November Newsletter 2023
Virtue for November:
Charity-This is the first and greatest commandment: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, but the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.----Matt. 22:38
Note from the office:
Report Cards will be going home Friday, November 10th. KD will receive their report cards on the 9th as they do not have school Friday. Please note we cannot deliver report cards early. If your child is absent, you will be able to view the report card online through the parent portal. Instructions to come November 1st details on MSS Parent Portal are below.
November Events
November 1 All Saints' Day
November 2 All Souls' Day
November 2 Family Gym Night for 4ABC
November 3 Last day to order/edit Hot Lunch Orders for next week
November 6 Grade 6 Band Trip to Saskatoon
November 8 Early Dismissal @ 2:30 pm
November 8 Subway Hot Lunch
November 9 SCC Meeting 7:00 pm
November 9 Family Gym Night for 3ABC
November 9 Remembrance Day Prayer Service @ 10:45 am led by 7C
November 10 Report Cards Going Home
November 13 Last Day for SCC Spiros Fundraiser
November 13-17 Mid-Term Break - School Closure
November 20-23, 27-30 Grade 4 Swimming Lessons
November 21 LCSD Elementary Band Concert
November 21 Grade 6 Retreat @ St. Anthony’s 9:30 am
November 22 LifeTouch Retakes for Grades K-7
November 23 Family Gym Night for 2A/2B
November 24 SCC Spiros Fundraiser Pick-up (Details to Follow)
November 30 Family Gym Night for 2C/2D
Upcoming Events - Christmas Concerts
December 11 Grades K-2
December 12 Grades 3-7
Stay Connected
Classroom Newsletter: Expect it by email from your child’s teacher
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stthomasecole
Shutterfly StoreFront stthomaslloydminster.ShutterflyStorefront.com
NEW - Parent Portal on MSS
We are excited to inform you that the family portal of MySchoolSask (MSS) will be available to parents beginning November 1! The portal will allow you to view attendance, report cards, classes, and more.
On November 1, you will receive an email with instructions for accessing the family portal in MSS. This is dependent on having a valid email address recorded with the school. Should you not receive an email, please contact your child’s school to confirm your email address is on your child’s record.
We ask that you follow the instructions in the email step by step to ensure success with your access to MSS. You may find it easier for the initial setup to use a laptop or desktop. However, you are able to access from a mobile device as well. To allow for password reset, ensure that you follow the steps precisely.
Should you encounter difficulties, please contact your child’s school to provide details of issues you are experiencing. Do not reply to the generated email sent out on November 1 as it will not be responded to.
For your convenience, there is a link to MySchoolSask added to the home page of the LCSD webpage for easy access to the family portal. You can also save the site to your Favorites list.
Please note that Term 1 report cards will not be available in the family portal until November 10. Printed copies will continue to be provided for Terms 1 and 2. For Term 3 in June, parents will have to access the family portal to obtain their child’s report card.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE/ABSENCES
Please be sure to enter student absences through the Safe Arrival app as soon as you know your child will not be at school. As the weather gets colder it is more important than ever for us to know where all of our students are in a timely manner. If you are unable to enter attendance through the app please feel free to call the school at: (780)875-5366 or email Mme Nogue: anogue@lcsd.ca or Mme Freeman: tfreeman@lcsd.ca. If you know of future absences, these can also be entered in the SafeArrival app. The app can be downloaded through your phones by clicking on your App Store and searching for School Messenger. Children are responsible for their schoolwork in the event of absences and close communication with the classroom teacher is essential.
Unpaid School Fees are Past Due
Thank you to those who have already paid their annual school fees. If you have not yet paid your child’s fees, they are now considered past due, and a paper invoice will be sent home. Every family should have received a notification from SchoolCash in October detailing your school fees for the 2023-2024 school year. If you did not receive a notification from SchoolCash, please contact the office. The 2023-2024 Yearbook is an optional fee. Fees can be paid online at: https://lcsd.schoolcashonline.com or with exact cash or a cheque payable to LRCSSD #89. If you require a payment plan, or are experiencing financial hardship, please contact the office to discuss options.
Practicing SAFE Procedures
Every school year students start their first day with an introduction to their classroom, their teacher(s) and classmates, and the classroom procedures such as where to put their coat, turn in assignments, entry doors, etc. LCSD schools have procedures for behavior (Behavior Matters) and safety that are reviewed with students. In September students and staff practice safety in the parking lot and bus zone, Bus Evacuation, and Fire Drills. School staff also review and practice safety procedures for Hold and Secure, Lockdown, and Shelter in Place. Although it is not often that these procedures are needed, it is important that staff review them regularly and students have an opportunity to practice. We cannot prepare for every event that may occur but by having procedures in place, we are more likely to have success should something unforeseen occur. We will be practicing these safety procedures in November and throughout the year. Information will be sent home with your child on the day we practice an emergency procedure for the first time.
Band Notes
Grade 6 Saskatoon Band trip - November 6th, 2023
LCSD Elementary Band Concert – Tuesday evening, Nov. 21, 2023
· Students must wear black pants, black socks, black shoes and a white shirt
October Practice Charts are due November 1 & 2 during band class. Grade 5’s & 6’s should have 320 minutes and Gr. 7’s should have 240 min. Parents, please initial each practice time and total/sign the sheet at the top.
All students can access MakeMusic Cloud, a web-based program, to help them practice and submit playtests. Contact your child’s band teacher if you are having trouble with it.
Check out our Band Google Classroom for Boom Cards and online music game links.
Tiger Athletics
Cross Country: A huge thank you to Mme Lunny and Mme Peters for their leadership with our grade 4-7 Cross Country Team. Our runners were able to participate in the LCSD and LPSD meets. Several students qualified and competed in Districts which were held at Silver Lake. Great work to all of our athletes!
Soccer: A huge thank you to M.Adama and Mme French for helping to work with our Grade 6 boys and girls on developing their skills and game play. Our grade 6 boys and girls teams had a lot of fun playing soccer with their friends. Congratulations to our Grade 6 boys team for winning bronze in their division and the Grade 6 girls team for their 4th place finish. Great work Les Tigres Athletes!
Volleyball: A huge thank you to Mme Nielsen, Mlle Berscht, Mme Dunstan, Mlle Vautour, Mme Enstrom and Luke Enstrom on working with our Grade 7 boys and girls to help them introduce, develop and strengthen their volleyball skills and game play.
We have had a fun and successful season to this point. Congratulations to our boys team for winning gold at the St. Mary’s tournament. Congratulations to our Div 1 girls for finishing 4th at the Father Gorman Tournament. Our Div 2 girls team played hard and won silver at the Div 2 Tournament at Ecole St. Thomas. Best of luck to our teams as we head toward the end of the season. Girls Playoffs will take place at St. Thomas on Nov. 2, 2023, starting at 2:30pm. The Boys Playoffs will be at Father Gorman also on Nov.2, 2023 at 2:30pm. Go Get ‘Em Tigers !
Basketball: The Grade 7 Basketball seasons will start with practices beginning the week of Nov. 20th for both the boys and girls teams. The coaches will be having a meeting with the students before the November break to confirm numbers and send home a schedule and parent letter.
SCC Corner:
Our first event was FRIGHTFULLY Fantastic! Spooktacular Bingo night brought out some ghosts, goblins, pumpkins, and even some teachers! Congratulations to all of our Bingo prize winners and a huge thank you to all our volunteers who helped make this event a success.
We had about 40 parents who donated to our student led conference teacher potluck! Our teachers enjoyed lots of food, drinks and sweet treats thanks to your generosity. Without your support, we could not do what we do.
INTEREST SURVEY: We are currently assessing interest in potential new programs/clubs. This is the last month to let us know if your family is interested by taking this survey. This is just to gauge interest, not a sign-up. Priority sign-up for those who complete the survey. Complete the survey HERE. Please email us at stthomasscc@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering for any of these programs. This would be a two hour, per session commitment.
Upcoming in November:
Spiro's Fundraiser: Order some delicious Spiro's pizza now until Nov 13. Pick up on Nov 24.
Hot Lunch: This month Subway is bringing delicious subs to school on Nov 8. Last day to order is Nov 3.
The following are continuous fundraisers that support our school:
-Boston Pizza receipts: eat at BP and write ST THOMAS on your receipt, or bring your receipt into the school office! 5% of the total goes back to the school in cash. It can add up fast!
- Bottle Depot: Next time you take your recycling to the bottle depot, ask for your recycling proceeds to be put towards Ecole St Thomas SCC
- Mabels Labels: Never lose anything again! (hahaha -we can dream)-order at https://mabelslabels.ca/en_CA/ click on "SUPPORT A FUNDRAISER" at the top right hand side and then type in "Ecole St Thomas''. Once you click on "Ecole St Thomas'', you will see "You are now supporting Ecole St Thomas (Lloydminster)". Click the red button that says "LET'S GET SHOPPING", and place your order.
- Shutterfly:http://stthomaslloydminster.shutterflystorefront.com/ Ordering your photos and/or photo gifts from the Ecole St. Thomas Shutterfly Storefront means that 8% of your purchase will be donated to our school!
Join us for our next meeting, Nov 9 @ 7:00 pm in the school VC room (in front doors, turn left up the ramp, first door on the left) or online HERE
Canadian Parents for French
Anyone can join! Your $25 membership helps us provide French fun for St. Thomas students.
Sign-up online today:
Join or Renew Your Membership - Canadian Parents for French - National (cpf.ca)
November Homework Club
CPF membership required
limited spots, sign up early
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094AA8A62FA7FB6-homework
We're planning a Last Day of School Christmas Party- watch for details in December!
Lloydminster Chapter
Canadian Parents for French
No Stone Left Alone
Thank you for the many families who will represent our school at this ceremony and who will lay poppies on grave stones. We have over 40 members of our St Thomas Families who will be present. Thanks to Drake Stoddart for doing a reading for the service. We appreciate your time to remember those who have gone before us in Faith.