The Good News

Our School Saint: Saint John XXIII

The word saint comes from the Latin sanctus and means "holy". Throughout the bible, saint is used to refer to all who believe in Jesus. In our Catholic faith, sainthood was not just those who had faith in Christ but more specifically those who lived lives of virtuous action inspired by that faith (learnreligions.com).

We are so blessed at our school that we get to learn about and follow the virtuous life of Saint John XXIII. Tomorrow, October 11th, is the feast day of Saint John XXIII.

Pope St. John XXIII (1881–1963) was one of thirteen children born in Lombardy, Italy. Desiring to serve God with his life, he entered seminary at the age of 12, and, after serving in the Italian Army, was ordained a priest in Rome in 1904. Saint John XXIII served as a military chaplain, a bishop, and eventually Pope at the age of 76. He took the name John which had not been used in over 500 years. He was known as gentle, wise, and courageous. People saw him as a good and loving shepherd of Christ and gave him the name of "Good Pope".

He was canonized by Pope Francis together with Pope John Paul II in 2014. Today, we follow St. John's daily devotion of God through his, Decalogue for Daily Living, which we learn about each week at assemblies and challenge ourselves to live like Saint John XXIII.

Saint John XXIII, pray for us.

Blessings,

Mrs. Boehm

This week, Mrs. Colgan was our Monday Assembly Mystery Reader.

See if you can guess Monday's Mystery Reader...

Significant amounts of current research reflect the importance of outdoor play for the healthy development of our children. Outdoor play opportunities enable children to develop gross motor skills, work through resolving typical peer conflicts, and connect with nature in a way that enhances their social and emotional regulation.

How can you help as parents? Please help your child come prepared for outside recess. We will head outside most days, rain, snow, or shine! As we know Alberta weather can change quickly, please ensure your child comes dressed and ready to head outdoors and pack extra clothing in your child's backpack for those unstable weather days. Having an extra pair of socks and pants is also a good idea for when there are wet days. Our students will head outside for recess unless the rain or snow is so heavy or the temperature reaches -25C on winter days.

Thanks to our October Apple Program Sponsors-The Oskoboiny Family! We are so grateful! Thank-you to our Apple Program Coordinator, Laudith, who spends countless hours ensuring we have sponsors and washed apples daily for our kids-we appreciate all you do!

At St. John XXIII Catholic School, our Apple Program enhances and supports our school community by providing our students with fresh apples and other fresh seasonal fruit. This program helps support our healthy champions focus for our kids at Saint John XXIII and enhances their daily learning journeys. Currently, we are looking for community monthly sponsors that help us accomplish our goal of providing healthy snacks to students. A financial contribution of $200 will bring fruit to the school for Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 4 students for one month and, most importantly, will help us encourage healthy eating habits in our students. If you wish to contribute, please connect with our coordinator, Laudith, st.johnxxiii.psc@gmail.com. Thanks for your consideration.

Throughout the year at St. Joh XXIII, we will be learning and integrating the Seven Sacred Teachings. The Seven Sacred Teachings, also known as the Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers, are a set of teachings on human conduct towards others. They are what was traditionally (and still to this day) needed in order for communities to survive. Each month, Ms. Bourassa and her grade threes will teach us about one of the seven teachings during assembly. This month we are learning and connecting to the Sacred Teaching of Love, represented by the eagle.

THE SEVEN SACRED TEACHINGS

To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM;To know LOVE is to know peace; To honour all of the Creation is to have RESPECT; BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity;HONESTY also means “righteousness”, be honest first with yourself – in word and action; HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creation, TRUTH is to know all of these things.

We will once again celebrate our love of reading and read-in-week with our second annual, “A Story for Every Child” on Friday, October 25, 2019 from 2:15-2:45 pm. Our hope is that we can have one reader for every student during that time. (223 people) If you are available and can come to Saint John XXIII from 2:15-2:45 pm on Friday, October 25th, please email our librarian Mrs. Wagner susanw@eics.ab.ca or call our school and let us know 780-998-7777. We will pair readers with students. Please specify in your email if you are connected to specific students and we will do our best to match you together. Please bring along your favourite children’s book or two to share that day. Please carpool, walk, or park along the street when you come. We hope you can help us share a story for every child in our school!

We love teaching and learning at St. John XXIII. One of the ways we model this is through our partnership with the University of Alberta and Concordia. This month we welcome Miss Brown and Miss Foster, education students from U of A, who will be completing their final practicums with Ms. Bennett in grade one, and Mrs. Comartin in grade four. In the spring, we will welcome two students from Concordia in 1H and 4C.

Many thanks to our mentor teachers and Ms. Bennett, who facilities our student teachers.

$20 per family - make sure you tell us how many people are in your family when you purchase online! A form will be coming home this week for those who wish to purchase with cash or cheque.

Fr. Kris’ homilies + vlogs

https://soundcloud.com/frkrisschmidt

https://www.youtube.com/grandinmedia

Executive position available: Treasurer If you are interested in the treasurer position for our school council, please come to our next meeting (Oct. 16th) and we will hold a by-election to fill this position.

Please send back any Volunteer forms to the office.

Please join us for our next meeting: Wednesday, October 16th @ 7:00 pm in our Collaboration room. Our grade threes will be highlighted during this meeting by Mrs. Scott & Ms. Bourassa.

Oct. 11: PD day-No School for students

Oct. 14: Thanksgiving Holiday-No School

Oct. 15: Assembly 9 am Led by 2W

Oct. 16: Alberta Opera: Sleeping Beauty 9:30 am Parent School Council Meeting 7 pm Collab room Grade 3s highlighted

Oct. 21: Elections Canada-St. John Polling station-gym closed (No Assembly)

Oct. 22: Assembly 9 am

Oct. 25: Grade 4 Bible Presentation 9 am OLA parish & A Story for Every Child 2-2:45pm

Oct. 25 evening: St. John XXIII Family Halloween Dance 6-8 pm

Oct. 26: Reconciliation celebration 10 am OLA Parish

Oct. 28: Monday Assembly 9 am, Picture Retake day

Oct. 31: Halloween Parade in the gym 1:30 pm

As Family We Walk In Christ's Footsteps

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