The Good News October 20, 2024

As Catholic parents and educators, we are reminded daily of the universal call to bring our students to Christ. Choosing Catholic schools for our children is our way to put Christ and His message of peace, hope, and love at the center of all we do and all we are.

We celebrate the partnerships of our parents and parish priests. We continue to be so grateful for the many blessings they bestow on our school community and the support given every day.

Thank you to each and every parent who supports our school community in their own way. Your commitment to working together with our school staff makes a difference every day.

Our parish priests, Father Carlos and Father Abraham continue to lead our community of St. John XXIII in faith and spiritual guidance. There are so many ways they foster the faith journeys of our staff, students and families and we are very blessed for their presence every day.

• Oct. 19 - Oct. 25 - Catholic Education Week
  
• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45
  
• School Council Meeting
• N1 & N2 SWC
  

• Gr 4 Bible presentation and mass, OLA church 10am
• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45
  

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

• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45
  
• Wear blue to show your support for Catholic Education

• Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45
• Assembly

Looking Ahead...

Oct. 28, 30 - Sacramental Prep (First Holy Communion) with Father Carlos 3:15-3:45

Oct. 28 & 30 - ISP/RSP Meetings

Nov. 5 - 3 Way Conferences, Picture Retakes

Nov. 6 - 3 Way Conferences

Nov. 7 - 3 Way Conferences for Kinder only

Students and Staff enjoyed mass at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church. Special thank you to the family members that joined us.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18.

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.

As the weather gets cooler, please ensure children come dressed and ready to head outside every day! We believe strongly in daily outdoor recess and will head outside rain, snow or shine.

We are thrilled to share that our very own Mrs. Schaub recently had the incredible honor of being a featured soprano soloist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra alongside renowned singer-songwriter Sarah Slean! This is an extraordinary achievement and a testament to Mrs. Schaub's immense talent and dedication to her craft. We are so proud to have such a gifted musician in our school community. Congratulations, Mrs. Schaub—you continue to inspire us all with your passion and artistry!

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

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 want to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers who helped organize and plan the dance, both before and during the event. Your hard work and dedication made this another successful event!

A big thank you to everyone for attending—your support truly made it a great evening. We couldn't have done it without all of you!

Join us on Monday, October 21st at 6:30pm for our school council meeting! We’ll be discussing important topics, including our hot lunch options. Please review the meeting agenda on our website.

Your input is important, we encourage all parents and guardians to attend. We hope to see you there!

Fall Fundraiser Ends this Week!

Don’t forget to participate in our fall fundraiser! The last day to shop is October 26th.

Simply share your student’s unique account link with friends and family to get started.

If you haven’t set your account up yet, Follow these easy steps:

1. Visit https://www.dfscanada.com/shop-now/

2. Select "Register Now"

3. Enter Organization ID: 8512

4. Choose your classroom

5. Complete the remaining information

Once registered, you’ll receive a special shopping link for your student. Happy shopping, and

thank you for your support!

Last Day to shop the fundraiser is Oct 26th

If you have any questions, please contact our Fundraising Coordinator - Michelle at

m_oquinn@me.com

Halloween is approaching, and it is a very fun time of year for children. Our commitment is to ensure the safety and well-being of all of our students, and we appreciate your cooperation. Your child’s teacher will share specific Halloween information on Class Dojo, but here are a few school-wide Halloween happenings:

• 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. 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"!

Parent-Student-Teacher conferences will take place on Tuesday, November 5th from 4:00-7:00pm and Wednesday, November 6th from 3:00-6:00pm. Kindergarten will have additional time slots all day on Thursday, November 7th.

The first 2.5 hours of each night will be in person conferences, and the last half hour will be virtual via Google Meets. Details will be sent home this week.

Your child's Evidence of Learning journey will be shared with them the week of October 28th. 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.

We are in need of new of gently used sweatpants or joggers in sizes XS to L. If you are able, please drop off any donations of sweatpants or joggers at the office.

Thank you very much

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