Message from our Holy Cross Administration

Transcription

1 Message from our Holy Cross Administration The season of Advent begins on Sunday, December 2nd. Advent is the time of preparing for Jesus arrival. During Advent, we are invited to reflect on the mystery that is the incarnation and birth of the Christ Child. This reflection reminds us that as we begin the winter season, and approach the shortest, darkest day of the year, there is hope in the light of Jesus. Beginning December 3, our PYP families can look forward to the Joy Bags coming home with their children. What a great way for our families to celebrate Advent together! Holy Cross staff wishes all our families a joyous Christmas season. Mme Lorraine Sylvestre Principal M. Ed Jean Assistant Principal 1

2 ALL SAINTS DAY November 1 is All Saints Day in our Catholic Church. Our MYP students enjoyed exploring a Saint that they had a particular connection with. They either chose their namesake Saint, the Saint from their birthday or a Saint that is a Patron Saint of a particular interest they share. Some decided to use an online tool that helped them determine which Saint they would research: WhichSaintAreYou?. The students shared their research with their classmates using GoogleSlides and posted their work in their Religion classroom. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE The end result of the two weeks that our Artist in Residence, Virginie Rainville, spent with our MYP students is on display in the entrance to our school. Each student at the MYP level created a visual representation of the Service Project that they decided to complete during this school year. The students could be heard asking each other with pride, Do you see my picture? It s right there! The images will be on display for the rest of the year, then each student will be able to bring their masterpiece home to share with their friends and families. 2

3 YOUNG READERS CHOICE AWARDS AND BATAILLE DES BOUQUINS Our Grade 4 and 5 students enjoyed their presentation from Edmonton Public Library about The Young Reader s Choice Awards and Bataille des bouquins. These are English and French children s choice book awards which always promise some very interesting reading! The titles for both programs are available through EPL and in the Holy Cross library. MLA SARAH HOFFMAN VISITS On Tuesday, November 13th, Minister Sarah Hoffman visited the Grade 1 students. Minister Hoffman talked to students about her work and how she contributes to the community of Edmonton. The visit kicked off the Grade 1s new IB unit, an inquiry into how people cooperate and contribute to their communities. Students learned more about voting, elections and how members of the legislature make decisions to help our community. They were surprised to find out how many bosses Minister Hoffman had. We thank Minister Hoffman for sharing her time and experience with our young students. 3

4 TAKE OUR KIDS TO WORK DAY Take Our Kids to Work Day was November 14 th. This is an annual event for career investigation. It was great to see that so many of our Grade 9 students spent a day exploring the world of work. Our students enjoyed their experiences at a Senior Citizen Home, the Kaye Clinic, the Misericordia Hospital, an Ophthalmologist office, as well as many other fascinating and informative places. Thank you to all the parents, relatives, friends, and neighbors for making this possible! This was a wonderful extension to the career paths investigations that have been happening with these same Grade 9 students in their Health and Life Skills classes. 4

5 REMEMBRANCE DAY Our school community gathered in the gym on November 9 to take part in a moving Remembrance Day ceremony. The students were very respectful as our special guest shared his thoughts about Remembrance Day and his experiences as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Students also made cards to honor the sacrifices that were made by Canadian soldiers. 5

6 HOLODOMOR On November 23, our students took time to commemorate Holodomor. Holodomor is a day set aside to remember that during , millions of Ukrainians perished in a famine perpetrated by the Stalinist regime. Almost 90% of these victims starved between the winter of 1932 and spring of 1933, one of the greatest genocides in European history. We received a banner from the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation which we displayed in our entrance from November It was a powerful visual reminder for our students and any visitors to our school. After a parent meeting in November, one of our parents shared with us that her grandfather was involved in the Holodomor. He was a survivor who had many horrific stories to tell. She was very appreciative that we had the banner on display to help our school community raise awareness. Our students took part in activities in their classrooms that helped them to appreciate the tragedy of this event and to understand what they can do to help to make the world a better place now. 6

7 GRADE 6 PROBLEM-SOLVERS Grade 6 students at École Holy Cross Académie Internationale created Breakout centres as part of their IB unit. Students demonstrated how mathematical puzzles can represent numerical relations in everyday life. The students were tasked with creating a motivating scenario in order to convince others to open their Breakout box. In order to do so, the audience must solve real-life word problems using decimal numbers that the students created. Emerging Technology Consultant Christine McKee aided the students in creating their math problems and using the Breakout equipment. 7

8 COOPERATING TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY For their IB unit, the Grade 1 students are exploring how people work together to help their community. To help their community, students made Christmas cards, which will be sent to the men and women of the armed forces serving overseas. The Grade 4 students visited the Grade 1 students to help them write their Christmas messages in their cards. This project comes at a perfect time, as students begin their Advent journeys by finding ways to help others. 8

9 DWALI CELEBRATIONS Students in Grade 3 had the pleasure of celebrating Diwali on November 16 th. In India, Diwali, symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali is also known as the celebration of lights and it is a festival that Hindu believers celebrate with joy over a period of 5 days. During the festival of lights, which comes around the months of October to November, people decorate their houses and shops with diyas, exchange gifts and sweets, watch firework displays and for many it is the celebration of a new year. In class, grade 3 students had the opportunity to decorate their own personal diya, learn traditional dances, do yoga, eat Indian delicacies such as besan barfi and julab gamun, create a rangoli and the list of activities goes on! Students enjoyed learning about this festival and gained knowledge on one of the 4 countries studied this year. 9

10 CATHOLIC EDUCATION SUNDAY Catholic Education Sunday is an opportunity for Catholic schools and our faith communities to promote their important and distinctive mission. Holy Cross staff and students celebrated Catholic Education Sunday on November 4th at St. John the Evangelist Parish. Thank you to the many families who attended, Mme Katia who led the choir, and Mrs. Perrin, our accompanist. 10

11 130 YEARS OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION Our school community took part in some special activities on the auspicious occasion of the 130 th Anniversary of Edmonton Catholic Schools. Our MYP students spent time during their Health and Religion classes watching the 125 th Anniversary video and viewing the historical photos on the ECSD website. It was interesting to discuss the historical context of our humble beginnings, including the Riel Rebellion which occurred a short three years before the first Catholic school opened in Edmonton. Our PYP students took some time to reflect on the benefits and joys of being in a Catholic school system. They then created a pictorial representation of their ideas which is displayed in main hallway of our school. 11

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14 INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAM EVALUATION On December 3rd and 4th, Holy Cross Académie Internationale will be welcoming Mme Lalonde and M. Renault, two IB evaluators from SÉBIQ ( La société des écoles internationale du Québec) to complete an evaluation of our IB Middle Years Programme. As an IB school, we are evaluated every 5 years to ensure that the standards and practices of the programme are being maintained. As part of the process, the school engaged in a self-study during the school year. The upcoming on-site evaluation will be the concluding key component to ensure the school s continual improvement. 14

15 Celebration of Learning On November 30th, students in Grades 1-5 had their first term report cards available online at PowerSchool.ecsd.net. Parents experiencing difficulty accessing PowerSchool should contact the school office. The Celebration of Learning will be on December 6 th, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm and from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Teachers will be unavailable for the Celebration of Learning between 5:00pm and 6:00pm. The Celebration of Learning is for all students from 100 Voices to Grade 9. This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to share his or her accomplishments and is an important part of our home-school partnership. This year, the Celebration of Learning will be booked online. Please check the Friday updates for the website address and access code. Holy Cross Académie Internationale staff members very much value the positive working relationship we have with our parent community. We strongly encourage all parents who have concerns about their child s learning, be it academic, social, or emotional, to contact the teacher as required. Do not wait until the Celebration of Learning to advise the teacher of your concerns. While at the Celebration of Learning, families are invited to stop by our book sale near the small gym.proceeds from this sale will go towards supporting next year s Grade 9 Québec trip. 15

16 ADVENT This year, Advent begins on Sunday, December 2nd. The season of Advent is set aside in our Catholic Church calendar as a special time for us to focus on what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. As Catholic Christians, we are called to always be ready for the coming of the Christ. How can we best accomplish these preparations? One way is to take the time to pray in special ways. Each class has an Advent wreath, which will help our school community join in the prayers of preparation for the coming of Jesus. We are happy to be welcoming Fr. Dean from St. John the Evangelist Parish to help us celebrate an Advent liturgy in our school gym on December 6th. During Advent and Christmas our PYP students will be busy learning about the seasons through our Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ Religious Education program. Parents are reminded that they can support their child s or children s faith formation by accessing the Student-Home website at: After clicking, Sign In, you will be asked to enter a Username and Password as shown below: Username: ecsd99 Password: Student99 Another way for us to prepare is by helping people in need. The special project that we have decided to undertake during Advent this year is to gather dental hygiene items to be shared with women and children in need at WINhouse. We are asking all our students to respond to the wonderful old song, All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth by bringing in toothbrushes, toothpaste, or dental floss in unopened packages. Please send any of these items in with your child during the Advent season. 16

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19 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 19

20 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 20

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