Madonna Catholic School News

Dear Madonna Families,

In the picture above you see our entire school community that was gathered on September 20 for our annual Terry Fox Run. A tremendous thank you to everyone who was able to donateto this important cause. $715 was officially collected which is an incredible boost as we were hoping to collect $500. Way to go Madonna!!

As we move from celebrating a national hero, Terry Fox, we have this week focussed on what September 30 means for all of us. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to learn, think, and come together to show respect for Indigenous peoples in Canada. It helps us remember the painful history they have been through, especially because of residential schools. Many Indigenous children were taken away from their families and homes to live in these schools. There, they often lost their connection to their language, culture, and traditions. By learning about this, we can help make sure something like this never happens again.

For parents, this day is a chance to talk with your children about respect, kindness, and treating everyone with dignity. By doing this, we can grow stronger in understanding and support healing and reconciliation for future generations.

Prayer for Healing and Peace

Enjoy the time at home with loved ones and see you all next Tuesday,

Madonna Catholic School Admin Team

Mrs Cathy Hinger, Principal

Mrs Fiona Wimmer, Assistant Principal

The newsletter is organized based on our four school assurance priorities for this year.

1. Faith Integration
2. Learners and Learning
3. Systemic Wellness
4. Community Engagement

Event Details

• Date: Oct. 25, 2024
• Time: 7:15 a.m.–2 p.m.
• Location: Catholic Parish of St. Luke (1566 Northmount Drive NW, Calgary)
• Who: This event is for trustees, educators, parents, students, clergy and parishioners
• Registration cost: $75

More Information

• Click here for the 2024 Summit Program
• Click here register!

As we move through the fall we would like to introduce (or reintroduce to some families) our staff to our larger Madonna community.

Mrs Fortier wears a few hats at Madonna. She is a kindergarten teacher, our school music teacher and she is our chaplain. Mrs. Fortier has been a staff member at Madonna for the past six years. She is looking forward to taking on the chaplain role this year. We have already seen the hard work she has put into our first school mass and planning for upcoming events. One thing she is looking forward to this year is meeting up with her former kindergarten students as they arrive for her music classes. Take note of the choir announcement later in our newsletter, Mrs. Fortier is the lead in supporting our school choir.

In an effort to support student safety we are asking for help regarding those who pick up and drop off students. As you arrive in the morning please pull over along the RIGHT side of Malvern Drive and allow your child to safely exit the vehicle and THEN pull away for another parent to access your spot. This is meant to be a DROP OFF ZONE and it would help significantly with the traffic flow if you could support this.

If you wish to walk onto school property with your student, please note you will need to park either at the business centre across the traffic circle OR choose to pull your car all the way up to the far end of Malvern Drive.

At the end of the day, please consider parking and walking to meet your student OR you may be fortunate to come early and pull up along the right side of Malvern Drive. Parents who wish to remain in their cars need to be quick and once your student is safely secured in your vehicle, please vacate the spot so that the next family can access this pick up location.

Many thanks for your help with this plan that supports our students safety. This new plan goes into effect Tuesday, October 1. We understand it might take a few days to get used to the changes. We are hopeful we can be successful with this plan well before the winter season is upon us.

Madonna Admin Team

Hello parents! Your school photos are now live and ready to view and order online. Please visit the website www.offspringstudios.ca and enter your online code (top right on your picture form). You receive free direct shipping on all orders until Thursday, October 3rd!

If your child misplaced their picture form or you don’t know the online code, please email hello@offspringstudios.ca and we will provide you with it.

Additionally, we are pleased to offer outdoor sibling photo sessions on Friday, October 4th from 4:00-6:00pm at the Smeltzer House (1 Broadmoor Blvd, Sherwood Park.) These photo sessions will be 10 minutes long and are free of charge, but you must book your time slot!

Please email us at hello@offspringstudios.ca with your desired time (between 4-6pm) and we will confirm.

Thank you & have a wonderful weekend!

Rowan Foote & Peter Koop

Offspring Studios
www.offspringstudios.ca

Thank you to Mrs Odiobala who serves as our Madonna Indigenous Lead Teacher. She and her class led us in a whole school assembly on Friday morning where students had the opportunity to participate in a brief smudge. Those present were reminded of the significance of a smudge and those who were comfortable were invited to participate in the experience. We closed with a prayer and our national anthem. Later our older students helped to place the wooden hearts, decorated by our students this week on the fence outside for our larger to note and reflect upon.

Consent Forms are now due for your child. Please log on to our Parent Portal and use this link https://www.eics.ab.ca/parent-resources-including-technology-powerschool/parent-technology-handbook-powerschool-for-parents to access directions for submitting your Yearly Consent Forms. Thank you

PowerSchool App: The PowerSchool app provides some access to student information but access to pay school fees, complete forms, view report cards and other important funcionality is not available via the PS app.

Pinned to the bottom of the dashboard is a message reminding users that only a small portion of the features available on the portal are also available within the app. If you click the post, it will give you a link to log into the full version of the portal.

Hello!

I wanted to tell you all a little bit about myself and give you all some of my favorite resources for this month.

I am a mother of two boys, with an education background of Child and Youth Care. I have 12 years of experience working with children and families with diverse needs, trauma and abilities. I love teaching and learning through play and finding what tools work best for each individual and family dynamic.

If you are having difficulties and require support I am here for your family! Please reach out to me and I will be happy to help.

Some resources I wanted to share are:

WeCan Food Basket Society: is a wonderful food resource that “provides the opportunity to purchase nutritious food at an affordable price.”

https://wecanfood.com/about-us/

Strathcona County Family Resource Network has a plethora of family oriented resources that can support a variety of needs. I'd like to highlight their Confident Kids and Emotions Academy in their Fall Programing this year.

https://storagecdn.strathcona.ca/files/files/cfw419-frn_program_booklet-fall24-digital.pdf

I hope these resources spark some interest for you and if you find yourself looking for something that is not here, please reach out and I can help you get started!"

Mrs. Andrea Calles-Menjivar

Family Wellness Worker

andrea.calles@eics.ab.ca

Madonna Catholic Elementary School

Available: Monday, Thursday and alternating Fridays

(780) 467-7972

Shout out to these awesome parents and students for giving their time to help launch our first Hot Lunch Day of the school year!

Parents are needed each week when hot lunch is offered in our school. Typically parents help from 11:20-12:45pm in the school kitchen where they sort, distribute and help pack up the weekly food order. Without your support the hot lunch program is not possible.

Our Madonna School Council is looking to offer a special fundraiser this fall and would like the help of any parent(s) who have pick up trucks and/or trailers. Please reach out to Council Chair Kerstin Adamson @ adamsonker@gmail.com if you can help.

We’re excited to announce that the ability to submit student absences is now available in PowerSchool! Please log into your Parent Portal here to record an absence.

PowerSchool can also continue to be used to view grades and report cards, pay fees, and update student information (including medical information).

You can view the EICS Parent Technology Handbook for further details on these items.

All programs can be accessed for $2 per session with our punch pass system or a fee of $40 covers all sessions between October and May. Each program runs from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at our Spruce Club location (#3 Spruce Ave, Sherwood Park)

Minecraft Monday: (Monday)

Drop-in to Minecraft Mondays to build, create and explore! Minecraft Mondays is a virtual program where children can explore math, engineering and problem solving skills in the world of Minecraft. Participants can log in to our BGC world every Monday evening to build, explore and complete challenges with their friends!

Art Night: (Tuesday)

Drop-in to Art Night for fun, scheduled art projects that get to come home with you! Art Night provides a space for children to expand their art skillset and try new methods and mediums. Projects are designed to support children's development as artists as well as allow creativity to flourish.

MasterChef: (Wednesday)

Drop-in to MasterChef to create a masterpiece meal! BGC's MasterChef program provides children the opportunity to develop their culinary skills while participating in a fun competition. Participants are split into 2 teams, a recipe and ingredients are provided, and then the cook-off begins! The best part is, everyone gets to eat the tasty dish they've created!

Sports Night: (Thursday)

Drop-in to Sports Night to learn new sports, partake in favourites and most of all, have fun! Participants play different sports each night with a focus on fun and skill development. Participants are exposed to new sports and can get active in a fun and casual sports environment.

John Dalton
Director of Community & Specialized Programs
T: 780-416-1500 | #123 2016 Sherwood Dr. Sherwood Park

www.scbgc.com | @strathcona.bgc

OLPH (Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish)

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 sacramental preparation.

Visit www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark