Le Messager
École Frère Antoine September 2022
Fantastic First Week!
Dear Parents/Guardians
After a successful first week return back to school, we would like to once more welcome back our returning students and to welcome our new students! It was so wonderful to see all of our students happy and excited for the new year.
Let your light shine forth ….is the Division’s theme this year. This theme and this year’s scripture passage points out that we are the salt of the earth and that we all have an inner light and that we are meant to shine forth so that our good deeds are visible for all to see.
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
This scripture passage which is selected this year is such a beautiful message of how each one of us can make a difference for others. In one of Pope Francis’ homilies several years ago, Pope Francis drew inspiration when he spoke of when Jesus told his disciples “you are the salt of the earth”, “you are the light of the world”. Christians, Pope Francis said, must be the salt and light, but never self-serving. Salt must add flavor to the lives of others and light must illuminate the other.
Together, this year, we will work as a team at École Frère Antoine to live out this message and to inspire each other to be the salt to add flavor to the lives of others around us and to shine light upon them as well. We will use Frère Antoine as our guide and inspiration. We will use our 2022-2023 school wide picture book "I am One" by Susan Verde and connect it with this scripture as well as we will celebrate our students’ light and their good deeds.
We would like to welcome parents to contact the school administration if you have any questions or concerns throughout the school year. We will do our best to serve your children in their educational needs and keep the lines of communication open with you as much as you wish.
Blessings on your family and on a wonderful school year!
Mme Paula Borges-Couture, Principal
Mme Alyssa Quintin, Assistant Principal
Hours of Operation
School Theme Book
School Opening Mass September 14
École Frère Antoine will mark the beginning of the school year with our school opening Mass on Wednesday, September 14. We will be walking to St Theresa Parish just shortly after attendance has been taken. Family members are invited to attend the Mass. We would love to see you there. The Mass will start at 9:00.
Permission forms were sent home last week with your children. Please ensure to return them to school for your child to leave the school and attend the Mass. As this is a school wide event and all staff will be at the Church, we will not be able to keep students at the school during this opening Mass.
Meet the Teacher / Curriculum Evening September 15, 2022
We look forward to seeing and meeting you in person for this evening.
New Curriculum Implementation
Kindergarten - Grade 3 will be implementing the new curriculum in the following subjects:
- Mathematics, English Language Arts & Literature
- Physical Education & Wellness
Additionally, teachers in Grades 1-3 are piloting the new French Immersion Language Arts & Literature curriculum.
Transportation & Bus Delays Procedures
We thank our families for your patience as we try to work around the delays with bus pick up and drop offs. We are currently experiency bus driver shortages and this has been affecting our routes arrival and pick up times. Please make sure to check your notifications on delays. The school takes the safety of our students as top priority.
For the next two weeks, we will be gathering our bus lines in the school and taking the students to the bus.
If you decide to pick up your child at the end of the day instead of having your child take the bus home, we kindly ask parents to help with the saftey of knowing who is being picked up and who is going home on the bus by:
- Writing a note in your child's agenda to inform the teacher
- Phoning the office before 2:30 so that we can mark who is being picked up on our bus attendance list.
For more information about your child’s bus route check your e-mail or your Powerschool account.
You can also follow the link below for more information about ECSD transportation. https://www.ecsd.net/_ci/p/34746
Route Change Dates & Notifications
Route changes only occur on Wednesdays and can take up to 2–3 weeks to be processed. An email will go out every Friday night at approximately 6:00 PM about possible changes to your child’s bus route. Go to your parent portal to check if your child’s transportation information has changed. Please contact your school to obtain your login and password to your Parent Portal.
Kindergarten Noon Hour Transportation
Kindergarten Noon Hour transportation starts on September 6, 2022.
End of Day Dismissal Procedures
To ensure the safety of our students our dismissal procedures are the following:
- Kindergarten students must be picked up at the Kinder door.
- Grade 1 & 2 students who are meeting a parent are asked to wait at the blue cross to be picked up and all other students and their parents are asked to meet along the inside of the fence. Please leave the gate are free for bussed students to pass.
- Students who are going on the bus will have attendance taken inside the school for the first month of September as we navigate the bus driver shortages and bus delays.
- The bus lines will be walked to the buses with a bus supervisor.
- For student safety, teacher supervision will be provided in this area for 15 minutes after the bell.
- We ask that students not play in the park at the end of the day so that students do not get left behind and miss their bus.
- Parents will be asked to sign students out in the office if they are picked up.
School Fees & Collection of Monies
ALL payments for school fees are now processed online, a procedure that is in place across Edmonton Catholic Schools. School fees will be posted to your PowerSchool Parent Portal account by September 15th. Please pay the fees by October. 21st.
Please use your PowerSchool Parent Account to pay:
● School fees
● Field trip fees
● Bus pass fees
● Library fees
Thank you
PowerSchool
Parents at École Frère Antoine are encouraged to use PowerSchool to monitor their child(ren)’s progress at school. PowerSchool allows parents to sign up for alert notifications and attendance information.
Note: Parents must have a PowerSchool account to access report cards and pay any school fees.
Ongoing Student Progress
This year, we will once again concentrate on increased ongoing assessment as well as an emphasis on communicating and understanding key learner outcomes and the criteria for success to support next steps in learning. Student-led conferences will take place in November and March, and discussion will focus on student achievement with evidence of learning from work completed to that point. Teachers enter marks and comments for each assessment directly into the PowerSchool gradebook. For parents, this is like having access to a student report card at any point in time. Teachers will follow up via email with parents who do not attend student led conferences, as this communication is very important for student success.
Student-led conferences and report cards for this school year are scheduled for:
Student Led Conferences: December 1, 2022
Student Led Conferences: March 16, 2023
If you wish to discuss your child’s progress or marks, please feel free to call or email the school. Report cards are available online to parents/guardians via the PowerSchool parent portal. Parents/guardians who are new to ECSD will be provided with their own PowerSchool passcode which will allow them to view the report card online. PowerSchool not only gives parents access to their child’s report card, but also access to other school and classroom
information. PowerSchool passcodes for those parents who have not yet created a PowerSchool account will be sent home later this month, so please watch for them. PowerSchool accounts remain in effect from year to year, so parents only need to create an account once.
As always, if you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact the school office and we will be happy to assist you.
School Advisory Council
Our incredible School Council has cultivated a rich school community through many initiatives. Thank you!
We will have updates on school events at upcoming School Council meetings. The first meeting is on Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30 pm. This meeting will be a virtual meeting using Microsoft TEAMs. If you are interested in attending this first School Council meeting, a SWIFT message will be sent to families with step by step procedure on how to participate in the meeting. We will then follow up by sending interested parents with a TEAMs invitation for the meeting
Future meeting dates for the year will be posted on the school website.
All parents are welcome to attend!
Parish News
Reconciliation:
https://sttheresa.caedm.ca/sacraments/reconciliation/
Holy Communion
https://sttheresa.caedm.ca/sacraments/communion-holy-eucharist/
If you are interested in having your grade 6 child receive Confirmation, the Registration deadline is October 12, 2022. The Confirmation program is for students from Gr. 6 to 12. To register, families will need to fill out the Registration Form and bring it to the reception/office at St. Theresa's Parish before Oct 12, 2022. Here are the links to the Registration forms as well as a brochure with more details.
Protocol for Parent Concerns
Edmonton Catholic Schools recognizes the freedom of all members of the school community (students, staff, parents, and neighbors) to voice their concerns in an appropriate manner to the appropriate school personnel. The principle of FIRST CONTACT needs to be followed. This means that the person(s) who have the concern have the responsibility to begin addressing the concern directly with those persons with whom they have the concern before taking their concern elsewhere. Parents who contact school administration prior to speaking with the persons with whom they have a concern will be directed to that person first. If resolution is not found, please then involve school administration as needed.
All parties will deal with the matter that is consistent with the teachings of the Catholic faith.
🗓 Important Dates
Safety Drills
All Edmonton Catholic Schools practice safety drills at numerous times throughout the year. In general, we will be practicing our fire drills in the Fall and Spring. This is part of our Crisis Management Plan. These drills are valuable in practicing our safety measures in a safe way should one of these events occur. For some of these practices students will be aware that they will occur. Other practices will be a surprise event. An announcement from the Office will follow each practice.
School Safety Patrollers
Our new and eager grade six crew of AMA safety patrollers will soon be ready to go! Our grade 6 patrollers will be starting on Tuesday, September 6th. They will use the point, pause, and proceed technique. This technique models what every pedestrian should do when crossing the street and is a much simpler procedure for school patrollers. The primary role of AMA School Safety Patrollers is to assist younger students to cross the street — not to direct traffic. Patrollers will now extend their arm to indicate pedestrians want to cross the street and will only extend their stop sign when it is safe to cross their fellow classmates.
It would be greatly appreciated if parents could assist our patrollers by
exercising extreme caution when approaching the intersections in front of the school.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Let’s make this a safe and successful year for our children!
Parent Parking & Student Drop Off
The Drop Off Only Zone (in the school parking lot) is for drop off only in the morning, not for after school.
1. Please park across the street & meet your child at the blue cross in the playground.
2. Proceed to the very end of the drop-off lane to allow others to enter as well. By dropping off at the end of the lane, you give others a chance to enter and your child the opportunity to develop their physical literacy skills by walking to their door.
3. The two parking stalls closest to Mill Woods Road in the first lot are designated for staff parking only. The other stalls facing the school drop off area are for visitor parking.
4. All parking stalls in the second lot have been assigned and are reserved for staff at all times. Edmonton Parking Enforcement Services may ticket or tow unauthorized vehicles.
Please remember that their lenience with respect to parking tickets is restricted to:
- Monday—Friday: 7:50 to 8:15 am & 2:40 to 3:00 pm Thursday— 11:50 am to 12:10 pm [early dismissal]
Thank you for helping us to keep the school drop-off safe for everyone!
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE PROCEDURES MAY BE REVISED FOR STUDENT SAFETY.
💡 Reminders
Medical Alert Information
Upon occasion parents request that staff members administer medication to students who are not able to administer it themselves. In order to administer medication to a student, we require a Request for Administration of Medication/Medical Treatment Form to be completed and kept on file in the office. Last June, a SWIFT was sent to parents with the medical forms. Please contact the Office and we will send a copy of the form home with your child. It is the parents’ responsibility to keep the School informed of medical conditions and to provide correct information regarding treatment and emergency contact information.
Water Bottles
This year, water fountains will again not be used in their traditional fashion. They will only be used to fill water bottles. It is important that students bring a water bottle from home, pre-filled, that they can refill throughout the day. There are water bottle filling stations in the school.
2022 -2023 Student Handbook and Code of Conduct
In the front of your child’s agenda is the following:
- Student/Parent Handbook
- Code of Conduct
Please review these pageswith your child and sign the signature page. Your child’s teacher will also sign these pages as well.
Student Attendance
If the school has not heard from you regarding your child’s absence you will be contacted. If you call after hours, you can leave a message regarding absences on our answering machine. Please state your child’s name and provide the reason for the absence.
Field Trips
Field trips are once again back up and running. Field trips forms are required to be signed by the parents and returned in order for the student to attend a field trip. We cannot take permission over the phone. Please visit our website to get more information on the fees that may be associated with your child’s grade/class field trips. You can pay for any field trips through your PowerSchool account.
School Events
Grade 6 students learning at school at the Legislature
October 3- 7 for the 6B class.
Terry Fox Walk / Run September 22
Let’s all ‘Try Like Terry!”
Students are encouraged to bring toonies for Terry.
Family BBQ September 22
School Picture Day October 4
Orange Shirt Day
Students are invited to wear orange shirts on Thursday, September 29 to commemorate Orange Shirt Day – to commemorate Orange Shirt Day - a day when we reflect upon the difficult legacy of residential schools throughout Canada and stand against racism and injustice. We will mark this day with a prayer service in recognition of the injustices and abuses suffered by our First Nation, Metis and Inuit peoples.
Truth and Reconciliation Day
September 30th is the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. There will be no school on Friday, September 30. This day commemorates and
honours the experiences and loss of the thousands of children who were placed in residential schools. It is recognized annually as a way to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and to affirm that every child matters.