The Bison Bugle
March 4th - March 8th
MISSION STATEMENT
At St. Kateri Tekakwitha Academy, we are a spiritual, Christ - centred community that nurtures resilient, responsible, lifelong learners through love and service.
CONNECT - INSPIRE - ACHIEVE
UPCOMING EVENTS for our BISONS
Mar 4 - Student Faith Assembly ✝️ (3rd week of Lent with Gr 2's)
Mar 4 - Gr 4 & 5 Cheer Team Pep Rally @ Assembly (NEW DATE)
Mar 4 - Gr 4 & 5 Beyblades Club @ lunch recess with Mrs. Palidwar
Mar 4 - Gr 5 Sports Club @ lunch recess with Mr. Paik
Mar 5 - Swimming Lesson Permission Forms coming home (Gr 2 & 3 students)
Mar 5 - Academy (Hockey/Cheer) & Gr 4 & 5 Options (Tues/Thurs)
Mar 5 - Gr 1-3 Reading Groups (Tues/Wed/Thurs)
Mar 5 - RAINBOWS Div I & Div II group with Mrs. Palidwar
Mar 5 - Gr 3-5 Mrs. P's Lunch Club @ lunch recess
Mar 5 - Gr 5 Leadership Club with Mrs. Zazulak
Mar 5 - Gr 3 & 4 Team Games @ lunch recess with Mrs. Zadunayski
Mar 7 - Gr 3 & 4 Team Games @ lunch recess with Mrs. Zadunayski
Mar 7 - 6:30pm School Council (revised date) ALL PARENTS WELCOME
Mar 8 - Gr 1-5 Tawatinaw Ski Trip (Busses Depart @ 8:45AM SHARP)
Mar 10 - Daylight Savings - MOVE CLOCKS AHEAD 1 hour!
Mar 11 - Student Faith Assembly ✝️ (4th week of Lent with Gr 5's)
Mar 11 - Substitute Staff Appreciation Week!
Mar 13 - "Pi-Pie" Day Gr 1-5 last day to bring $2.00 to order Pie & whipped cream for March 14th
Mar 13 - Healthy Hunger (Subway) Ordering still available online
Mar 14 - "Pi-Pie" Day Gr 1-5 Proceeds to our Catholic Social Services Lenten Project
Mar 14 - 6:00pm SKTA Kinder-Grade 5 LITERACY Open House ALL FAMILIES WELCOME
Mar 15 - 6:00pm Notre Dame School "Way of the Cross" ALL FAMILIES WELCOME
Mar 18 - Student Faith Assembly ✝️ (5th week of Lent with Gr 3/4's)
Mar 19 - Gr 5 "Coyote" Activity Challenge @ Primeau (Pickup at SKT 4:00pm)
Mar 20 - BISON Clothing deadline to order!
Mar 20 - 11:00am Reconciliation (Gr 3-5) with Father Trini
Mar 21 - "Break-A-Rule" Day (details coming) Proceeds go to Catholic Social Services Lent Project
Mar 22 - Schools Closed (lieu day) SPRING BREAK BEGINS!
April 1 - EASTER MONDAY HOLIDAY Schools Closed
April 2 - Welcome back to school!
April 3 - 8:45am ALLELUIA MASS (Led by Father Trini, Gr 5 & Kinder AM) ALL FAMILIES WELCOME
The Three Pillars of Lent ✝️
Lent is a time to prepare our hearts and minds for Easter. As a way to focus our preparation, the Church recommends “the 3 pillars of Lent”: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
- PRAY -Setting aside more time for family prayer during Lent draws us closer to God and one another. Through family prayer, we begin to recognize ourselves as a family rooted in Christ, a family on a mission.
- FAST - During Lent, we “give things up” not to torture ourselves, but to free ourselves! By sacrificing things we find pleasurable, we are eliminating any stumbling blocks between ourselves and God’s love. It’s a way of paying attention to unhealthy attachments. Usually the thing I most need to sacrifice for Lent is the thing I least want to sacrifice! Some children are too young to understand this spiritual battle, but we can still lead them in making their little sacrifices.
- GIVE -As a sign of gratitude for all God has given us, and as an act of love to those in need, we try to give generously to those less fortunate during Lent.
SKTA BISON CLOTHING - TWO WEEKS LEFT!
Tawatinaw Ski Trip Grades 1-5
We are looking so forward to our SKTA BISON ski trip on March 8th and we have been blessed with fresh powder and an amazing forecast ahead! Please ensure your child "dresses for the weather" and brings lots of extra snacks to fuel their body. Please note - this is your last chance to submit payment for your child through your parent portal. ALL FEES MUST BE FULLY paid by March 4th as we need to submit our final numbers to the ski hill.
"Pi-PIE Day!" for LENT ✝️
Hey kids...bring in a TOONIE and get a piece of yummy PIE with whipped cream on March 14th "Pi-PIE Day". All proceeds go towards Catholic Social Services for our Lenten Project. Deadline to send in a toonie to your child's teacher is March 13th (PIE day is March 14th). Thank you for your support!
Come to our SKTA OPEN HOUSE (Pre-K-Grade 5) Thursday March 14th @ 6:00 PM
We are thrilled to welcome all families and invite you to come and check out our dynamic learning spaces and programming options. Our school's unique design and flexible areas are designed to foster a sense of creativity, confidence and inspiration to our students.
Come check out our Open House on Thursday March 14th @ 6:00pm to see for yourself the amazing things happening in our classrooms at all grade levels.
We will also be having opportunities for prospective Kindergarten families to learn about our great ECS programming and Kindergarten options!
Returning BISON Registration Contest!
We are hosting a 'Returning Registration Contest' for students and families! Click HERE to register!
*STUDENTS - The first class to have all their registrations in for next school year will win a special ice cream treat!
*FAMILIES - All families with returning student for the 2024/2025 school year who submit their registrations forms before March 21st will be entered into a draw to win 1 of 2 'waiver of school fees'.
Winning families will NOT have to pay school fees for the 2024/2025 school year for one child!
At SKTA We Embrace, Support, Accept and Celebrate Our Differences!
We show empathy...
We lift each other up...
We share with others...
Heelys - Wheeled Shoes at School
We have had an increase of students wearing 'HEELYS' (shoes with wheels in the heals) to school. While fun and exciting for kids, we have had a few issues with students 'wheeling' around the inside of the school and on sidewalks around the school. This has become a safety concern, as well as, an issue with marking our hallway floors and gym floor. We are asking that student's refrain from wearing HEELYS to school, and if that is their only form of foot wear they will be asked to take out the wheel. We thank our SKTA families for your ongoing support with this expectation.
Parent Council & Friends of SKTA
Thank you to all parents and guardians who joined us at our last Parent Council meeting last week. We have such a great group of engaged parents. Our next meeting is THURSDAY MARCH 7th. Parent Council & Friends of SKTA are both wonderful ways for parents & guardians to get involved and support our school and it's initiatives. All parents & guardians with children registered at SKTA are welcome to join! Participating in Parent Council will allow individuals to share their voice and their talents with the school community and serve our students. Any families who would like to review the Agenda's and Minutes can access them on our SKTA website (CLICK HERE)
Join a Great Community of Parents on our ST. KATERI ACADEMY PARENTS facebook page!
SKTA Student Yearbooks
YEARBOOKS are available to PRE-ORDER for only $20.00 on your PARENT PORTAL!
Don't miss out on your child's memories for 2023-2024 as there are only LIMITED COPIES AVAILABLE!
SKTA FUNDRAISING
Mabel's Labels
You can buy Mabel’s Labels for your child's items - they are waterproof, durable labels to help reduce classroom mix-ups and keep your items coming home! CLICK HERE for more information on how to order. This fundraiser is ongoing - no deadline.
Friends of SKT thanks you so much for supporting our school and our students.
Save the Date - April 3 - ICE - Internet Child Exploitation Unit - FREE Parent Presentation!
Our AMAZING SKTA Parent Council has secured a presentation from The Northern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit to present to our families in early April! We are asking families to fill out the 'Form' below to registered and give us a sense of participants in attendance. We look forward to engaging with our parents on this important topic!
Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 6:30pm at St. Kateri Academy School
Please contact us for more information at: sktacouncil@gmail.com
The internet plays an integral role in everyone’s lives, and when it comes to youth, their social lives exist largely in cyberspace. Over the course of the past four years and through the Global Pandemic, Alberta has experienced a significant increase in cases of child exploitation on the internet. With more users online than ever before, and new apps and software being developed every day, it can be difficult for parents and teachers to keep on top of the latest trending platform. Advancements in technology are exciting and helpful, but it opens an ever-growing gap between the levels of digital literacy between youths and busy adults.
The Northern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit investigates incidents of child luring, sextortion, possession, transmission, and the making of child pornography as well as internet-related voyeurism involving youth. This presentation will focus on education, prevention, and putting parents and teachers in a position to protect their children from online sexual exploitation. The presenters will discuss the role of ICE in Alberta, Sextortion, sharing of intimate images, current online applications and internet platforms, and additional resources which are available to parents so they will be able to better support healthy and productive online experiences for their children and teens.
GSACRD Voice
International Women’s Day
On March 8th, 2024 it is International Women’s Day. On this day and others, we celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. Check out these awesome ways to actively celebrate International Women’s Day!
Wear purple on Wednesday:
Throw on your purple shirts, shorts, socks, and hats. Purple is the official colour of International Women’s Day!
Do something kind for a girl or woman you admire:
Write a note, make a phone call, say “thank you”, or offer help - support the girls and women in your life by doing something nice for them.
Watch a girl power film or listen to music by female artists:
There are so many awesome movies that show the strength of girls and women. Here are a few to choose from: Matilda, Brave, Little Women, Mulan, Tangled, Frozen, Anne of Green Gables, Wizard of Oz, Tottoro, Lilo & Stitch, Mary Poppins, and Bend it Like Beckham. These movies are a wonderful tool to use when having conversations with your kids about International Women’s Day!
Read about inspirational women:
Head to the library or grab your computer and search for some amazing women. Here are a few inspirational females to start: Marie Curie, Mother Teresa, Malala Yousifazi, Venus & Serena Williams, and Kenojuak Ashevak.
Make something purple!
Bake a purple cake, or create a piece of art with all shades of purple - display that art proudly!
Caitlin Josey: cjosey@gsacrd.ab.ca (SKT & Legal)
Student Absences, Appointments and Early Pickup
Please enter ALL your child's absences on safe arrivals. Some examples include vacation, illness, appointments, or needing to leave early. Ensuring your child's attendance is accurately recorded is essential for us to provide the best educational experience.
Please visit our website (Click HERE) for detailed instructions under the MENU.
Ongoing Reporting - Viewing your students marks
We encourage all parents to use PowerSchool as a tool to remain informed about student progress. Questions or concerns about student assessments should be directed to your child's homeroom teacher. Interviews to discuss student progress will continue to be a valuable opportunity for collaboration between home and school. In addition to this, reciprocal emails and phone calls will also be essential to maintaining a solid relationship that is focused on student success.
Please watch video on our website (Click HERE) for a step by step on how to access.
Parent and Student Sign In Click HERE
St. Jean Baptiste Parish
As partners in faith with our local St. Jean Baptiste Parish, please see the link below to find out mass times and locations, upcoming parish events and more. Regular Sunday Mass is held at École Notre Dame School Gym during the rebuild of the church building.
Holy Week
Families are encouraged to take a moment and review the Holy Week bulletin, outlining mass times and locations throughout Holy Week.
Sacramental Preparation
For families with children in grade two and above, please see the attached bulletin regrading Sacramental Prep. registration for the 2024 year. Thank you.