Patriot Post
Nov 4th - Nov 8th, 2019
This Week at St. JPII
Monday Nov 4th
Girls Volleyball Practice 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Tuesday Nov 5th
Volleyball Finals!
Girls game at St. JPII @ 5:30 PM (Gold medal game)
Boys game at St. Theresa @ 4:00 PM (Bronze medal game)
Wednesday Nov 6th
Early dismissal - School is out at 2:00 PM
3 Way Conferences 3:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Thursday Nov 7th
3 Way Conferences 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Friday Nov 8th
School Photos Re-Takes
Remembrance Day Ceremony @ 10:30 AM (School Gym)
- Please join us if you are able to.
Volleyball Pep Rally @ 2:00 PM
Musical Theater Practice 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Saturday Nov 9th
Start of Fall Break. See you back at school on Nov. 18!
Chaplain's Corner
What an awesome day we have today. An opportunity to celebrate Catholic education which we are blessed to have afforded to us publicly here in Alberta. Thank you to all of the parents and staff who were able to attend mass at OLA parish this weekend so we could come together as a community within God's loving embrace.
Being part of a Catholic school is not enough however. We are all called to seek out and help those who are in need, be it within our school, our community or beyond. This is what Jesus does today within the gospel reading. As did the pharisees, many of us who are strong in our faith may have a hard time seeing God at work in our daily lives. Some are even angry that it seems like Jesus is more prevalent in another's life instead of their own. With this in mind, we must remember what Jesus did for Zacchaeus. By coming to be with him, Jesus opened the door for a sinner, Zacchaeus, to see that he too was worthy of God's grace. Zacchaeus' revelation resulted in his conversion. This interpretation is confirmed in Jesus’ words, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost.” Yes! Zacchaeus had been using his position as chief tax collector to exploit people; and his encounter with Jesus in this moment of hosting him in his home, has led to a profound change of heart, conversion. And how was he so easily led to this conversion? The tip off was his surprising readiness to climb a tree to “see Jesus, who he is” . His openness to the truth makes him ready to be healed of his blindness regarding his greed and his readiness to exploit others.
Another lost sheep found and returned to the flock by the loving shepherd.
As we move forward this week, please take a moment to watch the division and archdiocese messages about Catholic education and please continue to pray for all those who advocate to ensure Catholic education remains strong and publicly funded here in Alberta.
God Bless each and everyone.
Mr. Brady
Catholic Education Sunday
Thank you to all the staff and studetns from St. John Paul II and OLA who helped to make today's mass so vibrant and energized. We are all so blessed.
Archbishop Richard Smith Catholic Education Sunday Message
Poppy Fundraiser
Do you know that funds raised through the poppy program help to support veterans. Every year, The Royal Canadian Legion conducts the Poppy Campaign, along with thousands of our members who volunteer from coast to coast to coast, to raise funds in support of Veterans and their families. Poppies are distributed freely, but your generous donations are invaluable. You can now donate online and even dedicate a poppy coin to a specific individual. Help all remember those who paid the ultimate price to ensure our peace and freedom.
Please go to mypoppy.ca to donate.
PLAYGROUND FUNDRAISER JERSEY SELL-OFF
In an effort to help raise money for our much-needed school playground, we are accepting donations for the purchase of a jersey(s). All funds collected will be donated to the Fort Saskatchewan Catholic School Parent Society to be put towards the cost of our new playground.
Please feel free spread the word on this initiative to former students of the high school. Jerseys will be on display in the school physical education office for a couple weeks and then it will be first come first serve. So if you would like to get that all-star jersey that was worn by you during a City Championship as a former high school student, please act quick.
Posted below are some examples of the styles, cuts, and colors of uniforms. They are predominately basketball and volleyball uniforms and warm-ups. In most cases, we have complete sets of numbers from the original teams. Any remaining jerseys will be donated to organizations in need.
Halloween
BOOK FAIR
Dear Parents/Guardians,
St. John Paul II will be hosting a book fair in the library from November 4th-7th, 2019. Throughout the week, your child (ren) will have an opportunity to view and purchase resources. The book fair will also be open in the evenings during the 3 way conferences at the school. We look forward to seeing you all and thank you so much for your continued support. Funds raised will be used to increase our collection of early readers for all grade levels and add to our fiction and non-fiction books.
God Bless,
Liane Gingras
Librarian/EA
GIVE READING A SHOT
HOT LUNCH ORDERING INFORMATION
Dates for Hot Lunches this first session will be:
Nov. 21st SUBWAY
Dec. 12th MARY BROWN'S
Jan. 16th BOOSTER JUICE
Feb. 13th PANAGO
Dated and vendors for March-June will be selected and posted in the next few months.
Please be aware that we are using PowerSchool to submit and make payment for Hot Lunch orders.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION: A LOOK FORWARD
You are invited to attend the second annual Catholic Education evening at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Sherwood Park in collaboration with Elk Island Catholic Schools on Monday, Nov. 4 @ 7:00 p.m. entitled "Catholic Education: A Look Forward." We are fortunate to have Archbishop Richard Smith, Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton; Dean Sarnecki, ACSTA Executive Director and Dr. Matt Hoven, Associate Professor of Religion and Education. St. Joseph's College, University of Alberta as our panelists. The evening will include presentations from each of the panelists, hospitality, questions and answers, and a brief presentation from local EICS representatives from GrACE (Paul Corrigan) and The REAL Foundations (Frank Yuzyk).
Come and find out why Catholic Education is indeed a blessing, what we can anticipate in the future and what we can do to help preserve it for future generations.
2019/2020 YEARBOOK NEWS
Back by popular demand....the St. John Paul 2 Catholic School Yearbook!!! We are excited to say we have a great team of photographers who will be out and about his year capturing volleyball spikes, Halloween horrors, game winning baskets, fine art productions, grade 8 farewell fun, track meet triumphs, academic awards winners and of course some funny moments with your friends in the halls and classrooms. This will be a memorable keepsake of your students' childhood. Please look for Lifetouch’s online ordering info for the 2019-2020 St JP2 yearbook and get your book now!
The yearbook committee is wanting one of our own students “works of art” to be the cover again for the St JP 2 Catholic yearbook. Looking for entries from students to design a cover and it needs to be on 8 ½” X 11 “ of paper. It should include the school name and year 2019-2020 and it should capture the spirit of our school and what St JP 2 means to them. This year’s theme is Love - First, Last and Always. All contest entries are to be handed in to the office by Dec 6, 2019. Judging will take place the middle of December with a mini art show!
The winner / winners will have their picture printed on the yearbook for all to see. Let’s see and share the gifts and talents of our students with the entire school community.
The 2018/2019 yearbooks have arrived! If you missed ordering your copy, we have several extra yearbooks in the office.These yearbooks can be purchased for $30.00. Please bring cash or a cheque made out to St. John Paul II Catholic School to the office.
EICS Transportation
Elk Island Catholic School (EICS) Transportation is pleased to share with the EICS community that there is now increased awareness for parents and guardians regarding EICS bus arrivals and possible delays through our transportation software program BusPlanner. This new app will allow parents and caregivers to see the details of current routes, stops and transfers relating to their children on EICS transportation.
With this new system parents gain access to the following:
- The BusPlanner Parent Portal, located here: https://eics.mybusplanner.ca/Default.aspx which allows parents to view details of the routes, stops and transfers for their children.
- The BusPlanner Notification System for email alerts to parents for issues which impact transportation on a route by route or school by school basis.
- The BusPlanner Delays app which both parents and students can install on a mobile (hand-held) device and allows them to subscribe to and receive BusPlanner notifications through push notifications.
Parents, please take the time to create an account for the BusPlanner Parent Portal and subscription to receive notifications of transportation delays or school closures through email. Please click here for further instructions - thank you.
Please know, it will be through this portal that all notifications will be vetted. There will no longer be emails or phone calls directly from EICS transportation regarding route cancellations or late buses.
Notifications will come to you through Bus Planner, so please subscribe.
In faith,
Your EICS Transportation Department
EICS Demographic and Consent Forms
EICS Demographic Confirmation and Consent Forms are available now on your PowerSchool ParentPortal. Please take a moment to visit your PowerSchool ParentPortal account and complete these forms; one for each child you have attending school with EICS.
Alberta Education requires that we obtain a detailed update of student demographics on an annual basis. School funding from Alberta Education is conditional on us receiving these updates and including them in your student’s record. More importantly, these forms ensure that we have the most current contact information if we need to reach you in event of an emergency.
We certainly appreciate you taking the time to complete these forms. Should you have any questions, or require assistance, please contact Carrie-Lynn in the office at 780-992-0889 and she will be happy to help.
VISITORS IN OUR SCHOOL
School and Field Trip Fees
School fees and field trip fees will be uploaded into the PowerSchool Parent Portal shortly. This year will see some minor differences with respect to field trip fees. As opposed to sending home multiple requests throughout the school year asking for money for your child's field trips, our grade-level teachers will establish a total amount that will be added to your PowerSchool Fees that can be paid in one lump sum at the start of the year. An option will also exist to pay your school/field trip fees in installments over the course of the year.
A reminder, we encourage these fees to be paid online through your Powerschool Parent Portal, or you are welcome to send cash or a cheque made payable to Elk Island Catholic Schools to the office as convenient. If you require assistance logging in to the ParentPortal please call the school and we will be happy to help.
SCHOOL COUNCIL INFORMATION
Please join us for our next School Council meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 27th @ 6:30pm in the school library. This is an excellent opportunity to receive the latest school and grade level updates from our Administration and Teacher Representatives, as well as, upcoming School Council supported activities and events!
PATRIOT WEAR!
Shout out to Enhance It Embroidering for making this possible. All orders are processed directly through the store and Enhance It Embroidery will call to arrange pickup within the allotted shipping time.
http://www.enhanceitembroidery.ca/store/c2/St._John_Paul_II_Spirit_Wear_.html
HAPPY SHOPPING!
EICS FAMILY WELLNESS WORKER
Service Delivery
Each school is staffed with a Family Wellness Worker (FWW), who works under the direction of their School Principal and the Assistant Superintendent of Faith & Wellness. FWW's receive clinical guidance from a Registered Psychologist.
The primary function of the Family Wellness team is to provide social and emotional support to students and families. Family Wellness Workers meet with students and parents to assess needs, set goals, identify required supports, and plan appropriate interventions.
They collaborate with school system staff and community resources to build a “village” of support around students/families who are struggling.
Referrals
Parental consent is required for FWW services.
Referrals to the Family Wellness Program may be made by students, parents/guardians, school administration, teachers, or other school staff (e.g. school counsellor or collaborative response coordinator).
Parents and guardians can access these services by speaking with the Principal or contacting the school's Family Wellness Worker directly.
Family Wellness Contact Information
Hello St. JPII School Community! My name is Lee Dube and I am so excited to be a part of your Fort Saskatchewan school community. I am here to support families and students to be successful. I am someone that parents and students can talk to and can offer connections to various resources in the community. Please do not hesitate to give me a call at the school or send me an email at lee.dube@eics.ab.ca to set up a meeting. I will be at St. JPII on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday afternoons.
It has been such a pleasure meeting some of the students and parents. Thank you for being so welcoming. Please feel free to come and stop in at my office upstairs in room #214. I am at the school all day on Tuesday and Thursday as well as Friday afternoons.
The Boys & Girls Club of Fort Saskatchewan has a new youth drop in program. This is for young people ages 11-14 and 15-18. There will be a weekly coffeehouse starting September 14th between 3-5 please feel free to stop in and learn more about it.
We are starting up the Breakfast Club at Lunchtime. This is open to all students and is a great place to come and meet some new friends and have fun. The club is held on Thursday during lunch break. Come hang with us, we meet at the opportunity room upstairs.
The Breakfast Club.....at Lunchtime
CAFETERIA
November Cafeteria News
We now have two types of month passes:
Meal pass- includes any meal choice every school day in November ...$60
Lunch pass- includes any meal choice and two sides every school day in November... $90
Tues/Wed 6 & 7-
Cinnamon Bun Treats $2.00 can be pre-ordered online or in the cafeteria
Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews ** stop in, say hi, and grab a snack :-)
Meals start at $4.50 and sides can be added for $1-3 each
Lunch tickets- $7 each or packs of 10 for $65
Available everyday:
Gluten free options are marked with an * and have the best availability when preordered online.
Chicken Strips*, Pizza (ham & cheese, or extra cheese), Wraps (chicken caesar or turkey/bacon/ranch, or chicken salad), Salad* (chicken caesar, turkey/bacon/ranch, or chicken salad), Mac&Cheese*
Daily Specials:
Monday- Taco Wrap/Salad*, Tuesday- Chicken Nachos*, Wednesday- Pancakes with fruit and syrup, Thursday- Chicken Burger, Friday- Donair*
Sides:
Fresh fruit*, fresh veggies*, apples&grapes*, sweet snap peas*, apple sauce*, cheese strips*, apple crisp, blueberry bran muffin, chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, rice cereal square*, wowbutter cookies, tapioca pudding*, pretzels, smoothie* (m or mixed berry), milk* (chocolate or 2%), juice box* (apple or orange)
St. John Paul II Catholic School
Email: stjp@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://stjp.eics.ab.ca
Location: 9975 93 Avenue, Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-992-0889
Twitter: @stjp2cs