St. Luke Weekly SMORE

Dear St. Luke Families,

This third week of Advent is one of JOY! We all are waiting with joyful anticipation, for the birth of Jesus. As we light the third candle on our Advent wreath, we can prepare for Jesus through acts of kindness. Advent is a time of waiting as well as a busy time of preparation. This week we can ask ourselves how are we making room for Christ to be born into our lives?

Mother Teresa of Calcutta brought untold blessings and joy to the poor who lay unattended and forgotten on the streets of Calcutta. When she was asked the source of her joy, Mother Teresa replied:

“Joy is prayer; joy is strength; joy is love and joy is a net of love. A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love, loving as He loves, helping as He helps, giving as He gives, serving as He serves, rescuing as He rescues, being with Him twenty-four hours, touching Him in His distressing disguise.”

When Advent arrived every year, Mother Teresa’s life continued to witness this joy.

Our St. Luke community has continued to bring joy to the people who are less fortunate. Our Christmas tree of giving continues receiving many donations for the food bank. In addition we have almost raised enough money for 1 Basket of Blessing for the Lurana Shelter! This will bring great joy to many this Christmas season. There is still a bit of time if you wish to bring in donations.

Our Advent Concert is coming up on Wednesday and we look forward to spending a joyous afternoon and evening with our St. Luke Community. I personally want to thank our Music Teacher Mrs. Sharilynn Shakeshaft for all her time and effort in putting together this performance.

Have a fantastic third week of Advent,

Cathy Hinger

Principal

EICS Advent Initiative “Baskets of Blessings” This advent EICS is continuing to partner with Catholic Social Services to support women and children in Lurana Shelter. Each basket costs $100.

Lurana is a 21 day domestic abuse emergency shelter. The women and children who stay there have nowhere else to go. Their home is unsafe. They may have left their home with only the clothes on their back. When they arrive at Lurana CSS staff will give them a bedroom to stay in. Staff will also provide them with a Basket of Blessings purchased by the students, teachers and parents of Elk Island Catholic School Division. With your donations staff will purchase an adult basket and/or a children’s basket. A typical adult basket may include soap, toothbrushes and other toiletries, feminine hygiene products, make-up, hair brushes/combs and other basics. A typical children’s basket may include necessities like soothers, a rattle or other small toy, a book, a small blanket. All adult and children’s Baskets of Blessings also include a teddy bear. Clients of Lurana often report that they keep this teddy bear their whole lives.

We will be collecting loonies or tonnies for Lurana at the school to purchase the Baskets of Blessings. Thank-you for any support you could provide.

Our Advent Concert date is Wednesday, December 14, 2022. We will have 2 shows, one in the afternoon at 1:00pm and one at 6:30pm. This is so you have a choice as to which show you would like to attend, as you do not need to come to both. However, we would like to have students at both shows. Doors for the evening show will open at 6:10pm

Please have your child at the school no later than 6:15pm and they need to go directly to their homeroom. Their teacher will bring them into the gym from there. Please note that the attire for your child remains the same: white top (no slogans please) and back trousers/skirt.

There will be an opportunity for photography before the show starts, as well as after. However, photos or video taking during the show is not allowed.

We can't wait for you to join us in celebrating the Birth of our Lord, Jesus with our little show

Hello Pre-Kindergarten families,

We have a Preschool Program that we would like to get started in the new year.

We are looking for families that might be interested in attending.

Do you have a child that will start kindergarten in the fall? This is a great opportunity to for them to experience the classroom environment before the fall.

If you are interested please contact our school office at 780-922-5920 or email us at stl@eics.ab.ca

For more information here is our New Letter about our Program

https://www.smore.com/sfgm7

We will be selling New St. Luke School Spirit wear Clothing. December 19th will be the deadline for order.

***Payment by Cheque, Cash or payment made through PowerSchool

Christmas in the Country

Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy Christmas in the Country at St. Luke this year. We welcomed over 950 people into our school and by all accounts this event was a success!

For those that tried their luck purchasing tickets for our various raffle baskets, the winners have all been contacted. Thank you so much to the parents and students that selected items to donate toward their classrooms theme. Thank you also to Laura Tuininga for collecting those items, purchasing additional items with the funds donated and for putting together beautiful baskets!

As we've said before, events like these cannot be run without the support of our community. Thank you to Cathy Hinger and Paula Rumley for their support in making Christmas in the Country come to fruition. Thank you to our St. Luke staff for assisting in collecting items for the raffle baskets in their classrooms along with creating a basket of their own to help in supporting their students!

Thank you to Lisa Sweeney, Olivia Rumley and to the grade six, seven and eight classes for your help with setting up tables and chairs. Thank you to Shelby Mistecki for planning, shopping for and setting up the concession and for assisting with the raffles. Thank you to Kyla Norris for running the concession and for braving the weather (and snow plows!) to set up all of our signage. Thank you to Cei Whelan and Scott for volunteering in the concession.

Thank you to Brenda Watmough and Melissa Orr-Langner for all of your help in preparing for this event as well as for running the raffle table. A huge thank you to Meghan Ferguson for daring to do what no one else wanted to - run the kids craft corner! Your creativity was a huge success and was so enjoyed by the kids! Thank you also to Erica Odiobola and Marcie Amalia for assisting at the craft table.

Thank you to Brian Kucher, Ryan Funnelle, Tiffany Connauton, Lucas Sorensen and Pete Diogo for helping vendors load in their gear. It's a service that is always appreciated by the vendors! Thank you to Selene Sorensen, Curtis Sorensen, Amy Williamson and Amanda Marshall for your help in welcoming guests and running the raffle table. And to Kayden Sweeney and Jayna Sweeney for your invaluable help throughout the day wherever you were needed!

Cleaning up is always a daunting task at the end of a long day but we have so many to thank - Pete Diogo, Sawyer Diogo, Shannon Tuininga, Laura Tuininga, Brooklyn Tuininga, Myelle Tuininga, London Tuininga, Meghan Ferguson, Brenda Watmough, Kristy Rice, Gracelyn Rice, Georgia Rice and Amanda Hoag. With this groups help; we had the tables and chairs taken down and put away in short order.

Lastly, a big thank you to EICS for allowing us to host this event at St. Luke and to EICS Facilities for coming in to make sure everything was cleaned up and ready for our students on Monday morning.

There were so many that helped in so many ways to make Christmas in the Country happen, please forgive me if your name has been missed. All of our volunteer help was invaluable.

The above contributions helped in raising more than $2,700.00 toward student enrichment. Thank you.

Advent Concert Raffles

This year, in addition to our annual couch raffle, we will be raffling three of the amazing baskets created with the themed classroom donations!!

Tickets for the Couch Raffle will be $5.00 and there are three chances to win with three couches!

Tickets for the Raffle Baskets will be $1.00 each, 12 for $10.00 or 25 for $20.00.

Tickets will be available in the foyer prior to the beginning of the show.

Milk and Cookies

The School Council and Parent Association are also providing an opportunity to our parents and siblings to enjoy a Christmas classic. Milk and cookies are available for pre-order via the hot lunch site (link below). For $2.00, you have the opportunity to enjoy a treat while being entertained by our kiddos! Ordering closes at 3:00pm on Monday, December 12. Treats can be picked up by 6:20pm before you take your seats for the show.

https://stlukeschool.hotlunches.net

Monday, December 12

• Advent Celebration 8:15

Tuesday, December 13

• Advent Celebration 8:15

Wednesday, December 14

• Advent Celebration 8:15
• Advent Consert 1:00 & 6:30

Thursday, December 15

• Advent Celebration 8:15

Friday, December 16

• Advent Celebration 8:15

Masses at OLPH will be livestreamed. Please join using this link. https://www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark/videos/

Visit OLPH Website for more information about the parish and in regards to sacremental preparation.

Read the lastest bullitin from OLPH or visit www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark

St. Francis of Assisi Parish is administered by Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sherwood Park. Please contact the parish for confession times and more information.

Clergy: Reverend Jim Corrigan, Pastor

Mass Time: Sunday 11:00

Email Address: StFrancisAssisi.Tofield(at)caedm.ca

5523 - 50 Street Tofield, AB T0B 4J0

See map: Google Maps

Phone: 780-467-5470

Mrs. Cathy Hinger

Principal

Email: Stl@eics.ab.ca
Website: stl.eics.ab.ca
Location: 22139 South Cooking Lake Road, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-922-5920
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stlukeeics
Twitter: @stlcs_EICS