St. Mary's Catholic School
Weekly Snapshot Newsletter - October 21-26
Sunday Gospel Reflection for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus summoned the twelve and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Reflection : Arise and Shine (Adapted from lifeteen.com)
Greatness comes with a price, and it is not always what we want it to be.
In Western culture, a competitive mindset is all around us; we celebrate the champion and pity the loser. We want to be best, first, regarded, and applauded.Jesus corrects the disciples misunderstanding and ours as well.
If you want to be great, you need to follow Christ into passion and death.
Ultimately, Jesus is crucified with two criminals – one on the right and one on the left. Greatness doesn’t look like what we expect. There is a temptation to want to be regarded and applauded. There is a temptation to want to be great. We know, at least on some level, that to be great brings suffering. We have to work at it and suffer disappointment and setback.
Jesus tells us that greatness is found in the coming Kingdom, in getting to heaven. It looks different from earthly greatness and mutes the applause. It resembles martyrdom and persecution. It comes with suffering deprived of any reward.
Would you be willing to endure trials, even if nothing “good” seemed to come from it? Even if the only fruit was borne in eternity and you never saw it? Would you be willing to endure suffering and hard work, to drink from the cup of Christ, even if you were never recognized, acknowledged or applauded?
This is the great challenge we are presented with in today’s Gospel (Mark 10:35-45). We may seek greatness, but only the glory and greatness found in Christ and the Kingdom of God. We get to be a part of that Kingdom, but it looks much different than the kind of worldly success that James and John were seeking. It looks like the passion and death of Christ, but also, His resurrection. It is in that resurrection that we find true glory and true greatness.
"Lord, help us to follow Your example to truly become a servant to all, not concerned with worldly recognition. Amen"
Great Job Saints! You collected SO MUCH food to donate to the Farm Credit Canada "Drive Away Hunger" Campaign! Together with St. Martin's School, we collected $954 and a total of 556.25 lbs of food!
Our Junior Volleyball "Dig and Dive" Tournament was a great success! Both teams played great and our Jr. Girls were our Silver Medalists!
This past Monday we had a M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) presentation on the harms and risks of Cannabis use. Thank you to M.A.D.D. for helping us start the discussion - What a great opportunity to talk to your kids and see what they have learned!
Thank you to the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League for presenting our school with a beautiful icon of Mary and the child Jesus!
This past week, our own Miss Amy Yaremcio became an official part of the Alberta Teacher's Association at their annual Induction Ceremonies. Congratulations Miss Yaremcio, you are a great addition to the teaching profession!
Our Cross Country Running Team braved the snow at zones so that they could compete at provincials this past Saturday! Brrr. Go Saints!
Thursday, October 25th St. Mary's will be hosting a "Headstrong" Mental Health and Wellness Summit for grades 7 - 10 We will have guest speakers, breakout sessions, and lunch provided for all participants! Let's start the conversation about Mental Health and Wellness!
DEADLINE EXTENDED! Forms and money are Due Thursday October 25th! Thank You to our St. Mary's Educational Society for Running a "Sock Fundraiser" - Looking for a great Christmas Gift for that difficult-to-buy-for person??? Look no further!
Indigenous Peoples Learning Opportunity - Blanket Exercise
Dear Parents,
Parents of EICS students are invited to take part in a Blanket Exercise to be held at St. Theresa Catholic School in Sherwood Park on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 6:30 PM.
The Blanket Exercise is an active participation learning activity based on the major themes and findings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. The goal is to build understanding about our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by walking through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Everyone is actively involved as they step onto blankets that represent the land, and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples. By engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the Blanket Exercise effectively educates and increases empathy.
Participants are asked to bring a blanket that can be placed on the floor and stepped on for this activity.
Please RSVP by Monday, October 22 by filling out the Google Form linked below.
Google Form - Blanket Exercise Registration
We will also have Elder Theresa Strawberry join us at this event. She has spent the last year working in each of Elk Island's schools creating relationships and connections with students and staff.
If you have any questions, please email Crystal Cholin- Learning Services Consultant (crystalc@eics.ab.ca) or Sarah Congdon-Reitzel- Indigenous Lead at St. Theresa (sarah.congdon@eics.ab.ca)
Thank you.
Crystal Cholin
Learning Services Consultant - EICS Central Learning Services
780-449-6442
Important Notice for Parents and Guardians - Safe Arrival / School Messenger
Time to update PowerSchool info - Yearly Consents and Demographic Info
Hey Grades 7-9 - Check out the AFTER HOURS program! You can still sign up! Forms are at the office.
Parent meeting on October 30th at 7pm in the Library!
Important dates / Looking ahead:
October 24th - Flex day for Students - Each student needs to be signed up for what option they want to take during flex block. See Mr. Walker on Monday if you did not yet complete the Google form that was sent out to your student email. :)
October 25th - Headstrong Mental Health Summit at St. Mary`s for grades 7 - 10
October 30th - Grad Parent Meeting at 7PM in the Library
November 4th - Catholic Education Sunday
November 7&8th - Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews (each evening)
November 9th - Remembrance Day Ceremony @10:00 AM
November 9th - St. Mary's Awards Night @7PM
November 11th - Remembrance Day
November 12 - 16th November Break - No School
November 21st - Picture Retake Day with Lifetouch
Contact
Website: https://stmy.eics.ab.ca/
Location: St Mary's Catholic School, Vegreville, AB, Canada
Phone: (780)632-3934
Twitter: @stmarys_veg