The Good News
January 8, 2017 - St. John XXIII School
Leadership Team Message
New year blessings, everyone!
Welcome back! As we begin 2017, let us take a moment to be grateful for our rich blessings as a school community! We are blessed with wonderful staff, tremendous students, an abundance of resources, and the support of you, the parents! I sincerely hope that all of you have enjoyed the blessings of this Christmas Season with family and loved ones. It is a great joy to see all of our students return to school in January after a refreshing holiday. I also hope that 2017 welcomes you with good health, abundant joy, and peace.
The Feast of Epiphany is on January 6th. It marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas and celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus. These men, often called Kings or Magi, brought valuable gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to honour the Baby. The gift of gold was the gift people usually gave to their King. By giving gold they were recognizing Jesus as their King.
The second gift, frankincense, is a white gum from a tree which when hardened will burn giving off a fragrant smell. It was burnt as an offering to God during worship, used as a medicine, and a perfume.
The third gift, myrrh, also a gum from thorny tree was used for healing wounds because it is antiseptic, soothes redness, and relieves pain.
Epiphany is the day when all Christmas decorations are to be taken down, otherwise it is said to bring bad luck. As we take down our Christmas decorations for another year, let us be careful not to take down Christ. He was not meant to be tucked away for another year, but to remain living in our hearts all year round. After all, His presence with us is what Christmas is all about.
In Christ,
Mrs. Melnyk & Mrs. Weller
Farewell to a Remarkable Leader in Catholic Education - Mr. Tony Sykora
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our cherished friend, leader, and servant of Christ, Mr. Tony Sykora.
Tony passed away on January 1st surrounded by his family and friends who loved him immensely. Tony was a man of great faith, great love and lived a life full of these blessings with his family; wife Debbie and children Holly and Stephen and extended family members and friends.
A legacy of leadership in Catholic Education, Tony was governor and leader in his role as a Trustee and former Board Chair with EICS, President of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association, and Vice-President of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association. His deep and authentic relationship with our Catholic faith will be remembered by everyone he has touched locally, provincially, and nationally.
Those of us who were privileged to spend time with this great man will miss his gentle manner and laugh and the marvellous way that he made you feel as if you were the most significant person in this vast world as he spoke with you.
A celebration of Tony’s life, with a prayer service and funeral mass, was held on Friday night and Saturday morning at his parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Sherwood Park. Thank you to all those who have held Tony, and his family, in your prayers.
"Our loved ones have not disappeared into dark nothingness: Hope assures us that that they are in God's good and strong hands. Love is stronger than death." Pope Francis
Kindergarten Registration for 2017
If your child is already attending St. John XXIII School you do NOT need to register your child for next year. If you have a child already in kindergarten, they will automatically be registered in Grade 1 for September 2017; if your child is in Grade 4 this year they will also automatically be registered in Grade 5 at Our Lady of the Angels School.
PSC Annual Bottle Drive
Mr. Berg's Counsellor's Corner
Secure Attachment for Parents
Jennifer De Hann (therapist from the Primary Care Network) and I have been discussing lately how difficult it is parenting in our current culture with all the stress and distractions. Many children are anxious and struggle with behaviour and some basic skills. We decided to have a night to discuss "Attachment"; what it means, and some ideas on what to do to encourage secure attachment and confident children. We are going to host this evening in the St. John XXIII School library on January 25th at 6:30 pm. Please come.
Thanks,
Paul Berg
Counsellor
First Holy Eucharist
Registration letters were sent home with Grade 3 students in December. (This information can also be accessed from the school webpage by clicking here.) Registration is open now until January 24th. Forms and payment ($20 cash or cheque payable to Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church), may be dropped off at the school office or taken to the OLA Church office.
Classes will be held January 28th & February 4th from 10:00 - 11:30 am at the OLA Church. The children will receive their First Eucharist at a celebration Mass on February 26th at 2:00 pm.
You DO NOT need a copy of your Baptismal certificate if your child has previously celebrated a sacrament (Baptism or First Reconciliation) at Our Lady Of the Angels as the church will already have a copy.
Questions? Wanting to help out? Email Sandra Van Hecke at: sandra@trifectaconcrete.com
Drop Everything and READ! - D.E.A.R.
St. John XXIII is committed to literacy and to modelling the importance of reading! Because, what’s more fun(damental) than reading, really?
Beginning Monday, January 9th, right after lunch, the entire school community will "Drop Everything and Read" for 15 minutes. We encourage you to “Drop Everything and Read” at home every day throughout the year, too - make it a habit or part of your "New Year resolution". The goal of D.E.A.R is to prompt students to make reading a regular part of their routine . . . whether they’re reading solo or together with their classmates, parents, or friends. If you would like to volunteer to come and join us for D.E.A.R, perhaps even read with some of our youngsters, please contact your child's teacher to make arrangements. Just so you know, if you enter the school during D.E.A.R., you will have to pick up a book, too!
Check out this awesome blog below about why kids NEED to read!
Christmas Concerts
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth."
Mix 107.9 December Classroom of the Month!
Advent Celebration
VIP Access Raffle Tickets for our Christmas Concerts
LearnAlberta.CA
What is LearnAlberta.ca? This site was developed by Alberta Education to provide quality digital learning and teaching resources correlated to Alberta Education’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 programs of study. This site provides parents access to the Programs of Study for each grade level. In addition, there are many excellent learning websites available for your child to use - for free! These subscriptions are paid by the Alberta government to support learning in our province. These sites can be found under the Online Reference Centre tab. Can't wait to try it? Here is what you need:
Username: LA14 Password: 2225
Parking Lot Reminder
Looking Ahead . . .
December 24 - January 8 Christmas Break!
January 9 First day of school for 2017
January 11 NO KINDERGARTEN CLASSES
January 11 Early Dismissal at 2:14 pm
January 11 School Spirit Day - PJ DAY!
January 13 Grade 2 T-Pet Presentation on Acadia
January 14 PSC Bottle Drive
January 18 PSC Meeting 7:00 pm in the library
"Like the Magi, may we also journey and be attentive, untiring and courageous on the path to find the invisible God who was born among us."
Pope Francis
January 6, 2017
9526 - 89 St. Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Email: stj@eics.ab.ca
Website: stj.eics.ab.ca
Phone: 780-998-7777
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stjohnXXIII/
Twitter: @St_JohnXXIII