March Virtue of the Month: FORGIVENESS PAINTING

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1 street N Edmonton, AB T5A 3H3 Ph FAX Inside this Issue Important Dates Monthly Virtue Demonstration of Learning School Council information Registration information School Painting Update Open House Information Parish News LENT Virtue of the Month: FORGIVENESS Let go of anger or of being upset over a situation. Registration for We are accepting new registrations. Contact the office for additional Information. Important Dates February 27 Pink Shirt Day February 28 Teacher s Convention No School March 1 Teacher s Convention No School March 6 Grade 6 Passports due to the school March 4 Ski Trip (4-6) all new forms need to be signed March 5 Shrove Tuesday pancake lunch March 6 Ash Wednesday 12:30 March 7 Focus on Self Regulation PD March 13 Demo of Learning (4:30 7:30 PM) March 14 General Staff Meeting March 19 Confessions (gr. 3 6) March 20 Telus World of Science (K, 3, 6) March 21 Full Day/Spelling Bee at 12:45 PM March 22 Early Dismissal March Spring Break April 1 Immunizations April 4 Pinocchio Alberta Opera (9AM) PAINTING As you know, our school is being painted. You will notice that because our school won t be painted again for years to come, the mural walls had to be painted as well. Although we are sad to see these beautiful murals go, the students are excited about being involved in creating some new pieces to represent our school. We look forward to working on this as a school to create an environment that is just as welcoming as before. Thank you for your support and words of encouragement. Principal: Ms. Christine Vince Assistant Principal: Mrs. LaFrance Secretary: Mrs. Linda DeRose Web Site:

2 School Council News The next School Council Meeting will be on March 12 at 6:15 PM in the St. Gerard Staff room. Thank you to the School Council for funding the Grade 4 6 Ski Trip! School Website Please check our website for information such as: Staff List School Supplies Lunch Menu Newsletter Power School Access and How To Video Registration Calendar Parish News School Information District Information Other important links Power School Please remember that you can view your child s progress at school through Power School. Log In information was sent home at the beginning of the year but if you require your password information, please call the school office and we would be happy to send it home again. Also, on our school website you can find the link to Power School and a How To video for viewing your child s grades. DEMONSTRATION OF LEARNING Please join us at our Demonstration of Learning on Wednesday, March 13th from 4:30 to 7:30 at the school. This is an important time for you to support your child in their progress at school. The students will be demonstrating their success and challenges so that together with you they can set goals for the future. Our Open House is the same evening. If you know of new families interested in our school for the school year, please invite them to join us that evening for a school tour. LENT Join us for this Lenten Mission and let the Holy Spirit prepare you for the gift of the resurrection. There will be six one-hour sessions on the Thursdays of Lent (March 7 through April 11 ), starting at 7 p.m. The mission will follow the same format each week: a teaching about the Holy Spirit by Father Glenn McDonald, a witness talk, adoration, and a concluding blessing. Fellowship will follow in the parish hall. Location: St. Alphonsus Church, Street, Edmonton. Cost: Please say a prayer for the poor. Kindly RSVP to or StAlphonsus.Edm@caedm.ca.

3 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Pink Shirt Day! No School Teacher s Convention 1 No School Teachers Convention SKI TRIP Grade Shrove Tuesday Free Pancake Lunch 6 Ash Wednesday Celebration 12:30 PM School Council Meeting 6:15 PM 13 Demo of Learning 4:30 7: Confessions Grade 3 6 Grades K, 3& 6 Telus Trip Late Dismissal at 2:37 SPELLING BEE at 12:45 Early Dismissal at 11:37 AM SPRING BREAK April 1 Back to School Immunizations

4 Come back to the Lord with all your heart; leave the past in ashes, And turn to God with tears and fasting, for he is slow to anger and ready to forgive. (Cf. Joel 2:13) This beautiful antiphon is often sung on Ash Wednesday during the blessing and imposition of the ashes. It is a wonderful reminder for us as we begin the season of Lent that God loves us unconditionally. In our humanity we make mistakes, but all we need to do is ask and he is ready to forgive. He even sent us the ultimate loving gift in Jesus whose death was the greatest act of forgiveness. Edmonton Catholic Schools is very proud to have been named one of Alberta s Top 75 Employers! This is the fourth year that we have received this designation. Maintaining this designation over time is a significant accomplishment for our District. It affirms that we are able to provide an excellent work environment for all of our employee groups on a consistent basis. When our employees have great working environments, our students benefit as well. Our District is part of the Grateful Advocates for Catholic Education, GrACE, network. The mission of GrACE is to inspire, invigorate and embolden the spirit of Catholic education in order to unite, engage, educate and communicate with one voice on its behalf. GrACE is a partnership of stakeholders resolutely committed to Catholic education within Alberta. Each Catholic jurisdiction in the province has assembled a highly committed team whose members include Trustees, Superintendents, clergy, parish staff, parents, members of the Catholic Women s League and Knights of Columbus. Every day is a celebration of Catholic education. Let us be grateful for our blessings and commit our support to sharing the great work of our schools. Dual credit opportunities allow students to earn high school and post-secondary credits simultaneously. Edmonton Catholic Schools is working on a dual credit opportunity with MacEwan University in Police Studies. This unique program would provide a foundational experience that could lead to multiple career pathways for students ranging from community policing to social work to legal services. We will share more details as this new program for fall 2019 unfolds. Spring Break for our year-round schools begins on March 18, and for our regular calendar schools it begins on March 25. It provides a wonderful opportunity for families and for our staff to rejuvenate and spend time with loved ones.... 2

5 Pope Francis provides a message for Lent each year. You can find them, and so many more of his writings on the Vatican website, In his message last year, our Holy Father shared the following: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in his providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a sacramental sign of our conversion. Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life. I wish you a spiritually uplifting, sacramental Lenten experience and a refreshing Spring Break! Yours in Christ, Joan Carr Superintendent BE THE CHURCH The Church is more than a building that we come to each and every Sunday. The Church is people; believing people, baptized people, confirmed people, surrendered people, people in whom Christ dwells, people who listen to the voice of God, people who abide by the commandments of the Lord, people who have truly committed their lives to Him as Lord, people who have a personal relationship to Him, people who obey His voice. Bishop Demetrius wrote "the Church is the company of those who have put on Christ by being baptized in Him, sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, forgiven of their sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and nurtured by the Heavenly Food in the Holy Mystery of His Body and Blood.... The Church is a divinely instituted unity of people, united by the Catholic Faith, the law of God, the hierarchy and the Holy Sacraments. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ." One of the holiest moments of the Eucharistic Liturgy is the moment when the Church - God's people, strengthened by the Word of God and nourished by the Sacrament of the Eucharist, go out the church door into the world to be the Church. We don't just go to church; we are the Church. A student was telling his parish priest about a conversation he had with a fellow student in the school. The fellow student did not believe in God. The student said to his pastor, "How can I get this fellow to church, so he can get some help?" The pastor replied, "Don't try to get him to come to church. He'll probably refuse anyway. You must be the Church to him where you are... in the classroom, in the locker room, in the cafeteria, on the soccer field, on the bus. You are the Church to that fellow student." The reason we come to church every Sunday is to listen to Christ, to praise Him, to receive Him within us that we may go out into the world and be the Church for the rest of the week. This Lent let us be the Church to everyone we meet. Resources: A Byzantine Rite. Liturgical Year. Julian J. Katrij, OSBM. Basilian Fathers Publication. Detroit, "Daily Vitamins for Spiritual Growth." Anthony M. Coniaris. Light and Life Publishing. Minneapolis Minnesota, Fr. Julian Bilyj District Chaplain