April Administration Team Message: Dear Parents/Guardians, We continue our Lenten Journey of 40 days of praying, fasting, and almsgiving, and look forward to our rejoicing in our 50 days of Eastertide. Our Lenten Journey is evident in our lives through acts of kindness and sharing with those around us. We will be renewed once again, through the promise of everlasting life, Christ's triumph over death. We pray: God our Father, By raising Christ your Son you conquered the power of death And opened for us the way to eternal life. Let us renew our lives by the Spirit that is within us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you And the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. March was a busy month with report cards and our Demonstration of Learning. It was great to see so many parents out to celebrate their children s learning and successes. Please continue your superb involvement; when home and school work together, children do succeed. Your attendance is indeed your gift to your children. Thank you for your support and partnership. We are proud of our student success! Our Parent Council continues to amaze us with their involvement and support. Thank you to the many volunteers who add special touches to our school programs, extra supervision on our field trips, and support at our Book Fairs. Our community is blessed by your presence. April will bring our Lenten Lunch for Gr. 4 to 6 students on April 9 th and our Holy Week Celebration hosted by our Kindergarten and Gr. 6 students on April 17 th. As well, please mark your calendars for May 1st, as we will celebrate Easter at our Easter Mass at St. Charles Church at 10:00 a.m. All are invited to attend. We look forward to continued success in student learning and community building. May you be blessed by the peace of the risen Christ this Easter season! Karen N. B. Craig Principal Leslie Zydek Assistant Principal
April 2019 Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb. (Communion Rite) In his General Audience of April 1, 2015, Pope Francis gave a beautiful explanation of the Easter Triduum, unfolding for us the significance of each of the days from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. He shares that with the Mass of the Lord s Supper, we will begin the Easter Triduum of Christ s passion, death and resurrection, which is the culmination of the whole liturgical year and the pinnacle of our Christian life as well. It presents us with an excellent opportunity to reflect on this sacred time for Christians. Edmonton Catholic Schools has been named one of Alberta s Top 75 Employers for the fourth consecutive year! This annual competition, which is held by Postmedia Network Inc. and Mediacorp Canada Inc., takes a comprehensive, comparative look at various aspects of operations and human resources practices to determine which organizations have the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. We are proud to be one of the leaders in our field in creating exceptional conditions for our employees. Each year, the Council of Catholic School Superintendents of Alberta sponsors the Excellence in Catholic Education Awards. These awards honor individuals who provide our students with exceptional learning experiences that are deeply rooted in our Catholic faith. We are delighted to share that 3 of our staff are receiving this prestigious award: Anna Fialka, teacher at St. Matthew Catholic Elementary School; Dean Sullivan, Principal of St. Dominic Catholic Elementary School; and Cecilia Fenrich, Manager of District Programs. Congratulations Anna, Dean, and Cecilia! In the 2019-2020 school year, Edmonton Catholic Schools will be expanding dual credit offerings, in partnerships with additional post-secondary institutions and industry/business. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MacEwan University to offer students 2 courses to explore their passions and interests in Police Studies. The courses will be offered through Alternative Education PASS at St. Joseph High School to interested grade 11 and 12 students from across the District who meet the prerequisites and are part of the MacEwan Police Studies Diploma. We have also signed an MOU with Concordia University of Edmonton to offer students the opportunity to develop their gifts and talents in Choral Ensemble. The courses are part of the Concordia Bachelor of Fine Arts Program and is being offered at Louis St. Laurent through Alternative Education PASS to interested students who are currently in the All City Senior High Choir. By offering these courses after school hours, it will enable students from across our District to enroll. For more information, please contact cheryl.shinkaruk@ecsd.net. Information about all our dual credit opportunities will be shared at a Dual Credit Information night to be held on April 8 from 6:30 8:00 p.m. at St. Joseph High School Theatre, 10830-109 Street. Please register at https://bit.ly/dualcreditinfonight or email Danielle.Weran@ecsd.net. We are in the process of preparing our 2019/2020 budget. The Ministry of Education has extended the deadline for school boards to submit their budgets to June 30, 2019 in order to provide additional time to accurately prepare their submissions. Once our budget is complete, it will be presented at the June Public Meeting of the Board. I leave you with our Holy Father s closing thoughts from his General Audience: Dear brothers and sisters, during these days of the Holy Triduum let us not limit ourselves to commemorating the passion of the Lord, but let us enter into the mystery, making his feelings and thoughts our own, as the Apostle Paul invites us to do: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5). Then ours will be a Happy Easter. Have a blessed April! Sincerely, Joan Carr Superintendent
Edmonton Catholic School District Parent Newsletters April 2019 Easter, and How God Chooses the Best in Us! This month we enter into the Passion of Our Lord, his death upon the cross, and his glorious third-day resurrection. As we prepare for and celebrate Easter, I am reminded of a reflection Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak, Archeparchy of Winnipeg, offered when he was in town to bless the relocation of Holy Spirit Seminary from Ottawa to Edmonton. The story goes something like this, though I ve told it so many times now that I probably have embellished it a bit (which is my prerogative as I get older!). When Metropolitan Lawrence was the Ukrainian Catholic bishop of Edmonton (and all of Alberta, including the Holy City of Lavoy which is where I m from), one day he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy at Saint Josaphat Cathedral. A parishioner came up to him and asked him whether he knew that the artist-iconographer (Julian Buchmaniuk) who painted the icons at the Cathedral was fond of using real live people as models for the faces of Jesus, Mary, the saints, and the angels. Metropolitan Lawrence was aware of this, and he indeed could recognize the faces of several of his fellow Basilian Fathers in the faces of the male religious saints. Well, the lady parishioner (whom I know well and has confirmed this story) pointed to an angel in the dome of the Cathedral, then pointed to herself, and simply smiled. Metropolitan Lawrence understood well that she wanted him to recognize her face as the model the iconographer had used for the face of the angel. Metropolitan Lawrence looked at the lady, then at the angel. A second time, he looked at the lady, then at the angel. And a third time, he looked at the lady, then again at the angel. But no matter how hard he looked at the lady and the angel, he failed to see any resemblance whatsoever between the two! [Students, you know the feeling: it s Mother s Day and you ve forgotten to make mom a card!] [Guys, you know this feeling too: you ve forgotten your wife s birthday or your wedding anniversary, again!] Metropolitan Lawrence was stuck. However, and I believe divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, he said, Ah, I know what the iconographer did! He didn t paint your nose, nor your eyes, nor your lips. Instead, he looked at you and captured the absolute best in you! He saw your kindness and painted that. He saw your love for your family and painted that. Your compassion and love for neighbor, your humility, generosity, patience, joy, and so. And he captured it all! As I reflect on my own relationship with God, I can t help but think that this is exactly how Jesus looks at us. He sees the absolute best in each and every one of us. And he draws these beautiful gifts out of us each day, along our earthly journey towards our heavenly home. Afterall, he is the Master Iconographer! Precious are we in the eyes of God, so precious that he died on the cross for our sins and for our salvation. As we celebrate Easter, let us take a moment to reflect on Jesus passion and death upon the cross the great sacrifice he makes for you and me, and recall his glorious resurrection and the gift of the newness of life that he offers us. Bishop David Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
Traffic Safety Thank you to our parents who are being courteous and safe drivers around our school and neighborhood. Thank you for being a role model for our students, your children. Student Attendance/Lates Please note that our first bell rings at 8:30 a.m. and instruction begins at 8:35 a.m. Students arriving after 8:35 a.m. are marked as late. Please remember to call the school AND your child care providers when your child is absent. Punctuality and regular attendance are important factors that positively affect student achievement. Parents have the responsibility to ensure that their children attend regularly and arrive to school on time. Phone Calls Parents, we need your help! It is very important that you make end of school arrangements with your child/ren before they leave for school in the morning. Our office continues to receive numerous phone calls near the end of the day asking for messages about pick up to be communicated to students. It is difficult to relay the number of messages we receive, especially during the last hour of the school day, and it is disruptive to classes. We thank you for your cooperation. Drop off and Pick up of Students Parents are reminded that morning supervision begins at 8:15 a.m. and are strongly discouraged from dropping children off before that time, as there is no supervision. School dismisses at 3:03 p.m. It is expected that all children go home at the conclusion of each day. Please make sure that your child is picked up promptly after school as our staff have personal and professional obligations and are not expected to wait for you to pick up your children.
Education Taxes Paid to Edmonton Catholic Schools Please check to see if your taxes are being designated to the Catholic School Board for the education portion of your taxes. If your taxes are not being paid to the Catholic Board, please contact the Taxation Department by email or call the City line 311. If you are using email the address is taxinquiry@edmonton.ca. The form is called School Support Declaration and you will need your tax account number to enter on the form. Classroom Configurations 2019-2020 Teachers will soon be creating class groupings for the 2019-2020 school year. Classes are set up by the classroom teachers, in conjunction with the administration, to meet the educational needs of the individual students. A lot of time, effort and thought go into creating classrooms, with consideration given to ability, achievement, independence, behavior and special needs. Should parents have a specific classroom request, it must be given in writing to Mrs. Craig, Principal, along with the educational reason for the request, no later than April 30th. Dress for the Weather/Dress Code Please ensure that your child comes to school with adequate clothing for the weather conditions. As spring arrives, you may wish to have your child wear splash pants. As well, as spring weather arrives, parents are reminded that this is your children s place of business and clothing should therefore be appropriate. Shorts, shirts and skirts that are extra short or t-shirts with inappropriate messages or pictures are not suitable for our elementary school environment. As well, spaghetti straps are not suitable attire for school. Thank you for your cooperation. Easter Mass Please join us on May 1st, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Charles Church for our Easter mass. As a faith community, we look forward to rejoicing and celebrating the most important day of the Church year. Father Jack will celebrate with us, as we rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. A special thank you to our Grade 5 students and their teachers, Ms. Morrissette and Ms. Wyllie, for organizing this special Mass. As well, we thank school council for generously providing funding for bussing on this day. Scholastic Book Fair Thank you to all the students and their families who supported our Scholastic Book Fair. A very special thanks to Mrs. Iwasykiw, Mrs. Aitkens and their volunteers, Maria S., Mary K., Robin. T., Marissa D., and Kat P. for working this event. We were able to raise over $2500 to use towards new books for our library and classrooms. Congratulations to Ellie in 6A who won the Book Fair draw for $25 of books for herself and $25 of books for her classroom!
Welcome to our Student Teacher We warmly welcome Ms. Ashleigh Vercholuk from Concordia University who will be student teaching in the Grade 4/5 classroom with Mrs. Dohn. Moose on the Loose, Oh My! At times, wildlife travel past our school and into our school yard. Recently a pair of moose made their way through the school yard in the early morning hours. Fortunately, our students have not encountered any wildlife while outside at recess, during the school day, but this is a good reminder for all parents to ensure that their children are not being dropped off at school prior to 8:15 a.m., as there is no adult supervision.
Our Lenten Journey Our Lenten journey focuses on Lent as a time to prepare our hearts for the Risen Lord. Students experience the three pillars of Lent - prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each week during Lent, students visit the chapel to reflect on Lent and prayer together. As a way of almsgiving, our Grade 6 Leadership Team raised $523.40 from their bake sale and the signed Oil Kings Raffle during Demonstration of Learning, which will be donated to Development and Peace. Congratulations to Jacob in 5B for winning the signed Oil Kings hockey stick!
School Council News Our school and our parents work hand in hand to help our children receive the best, well rounded experience at Bishop Greschuk. While the teachers provide the learning experiences and events, the parents, through the School Advisory Council (SAC), provide assistance in funding additional extra curricular activities such as the dance and welcome BBQ. Our SAC is looking ahead to the next school year and will be soon electing an executive council and choosing fundraisers for the 2019-20 school year. As always, all parents are invited to attend the April meeting (April 15th @ 7pm in the music room). If you would possibly like to be part of the executive next year or if you have any thoughts of what you think would be a good fundraiser, this would be a great opportunity to attend. At the May meeting we will be selecting our fundraisers for the next school year as well as electing members to sit in the following positions on council: Chair (primary duties are to plan the agenda with the school principal and co-ordinate the meeting) Vice-Chair (primary duties are to assist the Chair and co-ordinate the meeting of the Chair is absent) Secretary (primary duties are to keep accurate minutes from the meeting) Other openings on the council would be individuals who would like to work with the current dance and BBQ co-ordinators and who would like to take over the planning of these events in future years. If you have any questions or if you have a fundraiser idea you would like to present (but cannot attend the meeting) please feel free to contact us at bishopgreschuk.sac1@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting (and bring a friend too!). Provincial Election at B.G. - April 16th On Tuesday, April 16th, Bishop Greschuk gym will be a polling station for the Provincial Election. We will ensure our students safety by blocking off access to the classrooms and library, as well, our students will be escorted by their teacher to music. Safety is our priority. Our Grade 6 students will participate in a mock election and they will be touring the polling station on Tuesday, April 16th. Remember that your vote counts, so exercise your right to vote!
FEEDBACK FORM Please take a few moments to return this sheet and have your child s name entered to win a book. All sheets must be returned by April 22, 2019. Please send in your sheets and you may win the monthly prize! The March winners were: Grayson G. (K), Rylan (3A), Chloe W. (2), Terry G.(3), Alisa M. (1B), Calvin M. (2/3), Chase S. (1A), Amalia M. (4A), Ethan S. (6C) and Sofia S. (4/5). Yes, we have read the April Bishop Greschuk Newsletter. General Comments: Parent/Guardian Signature Student(s) name and grade (please print)