In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus tells of a wealthy man who lives in luxury while a poor man, Lazarus, suffers outside his gate. After death, Lazarus is comforted in heaven, while the rich man, in torment, pleads for help but is reminded that his earthly choices have eternal consequences, and his family has already been warned through the teachings of Moses and the prophets.

Every day we see many who are like Lazarus. Ordinary people who have for whatever reason fallen on difficult times. We see them on the streets; some are homeless, others asking for money. Some are in our own locality, some may be even in our own parish communities. What is our reaction to them? What is our response?

When we see someone who needs our help, we have a simple decision to make; we can do something or we can do nothing. The choice is ours. If I call myself a Christian, how do l live may faith in concrete ways in my daily life? In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis reminds us that ‘there is an inseparable link between our faith and the poor.’ (48) Just as Francis is clear and direct with us, so too is Jesus. We cannot simply ignore the poor who are on our doorstep. We cannot close our hearts or turn a blind eye to those around us who are in need.

This week may we open our heart, our eyes and stretch out our hands to help those around us who are suffering and who are simply asking us to acknowledge and help them.

Adapted from Br Michael Moore OMI (https://oblates.ie/)

Monday, September 30

- National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. No school.

Tuesday, October 1

- Japan 2025 Information Meeting at lunch time in the Library Classroom

- Girls Basketball 9-12 Open Gym 3:30-5:00 pm

- Grade 9 Girls and Boys vs. Cloverbar. Games at 4:00 and 5:15 pm respectively.

- Junior Girls Volleyball at Bellerose beginning at 5:30 pm

Wednesday, October 2

- Early Dismissal

- National Custodian Day. Thank you Mr. Hollman and our evening custodial team for keeping our school clean and safe!

- EIAA Grade 9 Cross Country Running Race at Strathcona Wilderness Centre at 9:00 am

- Cross Country Running Race at Goldbar Park beginning at 4:15 pm

- Senior Boys and Girls at Beaumont. Games at 5;00 and 6:30 pm respectively.

Thursday, October 3

- Junior Boys Volleyball at Mother Margaret Mary beginning at 5:00 pm

- Junior Girls Volleyball vs. Dr. Anne Anderson at ABJ beginning at 6:30 pm

- Boys Basketball 9-12 Open Gym 7:00-8:30 pm

- Scots Football vs. Bellerose at Emerald Hills beginning at 7:30 pm

Friday, October 4

- PD Day. No school.

- Junior Volleyball Teams at Dr. Anne Anderson Tournament

Upcoming...

October 7

- Photo Retakes

October 20

- ABJ Catholic Education Mass at OLPH beginning at 7:00 pm

October 24

- Grad Parent Meeting at 7:00 pm in the large gym

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

In Catholicism, the month of October is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary. This devotion stems from the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated on October 7, which commemorates the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, a victory attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary through the praying of the Rosary. Throughout October, Catholics are encouraged to focus on the mysteries of the Rosary, reflecting on key events in the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, and praying for peace and spiritual renewal. Many parishes organize special Rosary devotions, processions, and prayer services during this month.

Each day, we are called to do a different set of the Mysteries of the Rosary:

Mondays & Saturdays: Joyful Mysteries
Tuesdays & Fridays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesdays & Sundays: Glorious Mysteries
Thursdays: Luminous Mysteries

• Learn the prayers of the Rosary by watching this video.
• Access the Mysteries of the Rosary here.

The Grade 9, 10, and 12 retreats are now full and there is currently a waitlist. Please check PowerSchool to see if you have made the list and to make your payment if you requested payment through PowerSchool. Payment is due September 30th, 2024. As there is a waitlist, you will be removed from the list if payment isn't received by the 30th to allow those on the waitlist an opportunity to attend.

There are still three spots available for the Grade 11 (October 25th) retreat. If you are interested, please grab a form from Miss Fichter in room 137!

This will also fulfill your Christian Action Hours requirement for religion classes (in either semester)!

GrACE (Grateful Advocates for Catholic Education) is pleased to warmly invite you to the GrACE October Summit 2024: “Testify! Share the Reason for Your Hope” — a day dedicated to Renewing Our Commitment, Rejoicing in Our Faith, and Strengthening Our Communion in the service of Catholic education.

This inspirational event, co-hosted by the Calgary Catholic School Division, will be held on October 25, 2024, at St. Luke’s Catholic Parish in Calgary. The Summit will emphasize unity, dialogue, hope, and renewal, highlighting how these values are integral to the ongoing vitality and growth of Catholic education.

Parents are encouraged to consider attending!

If you do not have a block 1 class or you missed the block 1 Counsellor presentations and did not hear about Gold Book, please stop by Student Services to connect with either Mrs. Glass or Mrs. St.Amand so we can update you with all of the information you will need! And make sure you have joined the Grade 12 Google Classroom (code is pqv2uz2) as it will be posted for each of you as an assignment in the Classroom.

Thank you to all of those that were able to attend our Post-Secondary Application Information Session last week! For those that weren't able to make it, we will make the slide deck that we presented available for your review. Reminder that post-secondary applications open on October 1st, 2024, which is on TUESDAY! You are able to go into Apply Alberta now and complete much of the application information in advance so that come that date, you will be able to complete your submission more seamlessly.

Please reach out to Mrs. Glass or Mrs. St. Amand if you have any questions regarding your specific application and/or program requirements.

If you are a self-identifying First Nations, Métis, or Inuit student who submits an application to a participating post-secondary institution, you have the opportunity to have your application fee waived. In the spirit of reconciliation and to honour Residential School survivors, many Universities extend application days and waive the fee.

U of A - September 30th to October 29th

MacEwan - September 16th to November 4th (use code "TAWAW" to apply)

Indigenous identity documentation can be uploaded to your account after you apply and up until you receive an official decision. It is recommended that students upload their documents as soon as possible. Post-secondary institutions recognize that Indigeneity and connecting to your Indigenous identity can be a complex process and have people that are able to assist and work closely with you as a student applicant. Feel free to reach out to Mrs. Glass if you need connection to someone on the post-secondary side in this respect.

Are you potentially considering a HEALTH Program through the School of Health and Life Sciences at NAIT? Many of their programs have an interview requirement which can be a daunting experience for our Grade 12 students looking to get a conditional offer of admission to one of these very popular and very competitive programs!

This year, NAIT will be offering free Health Program Interview Preparation Workshops Sessions. These sessions can be virtual or take place in person on Saturday October 26th during their Open House. For more information or to register for a session, you can email DMS@nait.ca to assist you. It is very worthwhile as prep something that constitutes a large part of your admission evaluation considerations!

Not all health programs require interviews, but many do. To see if the one you are interested in has an interview component, you can click here.

Please reach out to Mrs. Glass if you have any questions!

If so, apply to be ONE OF THREE students from ABJ that are able to attend the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame’s Discovery Day in Health Sciences, hosted by the University of Alberta on, Thursday October 24, 2024.

Discovery Days in Health Sciences are one-day events that provide secondary school students (from grades 10 and 11) with the opportunity to explore a variety of career options in medicine and the health sciences. Participants gain a clearer picture of what it would be like to be a health professional by interacting with researchers, clinicians and educators in their real-life work setting. The event includes:

• A dynamic keynote lecture
• An opportunity to attend two interactive workshops pre-selected from a catalogue of options (link for session descriptions attached below
• "Health Pros Tell All" career panel discussion

Students are FIRST come FIRST served so please email Mrs. Glass at sarag@eics.ab.ca to be considered (again, we are only allowed 3!)

Registration for sessions opens on Thursday September 19th, so sign up quickly so that I am able to get you the registration information so you can get priority workshop selection!

*Note - students will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the University of Alberta on the day of the event. There is no charge for this event.

We are a few weeks in and getting deep into course content. If you are struggling, take a look at our tutor list to see if arranging some additional support outside of school might be an option for you! There are in-person and virtual options available across all subject areas.

We are also fortunate to have FREE SCIENCE AND MATH TUTORING ON TUESDAYS AT LUNCH. This will take place in the classroom at the back of the Library. If you plan to attend, you can either sign up on the list in the library or email Mrs. Glass at sarag@eics.ab.ca or click on the QR code below to let me know that you will be attending. Students must sign up no later than the end of the day Monday. If no students sign up, the tutor will not come so sign up is essential! Reach out to Mrs. Glass if you have any questions!

Mrs. Jennings' Sports Medicine classes successfully completed their dimensional models of each of the 6 types of synovial joints and bones of the skeletal system this week.

Student council is organizing a Thanksgiving food drive and and we would really appreciate all students and staff's support. Donations will start on Wednesday, October 2nd and will end a week past this date on the October 9th. Bring non-perishable items to your block 2 classes where bins will be placed in each individual class. Let's support families this Thanksgiving at ABJ by lending a helping hand!

We are excited to welcome Mrs. Laurie Ciezki (lauriec@eics.ab.ca) to the role of Athletic Director as well as Mrs. Courtney St. Amand (courtney.stamand@eics.ab.ca) as Assistant to the Athletic Director. Please feel free to them for any Athletics comments, questions, or information.

Check out the website for all things Athletics.

The Scots rolled into Foote Field on Friday for the Scona Lords homecoming game and the rambunctious Scona fans packed the stands as they watched their team pull out a last minute win over the ABJ team, with the game ending in a 10‐6 loss for the visiting Scots.

The Scots got on the board with a field goal from Denys Fesenko, the Lords countered with a field goal of their own, and the Scots ended the first half with another Fesenko field goal to go in 6‐3. The second half saw both teams see‐saw field position back and forth, until the last minute of the game when the Loads hit one over the top for a long pass and run for the go‐ahead touchdown. The loss has the Scots at 3‐1 for the season.

Coach Yuzyk commented after the game:

“This was a frustrating loss – we moved the ball on offence but could not capitalize when deep in their end. The defense played well, and the drive they scored on was largely successful due to a really questionable pass interference call. Having said that they (Scona) came to play – the stands were packed and their fans were jacked up and so was their team ‐ we let them hang around too long and they hit one.

Offensively Jett (Ball) played a gritty game, Stubbs (Lucas Steblyk) ran the ball well, Lukas (Thiessen) and Quinn (Schreiber) had some tough yards. We couldn’t get our passing game going, and they loaded the box and brought heat which we struggled with at times. We adjusted at the half but had to fight to get rhythm and hurt ourselves with penalties, and when we did have them on their heels in the fourth we took some penalties which crushed our momentum. Defensively the guys had them contained for much of the game. The D‐line was mostly disruptive, Max (Lozowy) was great in coverage as usual, and Jack (Thiessen) had a very good game.

Sucks to lose and this one was frustrating, but we will rally and get back to it next week. We have Bellerose next week so a big challenge ahead.”

The Scots return to action on Thursday, October 3 against the Bellerose Bulldogs – with a 7:30 PM kickoff at Emerald Hills. The game is the Scots Senior Night when the graduating players are recognized, as well as the team’s Breast Cancer Awareness Game.

Well done to our grade 9 girls team for their win over Rudolph Hennig in league play this past week!

Congratulations to our junior teams who both won their games against Archbishop MacDonald last Thursday evening. Way to go Scots!

The senior boys started the week with a loss to Mother Margaret Mary but came back for a win against Louis St. Laurent in a 5-set game last Wednesday. Well done boys!

The senior girls got their first league win Monday night with a 3-2 win against Mother Margaret Mary. Perseverance and a team effort was present as the girls fought back after being down 2-1 going into the fourth set to win 25-15 and battle hard in the fifth winning 16-14

Parents/Guardians are asked to ensure that all Yearly Consent forms in PowerSchool are completed as soon as possible. This is especially important in allowing programming to happen in the classroom.

1. Consent to disclose personal information to the School Council
2. Consent to Post/Display personal information of student under FOIPP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy)
3. Copyright Permission
4. Technology Use Agreement
5. Low Risk Field Trip Consent Form
6. One to One Responsible User Agreement
7. Locker Use Agreement

In addition to Google Classrooms for each course, there is also a grade-level Google classroom. Students are asked to accept the invitation when they receive it in their school email. Parents will also be invited and are urged to accept the invitation as well.

The Scots Week at a Glance (SWAG) newsletter will be shared weekly on Sunday evenings or Monday evenings on long weekends. This will also be posted on our website and shared via social media. Stay informed on all things ABJ through the website, blog, and on social media.