St. Luke Weekly Memo

Dear St. Luke Families,

Last week we kicked off a kindness campaign that will continue this week until Friday. Students and staff can nominate students who have shown an act of kindness to another student. A great number of benefits have been reported to support teaching kindness in schools is best summed up by the following.

HAPPY, CARING CHILDREN

Acts of kindness help us form connections with others which are reported to be a strong factor in increasing happiness.

GREATER SENSE OF BELONGING AND IMPROVED SELF-ESTEEM

It’s reported that even small acts of kindness heighten our sense of well-being, increase energy, and give a wonderful feeling of optimism and self worth.

INCREASED PEER ACCEPTANCE

Being well-liked is an important factor in the happiness of children and it was demonstrated that greater peer acceptance was achieved through good deeds. Better-than-average mental health is reported in classrooms that practice more inclusive behavior due to an even distribution of popularity.

IMPROVED HEALTH AND LESS STRESS

There are anumber of physical and health benifits can be achieved by being kind.

INCREASED FEELINGS OF GRATITUDE

When children are part of activities that help others less fortunate than themselves, it provides them with a real sense of perspective, highlighting their own good fortune.

BETTER CONCENTRATION AND IMPROVED RESULTS

Kindness is a key ingredient that enhances positivity and helps children feel good about themselves as it increases serotonin levels. Children with a positive outlook have greater attention spans, more willingness to learn, and better creative thinking to improve results at school.

REDUCED DEPRESSION

Act of kindness increases levels of serotonin, a natural chemical responsible for improving mood. This boost in happiness occurs not only in the giver and receiver of kindness, but also in anyone who witnesses it.

We are encouraging our students to be the best they can be as we spend these last couple of weeks together. On Friday June 18th, students that have been nominated have a chance, if their name is selected, to spin the Wheel of Kindness for some fabulous prizes.

Have a great week!

Cathy Hinger

Principal

Source: https://www.edutopia.org/

Come join our St. Luke Family! There is still space in all our Early Leanring Programs!

Kindergarten Program

Independence, initiative, decision making, creativity, the ability to learn, relationships and feelings of self-worth - all have their beginnings in early childhood. We believe that each child is unique and, together with parents as our partners, we build upon children's natural curiosity and spontaneity, encouraging and supporting them as they take their first step into school. To register for Kindergarten in the 2021-2022 school year, your child must be 5 years old by December 31, 2021. This program will run Tuesday/Thursday and alternating Fridays. For more informaiton on registration for the Kindergarten Program visit our EICS Kindergarten site.

Pre-Kindergarten Program

The St. Luke Pre-Kindergarten program is a Catholic faith infused, student-centred, play-based program in literacy and numeracy rich learning environment. Our Pre-Kindergarten program supports all students to learn and grow by working alongside our experienced and caring staff. Our Pre-Kindergarten program is taught by a knowledgeable and caring certified teacher and strives to ensure all students enjoy their first school experience and are excited to work and learn with their friends. Children must be 4 years old by December 31, 2021. Please note there is a $250.00/month cost to attend this progam. This program will run Tuesday/Thursday and alternating Fridays.

KinderPlus Program

St. Luke will be offering an optional full day, fee-based program, Kinder Plus, to complement our Tuesday/Thursday Kindergarten program.This program will meet the needs of families and children by providing a full day instruction running on the opposite days of our Kindergarten program: Monday/Wednesday and alternating Fridays. Kinder Plus will compliment the Kindergarten program through the enhancement of skills such as problem solving, social interactions and project based learning. Please contact the office for more information and for registration instructions.

If you have any questions in regards to any of our programs please call our office at 780-992-5920.

Great News!

St. Luke will be partnering with Strathcona County next year to bring a Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) to our building. In fall 2021, Strathcona County will be working together with St. Luke to support academic achievement by focusing on the whole student and their wellness.

The MHCB team will support the infusion of social and emotional learning into all our students’ educational experience and support the resiliency in staff, students and families by promoting positive mental health, coping strategies and healthy relationships.

Decades of research demonstrates high quality social emotional learning programming improves students’ academic performance, skills, attitudes, level of engagement in learning opportunities, prosocial behaviors and can regulate their emotions and focus better on tasks. Furthermore, students are less likely to display disruptive behaviors in the classrooms and there is a decrease in anxiety and struggling with self-regulation and basic social skills.

We are looking forward to providing this support to our st. Luke community and are grateful to work in collaboration with Strathcona County and Alberta Health Services.

As we are coming to the end of the school year a few items need to be completed in Powerschool

• This year’s school fees are past due. Please ensure your account is up to date

• Demographic confirmation form needs to be up to date so that we have the most accurate information.

If there are any changes to registration for next year please let the office know by calling 780-922-5920 ASAP. This will help us as we plan for the new school year.

JOIN US TONIGHT for our Final Meeting of the year!

Join us Monday June 14th at 6:30pm for our final virtual School Council and Parent Association meeting. Cick on this link to join the meeting.

Monday June 14

• School Council Meeting at 6:30pm Virtual Link

Tuesday June 15

• Praise and Worship Link 9:00am

Wednesday June 16

Thursday June 17

• Hawaiian Day for staff and students
• Pre-K/Kindergarten Fun Day

Friday June 18

• Pre-K/Kindergarten Last day Celebration Virtual Link
• Have a Great Weekend!

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. First Sunday of Lent!

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

SPIRIT WEAR FUNDRAISER

Thank you to everyone that participated in our Spirit Wear Fundraising campaign in March! With your support, we were successful in raising $188.70 in support of our students.

Please note, refunds have been issued to those that purchased items where the minimum order was not reached.

ST. LUKE PARENT ASSOCIATION SPRING FUNDRAISER

Though we have had to cancel our annual St. Luke Plant Sale again this year, we are proud to continue to support local with the sale of gift certificates for South Cooking Lake Greenhouses. While we will miss seeing everyone come out for this much anticipated annual community event, we are happy to continue to provide the opportunity to help people beautify their spaces as well as purchase the perfect Mother’s Day gift, all while supporting the students of St. Luke as well as our local and much-loved greenhouse.

Things to know:

• Certificates are sold in $25.00 denominations only
• Funds for purchase can be e-transferred to St. Luke Parent Association at stlukepatreasurer@gmail.com (no password necessary)
• Please put your child’s full name in the memo area as gift certificates will be sent home with your oldest child. If other arrangements are needed, please send your request to the email address above
• If you prefer to pay via cheque, please send your request to the above email address to make arrangements
• The last day for gift certificate sales will be June 9, 2021
• SCL Greenhouses is scheduled to open April 22nd! Be prepared to shop as they started running out of stock by May long weekend last year!

Please check out SCL Greenhouses website at http://www.southcookinglakegreenhouses.ca for information on shopping, hours and items available for the 2021 season.