St. Bonaventure Catholic School th Ave, Edmonton, AB T5Y 1R9 Visit us online at Telephone:

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1 St. Bonaventure Catholic School th Ave, Edmonton, AB T5Y 1R9 Visit us online at Telephone: MARCH 2018 NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS Mar 1& 2 no school Teachers Convention Feb 26-Mar 6 ccat s gr 3 March 6 Passports due back to St. Bonaventure and forwarded March 9 to jr. high schools Mar 9 report Cards Online & Hot Lunch Mar 9 Hot Dog Day Mar 14 Demo of Learning & Grade 1-6 Open House 3:30-6:30 Mar 22 Full Day Mar 23-Half Day Mar 26-April 1Spring Break Apr 2 Classes Resume The weather during the month of March often is quite unpredictable as the warming temperatures tempt us to doff our winter clothes in favor of spring attire. Please continue to monitor the weather each day to ensure your children come dressed appropriately to school. A reminder that all children should be gathering at the back tarmac when they arrive at school. When the bell sounds at 8:28, students should be moving to their proper doors to come in and prepare for the day. Supervision starts at 8:15 so children should not arrive here earlier. Thank you to all the parents who helped make Mardi Gras a fabulous day for our community. A special thank you to all of the organizations and individuals who donated prizes or time. A huge thank you to our Mardi Gras coordinators for all their time and effort collecting, organizing, wrapping prizes and making sure the day was a huge success. It was an incredible success and we are so grateful for the contributions and efforts of everyone and look forward to what Mardi Gras will be like next year! Report cards and Demonstration of Learning are just around the corner. Our students are working on many wonderful projects and assignments to show their parents on March 14th. The report cards offer information about your child s progress related to the Alberta Program of Studies, but the Demonstration of Learning provides the opportunity for you to see your child s work, strategies and understanding first hand. Please be sure to attend on March 14th from 3:30-6:30 pm in an Open House format where no formal appointments are necessary. Classrooms will be open from 3:30-6:30 and all families are invited to the gym for our Fellowship Café before and after classroom visits to peruse a number of displays as well as to engage in socialization with other families. A reminder to parents in order to be more environmentally friendly, like all elementary school in Edmonton Catholic Schools, our report cards will be made available electronically. You must have your PowerSchool credentials in order to access your child s report card. Please contact the office for these credentials. Mr. Ken Pyra, Principal Mr. Russell Bennett, Assistant Principal TBA SAC/PAC MEETING IN THE SCHOOL STAFF ROOM EVERYONE IS WELCOME

2 TEACHERS CONVENTION Teachers Convention will be held on Thursday, March 1 and Friday, March 2, 2018 There will be NO SCHOOL for all students on these days. CCAT TESTS During the week of Feb 26 March 6 each child in Grade 3 will be writing the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Tests. This test is designed to measure the cognitive control process that each child uses to acquire knowledge. Please ensure that your child is getting enough rest so that they can be at their absolute best. BUS PASSES Our annual Scholastic Book Fair begins March 12 and runs to March 15th morning recess. The theme is Best Pets Book Fair, Read on St. Bonaventure Family Open all recesses and during our Demo of Learning March is a short month, please have your bus pass money in the office by March 5, We must have our transportation report in to head office early. EARLY CHILDHOOD REGISTRATIONS (KINDERGARTEN) St. Bonaventure School is accepting registrations for Early Childhood, Kindergarten, for the school year. To register, your child must be five (5) years of age before March 1, In order to register you must bring your child s Birth Certificate, proof of address and Baptismal certificate if you have one. *Please note: We are unable to register any student without a birth certificate or immigration documents. If you know any children in the community that are the correct age please let them know that we are now registering students for our next school year. We accept children from all faith groups. Contact Mrs. Hanasyk if you have any questions at GRADE 1-6 NEW REGISTRATIONS If you know of anyone that would like to attend St. Bonaventure we are having an Open House for grades 1-6 on March 14 from 3:30-6:30 or contact Mrs. Hanasyk DEMO OF LEARNING & REPORT CARDS Report cards for all Grade 1-6 students will be available online at 3 pm on March 9. If you need help logging onto your child s PowerSchool page please stop by the school office for assistance. Report cards will not be printed for individual students by the school. In cases of extenuating circumstances please contact Mrs. Hanasyk March 14 Demo of Learning 3:30-6:30. Our St. Bonaventure Fellowship Café will be open starting at 3 pm for you to enjoy some community time AND we will also have Buskers, Alberta Milk, Alberta Health Services, and Staples on hand to share information about healthy eating. Please take time to enjoy all aspects of our venue.

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4 March 2018 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ~John 13:1~ This passage comes from the Gospel reading for Holy Thursday. The Gospel of John is also known as the Gospel of Love because it is written to clearly tell us of the great love that God has for us. That love is embodied in the person of Jesus. Knowing of the immense suffering that Jesus is about to endure as his death approaches, it is humbling to even try to imagine the magnitude of His love for us. Our Catholic community was deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and shepherd, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph MacNeil. One of our schools proudly bears his name and his motto Let us grow together in Christ. Archbishop MacNeil was a significant part of the fabric of so many of our lives, especially through the sacrament of Confirmation. We invite you to visit and click on the Remembering Archbishop Joseph MacNeil banner to share a favorite story or picture of him. ECSD has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mount Royal University to collaborate and offer students two courses to explore their passions and interests in Aviation. The two dual credit Aviation courses, which are required courses within the Mount Royal University Bissett School of Business Aviation Diploma, will be offered at St. Joseph High School to interested grade 11 & 12 students from ECSD who meet the pre-requisites of English 30 1, Math 30 1, and medical clearance. By offering the courses after school hours, it will enable students from across ECSD to enroll in the courses. Students will be able to develop their knowledge to achieve Transport Canada requirements respecting navigation and aviation operations, along with Basic Meteorology to interpret weather information for pilots as supplied by Atmospheric Environment Services. In partnership with WestJet, students will be able to experience flight simulation and in-flight experiences with trained pilots. WestJet will support this opportunity through personnel, simulator experiences, and site visitations at YEG. Edmonton Catholic Schools is excited to plan for our new K-6 school in The Orchards at Ellerslie. The culture and ethos of a Catholic school evolves from its name. We want to choose a name that is meaningful to our Catholic community, and that conveys the school s identity to the broader community. We are currently taking suggestions from the public and would love to hear your voice. Visit and click on the Name our New School Banner to learn more about the guidelines and criteria. We will be accepting entries until March 31. There are so many opportunities for our students to showcase their learning. An excellent example of this is the annual Jean Forest Leadership Academy Luncheon to celebrate International Women s Day. This year's Women's Day theme is... 2

5 Press for Progress! and the girls of JFLA are embracing this challenge by building on their leadership and engaging in community service as students in the Academy. The guest speaker at this year s luncheon will be mental health advocate and professional photographer Blake Loates. She will be speaking about the need to Press for Progress in the fight to end the stigma of mental illness. Visit and look under What s New in the District to learn more about the luncheon and how to purchase tickets. The month of March also provides us with the opportunity to focus student learning more intentionally on the importance of numbers in our daily lives during our annual Numeracy Week event. Our students will spend time gaining an appreciation of the fact the numeracy is not just significant in math class! The year moves by so swiftly. Our year-round schools will begin their Spring Break on March 19, and our regular calendar schools will begin their break on March 26. All classes will resume on Tuesday, April 3. This is a wonderful time for students and staff to rest and recharge in preparation for the busy-ness of the last few months of school. I leave you with another passage from the Gospel of John as we continue our Lenten journey: 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 Have a wonderful month! Sincerely, Joan Carr Superintendent Living in the Word of God - Mercy at the Heart of It All Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup; for all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves (1 Corinthians 11: 27-29). In previous articles on Living in the Word of God, we discovered that the Christian response to God's love revealed in Christ is threefold: worship, witness and service; the three ways in which we put into practice the Word of God. Our lives come from the mercy of God. The Lord calls us precisely in our weakness, and mercifully bestows upon us all the gifts we need for the fulfillment of our Christian calling. True worship, especially through the celebration of the Eucharist, requires that we examine our way of living, to seek forgiveness and reconciliation, to profess what we believe, and to serve others with joyful hearts. Pope Francis calls us to embrace fully the meaning of our Baptism and to live consciously as disciples of Jesus Christ. This means hearing the Word of God and practicing it. Every day we encounter a myriad of voices; some positive, some negative, endeavouring to influence and shape our way of thinking and living. Yet, for us there is only one voice that we know is fully worthy of our trust, and that voice is Jesus. To be disciples, to live in accord with our Baptismal identity and dignity, is to allow only his words to guide and direct our lives. Sandra Talarico, Religious Education Consultant

6 Among the many desires of mankind is the pursuit of power. It may be political, economic, psychological, or familial. A review of current global or local issues indicate just how many revolve around the application of power: who has it, how much, and why. Power holds a great force of influence. In most instances it is pursued so as to effect control such that one s personal intentions, needs, and wants are enacted. Essentially one wants to ensure one s needs and wants are met and served. Indeed, we know by experience that to be served feels good, but this is only so if it is done out of an authentic love which then can be reciprocated with acknowledgement and appreciation. For to be served on demand or out of mere selfishness is the antithesis of the interpretation of service Jesus both lived and extolled. As we are given to understand in every Gospel in general and Holy Thursday in particular, it is not the societal interpretation of power to which the Christian is to aspire. Rather, it is the humble service which can and likely involves a sacrifice, a task we are asked to fulfill for its own sake and the common good. Our District community has many such examples from which to draw: the new mother who sacrifices sleep to be with a sick child, the dedicated teacher who gives up the lunch hour to be with a struggling student, or the newly retired principal who volunteers their skills to help a senior in need. The way that Jesus serves is consistently defined by what he says and so by what he does. Consequently, if we desire to know what it means to be the real image and likeness of God, what it means to know ultimate power, what we ought to do is look to Jesus. And if we want to know how to be closer to God, we in turn emulate the way of Jesus: not to be served, but to serve. Holy Thursday and the Mass of the Lord s Supper will be our example and source of inspiration: all are encouraged to attend this most special night at their local Parish. The Gospel reinforces for us that it is service to others which will show the way to what is true leadership and authentic power within the Kingdom. And the final destination of the Kingdom is all that should really matter. May we remember this during the latter of Lent and Easter soon to be: God, power, others, and me. Most sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. Dean Dowle ECSD Chaplain