The St. Luke Good News

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Happy New Year to all our St. Luke Community. We are off to a fantastic New Year at St. Luke. This New Year has brought with it a few changes to our teaching staff. Ms. Laura Cormier is now teaching Grade 5, Mrs. Laura Tuininga is teaching our music program and Madam Hayden is teaching our Grades 7 & 8 students. We are very blessed to have the gifts and talents of these teachers and look forward to the second half of our year with them.

Students learned this week about the Epiphany, which is the feast that celebrates the visit of the three kings. They are also known as the Magi or the Wise Men. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the three men “from the east” followed a star across the desert. It led them to Bethlehem to meet the Baby Jesus. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense (resin used in perfumes) and myrrh (tree gum).This is a time to acknowledge that baby Jesus was the Son of God, the Savior, Messiah, and one true King.

As our New Year begins we have begun to look at programs for next year. Next year will be offering a Nature based program for our Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 students. The philosophy is to connect children to nature, thereby fostering rich learning experiences, ecological literacy, and healthy living. With the role-modeling and nurture of wise and skilled educators who understand the power of play and child-directed learning, children can grow in resilience and compassion to contribute positively to a more sustainable world. We will be having an open house on Wednesday from 6:00 - 7:00 and would love to see parents who have children in these age groups. If you have a child who is 4 before the end of December consider enrolling them in our pre-kindergarten program. The program will be partially subsidized by the division to keep it at a low cost of &125.00 per month. Bring a friend and join us on Wednesday!

Next week look for a message from St. Luke inviting you to participate in our School Engagement process. We would love to hear your feedback and suggestions as we build our plan for St. Luke next year. Any and all suggestions are welcome as we look for ways to improve and enhance our school to provide an excellent school experience for all students. More details to come next week.

Have a wonderful, warm weekend,

Cathy Hinger

Principal

Monday, January 15

• Parent Council Meeting - 6:00 - 7:30 Google Link

Tuesday, January 16

• FWW (Sarah McCann) on site
• Grade 1 Book Buzz
• Priest Visit

Wednesday, January 17

• FWW (Sarah McCann) on site
• swimming lessons gr 1-6
• Early Childhood Learning Open House ( PreK/K/Gr1-Nature Integration) 6-7 pm

Thursday, January 18

• FWW (Sarah McCann) on site
• Grade 6 DARE
• Girls Basketball - Tournament @ Holy Redeemer - Details to come

Friday, January 19

• Kindergarten Day
• Girls Basketball - Tournament @ Holy Redeemer - Details to come

Saturday, January 20

• Girls Basketball - Tournament @ Holy Redeemer - Details to come

• January 23 - Grade 1 Book Buzz
  
• January 23 - Priest Visit
  
• January 24 - Grades 1-6 - Swimming Lessons
• January 24 - Bell Let's Talk Day
  
• January 24 - Swimming Lessons
  
• January 25 - Buddy Reading Program - Grades k-1-7/8
• January 30 - Last day of Semester 1
• January 30 - Grade 1 Book Buzz
  
• January 30 - Priest Visit
  
• January 31 - PD Day - NO SCHOOL (This is a Wednesday)
• February 1 - Semester 2 begins
• February 1- Gr 6 DARE
  
• Febryary 2 - Messy Art with Carleen Ross (k-6)
• February 2 - Kindergarten Friday.
• February 2 - Report Cards going home
• February 6 - Grade 1 Book Buzz
• February 6 - Priest Visit
  
• February 7 - swimming lessons gr 1-6
  
• February 7 - Winter Walk Day
  
• February 8- Teachers Convention- NO SCHOOL!
• February 9- Teachers Convention- NO SCHOOL!

Hi! I am Laura Tuininga and I have the privilege to teach K-6 Music and junior high options (on Tuesday). I’m very excited to officially be a part of the St. Luke staff! I’ve been an active part of both the St. Luke staff and community for over 6 years and have been able to get to know many of you throughout the years. Having taught K-8, I've been able to experience so many different opportunities that have allowed me to grow and develop my skills. I love to be creative, camp, hang out with family and friends and explore this amazing world God has created. I look forward to helping each child explore and discover their own unique gifts and abilities as they continue to find their place in this world.

Ms. Laura Cormier is thrilled to return to the St. Luke school community, where she will be teaching Grade 5! Her teaching journey began in 2017 after earning her education degree from the University of Alberta, and she is currently pursuing a Master's in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. With a strong passion and commitment to mental health, Ms. Cormier incorporates related initiatives into her classroom activities. During her free time, she enjoys playing ringette, snowboarding, and exploring the outdoors. In addition, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones and new puppy!

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.

IMPORTANT REMINDER - Yearbook opt-out forms are on your parent portal on powerschool. If you do not wish to purchase a yearbook, please fill out the opt out form to have the fee removed.

The homily will explore the transformative power of responding to the call of Christ and the profound impact it has on our lives and the world around us.

Again, A HUGE thank you to the St. Luke community for all of your generosity in supporting in our Annual Twelve Days of Giving as we support the Tofield Food Bank, The Lurana Shelter for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, and of course OLPH Catholic Parish as they will distribute winter clothing and attire to those in need.

• Our students donated $200.00 to the Lurana Shelter. How amazing, this generosity!
• We were able to deliver TWENTY full boxes, 521 pounds of food to the Tofield Food Bank! Outstanding work, kids!
• We collected FIVE boxes of winter clothing for the parish and will deliver over the Christmas break.

If you missed out on donations and would still like to contribute to shelter, please click here to donate online: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-sign-of-hope-society-archdiocese-of-edmonton/p2p/eicsd-bless-our-women-and-children/

Learning from the Land - This month, we learn that the traditional peoples of this area refer to the month of kisepisim- January - Pronounced, "Kiss-ee-pee-sim" which translates to the THE GREAT MOON. In Cree language and culture, when a word is begining with "kise" it indicates the begining of or the greatness of something (Great unimaginable, a mystery). For example, kisepisim is the great moon. Kise manitou is the great spirit or the creator (God). Kisewatisowin is the great kindness or compassion. - Typically, these next two months are the harshest of temperatures in our region. So this moon is named kisepisim to remind us of the great kindness and compassion in us all to treat all people and species with great kindness and compassion. How can you show a great kindness to others during this cold snap?

A question to ask instead of "how old are you?" in blackfoot culture, "tsa kiaanistsisstoy iimsspa" and in cree culture, they ask "tanitahto ki tipiponan" which translates kindly to "how many winters have you had?"

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

Our grade 1-6 students enjoyed their first lesson of swimming for this school year.

• Girls basketball - Girls played an exhibition game this week at Holy Redeemer - it was a fun time all around! - Way to Go girls!!

Please see the resource below.

Thank you Constable Donaldson for working through the DARE program with our Grade 6 students this week!

Thank you for your support - More information to come next week.

School Council and Parent Association Meeting Monday, January 15 @ 6:00. Come into the school or join by Google Meet link.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Lets celebrate the year of the dragon!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! Its is so good to see everyone back, and into our regular library classes.

There is so many fun things coming in the New Year at St Luke, including our read a thon!! More details to come soon!!

What better time to curl up, stay warm and read a good book!!

Stay warm and safe everyone!!

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