The St. Luke Good News

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Dear St. Luke Families,

This week was a great week for learning. Many wonderful things are happening in our school. The elementary students were working hard with our literacy intervention program which gives students extra support in phonetic awareness as they work on sound recognition. An important skill to develop their writing and reading skills. It is always a joy when students come down to the office to share with me their writing projects. I see the confidence building in them and how proud they are to share. Our middle school students were working very hard this week on their numeracy skills. Fractions seemed to be a big focus all across the grades.

As January comes to an end we come to our halfway point in the school year. Many things are happening now including our planning for next year. We have two very important surveys that are out both are asking for as much community involvement as we can get as these surveys are the start of our planning for next year. Our community engagement survey which was sent out last week only takes a few moments to fill out but it allows us to hear your input into the programs we will offer next year. Our school has many strengths which we are hearing already through the survey. Small class sizes, excellent teachers, caring environment and faith filled. We also have heard many great suggestions for options programs and support for our nature program for next year. We need your help to broadcast this out to the community. We are focusing on increasing our enrollment so our school stays the vibrant school that it is but we need your help. The second survey is our annual EICS Assurance survey. This survey asks for feedback in our four areas. Faith, Learners and Learning, Systemic Wellness, and Community Engagement. The results of this survey are shared with our community as well as with the division. It is used as well for planning for next year as we look at our strength as well as areas to improve on. Both these surveys are very important for planning and they allow opportunity for parents, students, and staff to have input into next year. Please check your emails for the links to these surveys. We really value the feedback that we receive.

Next Friday as Term 1 report cards will be available to you. They will be available to you through the Powerschool Parent Portal. More information will be available next week.

Enjoy the beautiful weather God has given us this weekend,

Cathy Hinger

Principal

Monday, January 29

• Regular Programing Scheduled

Tuesday, January 30

• Prasie and Worship 8:20 - ALL WELCOME!
• FWW (Sarah McCann) on site in the morning (offsite meetings in the afternoon)
• Grade 1 Book Buzz
• Priest Visit
• Basketball Practice - Lunch Recess
• Girls Basketball Game - AWAY @ SouthPoint School - 4:00Pm

Wednesday, January 31

• NO SCHOOL - Semester Break and Staff Professional Develeopment and Learning day

Thursday, February 1

• Spirit Day - Wear your Jersey!
• FWW (Sarah McCann) on site
• Grade 6 DARE
• Reading Buddies
• Messy Art with Carleen Ross (k-6)
  
• Girls Basketball Game - AT HOME Vs. Fultonvale - 4:00Pm

Friday, February 2

• Kindergarten Friday.
  
• Messy Art with Carleen Ross (k-6)
• Report Cards going home
  
• Winter Masquerade Family Dance - 5:30-8:00 PM - Order your tickets
• Have a great weekend

• February 6 - Grade 1 Book Buzz
• February 6 - Priest Visit
  
• February 6 - Cooking - Black History Month
• February 6 - Early Dismissal
• February 7 - Swimming Lessons Gr 1-6
  
• February 7 - Winter Walk Day
• February 8- Teachers Convention- NO SCHOOL!
• February 9- Teachers Convention- NO SCHOOL!
• February 12 - Parent Council Meeting 6-7 PM
• February 13 - Shrove Tuesday (pancake day)
• February 13 - Book Buzz Program
• February 13 - Priest visit
• February 14 - Ash Wednesday
• February 14 - School wide Mass at OLPH Parish (10:30 AM)
• February 14 - NO Swimming (maintain reverence for Ash Wednesday)
• February 15 - Grade 6 DARE Program
• February 16 - NO SCHOOL - Division Faith Day
• February 19 - NO SCHOOL - Family Day
• February 20 - Grade 1 Book Buzz Program
• February 20 - Priest Visit
  
• February 21-28 - Giant Indigenous Territorties Map at St. Luke
• February 21 - Swimming Lessons Gr 1-6
• February 22 - Recckie Lloyd - Whole school immersive cultural experience with African Drumming
• February 22 - Grade 6 DARE Program
• February 22 - Buddy Reading
• February 23 - Grade 6 Girls - UofA Women in Science - Choices conference
• February 28 - Pink Shirt day
• February 28 - Swimming
• February 28 - Writer in residence

GET YOUR TICKETS AND PUT YOUR DANCING SHOES ON!

The Masquerade dance, hosted by the Grade 5 and 6 classes for their Night at the Museum trip to Drumheller, will be Friday, February 2, from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm. The dress code is formal/Sunday best. We look forward to seeing your creative mask ideas!

The Parent Association is allowing our 5/6 classes to use their platform to gather the funds. Thank you.

Order tickets and pizza from our hot lunch site: https://stlukeschool.hotlunches.net

TICKETS (4 and under free)
Advance Tickets: $5.00
At the door: $8.00 (cash only)
ALL CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT

Order pizza for your family and enjoy a live DJ and cash concession. A bottle drop will be included if you want to make some space in your garage and would like to further support the 5/6 classes. Bottles can also be dropped off at the school at your convenience.

Thank you from the Grade 5 and 6 classes

In the school fees section under the parent portal, we have set up a sponsor a student option. Times are very tough on many families right now across this nation. If you have a few extra dollars to spare through out the year and are feeling generous, please consider donating a denomination of your choosing to directly help sponsor and support our student's in need fund so we can continue offering all of the wonderful opportunities to all of our students at St. Luke.

Please note that school fees are now past due. Please log in to your parent portal and pay using your Credit or Credit-Debit card. Payment plans are available.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Tess in the office @ 780-922-5920

IMPORTANT REMINDER -

The DEADLINE to OPT-OUT expires on February 1.

If you are NOT wanting to purchase a yearbook this year, please log in to your parent portal and fill out the OPT-OUT form no later than February 1 to have the fee removed from your powerschool account.

The office is always seeking 1 or 2 extra pairs of pants, tee-shirts and socks in a variety of sizes to send home with a student who may have had a spill or accident on the playground or in the art room and requires an emergency change of clothing.

If you have an item that your child has outgrown and would like to donate it to our infirmary, we would appreciate that gesture.

(Unfortunetly, we do not have the space or capacity to accept large amounts of clothing but would certainly appreciate 1 or 2 of each item total per size)

We are seeking ways to reduce environmental impacts on the environment.

As such we would like to invite your children to donate any small items they no longer play with (fidgets, book-marks, small figurines, etc.) to our school Birthday Prize bin so that another child may enjoy that item opposed to it going to the land fill.

Thank you for helping us keep environmental stewardship and the spirit of giving, alive and well at St. Luke.

The Gospel reading invites us to witness the transformative moment when Jesus calls His first disciples, unveiling a powerful message of immediate response and a radical shift in life's purpose.

Our students and staff are excited to particpate in Jump-Start for Heart this February in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. More details to follow in the coming weeks.

Our Pre-K class shared a wonderful afternoon learning through play while exploring "the doughnut shop" this week.

Learning from the Land - This month, we learn that the traditional peoples of this area refer to the month of January as: Mikisiwipisim - Pronounced, "mik-soo-wee-pee-sim" which translates to the THE EAGLE MOON. This is the time of year when the eagles start to return to the area to seek a mat and build their nests together. The Cree peoples hold the Eagle with great respect and high regard because the Eagle soars high and is close to The Creator (God). The Cree believe the Eagle take the love and prayers of the people up to The Creator for them.

February is often a time for love. We celebrate Valentines day, The trees hug one another, birds flock together, squirrels chasing one another. During this time, listen for the birds' songs, The chickadees especially.

Watch the video below which discusses learning with the land as seasons change.

Our St. Luke students truly flourish together with the reading buddy / mentorship program. This fosters reading and literacy in our littles while simultaneously engages leadership strengths and teaches empathy to our bigs.

On Wednesday this week, our students wore BLUE to help bring awareness of those facing the blues.

Our bigs and our littles taking some time for recreation.

Take a peek at the attached document from Strathcona County to see how you and your family can stay active this winter.

• Girls basketball - Our girls played so well this past weekend at their tournament and won the Consolation prize (4th Place!!) Woo-Hoo!

We Value your input!!

This week, parents were emailed the "St. Luke Community Engagement Input 2024" Form. Planning for the 2024-2025 school year has begun and in order to assist with this process we are asking all members of our school community for feedback to improve the educational experience of our students.

Please take a moment to fill out this form. We would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete this form so that your suggestions can be included. As and added bonus upon completion of the form, your name will be entered into a draw for a Tim Hortons gift card!

https://forms.gle/qfb7qNR5BiPuCvb29

Our 2023-2024 Education Assurance Survey opens on Monday, January 29!

This is your opportunity to let us know how you think we’re doing, so starting Monday, please check your email for a link with access to our annual survey. Each and every year, your invaluable feedback helps our school, and all EICS schools, to refine our faith-infused education and support for all EICS students and staff.

If you do not see an email with a link to the survey, please check your spam filter. If you still don’t see it, please call 780-467-8896.

Grade 5/6 Parents, reminder that the popcorn forms (supporting the Grade 5/6 Overnight Drumheller trip), are due to be returned on January 30.

A bottle drop will be included if you're looking to make some space in your garage and would like to further support the 5/6 classes pursuit of lowering their cost of their drumheller trip. Bottles can also be dropped off at the school at your convenience. Thank you for your support!

Can’t believe January is almost over already!

We will be starting our St Luke read a thon soon!!

Forms will be going home with students next week. This is a wonderful fundraiser for the library, and gets the students excited about reading! The read a thon will run February 5th -19th. Once the forms come home, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. tracy.scoggins@eics.ab.ca

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Scoggins

tracy.scoggins@eics.ab.ca

Masses at OLPH will be livestreamed. Please join using this link. https://www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark/videos/

Visit OLPH Website for more information about the parish and in regards to sacramental preparation.

Read the latest bulletin from OLPH or visit www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark

St. Francis of Assisi Parish is administered by Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sherwood Park. Please contact the parish for confession times and more information.

Clergy: Reverend Jim Corrigan, Pastor

Mass Time: Sunday 11:00

Email Address: StFrancisAssisi.Tofield(at)caedm.ca

5523 - 50 Street Tofield, AB T0B 4J0

See map: Google Maps

Phone: 780-467-5470

Mrs. Cathy Hinger

Principal

Email: Stl@eics.ab.ca
Website: stl.eics.ab.ca
Location: 22139 South Cooking Lake Road, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-922-5920
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stlukeeics
Twitter: @stlcs_EICS