The Good News
March 11 - St. John XXIII Catholic School
Leadership Message
Happy fourth Sunday of Lent!
For the past 4 weeks, students have been learning about Lent in their classrooms.
Thank you to the generous donation from our Parent School Council, this activity has been met with much appreciation from the staff and students.
Every week during Lent, students gather around the wreath together to pray and add symbols to the wreath to learn about the 40 days of Lent. The symbols so far have included:
- Purple Ribbon - Liturgical color of the season
- Burlap - Repentance
- Cross with a heart - Jesus died on the cross for us
- Pennies - Almsgiving
- Broom - Sweep or live clean to make room for Jesus
- Pretzel - "Bread" in the image of 2 arms folded in prayer
- Thorns - Fasting and Penance
- Shamrock - Trinity
Feel free to stop by the front foyer and see one of the wreaths on our Prayer Table.
A Child's Prayer for Lent
God, you made me out of love
to bring joy to the world.
Help me during these 40 days of Lent
to be generous and kind.
You are with me at all times
and I hope, during this Lent,
to become even more aware of
your love for me.
I ask this is the name of Jesus
Amen
Peace in Christ,
Mrs. Melnyk
Apple Program
Thank you!
2018 - 2019 School Calendar
Evidence of Learning & Digital Portfolios
Please invite your child to share their portfolio with you. It is a great opportunity to celebrate their successes, offer encourage where challenges exist and set goals for the future.
3-Way Conferences March 21st
The second session of Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will be held on Wednesday, March 21st from 4:00 – 8:30 pm. Mrs. Ford and Miss Sulyma have additional interview times available on Thursday, March 22nd for our Kindergarten families.
Please visit the School Interviews website to book a time convenient for your family:
- Go to www.schoolinterviews.ca
- Enter the code “npshd” and press “Go”
- Enter your details
- Select the teachers you wish to see
- Select the appointment times that suit your family best
- Click “Finish”
When you click “Finish” your interview timetable will be e-mailed to you automatically. (If you do not receive your e-mail immediately, please check your junk mail folder.) You can return to www.schoolinterviews.ca any time before Tuesday, March 20th to change your conference times – please use the same name and e-mail address you used when you made your original booking.
Mrs. Oikonen, Mrs. Kozyra and Mrs. L. Morin are hosting Student-Led Conferences. Click here to view the letter sent home with the Student-Led Conference Information.
Please contact our school secretary, Jeannette Wilson, at 780-998-7777 with any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you!
Kindergarten Parent Orientation & Registration Evening April 12th
ALL parents of children entering Kindergarten - including children who will be attending OLA School this fall, are invited to the Parent Orientation Evening at St. John XXIII School on Thursday, April 12th at 6:30 pm.
If you know of a family in the community looking for a Kindergarten next year please extend an invitation to them!
To register your child for Kindergarten, or our Pre-K program, please visit the St. John XXIII School website.
Are your children getting enough sleep?
Daylight savings time begins this weekend (early Sunday morning) !! Don't forget to jump forward one hour!
Get ready for more daylight in evenings, but darker mornings.
Although it’s a small time change, it can mess with people’s sleep schedules and bodies. You will notice your children (even you) might be more irritable because of the change,
In an ideal world, bedtime would be a quiet, relaxed affair, with everyone gradually winding down in preparation for a night of rest. If “quiet” and “relaxed” don’t exactly describe your family’s pre-sleep routine, trust me—you are not alone. For many families with children, bedtime is chaotic. Kids are wound up and full of resistance, parents are tired and short on patience. The result? Everybody feels frustrated, and nobody—including children—gets the sleep that they need.
PreK and Kindergarten is an age when children’s daily lives begin to become busier and wider, and their days become more full of activity. Somewhere around ages 4-5, many children will give up daytime naps. This is a crucial stage in a child’s sleep development. These years are a time to establish solid sleep habits and sleep routines, and to build children’s ability to manage their sleep with more independence throughout the night, including learning to soothe themselves back to sleep when they wake during the night. This also a stage in a child’s life when sleep problems, if left unaddressed, can become chronic.
**Recommended amount of sleep for 4 & 5 years olds: 10-13 hours a night. For some children, 8-9 hours may be enough, while others may need as much as 14 hours a night.
These middle-childhood years, age 6-12 are a time of tremendous growth for children—physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. During these years, children’s sleep patterns tend to become stable, with much more night-to-night consistency. Naps become rare, as children experience low levels of daytime sleepiness.
With full school days and after-school activities now the norm, children’s bedtimes are often pushed later into the evening. Children may also need to rise earlier in the morning. It’s easy for children’s sleep schedules to become irregular, with bedtimes, in particular, varying from night to night. The result? Children during this stage of life are at higher risk for insufficient sleep.
**Recommended amount of sleep: 9-11 hours a night. Some children in this age group may be fine with 7-8 hours, while others may need as much as 12 hours.
Read more about the school aged children and sleep here at the link here:
OLA Parish News
Community News: FSFSA Skating Carnival March 18th
The Fort Saskatchewan Figure Skating Association would like to invite you to their year-end carnival at the DCC on Sunday, March 18th at 2:00 pm. Admission is $5/family or $2/person.
Looking Ahead . . .
March 11 Daylight Savings Time - Spring Ahead 1 hour
March 12 - 16 Substitute Teacher Appreciation Week
March 15 McDonald's Hot Lunch
March 19 Indigenous Drumming Presentation 9:00 - 9:30 am in the gym
March 22 Holy Thursday/Good Friday Celebration 9:30 - 10:30 am - everyone welcome
"With so much to do, we often neglect what is really important: our spiritual lives, and our relationship with God. So let's stop and take time to pray!"
Pope Francis
Twitter March 8, 2018
9526 - 89 Street, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
Email: stj@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://stj.eics.ab.ca/
Location: 9526 89 Street, Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Phone: (780)998-7777
Facebook: facebook.com/stjohnxxiii
Twitter: @St_JohnXXIII