This Week at École OLPH
December 10 to 14
Message from the Office!
Dear Parents,
A Prayer for the Second Sunday of Advent
God of power and mercy open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy so that we may share his wisdom and become one with him when he comes in glory.
Jesus, you came among us with the irresistible power of a baby,
requiring both our hands and captivating our whole hearts.
Help us to cast aside the sin and brokenness that we cling to,
so we might be ready to hold you when you come again.
For he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen
God Bless
M. Morin
Principal
École OLPH
Weekly Events at École OLPH
Sunday, December 9, 2018
- Second Sunday of Advent
- Hot Lunch ~ Hot Dog Lunch
- Girls Basketball practice ~ 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
- Grade 6 ~ DARE program
- Boys Basketball practice ~ 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
- Hot Lunch ~ Wild Wings
- Girls Basketball practice ~ 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
- Second Week of Advent Liturgy ~ 1:07 p.m. to 1:47 p.m.
- Boys Basketball practice ~ 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Friday, December 14, 2018
- First Annual École OLPH Robotics Tourney ~ 11:00 a.m. to 3:07 p.m. ~ Everyone Welcome
- Canteen will be open at lunch ~ 12:24 p.m. to 1:07 p.m.
Important Dates to Remember!!!
Sunday, December 16, 2018
- Third Sunday of Advent
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
- Hot Lunch ~ A & W
Friday, December 21, 2018
- Outdoor Ed ~ Vertically Inclined ~ 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 23, 2018
- Fourth Sunday of Advent
Monday, December 24 to Sunday, January 6, 2018
- Christmas Break ~ No School
Monday, January 7, 2018
- First Day of School after Christmas Break
The Joy of Christmas!
Please join us as we count down to Christmas by sharing joy, hope, and love.
God Bless
December 9, 2018
- If you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He Himself is the way. ~ Thomas Aquinas.
December 10, 2018
- The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
December 11, 2018
- It is Christmas every time you let God love other through you. ~ Mother Teresa.
December 12, 2018
- Community is a sign that love is possible. ~ Jean Vanier.
December 13, 2018
- So faith, hope, love remain, these three but the greatest of these is love. ~ Corinthians 13:13.
December 14, 2018
- God Loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~ Saint Augustine.
December 15, 2018
- Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world. ~ C.S. Lewis
J'aime Parler Français!!!
Congratulations to the following
students who won the
"Parler Français" prizes.
Student 1 ~ Max Morin ~ 5S
Student 2 ~ Ashley Brennan ~ 8D
Félicitations de Parler Français!!!
Cell Phone in École OLPH
Dear Parents,
Students must keep their personal phones in their lockers during class time. Students are able to use their phones before and after school, and during recess and lunch.
Parents, should there be an emergency and you need to get a hold of your child, you may contact the office.
Should you have any questions in regards to this, please contact M. St.Jean at the school at 780-467-5631.
God Bless.
EICS - Fee Waiver Program
Dear Parents,
If you require any assistance with your child(s) school fees, the EICS Division offers a "Fee Waiver Program".
The application deadline for this EICS - Fee Waiver Program is Friday, December 14, 2018!
Please click on the link below for more information.
God Bless.
Fee Waiver Program Application
and
School Improvement Process ~ December 11 to 13, 2018
OLPH Parish ~ Christmas Eve Mass ~ 6:30 p.m.
Please be advised that the Christmas Eve Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish on Monday, December 24 at 6:30 p.m. will be designated as a Christ centered - youth focused mass.
Students from the Elk Island Catholic School District will also be singing during this mass.
We look forward to celebrating our Christmas Eve Mass with our EICS families.
God Bless.
Peer Partners!
This week during Peer Partners, École OLPH & École EPK students celebrated Christmas by decorating some Gingerbread houses.
I fun time was has by all. See some pictures below.
God Bless.
Panago Pizza Coupons!!!
Dear OLPH Parents,
École Our Lady of Perpetual Help School is offering a fantastic opportunity to each of you in efforts to support the upcoming Grade 8 educational trip to Quebec in May 2019. We have both Nitza’s and Panago Pizza coupons available for purchase, depending on your family’s preference. We are hoping that you’ll take advantage of these great savings while supporting the kids!
We all know what it is like to juggle work, home, kids’ activities, and our numerous other commitments so this opportunity can help keep all those balls in the air!
We have 25 Nitza’s (Wye road location) coupons available at a cost of $10 which is good for a Large 3 topping pizza of your choice. You may use one coupon per order and they are valid on Sunday through Thursday nights, so it makes for an easy option when you are racing your child from one activity to another or running behind and are pressed for time!
We also have Panago Pizza coupons selling for $12 which are good for any medium pizza, saving you upwards of $4-$5 per pizza! There are no limits as to how many coupons you can use at once, and can be used at any Panago location.
There are 25 Panago coupons expiring on December 20, 2018 that we would like to use up first so if you know that you will be using the coupons quickly, we request that you utilize these ones. With the craziness of this upcoming holiday season and the demands of life, who doesn’t enjoy an easy pizza night! There are also 25 Panago coupons expiring on February 9, 2019 which would be great for after the holiday rush and everyone is turkey’d out! If you know that you will order pizza before and after Christmas, you may want to consider a combination of both expiry dates!
Due to the limited number of coupons available, they will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. You can reserve coupons for 24 hours but they will not be guaranteed until payment is received.
Please feel free to contact me with any further question or to partake in this great offer!
Sincerely,
Pebbles Salvian
Pizza Coupon Coordinator
(780) 292-5391
Strathcona Christmas Bureau Donations!
During the next couple of weeks, we as a school, will be collecting items for the Strathcona Christmas Bureau.
The Strathcona Christmas Bureau will accept any donations of your choosing, however they have asked if we could try to concentrate on the following age groups:
- 13 to 15 years old ~ Boys and Girls
- 16 to 18 years old ~ Boys and Girls
All donations may be placed in the bin in the school foyer until Friday, December 14, 2018.
This year we will also be accepting monetary donations, which can be brought to Mme Winland in the school office.
Student School Council would like to thank you in advance for your support.
God Bless.
My kid is not talking to me... What do I do?
My kid is not talking to me…. What do I do?!?!
This article is a great normalizing acknowledgment that talking to your child may be difficult. But as a parent, you are wanting to connect but none of your questions seems to revoke a response. That is tough and most times, disheartening.
This article offers you, as a parent/caregiver, some ideas around what is going on for your child through a developmental lens and therefore offering a way to break that wall and start a conversation.
https://www.todaysparent.com/family/age-by-age-guide-to-getting-your-kid-to-talk/
Remember:
1) Take it slow
2) Don’t take it personally if they are nonresponsive- sometimes your kiddo has a lot on his mind.
3) Try to listen more, versus offering the solution. Solutions tend to come off judgmental
4) This takes time, so practice and be patient.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mme Moniz at simone.moniz@eics.ab.ca or 780-467-5631.
(Re)Connection Advent Calendar ~ Dr. Jody Carrington
See the (Re)Connection Advent Calendar, from Dr. Jody Carrington, picture below.
Have some fun as a family during the Advent season!
God Bless
Come See Maggie Hunter from 5G Perform!!!
Practice of an Apology!
Dear EPK/OLPH Parents,
One of the major themes that I have come to understand in my work is developing an authentic apology, which is a lifelong journey and takes practice. However, the big question I hear from caregivers/parents is "How to get my kid to apologize but mean it?!" This is such a great question and there are many ways to get there but one way is pretty foundational: We must model it. Please take a read:
Remember:
- At any age, we want to model behaviour we’d like our children to display to other children and adults. Modelling an apology to them is helpful for their social/emotional growth as well as our relationship. If we rupture our relationships, we must find a way to repair it.
- Modelling an apology to your child may be a new practice for you. Remember this: it is new and it is a practice. Be patient and kind with yourself.
- The apology is for our reaction, not our valuable feelings. God made each feeling for a reason and He values them. Please recognize that feelings such as anger, frustration or annoyance are true feelings, which are a part of your parenting experience and that is not what you are apologizing for. Parenting is difficult, trying and does test your patience. We need to apologize for our reaction: for our yelling (when we are angry) or exasperated words/tone (when we are frustrated) or our dismissive actions (when we are annoyed) etc etc.
There is a lot of content in this little blurb of mine. All, some, or none of this information may sing true to you, but one thing is true: Parenting is difficult and you are not meant to do it alone.
Please contact me for any guidance you may need or with any questions you may have.
I am loving my time spent at each school. It is such a privilege to be able to work with students, teachers, and families in our little French Immersion community. I feel very blessed to be a part of some special conversations so thank you to all for making me feel so welcomed.
Sincerely, with the warmest regards,
Mme Simone Moniz BA, MC
Family Wellness Worker
École Père Kenneth Kearns Elementary Catholic School
École Our Lady of Perpetucal Help Catholic School
EICS Nutrition Birthday Snack Ideas!!!
Dear Parents,
We are working towards creating nutrition environments in our schools that support the learning and wellbeing of our students.
Using the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth as our guide, we have developed a Nutrition Guide for Elk Island Catholic Schools.
In order to provide consistency at school for our students, we ask that if you choose to send a snack to share with your child's class on their birthday, that you send them with a healthy snack.
The acknowledgment and celebration of a birthday is wonderful and so we wanted to provide some ideas of healthy snacks and other ways to support the celebration!
Nutritious Birthday Snack Ideas
Fruit Lollipops or Fruit Kabobs
Whole Wheat Crackers and Cheese
Veggies tray or Veggie Cups
Nut Free Trail Mix Bar (mini cups that kids can fill with cereal, seeds, dried fruit)
Cheese String Snowmen
Frozen Yogurt Pops
Banana Messages
Butterfly Snack Bags
Ninja Turtle Grape Cups
Fruit Bouquet
Watermelon Cake
Resources
Alberta Health Services Nutrition Resources
Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth
Below are some examples and images.
Fruit Kabobs!
Whole Wheat Crackers and Cheese
Veggie Cups or Veggie Tray
Nut-Aware Environment!
École OLPH Catholic School is a nut-aware environment.
This school policy is in place to provide a safe environment for our children and staff who have life-threatening allergies to nuts and nut products.
We ask parents to monitor this closely with your children as you prepare snacks and lunches to be brought to school.
When bringing classroom treats, please call the teacher to inquire about other food allergies which may cause a severe anaphylactic reaction.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact M. Morin at alyrem@eics.ab.ca or M. St. Jean at marcs@eics.ab.ca.
God Bless.
FundScrip Fundraising
Dear Parents,
OLPH School Council has been using FundScrip for the last 5 years as one of the schools main fundraisers.
FundScrip, is a fundraising program that lets you raise funds simply by purchasing gift cards for your everyday shopping (i.e. groceries, gas, gifts and household items). When you purchase a $100 grocery gift card, you receive the $100 card, but in addition, a percentage is donated to our fundraising campaign. It’s like getting free money, where the only catch is you have to change your method of payment to using gift cards!
Please visit https://www.fundscrip.com/ to place your on-line order(s). To print off a paper order form, please click on the attached document below.
How to Support our École OLPH FundScrip Group
1. Go to www.fundscrip.com and click on Support a Group
2. Complete the information in the Become a Supporter section and be sure to enter École OLPH's group Invitation Code: PETQYC
3. Click on Sign Up and you will be sent a confirmation email.
4. Click the link in the confirmation email and complete your registration.
5. Now you are ready to login, place orders, and start supporting our École OLPH group.
6. Watch your Inbox for the confirmation email from FundScrip.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email Erin DiLoreto at artsadminerin@gmail.com.
God Bless
Update ~ Grade 8 Voyage Quebec Trip
Please take to log onto your child's PowerSchool account and pay your child's Voyage Quebec trip.
As a reminder, you always have to option to make multiple payments on your account in order to meet the payments and due dates listed below.
Deadlines and Fees are as follows:
- Gr. 8 Quebec Trip ~ Payment #1($1200.00) due by Dec. 19, 2018
- Gr. 8 Quebec Trip ~ Payment #2 ($800.00) due by Feb. 28, 2018
- Final Reconciliation Fee ~ TBA
May 18 to 25, 2019. Please ensure that your child's trip is paid in full prior to leaving on the Voyage Quebec trip.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact M. Morin with any of your questions or concerns to help you make an informed decision at alyrem@eics.ab.ca or 780-467-5631.
God Bless
Visitors & Guests
In an effort to ensure we have a safe learning environment for all students and staff, we ask that anyone visiting École OLPH to sign in at the school office and wear a visitor name tag.
God Bless.
Parent Council Corner
Please take a moment to "Join" the Parents for OLPH Sherwood Park Facebook group, for important information and updates.
Here is the link for easy access.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/213584608682158/
God Bless.
Lost & Found!!!
Please take a moment to look through the Lost & Found for any missed placed items that your child(ren) may have lost.
God Bless
How To Report Your Child's Absence!
If your child is going to be absent, please follow the instructions below when reporting the absence:
- Safe Arrival portal login: School Messenger Login
- Call the parent toll free number: 1-844-478-2613
- Using "SchoolMessenger" link in the EICS App (requires School Messenger App installed on the phone. It will prompt you to install the App when you open the EICS App and click on SchoolMessenger app)
- Using the SchooMessenger App
- If you are having difficulties, please call the school directly, 780-467-5631.
God Bless.
"Like" our Facebook Page
We now have a Facebook page!
"Like" École Our Lady of Perpetual Help
for latest news and info!
@olphecole
Canteen Dates Below!!!
Dear Parents,
Canteen Dates will start soon!
Friday, December 14, 2018
Friday, January 11, 2019
Friday, January 25, 2019
Canteen cards or Cash only is accepted at the canteen. As well, all items are priced at $1.00 and exact change is appreciated! The canteen is NOT open on hot lunch days.
Canteen items will vary week to week but will include items like hot chocolate, canned drinks, cookies, chips, etc. Canteen is intended for treats and snacks -not a substitution for a healthy lunch.
To reduce wait time there will be 2 canteen carts this year. One will serve the 5/6 wing and one will serve the 7/8 wing.
Any questions can be sent to Barb and Samantha at olphhotlunch8@gmail.com
God Bless
Linking Generations ~ Parent Volunteers Needed!!!
Our wonderful Linking Generations program this year are in need of some parent volunteers for both the CloverBar and Summerwood locations.
The commitment would consist of 2-3 hours twice per month from October 2018 to May 2019. You DO NOT have to have a child in the program in order to volunteer your time.
If you would like to assist with this special program, we ask that you please contact Debbie Sinclair, Executive Director, at 780-410-0711 or at linkgendebbie@telus.net.
Thank you and God Bless
School Cheques!!!
Dear Parents,
Please be advise that all cheques that
are sent to the school need to be
made out to EICS only.
OLPH Parish Bulletin ~ December 9, 2018
Please click on the link below for the OLPH Parish Bulletin for Sunday, December 9, 2018. Wishing you a blessed second week of Advent!
God Bless
2018-2019 Student Sacrament Dates
Please click on the link below for the Sacrament Dates for First Communion and Confirmation at OLPH Church.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Raylene at OLPH Church at 780-467-5470.
God Bless