The Good News October 27, 2024

At St. John XXIII, staff work every day to help our students to love God and love their neighbours by showing acts of love, generosity, and kindness—our own expressions of our love for God.

In November each year, we focus on the great communion of saints. On All Saints Day, 1st November, we acknowledge the saints we know as part of our Catholic tradition and on All Souls Day, 2nd November, we remember those who have died: family, friends and others. Many of these people were never famous. Their statues are not in churches, but their pictures are in our homes and their stories alive in our community, and in us. We know of their goodness and their struggles. We now pray for them, and remember them with love, celebrating in faith their journey to God and now within the great communion of saints.

• ISP/RSP Meetings
  
• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45
  

• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) 3:15-3:45

• ISP/RSP Meetings
  
• N1 SWC
  
• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45
  

• Happy Halloween!

• Assembly
  
• PJ Day

Looking Ahead...

Nov. 4 - Last Day to order Hot Lunch in PowerSchool, School Interviews Program closes at noon

Nov. 5 - 3 Way Conferences, Picture Retakes

Nov. 6 - 3 Way Conferences

Nov. 7 - 3 Way Conferences for Kinder only

Nov. 11 - 15 - Fall break, no school

Remember:

• Students and staff come dressed for the day on Thursday, October 31st! (M/W Kindergarten will be celebrating on Wednesday, Oct. 30th). Please have children come dressed and ready for the day so parents can assist with any makeup or tricky costume pieces at home before school.
• Students dressing up are asked to keep costumes school-appropriate (not too scary or gory) and leave any weapons at home. We have young people at St. John XXIII, and we want Halloween to be a positive school experience for all.
• There will be a "Halloween Parade" in the gym at 12:30. It will begin with Pre-K and end with Grade 4, for the students to share their costumes with our school friends.
• Individual classes will be doing their own Halloween activities during the afternoon.

Thank you parents for your continued support and for helping us infuse JOY for our kids! It's going to be "spooktacular"!

An email was sent home on October 23rd regarding the Parent-Student-Teacher conferences that will take place on:

• Tuesday, November 5th from 4:00-7:00 pm
• Wednesday, November 6th from 3:00-6:00 pm

Kindergarten will have additional time slots all day on Thursday, November 7th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. These conferences will be in person from 9:00 am -12:00 pm and via Google Meet from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm.

Your child's Evidence of Learning journey will be shared with them this week. We are looking forward to connecting with you and your child to celebrate their learning progress and together, setting learning goals for their future growth.

As we prepare for our Remembrance Day assembly, we invite you to honour and remember the brave family members who fought in the war.

Please send in any pictures and information about their service to Korinne.walsh@eics.ab.ca.

Your contributions will help us create a meaningful tribute to those who have served our country. Thank you for your support in making this assembly special.

PowerSchool is ready to receive orders for hot lunch dates in November. The deadline for ordering and payment is Monday, November 4th. To access, please sign into PowerSchool and you will find hot lunch options under “student fees”.

This 2024-2025 school year we are pleased to offer hot lunch from local restaurants. Future dates and selections will be posted once complete.

Any questions or concerns email: hotlunchstjohnxxiii@gmail.com

Students in the KMW class can come between 9:00 - 9:30 am to have their retake picture taken. Those students in Nature Kinder, please let Mrs. Martinez know if your child will be having a retake photo taken. All other students will be called down by class on retake day.

To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.ca or create an account using your student's student ID number. All families can also log on and order a FREE digital Pictures2Protect Card.

More about the Pictures2Protect program here.

New Photo Package Pricing for your families:

As prices rise and families struggle to pay for all the necessities, Lifetouch Photography made the decision to decrease packages by up to 25% on all our packages and individual photo sheets. It is Lifetouch's commitment to provide our partners and their families with quality images at a reasonable price.

Shutterfly Gift with Purchase for Families

Families who purchase their photo packages online at, www.mylifetouch.ca, will receive a Shutterfly coupon for $30 off any Shutterfly purchase and a free 8x11 photo book.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the Halloween dance! Please take a moment to fill out our survey using the link below. Your feedback is important to us!

https://forms.gle/ECi17eJrdvug8Bg46

A few quick notes from our Oct. 21st meeting:

• Hot lunch dates for November are live in PowerSchool (under student fees) – November 19th (Tim Hortons) & November 27th (Boston Pizza)
• Poinsettia fundraiser coming in November
• Revenue from Halloween dance will be used to bring in Fitset Ninja in the new year

Join us in supporting our school through Operation Education, a fantastic fundraising initiative that connects local schools with Boston Pizza Restaurants in our community. When you dine at any participating Boston Pizza location, you help our school earn 5% cash back on the pre-tax total of your receipts!

Here’s how it works:

1. Dine-in at Boston Pizza.

2. Keep your original receipt (photocopies will not be accepted).

3. Submit the receipt to Mrs. Potter in the school office.

You have until December 31, 2024, to enjoy a meal at your local Boston Pizza. Make sure to submit your original receipt by January 15, 2025, to help us raise valuable funds for our school!

Please see the school website for a list of the Operation Education Locations

School fees have been applied to your child's account in PowerSchool.

You can pay on-line with a debit card or credit card. However, if you wish to pay by cash (exact change only) or cheque, please send it to the school office (make cheques payable to Elk Island Catholic Schools). If you have other questions or require assistance with the online payment, please refer to the link at the bottom of this newsletter, and contact our school at 780-998-7777 if you need further assistance.

If you are experiencing financial hardship please review the fee waiver here or contact the principal, Mrs. Kristine Willis Dengler at 780-998-777 to arrange a meeting.

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