Madonna Catholic School News

Dear Madonna Families,

This week, two of our fourth-grade classes led a wonderful assembly introducing St. Francis of Assisi, a figure celebrated for his deep love of nature, animals, and helping others. He believed that every living thing, from the smallest flower to the mightiest animal, is a gift from God. St. Francis embraced a simple lifestyle, dedicating his time to caring for the poor and the sick. His unwavering trust in God and appreciation for life's little joys inspire us to cherish the world around us. Our first-grade classes certainly connected with nature when Sox the horse visited our school!

As we reflect on St. Francis's life, let's carry forward his messages of kindness, humility, and gratitude. He taught us the importance of loving and caring for our families, neighbors, and the Earth. By living with love and respect, we can follow in his footsteps and help create a world filled with peace and harmony.

Have a blessed weekend and enjoy the nature that surrounds us,

Madonna Catholic School Admin Team

Mrs Cathy Hinger, Principal

Mrs Fiona Wimmer, Assistant Principal

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. 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. You may see our County Bylaw Officers out supporting us in our efforts to keep everyone safe - thank you in advance for your help!

Madonna Admin Team

Monday, October 7

• Grade 4 Retreat

• Read In Day - Oil Kings visiting classes to read to students

Tuesday, October 8

• Swimming Lessons Grades 1 and 2’s

Wednesday, October 9

• Grandpa George to visit 4W

• Bus Evacuation Drills for students at the school

Thursday, October 10

• Swimming Lessons Grades 3 and 4’s

• Bus Evacuation Drill for the T/Th Kindergarten class

Friday, October 11

• Fort Heritage Precinct field trip 4W

Monday, October 14

• HAPPY THANKSGIVING - No School

Tuesday October 15

• School Assembly - St. Francis of Assisi - Everyone Welcome!

• Swimming Lessons Grades 1 and 2’s

Wednesday October 16

Thursday, October 17

• Swimming Lessons Grades 3 and 4’s

• Prairie Gardens Field Trip Kindergarten Cogito

• Grade 4 PARENT INFO meeting for Drumheller @ 6:30pm

Friday, October 18

• Fort Heritage Precinct field trip Grade 4O

All students are welcome to take part in the Prayer Club once a week during recess. This week we prayed a decade of the Joyful Mystery. Thank-you to Mary's Servants for Christ from our OLPH parish and Deacon Lynn for leading the students.

Save the Date and join in as we celebrate Mass during Cathloic Educaiton Sunday.

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

Mrs. Wiunow wears two important hats in our Madonna building. She is a part time grade 1 teacher working alongside Mrs. Stadnick and on other days she is a Collaborative Response Coordinator (CRC) supporting our students with diverse learning needs.

She has been in our EICS community for 16 and has been a veteran at Madonna for the past twelve. She is on eof our staff that we often ask, "where do we usually put this item? or how does Madonna do this?" because she will often have the answer.

When she is not at work serving our students she can be found walking her dogs, swimming or working on some crafty project. She is a proud Swifty and enjoys a perogy supper the most because it reminds her of her Polish family.

Last week Mrs. Hinger and Mrs. Wimmer were so pleased to be the first audience to witness the first recitations of our youngest Cogito students. Each child came forward to front of the class and recited a poem that had been practised and reviewed so well at home and at school. Well done!

Our first Spirit Day was this Wednesday. Students and Staff got to show off their silly socks!

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.

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.

Madonna will be having a Book Fair from November 4th to 8th!!

It will be open during the day but also during parent teacher night as well. Your child will be getting a flyer sent home to help them to choose their books.

Keep your eye out for more info about the Book Fair!

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.

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!

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

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