us to look at our lives through the loving eyes of our God. During Lent, we are encouraged to pray, to fast, and to give of ourselves. This year, let s make sure that we remember to spend some quality time with God in prayer, maybe using the Ignatian Examen. God bless, Ed Jean Secondary Religious Education Consultant

8 March 2017 Kathleen Nguyen, Elementary Religious Education Consultant Journeying through Lent as a family Lent is the 40-day season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday which falls on March 1 st this year. Ashes are placed on our forehead in the shape of a cross as a sign of our humility and contrition. The ashes come from the palms that were blessed on Palm Sunday the year before. Lent is a time of purification and enlightenment. During this time, we use the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to prepare ourselves. This year, try picking one thing in each of these three areas as a family and do it intentionally. Prayer Ask your family: What is one way we can develop our relationship with Jesus through prayer this Lent? The aim of the Lenten practice of prayer is to get closer to Jesus. One way you can do this is by taking 15 minutes and listen to Jesus talk to you through the gospels. You can even get an audio version of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV) and listen to it together as a family. Fasting The Church calls us to fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and on Good Friday, the first day of the Triduum. For these two days, fasting involves eating two small meals and one medium size meal that is no bigger than the two small meals combined. Abstinence means that we do not eat meat. Fasting throughout the 40 days of Lent is all about conforming our hearts to Jesus. Ask your family: What kind of fast do we need to have in our life? What is something that is keeping us from being present to each other or others? Your fast doesn t have to involve food. You might choose to fast from Netflix, Facebook, or from checking your phone constantly. Almsgiving Ask your family: How can we let God use us in this time to bless others? Almsgiving can involve giving of your time, talent, or treasure. For example, you could decide to share your time by volunteering as a family. You may wish to share your musical talents by giving the gift of music to the elderly. If you decide to give money, do it consistently throughout the season of Lent. (It is called a Lenten practice because it is meant to be intentionally done throughout the 40 days.) When you are doing one of these things, you are taking time to bless someone else. Family friendly Solidarity Calendar from Development and Peace:

9 AMORIS LAETITIA CHAPTER 6: SOME PASTORAL PERSPECTIVES A partner is defined as a person who takes part in an undertaking with another or others. Between the people of Faith and the Church, we make for excellent partners on a journey that leads us through life and to God. An exceptionally important part of this journey is that of marriage. To every person, marriage is an exciting mystery filled with potential which requires our best effort to understand and responsibility to develop: truly it engages us all. Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia speaks to how the partnership of marriage involves a role and responsibility of man and woman to become a committed couple. It recognizes how a couple shares something with one another which they will not and could not share with any other person on this earth: it is a love unique between them and from any other form of human relationship to be found. This is so because God designed it to be so; God created us to connect with another and we sense this within our very selves. The first experience of this bond of love is within our families. It begins and is felt in child to parent, it is seen between mother and father, and it is developed in families to our communities. Indeed, the qualities and intention of a strong marriage are its own reward; we follow this by the example of those who live it well and the way in which they inspire others to live and give to the same. Within any new relationship there is always excitement and challenge. As education prepares us for our future, so a quality formation in marriage will assist in preparing couples for a life lived between two and among the wider community. A couple does not know what they may encounter together; but they desire to be prepared, both to overcome challenges and delight all the more in the joys which will surely occur. The Church stands ready and willing and is eager to offer pastoral assistance through this time of early growth. Sound preparation and mature formation will become the foundation to their success. And, the simple ways can often be the surest of ways to achieving this success: intimate time together, communication in community, and speaking with God. Over time, and as this couple matures, they will then be able to give back in witness and wisdom perhaps to children and hopefully to younger couples who explore and learn this for themselves. In so doing, each person of every family will pass on the tradition and values received, and so contribute to the experience and heritage for a future generation. Amoris Laetitia affirms how love is always a gift from God; like any good gift, we seek to show and share it with those around us. A married couple in love naturally share their love with those around them. The Church in general, and the Parish in particular, are places which recognize, celebrate, assist, protect and promote their relationship. In turn, the couple will receive affirmation, advice, and assistance as we would within a home. However, if a married couple no longer attends the Church or choose not to draw on their Faith which brought them to each other, it may become similar to walking a long path alone. Such a path is indeed private and a couple will have one another on which to draw support, but it eventually becomes lonely and they risk becoming lost or subject to greater difficulties without help. Furthermore, to do so would be for them to miss out on a shared experience of past and present with others, while the rest of the community misses their contribution for the present and the future. The Church continues to offer and desires to share the sacredness of the Sacrament of Marriage. Like a guide on a journey or an expert within a field, so the Church can and will be for a couple who are searching their hearts in love: it is and will always be a companion who seeks to introduce and relay God s will for them. The Church has travelled this road of life for over two thousand years and so can point out what to do, where we should be, with whom we should seek company, when we ought to arrive, and why we are capable of doing so successfully. It is through this purpose which Amoris Laetitia expresses and confirms how husband and wife are always special partners to each other, and how married couples are vital and valuable partners with the Church; together, we will then be and become the faithful partner to God - God who is and remains our pastoral partner for life and for all. ~Father Dean Dowle

10 Cardinal Leger Junior High School Presents... INTERNET USE AND ABUSE AND YOUR TEEN AND DRUGS An Evening with Our STAY Advisors Mr. Rick Cole (Retired EPS Member) Mr. Doug Green (Retired EPS Member) Wednesday, March 8 6:30 PM 7:30 PM Avenue Please register for this session by calling the Cardinal Leger office at

11 March 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Ash Wednesday 8 2 Teacher s Convention No School LENT 3 Teacher s Convention No School Sportball for all grades Grade 5 In-School Fieldtrip Flex #9 Grade 4 In-School Fieldtrip 12 Daylight Savings Begins 13 Grade 6 to City Hall 14 Parent Council LENT 15 School Spirit 16 Kinder Demo of Learning 17 Hot Lunch Father Paul visiting St. Patrick's Day LENT Report Cards Home First Day of Spring Flex #10 Grade 4 In class Fieldtrip LENT Demo Learning 3:10 6:30p.m. Full Day of School Half Day of School- Dismissal at 11:54am Spring Break Mar LENT IMPORTANT APRIL DATES: Apr 14 Good Friday no school Apr 17 Easter Monday no school Apr 27 Spring Concert (6:30-8pm)