This Week at École OLPH School

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School

Our Lady of Perpetual Help school is committed to quality education in both official languages fostering in our students respect for life and learning as Christ taught us.

Dear Parents and Students of Our Lady of Perpetual Help,

Well, it's that time of year again: Assurance Season. If you aren't aware, our Division Assurance process is about school and divisional improvement, so that we can better meet your child's needs. Every year we gather data to see how we're doing, with questions covering a number of areas. Next, we take a good look at the feedback (from parents, students, staff) to see what patterns there are, where we should celebrate, and how we can improve. With that, we make our plan for school improvement next year.

It's an important process. It helps.

So, we'd like to thank you in advance for your time and your feedback. If you can give us the gift of your perspective, we can return the gift by taking the collective feedback seriously. And the kids benefit.

You'll receive information soon via email for the parent surveys. Students will fill them out at school. Again, thank you.

In Christ,

Mr. Johnson

Principal

École OLPH

Monday, January 20, 2025

• Gr. 5B & 5O - Swimming Lessons at Kinsmen Leisure Centre - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon)

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

• Linking Generations - Silver Birch Lodge - 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

• Gr. 5G & 5S - Swimming Lessons at Kinsmen Leisure Centre - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon)
• École OLPH - School Council Meeting - 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 23, 2025

• Linking Generations - Clover Bar Lodge - 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Friday, January 24, 2025

• Gr. 7 & 8 Performing Arts - Jubilee Field Trip - All day

Please click here for all important dates at École OLPH.

Dear Parents,

Hot Lunch is NOW OPEN for ordering. You will be ordering for ALL DATES available from February until June. If a date is unavailable for you to order for your child, their class probably has a Field Trip booked for that day.

https://olphschool.hotlunches.net/

Please refer to School Council's newsletter for more information and ordering instructions: https://mailchi.mp/cafdf0550d6f/hot-lunch-14187870

Last day to order: Monday, January 27th (NO EXCEPTIONS).

*Grade 8 Voyage Quebec Trip parents -- please note the dates indicated for the trip that your student will be away for. Do NOT order for those dates - we cannot provide refunds.*

If you have any questions regarding Hot Lunch, please contact the Hot Lunch coordinators at olphschoolhotlunch@gmail.com

God Bless.

Dear Parents,

On Thursday, February 13, students in grades 5-6 will participate in a day of downhill skiing/snowboarding. As skiing/snowboarding is part of our physical education program in Alberta, we encourage all students to participate.

This fun-filled day will take place at Sunridge Ski Area. Your child can bring a lunch (microwaves are available) or purchase a meal at Sunridge. The bus will leave OLPH at 9 a.m. and return to OLPH from Sunridge at roughly 3 p.m.

All students will have lessons. In addition, all students must wear a CSA approved Ski/snowboarding helmet at all times while on the hill. These are mandatory guidelines. If needed, students can rent approved helmets from Sunridge. Bicycle and hockey helmets do not meet safety requirements.

The field trip cost will depend on whether your daughter/son is renting ski equipment, supplying their own ski equipment, have a season pass at Sunridge, or if he/she is in the Sports for Life program.

Completed forms and payments must be submitted via PowerSchool by Tuesday, January 21, 2025. Instructions on how to submit this form can be found here.

• Package 1: With rentals: $50 (lesson, ski rentals, transportation, lift pass)

• Package 2: No rentals needed: $37 (lesson, transportation, lift pass)

• Package 3: Sunridge season pass members: $27.00 (lesson, transportation, lift pass)

• Package 4: Sports for Life students - Rentals required (fees are prepaid) (lesson, transportation, lift pass)

• Package 5: Sports for Life students only - No Rentals required (fees are prepaid) (lesson, transportation, lift pass)

Completed forms and payments must be submitted via PowerSchool by Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

Note: Snowboard rentals are not permitted. Snowboarders must bring their own equipment.

Instructions on How to Purchase Sunridge Ski Trip Tickets

• Log in to PowerSchool

• Click on your child’s name

• Click on Forms and Fees

• Click on Student Fees

• When the new window opens, click on your child’s name

• Scroll down to the bottom of the page

• Click on the Sunridge Ski Trip logo

• Complete the requested information

• Add to cart

• Pay the ticket purchase amount immediately in PowerSchool

If you have any ski/snowboard related questions about the field trip, please contact Mr.Gray at dannyg@eics.ab.ca. If you require any PowerSchool assistance, please contact Mrs. Winland in the school office at 780-467-5631.

Sincerely,

D.Gray

Grade 5 teacher

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

P.S. – we will need 1 parent volunteer per class. Rentals, transportation and a lift ticket will be provided. Please fill in the appropriate boxes in Powerschool if you are interested. A random draw may be necessary.

-personal ski/snowboard equipment must be driven and picked up afterschool since it is not permitted on school buses for safety reasons. OLPH staff will bring ski/snowboard equipment to and from Sunridge.

THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SCHOOL COUNCIL NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION:

Our current chair, Krystal Gaudet, will be stepping down at the end of this year after being with us for the past 3 years. Our Vice-Chair, Jenelle Potyondi, is also stepping down (as she also serves on Council at another school).

It is absolutely imperative that we find replacements for Chair and Vice Chair. Our council runs smoothly because we have so many wonderful systems in place, which means that even if taking on the task of Chair or Vice Chair may seem daunting, it actually isn’t! With an excellent team of executive members on board and our supportive parent community, the roles aren't as challenging as they may seem! This is THE time to take over the role as Krystal and Jenelle will still be at OLPH for a few more years and can pass on every tidbit of knowledge throughout your first year on Council.

Heather, our current Treasurer, is also interested in passing on the books to a new Treasurer. As she will still be in our school community for one more year, she will be there to support and teach the new Treasurer (you could be Co-Treasurers during the transition year!) Again, we have the systems in place and the budget and spreadsheets are easily filled in from one year to the next.

It is SO IMPORTANT to have an active and involved School Council at OLPH. (Not only is it important but School Councils are legislated under the Education Act and are MANDATORY for all schools in the public education system).

If you are interested in becoming a member of our council or should you have any questions or concerns please contact parent council at olphschoolcouncil@gmail.com

So many events that your child has the opportunity to participate in during the school year are funded or organized by OLPH School Council and Fundraising Association:

• These events are Hot Lunch, L’Epluchette (corn roast), Shrove Tuesday pancake breakfast, Break the Rules, Pool Parties, end of year BBQ, Hot Dog Days (Grade 8 fundraiser, but coordination assisted by Council), and more....
• We fund new projects such as playground re-builds, recess equipment (each class has a basket of sporting goods that students can sign out for recess use), and others (as requested by school administration).
• We plan a Teacher Appreciation Lunch and continually offer support to our teachers and admin as requested.
• We are the organization behind The Community Corner which feeds students every single day and supports many of our families during the holiday seasons.

School Council provides the community spirit that makes OLPH such a special school but it takes volunteers to step up to be the guiding force behind the scenes.

Our Annual General Meeting doesn't take place until April, but we wanted to give as much notice as possible. We will be looking to vote in new members to our Council at our AGM.

Without a Chair or Vice-Chair, all the events listed above cannot happen. There would be NO hot lunch, no Corn Roast, no Break the Rules Day, no Shrove Tuesday pancake breakfast, no End of Year BBQ, etc.

Please consider joining our School Council and Fundraising Association as an executive member to help lead a group of wonderful volunteers so that we can continue to offer all these wonderful activities and events to our students.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, January 22nd @ 7pm.

God Bless,

Krystal Gaudet (she/her)

Chair / President

OLPH School Council & Fundraising Association

Treaty 6 Territory - amiskwacîwâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ)

Dear Parents,

Please click on the link below for the OLPH Parish Bulletin for Sunday, January 19, 2025.

https://www.olph.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FINAL-19-January-2025-Second-Sunday-Ordinary-Time.pdf

God Bless

Dear Grade 6, 7, & 8 Parents,

Preparation Classes for the Sacrament of Confirmation start THIS WEEK at OLPH parish! Please click on the link below to complete the fillable registration form, which includes all the instructions and details.

Confirmation Registration

God Bless