The Good News February 9, 2025

In this week's Gospel, Jesus tells Simon Peter to “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch” after an exhausting night of catching nothing. Despite his doubts, Peter trusts Jesus—and the result is an overwhelming catch. In the disciples, we see ordinary people with their own struggles and imperfections, yet Jesus chose them, transforming their gifts to lead others to Him.

As parents, we pour our hearts into raising our children, guiding them with love, patience, and hope.

We may not always see the fruits of our efforts right away, but God is at work through us, shaping our children in ways we can’t always see.

Thank you for all you do to nurture your child’s heart, rooted in Christ’s love.

Monday, Feb. 10

• PSC Meeting 6:30

• Reckie Lloyd- Black History Month (Drumming)
• KTR Hands on Science

• Grade 4 Edmonton Symphony
• KMW Hands on Science
• N1 & N2 Shelter Building

• Library Day Gr 1-4
• Hot Lunch
• NK JJ Nature Centre

Friday, Feb. 14

• Happy Valentine's Day!

Feb. 17 - Family Day - no school

Feb. 19- 100th Day of School

Feb. 24- PD day (No school for students)

Feb. 26 - Pink Shirt Day, Hot Lunch

Feb. 27- Cultural Presentation with the Multicultural Society

Feb. 28 - Gr 3 TPet, Gr 2 TPet

Even though our mornings start off chilly, the afternoons are often nice enough for outdoor recess! Fresh air and movement are so important for kids—it helps with focus, self-regulation, and overall well-being. Even just 10 minutes outside makes a big difference!

Please ensure your child comes to school dressed for the weather—warm jackets, mitts, hats, snow pants and proper footwear—so they can enjoy their outdoor play comfortably. Thank you for helping us keep our students active and ready to learn!

All current St. John XXIII students are required to fill out the Next Year Intentions form (and not a new registration form) in PowerSchool so that we can plan accordingly for next year. Please log into your PowerSchool account and fill out the Next Year Intentions form. This form is located on the left hand side, above the Grades and Attendance dropdown. Please refer to the PowerSchool page on our website for more information.

Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, February 14th.

Please remember as we approach the “sweet” day of Valentine’s Day: Please do not send in any food items as “treats” along with Valentine’s cards for our classmates. We have many students with various food sensitivities and allergies, as well as diabetes. If you choose to add a special something, you are most welcome to add any non-food items such as a pencil, sticker, or bookmark.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.

Pre-Kindergarten Registration Process

Elk Island Catholic Schools invites and welcomes families of young learners into our faith-based, inclusive Pre-Kindergarten classrooms. St. John XXIII offers a variety of Pre-Kindergarten programs to support all of our little learners. We have programs to support both Pre-K PUF Supported Learners & Independent Learners:

PUF Supported Learners

Alberta Education provides Program Unit Funding (PUF) for children between 2.8 and 4.8 years of age who have been identified as needing early learning intervention.

Independent Learners

Children who are 4 by December 31, 2025, in their year prior to Kindergarten.

A screening process will be done to determine which students qualify for funded pre-kindergarten (PUF). Students who are determined to be "independent learners" as described above will not qualify for funding and will be charged a fee to attend the pre-kindergarten program. Deposits for fees will be collected starting on April 1 for students who have not yet been confirmed as eligible for funding.

Please visit out Pre-Kindergarten page for more information, and to register.

Kindergarten Registration Process

We would LOVE to journey with your child at St. John XXIII! Kindergarten is a wonderful and exciting place for your child to grow and learn. At St. John XXIII, we provide a faith-infused learning environment that focuses on supporting your child's development as a confident learner going into Grade 1. We work with our families to ensure these important first steps toward a Catholic education will be a rich and rewarding experience.

Our faith-based program welcomes all children and nurtures the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of your child. Independence, initiative, decision making, creativity, the ability to learn, relationships and feelings of self-worth -- all have their beginnings in early childhood. We believe that each child is unique, and together with parents as our partners, we build upon their natural curiosity and spontaneity, encouraging and supporting them as they grow their brains, share smiles, and become all that God has called them to be.

Nature Kindergarten

Our school offers a supplemental Nature Kindergarten program which operates Mondays/Thursdays and some Wednesdays. This supplemental program allows for your child to attend kindergarten 5 days a week. This paid program also offers students the opportunity to spend a large part of their day outside engaged in meaningful ways of learning with their body, mind and spirit while located in a natural setting, providing an option to attend kindergarten full time.

Nature Program Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4

This supplemental program provides students with an opportunity to spend two half days outside each week. This paid program connects students to nature by fostering rich learning experiences, physical literacy and independence.

Please visit our website for more information.

We need your help in selecting the cover for the 2024-2025 yearbook. Below are the top 5 finalists. Cast your vote to determine which design will be featured on the front cover!

The winning design will be featured on the front cover, while the remaining four will be showcased on the back cover.

Voting closes on February 10th at 9am. Only one vote per email address is allowed. Vote here.

Mark your calendars! Our next School Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 10th, at 6:30 PM. We encourage all parents and guardians to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Ever wondered what your school council actually does? Over the next few weeks, we'll be giving you a closer look at the different positions that make up your school council. Stay tuned—next week, we’ll spotlight the role of the Chair.

We’ll be using MunchaLunch for ordering hot lunch! 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 February Hot Lunch is live:

• Wednesday, February 26th - KFC

Important Reminders:

• Orders will be accepted up to 7 days before the hot lunch date.

• If your child is ill or absent on a hot lunch date, you’re welcome to pick up their lunch order by 11:30 AM. If you’re unable to do so, please consider it a donation for a child in need.

• Please note that we are unable to issue refunds. We appreciate your support of our hot lunch program, as the prices include costs associated with running the program and help raise funds that benefit the student experience at our school. Thank you for your understanding!

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

Congrats to 2A for being the top-selling class in our fall fundraiser and earning a pizza lunch! The lunch was a big success, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of Boston Pizza. Thank you for helping the school council make this possible!

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!

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