Shining Bright @ Madonna!

Today's Gospel Reading so strongly connected to our Faith theme of Go Light Our World. In The Parable of the Bags of Gold , Jesus tells us to go out into the world and make it a better place.

He calls us to use the talents He has given us and share them with others: To share God's light and our unique special gifts. When we use your God given gifts and talents, even just once, we create love, hope, joy. Then imagine if we keep sharing our gifts every day....we will create more and more joy, hope, love, compassion.....What a beautiful world we will live in!

So...Share your light!

Go Light Our World!

#GLOWEICS

Mme Gravelle
Principal

November:

20- Monday

• 1B leading school assembly at 9 AM

21-Tuesday

• Swimming for 3&4G, 2L, 4P, 3V
• Father Mario Visits MCS
• Grade 4 Art club at Lunch Recess
• Digital Safety Presentation from Saffron Center for students in 3V, 3&4G and 4P

22- Wednesday

• Face-to-Face Ministries Whole School Faith Retreat - All day!!
• Prayer Club during first recess
• Parent Council Virtual Meeting at 7 PM - Google Meet Link is here

23 - Thursday

• Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2&3O
• OLPH Parish Priest Visit
• Advent Wreath Night (In Person) at 6:30 PM in the gym at Madonna Catholic School

24 - Friday

• Hot Lunch for those who ordered

We are so excited to host our 2nd annual Advent Wreath Night! This is a great opportunity to connect in faith with our school community. We have room for 25 families to join us for this event!

Where: Madonna School
When: November 23rd @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Cost: Free
We Provide: Greenery, Wire Fame, Candles and an Advent Booklet

Please Bring: 4 Candle Holders (Taper Style Holders)

If you made an Advent Wreath last year, we encourage families to sign up and bring their wreath back with them. You can add on to it, making it special for this Advent season!

Please sign up using this QR Code or Link: https://schoolinterviews.ca/code/n66y5

We are so excited to announce an amazing opportunity for children and a partnership with one of our fantastic OLPH Parish Parishioners, Mrs. Marie-Thérèse Spindler. All of the children had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Spindler last week!

All children are invited to spend a morning recess with Christ in the chapel, lead by Mrs. Spindler and joined by Mme Gravelle our Principal and and Miss Podoborozny our Assistant Principal and Chaplain.

Insight is a group-administered test of cognitive ability, which will be administered to all Grade 4 and Grade 8 classes in EICS in the middle of November. The assessment is designed to measure cognitive abilities including reasoning, comprehension, memory and visual/auditory processing. Students do not need to study for the Insight and the results do not impact their school grades. The results provide information about students cognitive strengths and areas of weakness to best support all learners. For more information, please visit https://canadiantestcentre.com/cognitive/insight/

Calling All Grade 4 Artists!

Mrs Pineau is holding an Art Club for Grade 4 students who would either like extra time for their class projects or for their own chosen projects. The club will be meeting Tuesdays during lunch recess in the Art Room on a first come basis (sign up will be during Art class in the morning).

Yes! We are still hunting for someone to join our team in this role!

Through consultation with our Parent Community and our staff, we are ready to launch our Nutrition Grant and expand upon our Grab & Go Breakfast program!

Funded by our Nutrition Grant, Madonna Catholic School is seeking a Temporary Cafeteria Assistant to lead the expanded Grab & Go Breakfast Program.

Hours per week: 6 hours

Pay rate: $19.76/hour

Duties include: Ordering/shopping for food and snacks, organizing and planning meals, distributing/collecting food items, proper preparation, cooking and storing of food

Schedule: Meals and snacks are to be warm and ready for approximately 8:30am. The schedule is flexible and adaptable upon discussion with the successful candidate. The tentative and basic schedule is:

• Mondays: prepare/cook breakfast foods for distribution Tuesdays and Thursdays, order/shop/pick up food, organize grab & go breakfast snacks for distribution that day - 3 hours.
• Tuesdays: Heat prepared food, distribute/collect, clean, prepare Grab & Go snacks for next day - 1.5 hours
• Wednesdays: Grab & Go Snacks (no hours)
• Thursdays: Heat prepared food, distribute/collect, clean, prepare Grab & Go snacks for next day - 1.5 hours
• Friday: Grab & Go Snacks (no hours)

Knowledge of food/storage preparation and experience working in a public food preparation setting is an asset. This position commences immediately upon onboarding of successful candidate and ends June 25, 2024.

For any questions or inquiries, please email mcs@eics.ab.ca. Please email with your contact information and resume if you are interested in this position.

We are excited to expand our Grab & Go Breakfast Program!

Your child's safety is our #1 priority. This includes their physical safety, along with their emotional, psychological and spiritual safety.

We are working closely with children to equip them with all the skills to make safe choices, to participate in positive conflict resolution, to build a stronger connected community and to know the rules of the game prior to playing.

Gradual Reopening of our the Playground

We are proud of the investment in our students to set them up for successful & safe play at recess through:

• multiple opportunities to learn about safe play at recess
• working with Emma Olsen in safe play, personal space awareness workshops
• continuing to engage in conversations in our Mental Health Capacity Building sessions about safe playground play
• collaboration with the Grade 3 & 4 leaders in soccer in safe play
• discussing "mentorship" games vs regular play games
• establishing buddy classes to increase connection, empathy and strengthen our community

Students are ready for the next phase in the gradual re-opening of the playground to:

• ensure all Kindergarten classes have access to the playground
• scaffold a returning to "community play"

The schedule below will be in place for now. We will continue to be responsive to the needs of all students in the next phase in further opening of the playground.

An area children continue to grow in is conflict resolution. Thank you for talking with your child about

• using their words first to express their concerns
• we play hands off. Hitting, kicking, pushing, punching are not acceptable responses to frustration, and will result in consequences.
• using the game Rock, Paper, Scissors to resolve disagreements
• telling a supervisor or adult right away when someone gets hurt or if an incident occurs

Grade 3 & 4 Soccer Committee

As you know, Grade 3 & 4 Soccer players came together with Mme Gravelle to review soccer play, soccer rules, ways to play safely with younger children and consequences to rule breaking. Each student interested in playing soccer reviewed the soccer agreement with Mme Gravelle and signed their commitment to follow safe soccer play rules. Students requested a copy to post in their lockers to remind them of the rules, or to take home. Linked here is a copy of the soccer agreement that was signed so that you can engage in similar conversations at home, and we can continue our excellent partnership to keep children safe and joy filled at school.

Together, we are building a positive future!

Should you have any questions, please connect with Mme Gravelle or Miss Podoborozny.

Avoid spreading the illness. It's encouraged that your child stays home when they are sick.

Alberta Health Services suggests that if you have a flu or cold to stay away from others to avoid spreading the disease.

You are always welcome to connect with your child's teacher to help catch up on what learning has been missed. A great go-to at home to keep up on learning is to read with your child and practice adding, subtracting, and re-grouping.

You are invited to visit myhealth.alberta.ca if you're child is sick and you're not sure what to do. It's a great resource for parents.

My Health Alberta: https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/Pages/default.aspx

Did you know that when you shop at Save On Foods on Wye Road and you bring your receipts to Madonna Catholic School, we receive a % of the purchases?

Did you know that it also works on 15% off Tuesdays?

Did you know that Save On Foods will also Ad Match any advertised price?

Shop @ Wye Rd Save on Foods, save money & support Madonna Catholic School!

This season, fundraising for Madonna Catholic School is going to be so much easier with FlipGive, a free fundraising app.

We earn cash back on every purchase we make all year long! All you have to do is shop anytime with the brands you already love, like Home Depot, Walmart, Sport Chek, Indigo, Old Navy, Apple, Esso, and Loblaws. No more going door-to-door selling chocolate bars - it’s completely virtual and contactless.

There is no cost to parents or anyone that uses it (other than their own online purchases). Literally, by logging into the website and/or app, choosing your store and shopping, Madonna will receive a percentage of each purchase. There are many stores and services to choose from – even purchasing gift cards through this site earns the school rewards!

Join our team now and you’ll get a $5 bonus the first time you shop: https://flipgive.app.link/teams/join?joincode=WK2MXH

Or enter this code: WK2MXH

Login in online or download the FlipGive App. To start earning, search your favorite store through the app. Your purchase will earn our school money.

If you have any questions, please contact Kim Mahoney at kim@acappellacatering.com.

Under the principle that finances should not be a barrier to a child's education, Elk Island Catholic Schools will waive fees for independent students or parents/guardians if they meet certain income guidelines, are on social services or are facing exceptional circumstances. If you qualify, you may apply using the application form linked below.

Please sign and mail the completed application from with supporting document(s) to:

Elk Island Catholic Schools
Secretary-Treasurer
310 Broadview Road
Sherwood Park, AB. T8H 1A4
Fax: 780-467-5469 | Phone: 780-449-6464

Be sure to mark "CONFIDENTIAL" on the envelope.

This is a gentle reminder to arrive before the start of learning at 8:38am.

The first bell for children to enter school is at 8:33am.

When children are able to enter into their day following the gentle routines they are used to, children step into learning peacefully and calmly which sets their day up for success.

Thank you for your help ensuring your child arrives on time.

We are here to help. If it's a struggle to arrive on time, please feel free to reach out to the school leadership team, or our Family Wellness Worker, Mrs. Norrie.

First Communion will be celebrated in our parish the weekend of December 2-3. As usual, children have been grouped together by school. EICS staff and admin will be part of these celebrations with students and their families.

Sunday December 3 at 12:30 pm – students of Archbishop Jordan, Holy Spirit and Madonna Catholic schools (EICS) celebrate their First Communion. We hope to see you there!

The winter session of preparation for both these sacraments will begin in January 2024.

Parents of students in grade 2 and older are invited to contact the parish to register for sacramental preparation with their children. They can email SACRAMENTS@OLPH.CA to register or get any questions answered.

Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM

Sunday Mass: 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 7:00 PM.

If parents have any questions, they can also contact the church by phone 780-467-5470 or email sacraments@olph.ca

Consider nominating an educator for a 2024 Prime Minister’s Award!

Help us celebrate those who go above and beyond to create safe spaces for their students, continue to work hard to make learning fun and inspire the next generation to be bold innovators and creators.

Prime Minister’s Awards recipients for Teaching Excellence, Teaching Excellence in STEM and Excellence in Early Childhood Education can receive:

• A certificate from the Prime Minister
• National recognition and promotion of their best teaching practices

November:

13 - Welcome Back!

13 - Indigenous Assembly @ 9:00am - All are invited!

14 - Swimming for 3&4G, 2L, 4P & 3V

16 - Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2&3O

21 - Swimming for 3&4G, 2L, 4P & 3V

22 - Face to Face Ministries

22 - School Council Meeting @ 7 PM

23 - Advent Wreath Night

23 - Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2&3O

27 - Earth Ranger's Assembly

28 - Swimming for 3&4G, 2L, 4P & 3V

30 - Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2&3O

Mark Your Calendars:

Madonna Catholic School & COGITO Academy

Advent Celebration

Friday, December 15 @ 7:00pm

at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish

Invite your whole family!