The Good News November 24, 2024

This Sunday marks the final Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, a day we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. It’s a time to pause and reflect on what it truly means to call Jesus our King.

Christ’s kingship reminds us of the Kingdom of God, a kingdom without borders, extending to all people and all times. Unlike earthly kings, Jesus revealed His kingship through humility and love. Born in a manger, He came to serve, not to be served, showing us a love that is universal and everlasting.

When we open our hearts to Jesus as our King, we invite His guidance into every part of our lives. With eyes of faith, we see Him not only as our Savior but also as our example of how to live lives rooted in love, compassion, and service. This week, take a moment to ask yourself: Is Jesus the King of my heart?

May we all strive to live as people of His Kingdom, guided by His eternal love.

• Regular school day

• Priest visit - Gr 2

• Hot Lunch
• N1 Chabot Park

• Poinsettia Fundraiser order deadline - noon

• Krista Leddy visit
• TPet Gr 3

Dec. 4 - Early Dismissal 2:15, Christmas Spirit Wear/Buddy Bingo

Dec. 5 - Hot Lunch, Poinsettia pickup

Dec. 6 - St. Nicholas Day

Dec. 9 - Advent Concert dress rehearsal

Dec. 10 - Advent Concert

Dec. 13 - Gr 1 Fort Edmonton Park

Dec. 16 - Sock Toss

Dec. 17 - Advent Mass at OLA church

Dec. 18 - Hot Lunch, Toboggan and Hot Chocolate Day

Dec. 19 - Christmas Sweater Day, Buddy Bingo, Christmas Sing-along

Dec. 20 - PJ and Christmas Movie Day

Hello Parents/Guardians!

We are very excited to come together as a school community as we prepare for Jesus’s birth and have some fun during this Christmas season. We have planned several fun activities for our students to enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas break. Some days will require your child to bring certain things for the activity of the day.

Wednesday, Dec. 4th - Christmas Spirit Wear/Buddy Bingo

Friday, Dec. 6 - St. Nicholas Day

Tuesday, December 10th - School Christmas Concert Day! Dress in your best wear for our Christmas Concert. There will be an afternoon show (1:00pm) and an evening show (6:00pm). Don’t forget to bring money to buy raffle tickets for our Christmas Basket Fundraiser for Lurana Shelter.

Monday, December 16th - Sock Toss

Tuesday, Dec 17th – School Mass (am) We will celebrate mass as a school at OLA church at 10 am. Our grade 2 classes will be leading. Families are welcome!

Wednesday, Dec.18th - Toboggan and Hot Chocolate Day! We will be spending parts of the day outside having some fun in the snow (if there is snow!). We will be tobogganing and having hot chocolate. Students need to bring their own toboggans (No Crazy Carpets or GT Racers) and helmets! Check with your bus drivers for rules with transporting toboggans on this day. If you do not want your child to toboggan, please let your child’s teacher know! Please make sure your child has snow pants and proper gear to spend an extended amount of time outside.

Thursday, December 19th - Christmas Sweater Day, Buddy Bingo, Christmas Sing along

Friday, Dec 20th – PJ and Christmas Movie Day! Wear your PJ’s for the day and bring your favourite stuffed animal. We have some cleaning to do in the morning and then our afternoon will be spent enjoying a movie. Students can bring ONE sandwich-size Ziploc bag full of a snack of their choice to enjoy during the movie.

Our St. John XXIII Advent Concert is less than 3 weeks away! Our students have been working hard to share the light of the season with our St. John XXIII Community. We hope that all of our students are able to participate in this year's concert. If your child is unable to attend, please let their classroom teacher know as soon as possible.

This Advent, all of our EICS community, including St. John XXIII, is continuing to partner with Catholic Social Services to support women and children at the Lurana Shelter. At St. John XXIII our goal is to raise enough money to purchase two Baskets of Blessing per class. The cost of each basket is approximately $100. To raise this money we will be creating themed baskets that will be raffled off at our Christmas Concert.

Lurana is a 21 day domestic abuse emergency shelter. The women and children who stay there have nowhere else to go because their own homes are unsafe. They may have left their home with only the clothes on their backs. When the women arrive at Lurana Shelter, they receive a ‘Basket of Blessings’. Each basket is tailored to the specific needs of each woman and her children. 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.

May God bless you and your family this Advent Season.

We will be creating baskets for a fundraising draw during our Christmas Concert, on Tuesday, December 10th. Baskets will be displayed and raffle tickets will be sold at both the afternoon and evening Christmas Concerts. Winning tickets will be drawn on Wednesday, December 11th. All money raised will be donated to Lurana Shelter.

We are asking students in each homeroom class to bring items related to a theme. Homeroom teachers will be sending descriptions of the various baskets, and what items can be purchased. Please have your student bring their item to their homeroom by Wednesday, December 4th, and we will collect the items for the baskets there. If you have larger baskets to donate as well, please send those along with your child.

Thank you for your generosity!

We recognize that this season can be a difficult time for some of our families within our community. If you or your family are struggling with finances, emotional or mental health, medical or physical needs, please reach out to someone within our school or parish community and we can respond. Everyone needs help sometimes, we are not meant to journey this life alone. There are many resources, agencies and people who have offered assistance and we can confidentially arrange for support, especially through this Advent season.

Kristine Willis Dengler, Principal kristinew@eics.ab.ca 780-998-7777

Eleanor Heesings, Family Wellness Worker eleanor.heesing @eics.ab.ca 780-995-9352

Exciting News! We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be using MunchaLunch for ordering hot lunch going forward! It’s a simple, convenient way to choose and pay for your child’s lunch online. You can easily pay with a credit card (Visa/Mastercard), debit-credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or a pre-paid credit card.

How to Register:

1) Go to: https://munchalunch.com/schools/stjohnXXIII

2) Click the “Register Here” button (as shown below). The system will guide you through the registration process.

3) After adding your children, click the green “Order Lunch!” button to order.

4) Next time, just click the “Login Here” button to access your account.

Ordering Information:

• Online ordering for December Hot Lunch is now open and will be closed 7 days prior to the hot lunch date

• December Hot Lunch dates and Vendors:

• December 5th - McDonalds

• December 18th - Sky Hy Pizza and Donair!

If you need assistance with ordering, please contact our hot lunch coordinator Brandy at Hotlunchstjohnxxiii@gmail.com

We are always in need of volunteers! You can indicate your availability on the volunteer page in

the online system by selecting the dates you’re available. The Hot Lunch Coordinator will reach

out to you as needed.

A heartfelt thank you to all the St. John XXIII families for your support!

It’s the final week to place your poinsettia orders! The deadline is November 28th at noon. Orders can be placed through your MunchaLunch account. Please see below for details.

The School Council is excited to announce our annual Poinsettia Sale, made possible by Bonnie Doon Flowers Garden Center. They’re growing beautiful red Poinsettias to help us raise funds to support our wonderful school community.

Each Poinsettia comes in a 6.5” foil-covered pot, standing approximately 18” tall and 16” wide—perfect for seasonal decor or as a festive gift! The cost is $25 per plant.

How to Order:

• Orders can be placed through your MunchaLunch account starting November 11, 2024.
• The deadline for orders is November 28, 2024 at noon.
• Poinsettias must be picked up at the school on Thursday, December 5, 2024, between 1 - 3pm or 6 - 8pm.

Thank you for your support and for helping us spread some holiday cheer while supporting our

school.

We're excited to offer our remaining Big Box of Cards sets! Each box contains 35 handcrafted cards for just $36.32. Choose between the All Occasion box or the Birthday box set—perfect for any celebration!

Hurry, as these sets are available on a first come, first serve basis and quantities are limited. You can order as many boxes as you'd like from our available stock, so be sure to stock up for all your upcoming events! Payment is quick and easy through Munchalunch, and must be made at the time of order. Don’t miss out on this fantastic deal!

Going forward, all of our fundraisers will be hosted through the same website as our hot lunch program on Munchalunch (https://munchalunch.com/schools/stjohnXXIII). This means one convenient place for all your ordering needs—whether it's hot lunch or supporting our school community!

Students and Staff had the pleasure of listening to Olubusayo Disu, a Nigerian Canadian wife, mother of three and president of the African's Society of Strathcona County. She came to share about her experience of navigating and adapting to Canadian culture. It was a wonderful learning opportunity to build cultural awareness among our school community.

School fees have been applied to your child's account in PowerSchool.

You can pay on-line with a debit card or credit card. However, if you wish to pay by cash (exact change only) or cheque, please send it to the school office (make cheques payable to Elk Island Catholic Schools). If you have other questions or require assistance with the online payment, please refer to the link at the bottom of this newsletter, and contact our school at 780-998-7777 if you need further assistance.

If you are experiencing financial hardship please review the fee waiver here or contact the principal, Mrs. Kristine Willis Dengler at 780-998-777 to arrange a meeting.

Email: stj@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://stj.eics.ab.ca/
Location: 9526 89 Street, Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-998-7777
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St.JohnXXIII
Twitter: @St_JohnXXIII