St. Luke Weekly Memo
December 14 - 21, 2017
Thank you to all the families who joined us for our Advent Concert as we prepare our hearts for the gift of Jesus on Christmas.
School News
School Fees
School fees have now been posted on PowerSchool Parent Portal. This year Elk Island Catholic Schools made an effort to reduce the cost of basic education for all students. The fees you will see are for student field trips, swimming, enhanced options and school based activities.
If you are experiencing monetary hardship and seeking financial relief please review the fee waiver here or contact the principal, Mrs. Aoife Cahill, to discuss support. The deadline to apply for a fee waiver is tomorrow December 15, 2017.
Elk Island Catholic Schools 4x4 Formation Project
Elk Island Catholic Schools is interested in extending the opportunity for Catholic Education to interested families who reside outside of the current Division boundaries. The 4 x 4 Formation Project, if successful, would allow EICS to provide bussing for students whose families wish their child(ren) to attend a Catholic School. If successful, the 4 x 4 Project would also allow parents to vote for Separate School Trustees and to run as a trustee in the next election; opportunities that do not exist for parents currently living outside of the EICS boundaries.
An early step in this process is to train parents who have agreed to conduct a door to door census in the designated areas. Training, including the proper collection of data from each affected household can begin as soon as their are enough parents who volunteer their time to the project. Once all of the data is collected, the next stage of the project can take place with the guidance of Alberta Education and a consultant contracted to EICS.
It is important to understand that in order to be successful, the project must be parent driven. While there is undoubtably much work to be done, parents have regularly expressed their interest in the value of a Catholic Education for their children. If you can be a part of this important project, please contact Mr. Don Marceau by phone at 780-690-9071 or by e-mail at: kiwi2cats@gmail.com.
Milk Program
We are making some changes to the milk program in the new year. Families are asked to pre-order their child(ren)'s milk online in Parent Portal for the month of January. The reason for the change is because this helps us to more accurately order milk. As you know at home you can plan for the amount of milk your family will need based on your week, well we need to do the same for our family of 150 students. Due to difficulty in being able to accurately order milk we have wasted milk. Also this helps us move another form and exchange of money to an online format to help with accounting and reducing paper waste.
If you would like your child to receive milk (237mL), same milk as students have been receiving, in the new year please access the online form that is accessible in the same place as school fees - PowerSchool Parent Portal. The cost for each carton of milk will be $0.90 and you will be able to select white or chocolate milk. You will pay online based on the number of days you select. For the first time you will order for January only. The online order form will be open until December 22.
Kindergarten Programming
During the month of December, Elk Island Catholic Schools (EICS) will be consulting with our families, EICS staff and community members on kindergarten programming for the upcoming Fall 2018 school year. During this time of year, we historically look at programming, staffing, and other key factors prior to opening up the kindergarten registration process in mid-January.
Current kindergarten programs throughout the division are offered in a variety of ways, including:
Half-day programs 5 days a week
Full-time kindergarten - offered in a variety of forms, including 2 days one week and 3 days the next week.
Progressive kindergarten which is a type of full-time kindergarten - but it is offered through incremental steps from September until June.
Specialized kindergarten programming with language focus (French, Ukrainian Immersion).
EICS will be meeting with our early childhood educators, consultants and school administration in the next few weeks to discuss plans for kindergarten programming for the upcoming year. In order to assist with these discussions, we are inviting interested parents and community members to share their views about kindergarten programming via a short survey located on our EICS Kindergarten Information page. We will be sharing input from the survey with the Board of Trustees at the January 10th meeting.
If you have any questions about the survey or EICS programs, please contact Susan.Johnson@eics.ab.ca
Empathy
Dr. Jody Carrington reminds us how powerful empathy can be when making connections with those around us. Empathy is “feeling with” and taking the time to suspend our own judgements and step into someone else's shoes. Showing empathy requires us to resist the urge to “fix” the situation and simply allow people to be heard. How do we teach empathy? We offer it to those around us. Empathy must be experienced in the context of relationship.
Below is Brene Brown’s video that does a great job of explaining empathy.
Parent Council
Fundraisers
Thank you to all the families who supported the many fundraising initiatives we have had recently. Our first ever poinsettia fundraiser was very successful with about 50 poinsettias sold. The families who won the front row couch seats looked very comfortable at the Christmas concert. The staff and families helped provide two ladies at Valeda House with bountiful gifts for a blessed Christmas.
In collaboration with Parent Council Hot lunch committee St. Luke school will be having a pizza lunch on December 21. An order form is being sent home today and due back Monday, December 18. In the past St. Luke has hosted a turkey dinner for all students. This year we will bring the student community together to enjoy a Christmas movie, Polar Express, with a popcorn treat instead as we are conscious of how we are allocating school funds..
Looking Ahead...
December 15 - Praise & Worship 8:30 am
December 15 - PJ Day
December 18, 19, 21 - Boys Basketball practice 3-4:45 pm
December 21 - Praise & Worship 8:30 am
December 21 - Hot lunch (pizza)
December 21 -PJ and blanket day, movie afternoon (Polar Express), popcorn treat provided by the school
December 22 - Grade 1-3 Sportball & Grade 4-8 Millenium Place
Email: Stl@eics.ab.ca
Website: Stl.eics.ab.ca
Location: 22139 S Cooking Lake Rd, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Phone: 7809225920
Facebook: facebook.com/StLukeCatholicSchool
Twitter: @stlcs_EICS