ABJ Scots Week at a Glance (SWAG)
April 29 - May 3, 2024
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…”
This weekend’s gospel from John uses the analogy of a vineyard and the promise of a beautiful heavenly life when we nurture our relationship with God. Jesus wants us to know that we are branches who cannot stand alone. Jesus himself is our gardener who continuously nourishes our spirit. If we remain faithful to Him, our life will prosper and bear much fruit. If we remain loyal to our belief, the hard work we did will result in more than we ever expected.
Father open my eyes to how you can do immeasurably more
than all I can ask or imagine, according to your power
that is at work within me.
Ephesians 3:20
Important Dates
April 29
- Senior Boys Handball Playoff Game vs. McNally at ABJ. Game starts at 5:00 pm.
April 30
- Senior Girls Rugby vs. SAL at Druids Rugby Park Field #1. Game starts at 4:45 pm.
May 1
- Early Dismissal
- Senior Boys Handball Playoff Game - Details TBD
- Senior Girls Soccer vs. ME Lazerte at Millennium Place Field A. Game starts at 4:15 pm.
- Senior Boys Rugby vs. Austin O'Brien at NorWesters Field #1. Game starts at 6:15 pm.
May 2
- Grade 9 and 10 Assemblies
- Senior Girls Rugby vs. St. FX at Druids Rugby Park Field #1. Game starts at 4:45 pm.
May 3
- PD Day. No School.
Upcoming...
May 5
- ABJ Led Mass at OLPH 12:30 pm
May 6
- Parent Council Meeting at 6:30 in the ABJ Library
May 8
- Grade 12 Grad Assembly
- Creative Writing Showcase at 6:30 pm in the Drama Theatre
May 10
- Leadership 9 Social Justice Fair in period 4
May 13
- ELA 9 Provincial Achievement Test Part A
May 15
- FLA 9 Provincial Achievement Test Partie A
Organization of the SWAG
The newsletter is organized based on our four school assurance priorities for this year.
- Faith Integration
- Learners and Learning
- Systemic Wellness
- Community Engagement
FAITH INTEGRATION
Catholic Education Week May 5-10
In anticipation of Catholic Education Week: May 5 - 10 2024, please see this letter from Archbishop Richard Smith.
OLPH Weekly Bulletin and UpLIFT Prayer Requests
April Chaplains' Corner
Volunteers Needed for OLPH Vacation Bible School
Consider volunteering at OLPH Parish’s Vacation Bible School this July - looks amazing on a resume!
REAL Foundation Annual Golf Tournament
GrACE - Grateful Advocates for Catholic Education
LEARNERS AND LEARNING
Provincial Achievement Tests - Part A Written Portions
Students in Language Arts 9 and French Language Arts 9 will be writing the first portion of the Provincial Achievement Test as per the following dates. As these exams are developed by Alberta Education, students are expected to write this exam on the designated dates as indicated below.
LA 9 - Monday, May 13
FLA 9 - Wednesday, May 15
Teachers will be providing detailed information about the exam, including the start time and duration. Students will have an extended amount of time to complete the exam and thus will likely miss part of their morning classes in order to do so.
Please see the General Information Bulletin linked in the button below for more information.
Registrations for 2024-2025
Thank you to all students and parents/guardians that met for registration one-on-ones in preparation for next school year. Counsellors and admin are hard at work completing that final registrations for our returning students.
Please see below for the board-approved school fee schedule for 2024-2025.
Learning Spotlights
Leadership 9 Students Upcycled Art Projects
Leadership 9 students celebrated Earth Day by creating upcycled art projects. Try to see what you can create from recyclables around your home!
Health 9 Board Games
Health 9 students created their own board games and spent a morning playing each one of them. They demonstrated great creativity and engagement, and got to do some physical movement in the classroom!
Leadership 9 Social Justice Fair
Mrs. Boake's Leadership 9 has been working on social justice research projects and will be offering a "Social Justice Fair" on May 10 in Block 4 (sign up sheet to be shared with staff soon) where classes can sign up to come and learn about social justice issues and vote on the most moving presentations to help Leadership 9 choose their final project focus.
Ukrainian Creative Arts 9: Petrykivka Painting
Grade 12 Post-Secondary and Diploma Supports
Post-Secondary Reminder
2023-2024 ABJ Awards Applications
May is the time of year to begin applying for awards for the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the following form with the requested information to be eligible for the ABJ Awards. The deadline for completion and submission of this application is THURSDAY, MAY 30th, 2024.
Submissions must be made through a student EICS Google account. You will only be able to submit this application ONCE, so please ensure its accuracy prior to your final submission.
Scholarships
Northeast Capital Industrial Association 2024 Scholarship
The Northeast Capital Industrial Association (NCIA) is once again distributing $5,000 in scholarships (5 x $1,000 scholarships) to students attending a high school in Alberta's Industrial Heartland. This will be the third year that we have offered this scholarship opportunity. To read more about last year's scholarship recipients, visit our website.
The NCIA Scholarship is open to Grade 12 students planning to pursue post-secondary studies in a STEM program, Environmental and Conservation Sciences program, or trade.
This year, students can apply directly for the scholarship instead of having to be nominated to apply. We will be promoting this opportunity on NCIA's social media channels (X and LinkedIn) as well as through our website.
Students
- Students will need to complete the signed application form with their personal information and provide a short abstract of 300-500 words.
- The Principal or Assistant Principal will need to sign the application form.
- Students must submit their application ON or BEFORE June 30, 2024.
NCIA
- A committee from NCIA will review the applications and select recipients in July/August.
- Successful applicants will be notified in August 2024.
As a reminder, the below scholarship opportunities are still active and available to students.
Scotiabank Scholarships
- 16 x $3,750 in awards
- 4 themes: Financial Wellness, Future Women Leader, Diversity, and STEM
- Deadline: May 3, 2024
- Learn More
H&R Block Canada Scholarships
- 10 x $3,000 in awards
- Valuable student-friendly info on taxes (click Learn More)
- Deadline: April 26, 2024
- Learn More
myBlueprint Awards
- 5x $1,000 in awards
- Only accessible via the myBlueprint Student account (instructions below)
- Deadline: May 17, 2024
How students enter:
Log in to your myBlueprint Account (It is your ABJ Id/email. The password is the same as it is for you to access the network)
Click the Tasks > Scholarship Tab
Read through the Terms and Conditions
Click Enter Draw > Confirm Entry
Norquest College Program Previews
SYSTEMIC WELLNESS
ABJHL Intramural Winners
A note from the Commissioner for the ABJHL: Please congratulate "Joans Minions'' on their massive upset victory over the "Twine Ticklers." A big thank you to Ms. Miko’s PE 30 class for supporting these intramural events.
ABJ'S World Cup Soccer Intramurals
Every Wednesday and Thursday at lunch time in the large gym for the month of May, starting May 1st. Teams of 4-6 people, each will be playing as a different country. Sign up ASAP!
Taking Care of Our Environment During Pitch-In Week
Students from our Flexible Pathways Program took the time to help clean our community this past week, and enjoyed their time in the sun doing so!
Mr. Boychuk's Math 10C AP students also took some time to care for our community by pitching in to pick up garbage.
Upcoming Student Council Events
Upcoming spirit days:
- May 2 - Star Wars Day (They wanted "May the 4th be with You" but there is no school that day...
- June 12 Dress Like a Teacher or Dress Like a Student
Ultimate Scavenger Hunt (a.k.a. USH)
- April 26-May 3
- Registration April 15-24
- A long-standing tradition at our school. In teams of 10 + 1 teacher rep, teams will take part in a scavenger hunt on the goose chase app. This is a great team-building event. We have a $10 entry fee per team as a fundraiser for the Lurana Shelter. Team registration is first come first serve. Grab forms from Mrs. Boake’s room 189 and return them too. . This is a fun activity to participate in and a great way to connect with our school community as well as potentially win awesome prizes.
Here Comes the Sun: Student Wellness
Students in grades 9 and 10 have been attending assemblies focusing on their wellness through the PEPY model which emphasizes three "dots"- physical, social, and spiritual. Students in grade 12 helped to put together some promotional videos about each of the "dots".
For more information on Here Comes the Sun at EICS and the PEPY Project, see here.
Students are encouraged to "check in" to celebrate the efforts they are making in caring for their social wellness. At the May 2nd assembly, our chaplains will be leading students through ways to care for their spiritual wellness.
Student Supports
Strathcona CANTEEN Youth Hub April Calendar
Community Supports and Events
Please see Miss Miko in the PE Office or email Mr. Sereda (douglas.sereda@eics.ab.ca) for more details!
Student Opportunity : Minister’s Youth Council Recruitment
The Alberta Government is seeking approximately 40 junior and senior high school students from across Alberta, between the ages of 14 and 19, representing diverse interests, identities, backgrounds, and perspectives, to join next year’s council.
Council members will learn about topics related to government and the inner workings of Alberta’s education system. They will have an opportunity to speak directly with the Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides and senior leaders in the ministry and provide their thoughts and ideas on how to strengthen education for all Alberta students.
Of the 40 council members, there will be up to eight returning members and at least 32 new members. Participation on the council will provide students the opportunity to make a tangible impact on Alberta’s education system, strengthen their leadership skills, and leave a legacy for future generations.
The deadline for submitting student applications is April 30, 2024. For more information, please visit alberta.ca/student-engagement.aspx.
Athletics
Check out the new website for all things Athletics.
Women's Flag Football Spring Development Camp
Grade 9 Badminton Update
Grade 9 badminton finished their season at St. André Bessette on Tuesday in the EIAA division tournament. Students played hard and showed good determination and great attitude. Michael and Carter won gold in the boys doubles division, and will be playing in the EIAA championship evening this upcoming Tuesday at F.R. Haythorne. Go Scots!
Rugby Update
The Scots Senior Boys Rugby team played in the 30th annual Lynn Davies High School Rugby Tournament with 32 teams split between Girls and Boys teams from around the province.
The Scots Boys opened the tournament playing against Archbishop O’Leary The boys played very well and kept to playing to the team’s strength that ended the game ABJ 41 – OL 19, putting us on the A Side for the remainder of the tournament. Our second game was against Charles Spencer HS from Grand Prairie winning 22-5, advancing the Scots to the A Side Semi-Final game against our cross town rival the Salisbury Sabers! This was going to be a hard game as last year we beat them in an Exhibition game last year but missed playing them in Div 2 due to smoke game delay. The Scots played a very exciting game against Sal with the coaching staff being very impressed with so many players playing some of the best rugby we have seen all year, everyone from Grade 9-12 which pushed the Scots to the win ABJ 10 – Sal 5! This put the Scots in the A Side Final against a very good and older team from Bowness. The Bowness team brought only Grade 11-12 players and during the game were surprised to learn that they were playing against players as young as Grade 9 which shows the strength of the program. The Scots took 2nd place in the tournament losing to Bowness ABJ 5 – Bow 22. The Bowness team only had 10 points scored against them all tournament with the Scots being one of two team to score on them. This 2nd place beats last year's previous best placing at the tournament of 3rd place, so a big shout out the whole team for such a great showing and I’m sure the Scots will continue to have success in the remaining league games.
ABJ Sr. Boys Rugby Coaching Staff.
Grad Update
Please contact Mr. St. Jean with any questions relating to French Immersion Grad 2024.
Grad Parent Communication Letter
Please see HERE for the Grad 2024 Letter sent to grads and parents/guardians prior to spring break.
If you have any further questions, please do contact advisors at abjgrad@eics.ab.ca. The grad advisors meet weekly on Wednesdays and they will respond to your queries after spring break as they are able during our weekly meetings.
Cafeteria Menu
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Parent Advisory Council Meeting
UFest - May 24 and 25
UFest Edmonton Ukrainian Festival is a celebration of Ukrainian culture, food, music, visual arts, crafts and dance. This two-day event brings together people of Ukrainian heritage, as well as attracts audiences of many diverse cultures.
Долучайтеся до нас, щоб разом вшанувати українську культуру на найбільшому багатоденному українському фестивалі у Західній Канаді!
This year, The Feyeria Bandura Ensemble is one of the mainstage performers, and our very own Mrs. Ryl and grade 9 student Andriana Slavych are part of this group.
Mark your calendars for this important cultural event!
Parent Reminders and Information
Attendance Reminder
Did you know that our school has team meetings every week that review the academic and attendance issues of each grade level? As we are several weeks into the new semester it is very important that families take the time to keep us informed. Please ensure you are informing the school each time your child is absent, ill or late. We do not wish to have the auto callouts emailing and phoning your home, but if there are unverified absences this will continue to occur. Staff will email when absences start to exceed certain thresholds. If you are having trouble with your Parent PowerSchool account please call our front office at 780-467-2121 or email: abj@eics.ab.ca
Approved 2024-2025 Calendar
Please see below for the Board of Trustees approved 2024-2025 school year calendar.
EICS Board of Trustees Monthly Highlights
Communications
Newsletter Translation Feature Reminder
SWAG
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.