The Good News February 2, 2025

This week, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas. This beautiful tradition reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the World, guiding our path with faith and hope. Forty days after Christmas, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, offering Him to God—an act of faith and devotion. As we bless candles in many parishes, may we also remember to be light for others, shining kindness, love, and faith in our school and community. Let us walk in His light and share it with those around us!

Monday, Feb. 3

• 3F Share and Care Program

• World Read Aloud Day- Students are invited to dress as their favourite book character

• Early Dismissal 2:10
• Dress in Valentine's Day colours
• Grade 3- Swimming Field Trip

• No School - Teacher's Convention

Friday, Feb. 7

• No School - Teacher's Convention

Feb. 10 - PSC Meeting

Feb. 11 - Reckie Lloyd- Black History Month (Drumming), KTR Hands on Science

Feb. 12 - Grade 4 Edmonton Symphony, KMW Hands on Science, N1 & N2 Shelter Building

Feb. 13 - Hot Lunch, NK JJ Nature Centre

Feb. 14 - Happy Valentine's Day

Feb. 17 - Family Day - no school

Feb. 19- 100th Day of School

Feb. 21 - Cultural Presentation with the Multicultural Society

Feb. 24- PD day (No school for students)

Feb. 26 - Pink Shirt Day

Feb. 28 - Gr 3 TPet, Gr 2 TPet

Report cards are now available on your child's PowerSchool account. Please check your email for information on viewing report cards that was sent home on Wednesday, January 29th.

Please make sure you can log into your PowerSchool account to see your child's report card. Please refer to the EICS Parent Technology Handbook which is located on our website.

If you need any help please contact the office at 780-998-7777

All current St. John XXIII students are required to fill out the Next Year Intentions form (and not a new registration form) in PowerSchool so that we can plan accordingly for next year. Please log into your PowerSchool account and fill out the Next Year Intentions form. This form is located on the left hand side, above the Grades and Attendance dropdown. Please refer to the PowerSchool page on our website for more information.

We are celebrating World Read Aloud Day on February 4th. World Read Aloud Day

Students are invited to dress as their favourite book character!

For the seventh year in a row, our St. John XXIII community has signed up to be part of the official World Read Aloud Day! We will join millions around the world to celebrate the power of reading aloud.

Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Friday, February 14th.

Please remember as we approach the “sweet” day of Valentine’s Day: Please do not send in any food items as “treats” along with Valentine’s cards for our classmates. We have many students with various food sensitivities and allergies, as well as diabetes. If you choose to add a special something, you are most welcome to add any non-food items such as a pencil, sticker, or bookmark.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.

Pre-Kindergarten Registration Process

Elk Island Catholic Schools invites and welcomes families of young learners into our faith-based, inclusive Pre-Kindergarten classrooms. St. John XXIII offers a variety of Pre-Kindergarten programs to support all of our little learners. We have programs to support both Pre-K PUF Supported Learners & Independent Learners:

PUF Supported Learners

Alberta Education provides Program Unit Funding (PUF) for children between 2.8 and 4.8 years of age who have been identified as needing early learning intervention.

Independent Learners

Children who are 4 by December 31, 2025, in their year prior to Kindergarten.

A screening process will be done to determine which students qualify for funded pre-kindergarten (PUF). Students who are determined to be "independent learners" as described above will not qualify for funding and will be charged a fee to attend the pre-kindergarten program. Deposits for fees will be collected starting on April 1 for students who have not yet been confirmed as eligible for funding.

Please visit out Pre-Kindergarten page for more information, and to register.

Kindergarten Registration Process

We would LOVE to journey with your child at St. John XXIII! Kindergarten is a wonderful and exciting place for your child to grow and learn. At St. John XXIII, we provide a faith-infused learning environment that focuses on supporting your child's development as a confident learner going into Grade 1. We work with our families to ensure these important first steps toward a Catholic education will be a rich and rewarding experience.

Our faith-based program welcomes all children and nurtures the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of your child. Independence, initiative, decision making, creativity, the ability to learn, relationships and feelings of self-worth -- all have their beginnings in early childhood. We believe that each child is unique, and together with parents as our partners, we build upon their natural curiosity and spontaneity, encouraging and supporting them as they grow their brains, share smiles, and become all that God has called them to be.

Nature Kindergarten

Our school offers a supplemental Nature Kindergarten program which operates Mondays/Thursdays and some Wednesdays. This supplemental program allows for your child to attend kindergarten 5 days a week. This paid program also offers students the opportunity to spend a large part of their day outside engaged in meaningful ways of learning with their body, mind and spirit while located in a natural setting, providing an option to attend kindergarten full time.

Nature Program Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4

This supplemental program provides students with an opportunity to spend two half days outside each week. This paid program connects students to nature by fostering rich learning experiences, physical literacy and independence.

Please visit our website for more information.

Please cast your vote for our 2024-2025 Yearbook cover. Below are the top 5 finalists.

One winner will be selected to be displayed on the front cover. Four other winners will be displayed on the back cover.

Voting will close on February 9th. Only one vote per email address is allowed. Vote here.

We’ll be using MunchaLunch for ordering hot lunch! It’s a simple, convenient way to choose and pay for your child’s lunch online. You can easily pay with a credit card (Visa/Mastercard), debit-credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or a pre-paid credit card.

How to Register:

1) Go to: https://munchalunch.com/schools/stjohnXXIII

2) Click the “Register Here” button (as shown below). The system will guide you through the registration process.

3) After adding your children, click the green “Order Lunch!” button to order.

4) Next time, just click the “Login Here” button to access your account.

Ordering Information:

Online ordering for February Hot Lunch is live:

• Thursday, February 13th - Subway

• Wednesday, February 26th - KFC

Important Reminders:

• Orders will be accepted up to 7 days before the hot lunch date.

• If your child is ill or absent on a hot lunch date, you’re welcome to pick up their lunch order by 11:30 AM. If you’re unable to do so, please consider it a donation for a child in need.

• Please note that we are unable to issue refunds. We appreciate your support of our hot lunch program, as the prices include costs associated with running the program and help raise funds that benefit the student experience at our school. Thank you for your understanding!

If you need assistance with ordering, please contact our hot lunch coordinator Brandy at Hotlunchstjohnxxiii@gmail.com

We're excited to offer our remaining Big Box of Cards sets! Each box contains 35 handcrafted cards for just $36.32. Choose between the All Occasion box or the Birthday box set—perfect for any celebration!

Hurry, as these sets are available on a first come, first serve basis and quantities are limited. You can order as many boxes as you'd like from our available stock, so be sure to stock up for all your upcoming events! Payment is quick and easy through MunchaLunch, and must be made at the time of order. Don’t miss out on this fantastic deal!

Ever wondered what your school council actually does? Over the next few weeks, we'll be giving you a closer look at the different positions that make up your school council. Stay tuned—next week, we’ll spotlight the role of the Chair.

Mark your calendars! Our next School Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 10th, at 6:30 PM. We encourage all parents and guardians to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you Grade 4 Leaders for making our St. John XXIII Arctic Winter Games so amazing!

Ask your children about what they have learned and which was their favourite event!

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