Sister Alphonse Academy Newsflash!
18/June/2021
“I say to you, arise!” (Lk 7:14). This year you have been called to arise from sadness, arise from difficulties, and arise from fear. You have persevered and have experienced joy and have achieved success! Through Jesus Christ we have been able to use our gifts in the world to make a difference. Grade nines, you are called to "LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE" in the world.
Dear Sister Alphonse Academy Families!
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Happy Friday!
Congratulations and best wishes to our Kindergarten class of 2021! A big thank you to Mrs. Kim Shmyr, Ms. Hillier and Mrs. Manderson for creating a beautiful celebration for our Kinder students. What a great year of growth, development and learning this has been.
We wish all of the fathers and grandfathers a Happy, blessed Father's day weekend!
As we head into next week, we are excited to be participating in several virtual events on National Indigenous Day on Monday.
We also look forward to our Grade Six virtual celebration which will be coming up on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Thank you to Mr. Brass for all of the work he is doing in preparing and organizing the special celebration. Thank you for your ongoing support and we wish you a happy and restful weekend!
Take care, God bless.
Christine Samson, Principal
Cindy Phillips, Vice Principal
SAA Upcoming events:
Upcoming events: Week of June 21, 2021
Monday, June 21- National Indigenous Day!
Exciting day of learning
Tuesday, June 22 - Grade six virtual celebration.
Virtual meet for new Pre-K and Kinder Parents!
Exciting day of learning
Wednesday, June 23 - Exciting day of learning!
Thursday, June 24 - SAA Spirit wear day! Wear your SAA clothing or blue and green!
Grades 1 - 6 Report Cards electronically sent out to parents/guardians
Friday, June 25th - Last day of classes for ALL STUDENTS. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS AN EARLY DISMISSAL DAY at 11:45 A.M.
COFFEE WITH KINDER! FULL TIME KINDER MEET FOR PARENTS
Junior High report cards electronically sent out to parents/guardians
AUGUST 31 AND SEPTEMBER 1ST - STAGGERED ENTRY: MORE INFORMATION WILL BE SHARED REGARDING THIS ITEM.
****PLEASE NOTE THAT JUNIOR HIGH BELONGINGS MAY BE PICKED UP THE MORNING OF JUNE 25TH.
SAA Parent Appreciation!
Wishing all of our parents/guardians a wonderful, restful summer.
SAA 2021/2022: Staffing Update!
Dear Sister Alphonse Academy Families:
Happy Friday!
Please see a tentative staffing configuration for our 2021/2022 school year. Please note that staffing is also dictated by enrolment and changes may be made just prior to starting the school year as well.
We are excited to share that our enrolment is increasing and as such, we have been able to create stand alone classes at the Grades 4 - 6, Division II level. We are also happy to share that we have a new Pre-Kindergarten program starting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This group of students will join our new AM Kindergarten class. We are so happy to have Mrs. Marisol Teixeira share her excellent knowledge and experience in being able to work with this new program.
We will also be saying goodbye to Mrs. Nadine Trenchard, as she is excited about working at St. Kateri in Morinville next year. We know you will always be an SAA Knight in your heart! Words cannot express how much we will miss you and value your contribution to making SAA a wonderful place to be.
There has been some movement across our division, as happens each year, so we will also be saying farewell to Miss Dugan and Mrs. Rayner. We know that you will bring much expertise to the next roles you will have in the future. We also share at this time that Mrs. Karen Webb will be joining the staff at R.S. Fowler. Thank you so much Mrs. Webb for all of the support you have offered our students in your time with us. Mrs. Dawn MacDonald will be joining us as an Educational Assistant and we are looking forward to her joining our staff. Mrs. Natalie Lang will be returning once again in her role of classroom support at SAA. We are so blessed to have so many people contribute to our SAA community.
We are happy to welcome several new teachers to SAA, who come from other schools in our division and are so excited about being able to join our SAA family:
Ms. Emily Fraser, Full Day Kindergarten, Mrs. Kelly Raypold - Grade 1, Mrs. Shelley Harvey, Grade 2, Mrs. Krista Klak, Grade 3, Mrs. Nina Rawcliffe, Grade 4. New staff introductions will be shared with more information about teachers in our communication to come.
Continuing staff: Grade 5, Mrs. Grace Lobel, Grade 6: Mr. Sean Brass. We also are happy to share that Mr. Parks will be back again next year in the junior high.
Ms. Carryl Bennett, Mrs. Tina McKinnon and Mrs. Phillips will be returning once again, teaching in the junior high! More specifics regarding subjects taught will be shared before school starts. We are still being cautious into the fall, keeping in mind the limiting of class cohort ratios to teachers, but there will be more subject area expertise being able to take place, so this is good news! We are continuing to work on finalizing class enrolments and configurations, but this information will be shared at a later date, prior to school starting.
If there are specific questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you to all of our parents/guardians this year for your continued support and kind words!
Take care and God bless.
Christine Samson, Principal Cindy Phillips, Vice Principal
Coffee with Kinder!
June 21 - SAA Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day!
We have more events we have planned which will be shared with you shortly.
June is Indigenous Peoples Month!
"June is National Indigenous History Month. We join Canadians across the country in honouring the history, heritage, and diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada and in recognizing the strength of present-day Indigenous communities. We invite you to make time this month to learn about the histories, knowledge systems, and lived realities of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people."
St. Albert Catholic Parish News!
Ever Active Schools Update!
Thank you to Mrs. Christine Hoskins for the work she is doing with Ever Active School to support us with Travel safety and opportunities for the students at SAA.
School Supplies Information for 2021/2022!
SAA Friends thank you!
SAA Friends News!
ONGOING SAA FUNDRAISERS:
2. FlipGive - Go to flipgive.com or get the FlipGive app. Enter code QYXC53 to earn a portion of proceeds for the school by purchasing gift cards and shopping online!
3. COBS DoughRaiser - Mention Friends of Sister Alphonse Academy at St. Albert location, and 5% of your purchase will go to Friends of SAA.
4. Oliver's Labels - http://www.oliverslabels.com/FriendsofSAA
5. Mabel's Labels - mabelslabels.ca - Click on 'Support a Fundraiser' and search for Friends of Sister Alphonse Academy (St. Albert)
Library/Learning Commons News!
Library Return Date:
Our last book exchange of the year will be during the week of June 7th and all books will need to be returned on June 14th. Overdue notices will be sent out soon afterwards for any missing books. Please help your child bring their books back. Thank you in advance for your help!
Deadline to purchase your SAA yearbook is coming soon!
SIGIS Childcare Summer Calendar!
Please note that we have SIGIS Childcare within our building at SAA! SIGIS would like to share their summer calendar with all families. Please see the attachment below for more information. Thank you!
Covid - Health & Safety Updates: Important message
Parents/Guardians:
Please check our our Covid-19 protocol updates in our parent handbook each week. Thank you so much for your continued diligence and support.
https://www.gsacrd.ab.ca/schoolreentry/parentguidebook
The Alberta Government has established stronger mandatory province-wide public health measures to help slow down the spread of the COVID-19.
Please open the link below to see an important change in the symptoms and isolating:
Alberta Health Daily Checklist - Please continue to screen your children for any symptoms BEFORE choosing to send them to school.
Covid-19 - How long to stay home from school
Thank you so much for your support!
GSACRD Summer School
Please visit summerschool.gsacrd.ab.ca
SAFETY PROTOCOL STUDENT RE-ENTRY REMINDERS
Before coming to school each day, all staff and students must complete the Alberta government’s COVID-19 Information Screening Questionnaire, which is available in multiple languages, to determine whether they can attend or must stay home. The form does not need to be submitted to the office. If your child has any symptoms, contact your school office to let your child’s school know. Everyone who enters a school will see a sign that reminds them to complete the daily COVID-19 Information Screening Questionnaire before entering the building.
Please remember to bring with you all of your books and supplies that are needed for school on Monday morning. Monday is a regular, full day of classes.
Please remember that we have four entrances for students. When you arrive at school please report to the same school door that you were using before the Christmas break.
On August 4, grades 4-12 students and all staff have been asked to wear masks and mask use will be mandatory in common areas and when physical distancing of 2m is not possible. K-3 students are not required to wear masks, but mask use is encouraged as much as possible. Masks are to be worn while riding the bus as well.
Students with pre-existing health conditions that cause symptoms of illness should be tested for COVID-19 at least once before returning to school. A negative test will help show that symptoms are related to their pre-existing conditions, and not to COVID-19. This will establish what their baseline for being healthy looks like. Families should notify their school about any pre-existing condition and the symptoms it causes. As long as these symptoms remain the same, the student can attend school.
Additional hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed in every school and division office and additional hand sanitizer has been provided to schools to enable individuals to practice good hand hygiene.
It is recommended that individual-sized hand sanitizer bottles be purchased for your children so that they have this with them throughout the day. If you need to purchase another one for Monday please do so. Thank you.
Students please bring your own water bottle to school and do not share them. Water fountains will remain open and be cleaned regularly.
All students are asked to wear a mask to wear upon entry at school and when riding a school bus. Teachers will provide mask breaks. Prior to the break, students needed more reminders of continuing to do this so let’s have a new start again.
Grades 4 - 9 students: Please remember to wear your mask at all times when walking in the classroom and/or hallway and continue to maintain physical distance between one another.
Approved cleaning protocols have been put in place in all Division buildings. Custodial staff have been trained to identify high touch areas and to know how to clean, sanitize, and disinfect them.
If your child becomes ill at school, your child will be placed in a safe space until you or your emergency designate picks up your child.
Lunch Hour: All students in the elementary and junior high school need to eat their lunch in their own classrooms. We have always had this guideline in place, but students needed a few reminders to adhere to this prior to the break. Students in Junior High who are leaving the building for lunch please follow all safety protocols with masks use, physical distancing and sanitization upon exit and entry.
Junior High - Nutrition break: You are to eat your snack at your desk in your classroom. If you would like to go for a short walk in the school, wear your mask and continue to maintain a physical distance of two metres while walking.
Gym use - Students will have grade cohort assigned time to use the gym. Please listen for the announcements for your day of use.
Sister Alphonse Academy!
Email: info@sisteralphonseacademy.com
Website: https://www.saa.gsacrd.ab.ca/
Location: 1 Joyal Way, Sturgeon County, AB, Canada
Phone: 7808092296
Facebook: facebook.com/sisteralphonseacademy
Twitter: @sisteralphonseacademy