ST. PAT S CHOIR sings Feb 4th AT 9am

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1 th Street Taber, Alberta T1G 1H3 Phone: (403) Fax: (403) February is the month of Pink in the lives of our St. Pat s students and staff. It is the color that stands for love and at St. Pats we are Learning to Love everyday. When we wear our pink clothes, it will be a symbol of our focus on the journey of love and acceptance. As a Catholic School we are blessed to be free to pray for guidance in this endeavor, but we are also blessed to learn about the historic people who went through great lengths to make sure love prevails. We will celebrate St. Valentine and his willingness to marry young couples against the law. We will acknowledge his great courage and the tremendous obedience it had taken to do such a saintly thing. We also will be celebrating Pink Shirt Day where we will stand up for those who are being bullied and learn to be upstanders in those difficult situations. Love and acceptance of others is what we are called to do even in the most difficult situations. When I look at our community, there is so much that our staff does to show love and acceptance. From providing breakfast for our students, to the time taken to make connections and build relationships, our staff is continuously reaching out to students and each other. I see hugs, smiles, and fist pumps happening on a regular basis. I see loving and caring adults advocating for our students, ensuring they will be the best person God intended them to be. I am proud to say that one of our community s greatest role models of love is taking on a new role. Mrs. Shawna Utke will be our new PreK Leader starting in the fall. Her love for our students and willingness to help everyone is infectious and our program is truly blessed to have her. I look forward to having her and her little PreKs in the same building working alongside the lovely Mrs. Ausmus and her kindergarten kids. This is evidence that love always prevails and great things happen because of it. I cannot close without acknowledging that February is the month in which Lent begins. It is through Lent that we observe the greatest love of all. God s love for us. Because he sent His only son to die for us, we are saved. Have a wonderful February. God Bless, Mrs. Nevil ST. PAT S CHOIR sings Feb 4th AT 9am

2 February is always an interesting month. We have been back to our routine for a month and we look forward to a break during reading week. Our year is at the halfway point and we begin to feel the crunch of the year, evaluating if our plans are working smoothly to get us to where we want to be by June. February is also usually the beginning of Lent. A time for us to reflect not only on where we are in achieving our life goals but a time to truly reflect on our relationship with Jesus and ourselves. This year for Lent, I am encouraging our staff to reflect daily. I have found a few good resources for daily reflection. If you are interested, please visit the Word on Fire blog by Bishop Barron Daily reflections will be sent to you via should you choose to sign up. What an excellent way to start your day; focused on the life of Jesus and his journey and sacrifice. The February prayer in our prayer journals is short and sweet. A lovely reminder to be who God calls us to be every day. Lord, Today I resolve to do the good You created me to do, To see the good you created me to see, To be the good you created me to be. Amen As a bit of an aside. I would like to mention that to honour the solemnity of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, all classroom St. Valentine day parties will be celebrated the afternoon of Tuesday, February 13, Many blessings, Mrs. Calder Kids and Youth of St. Augustine s Thank you to Ms. Sergo's grade 5 class for naming our new youth room. Come by after mass on Sunday s to check out the "Holy Kids Cave!" Our first official youth group for all students grade 5-8 will be held on: Feb. 15 6:30-8:30pm Olympics night "Let's go Canada" Wear red and white to support team Canada!! Stations of the Cross All students will be coming to the church at 10:00am to participate in the Stations of the Cross. Afterwards, all students will gather in the lower hall for snacks and refreshments. Fr. Eli will be available for reconciliation on February 28 and March 14. Everyone is welcome to join us. Feb. 28-3/4G and 3/4W Mar. 14-3/4P and 5S Mar K, 1, 2's Check us out on Facebook. Look for St. Augustine s Youth Blessings to all, Kaime Kuryvial

3 SAFE AND CARING SCHOOLS Our community is committed to making St. Patrick s School a safe and caring school for all students. If we re going to prevent bullying, we have to know what it is. Here s what bullying is: Bullying is a conscious, willful, deliberate, repeated and hostile activity marked by an imbalance of power, intent to harm and/or threat of aggression that occurs over a period of 7 days or more. It can be verbal (name-calling, put-downs, threats, homophobic bullying, social (exclusion, gossip, ganging up), physical (hitting, damaging property) or cyberbullying (using the computer to harass or threaten). It can occur within a peer group or between groups. It can occur at school and in sports. Here s what bullying isn t: Bullying isn t a normal part of growing up, and it does not build character. It is a learned behavior that hurts everyonethose who get bullied, those doing the bullying, and the people watching. It damages our schools, our communities and our society at large. Bullying is a relationship problem. It is the assertion of interpersonal power through aggression. Bullying involves: repeated and consistent negative actions against another, an imbalance of power between the bully and the target. a contrast of feelings between the bully and the target as a result of the bullying episode. (the child who bullies may feel excited, powerful or amused, while the target feels afraid, embarrassed or hurt). Home, school, parish and town community working together will ensure our children are safe and free from harm. If you suspect a child is becoming a target encourage them and their parents to speak with the teachers, school administration or school resource officer. The biggest ally a bully has is silence. Information provided by Alberta Education for more information: Stand up to Bullying!! Wear pink on Wednesday, Feb 28th Wearing pink to stand up to bullying began after two high school students in Nova Scotia took a stand against bullying in their school. The students asked all of their peers to wear pink to school after they heard a classmate had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt. The Pink Shirt is no longer about the color on your back. It's about the color in your heart.

4 SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS THERE IS NO MEETING IN FEBRUARY. HO LY STATIONS OF THE CROSS Classes will be attending Stations of the Cross at St. Augustine s at 10am Feb 28 3/4G and 3/4W March 14 3/4P and 5S March 21 ECS and all 1-2 s PARENTS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US! St. Pat s is hosting Stations of the Cross Friday, March 23 6pm At the church Please join us if you are able to.

5 February th Street Taber, Alberta T1G 1H3 Phone: (403) Fax: (403) Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Groundhog Day Dress Up 2 PD Day No School for Students Rock Time 6 7 Bright Lts. 8:45 SMS Atrium 8 5S Scientists in Schools 9 Sharpen the Saw Friday Shrove Tuesday Pancake Breakfast at SMS 14 Ash Wednesday 10: th Day 17 Valentines N O S C H O O L Stations of the Cross 10am Parents Welcome Pink Shirt Day