The Good News
Saint John XXIII March 14, 2021
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday).
A Lent Message from Assistant Superintendent, Paul Corrigan
Leadership Message
Kids who Lead: Nothing For Us, Without Us
As you probably know, building leadership skills in every student continues to be an important priority at St.John. We know and embrace every student as a child of God with unique and amazing skills, gifts and talents. We look for and see what every child brings to our community as they grow and develop into young leaders with ideas and hopes for our world.
Specifically, in grade four, we target building leadership capacity in each student as they belong to one of four leadership squads: Faith, School Spirit, Healthy Living, or Young Citizens. Each team works together with their team leader on developing those skills that help students to see themselves as faith-filled, capable, responsible and ethical leaders who can, and do make a difference. It doesn't just happen, careful and intentional conversations, plans and projects help students discover that leadership is far more about serving than "bossing".
To show you an example of how an idea from one team is taken from spark to finish, please watch the video below. Two of our AMAZING Healthy Living Team Leaders are interviewed.
Blessings,
Mrs. Bonnie-Lynne Boehm, Principal
Our Healthy Living team is leading our Lenten Almsgiving Project: St. John Move-A-Thon March 24! Stay tuned for details this week!
Congratulations to Mrs. Ekdahl and her husband, Matt! They welcomed baby girl, Kensey Elizabeth, on March 12! Mom and baby are well!
Conferences: Celebrating the learning growth and planning for success together! Look for the School Interview booking this week!
Individual Support Plan (ISP) and Regulation Support Plan (RSP) Interim reviews, will be ready for review this week. Mrs. Kucy has scheduled ISP/RSP Interim Review meets, those who this applies to should have received an email regarding your scheduled meet. Pathways and PUF Pathways conferences have also been pre-scheduled to ensure that the support team members are all able to meet.
Mrs. Potter will be sending information and how to book via School Interviews later this week. Each family will have the opportunity to select a date and time that works for you. If you have any questions about conferences, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher.
This week marks the one year anniversary from when we shut down last year. Give yourself and others space and grace. Please reach out if needed.
Indigenous Artist, Lance Cardinal, shares his gift with St. John!
Ms. Ronalee Bourassa, our Indigenous Lead teacher, applied for a grant last Spring which would enable us to visually represent the Sacred teachings in our school community. It took many hours and much energy for Ms. Bourassa to make connections and finally find the artist that would share their gifts with us. Together with Mrs. Crystal Cholin (EICS Consultant), Ms. Bourassa reached out to Lance Cardinal who agreed to share his art with us.
Once again, in spite of all the COVID protocols, we were able to have Lance Cardinal come and present to each class. As we got ready to welcome Mr. Cardinal to our school community, each class created a collaborative piece of art to present in exchange for the teachings and gifts he would bring to us. It was an incredible day and we are so grateful! Many thanks for Ms. Bourassa and all the staff and students!
Mr. Cardinal commented about his visit to our school, "Well, my day at St. John Elementary School was such a success! It was so nice to present this painting and do some Indigenous teachings for these amazing K to gr. 4 students. They were all so respectful, attentive, and interested in learning. The school was so conscious about the social distancing, it was very nice to see how things are implemented within the school. The school had studied the Seven Sacred Teachings before I arrived, so it was nice for them to create work to compliment mine".
Looking ahead: Mark your calendars
March 14: Daylight Savings Time- Spring Ahead
March 15: Monday Faith Assembly-Grade 1s
March 22: Monday Faith Assembly-K & Pathways
March 23: Tuesday Faith Assembly-T/Th Kindergarten
March 24: St. John Move-A-Thon
March 23 & 24: Three Way Conferences & ISP/RSP Interim Reviews
March 26-April 5: Spring Break-No school
April 6: Class Pictures & Spring Photos
April 12: Monday Faith Assembly- Pathways
Growing Brains & Sharing Smiles! It's a Great Day to be a Saint John Kid!
Happy St. Patrick's Day March 17th!
Day of Confession: March 24th
Fridays through Lent (OLA Parish): 5 pm Stations of the Cross 5:30pm Mass (no 9am mass on Fridays).
You can listen to Fr. Kris' homilies through his podcast, A Beggar's Heart, linked below.
Saint John XXIII School Council News
Next School Council meeting is Tuesday, April 6 @ 7 pm via Googlemeet This is an excellent opportunity to receive the latest school and grade level updates from our Admin. and teacher teams, as well as, share your ideas and hear about upcoming events and school council sponsored activities!
Community Connections
Click below to order your St. John XXIII Spirit Wear:
Saint John XXIII Catholic School
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