Together in Learning and Faith
November 24, 2019
Choice in Education Survey
Dear Catholic Education Stakeholder and Supporter,
Catholic Education is alive and well in Alberta, educating more than 180,000 students across our province. Excellent academic learning within a faith-based community is the hallmark of Alberta’s Catholic Schools. In our celebrations of Catholic Education Sunday on November 3, the Bishops of Alberta reminded us of the responsibility we have to support, protect and advocate for this publicly-funded gift. (Please click here to read the letter from the Alberta Bishops).
The government of Alberta has recently created and distributed a survey asking Albertans to provide feedback on choice in education. The survey link is here. The deadline for response is December 6.
It is essential that all who support Catholic education take the time to make their voices heard. In a recent public forum, Archbishop Smith of the Edmonton archdiocese stated: “There have been Catholic divisions throughout the country that we’ve lost largely because of apathetic Catholics. We have to encourage everyone to be resolute because so much is at stake. We can never grow apathetic where we’re delivering authentic Catholic formation to our children.”
Here’s what you can do to support Catholic schools:
1. Read the letter from the Bishops of Alberta
2. Complete the survey and ensure that you speak directly in support of Catholic education!
3. Forward the survey link to friends, family and supporters and encourage them to do the same.
We need the government to receive a strong, passionate response to the questions they are asking! Thank you!
GrACE
Grateful Advocates for Catholic Education
GrACE Facebook address is www.facebook.com/GrACE4cathed
GrACE Twitter address is @GrACE4cathed
GrACE email gracedirector7@gmail.com
Share Your Talents and Passions!
We are looking for parents to offer OLA children a workshop to help them go deeper into a topic of your choice and experience learning from the expertise of our OLA community. Workshops can be linked to any of the Alberta Education Competencies (linked here) and rooted in your passions, work experience, skills, talents or hobbies. The options workshops will be held on early dismissal Wednesday, December 4 from 12:45pm - 2:00pm with a repeated workshop on Wednesday, January 8 from 12:45pm - 2:00pm. Parents are asked offer their workshop on both of these days. You can facilitate the workshop for grades 1&2, 3&4 or all grades.
At OLA we do all we can to ensure learning success. Parent involvement in children's learning is a another important factor to successful learning!
Come and join the fun!
Last Call!
Please email Mme Gravelle at pamgr@eics.ab.ca
to share your workshop idea
before Friday November 29, 2019
Advent Concert News
We are very excited to invite you to our Second Annual Advent Celebration on December 12th! Students and staff are already working hard to prepare for our two upcoming performances:
- A morning performance on Thursday, December 12th at 9:15 am (doors open at 8:45 am)
- An evening performance on Thursday, December 12th at 6:30 pm (doors open at 6:00 pm)
We want to ensure our families have a seat to enjoy the spirit of the Advent season, and we also want to hold our community in safety by complying with fire regulation capacities for the gym. Therefore, tickets will be required to attend the evening Advent performance on December 12th at 6:30 pm. Advent concert tickets are free.
Each family will receive three evening performance tickets and may request one additional ticket. These additional tickets will be provided on a first come, first served basis. To request your additional ticket send us and email to: ola@eics.ab.ca. (Please note, siblings attending the evening performance will require a ticket.)
Please let us know if you will not require all 3 evening performance tickets. We will gratefully share them with another family – we are hoping to accommodate all the guests who would like to join us for our Advent Concert! Kindly return unassigned tickets to the office.
Tickets will be sent home with the oldest student of the family on Wednesday, December 4th. (Additional ticket requests will go home Monday, December 9th.)
We are looking forward to celebrating with you this Advent season’s story of love.
The VIP Concert Experience . . .
Each year the entire school community shares in the joy of finding creative ways to sponsor our school’s social justice projects:
- Our Chalice International Foster Child – Ivo Mapunda from Tanzania
- Catholic Social Services Valeda House.
This year we are once again pleased to offer a chance to win TWO FRONT ROW VIP SEATS, VIP PARKING and A LITTLE PAMPERING for the evening performance of our Advent Concert on December 12th. (Winners may still request an additional ticket . . . but they will not be reserved VIP seating.)
Tickets are $1.00 each, 6 for $5.00, or a whole sheet for $10.00 and you may enter as many times as you like. Please know there is no obligation to purchase a VIP ticket.
This Tuesday we will send home a sheet of 12 draw tickets with every OLA family. Please fill out one, some, or all and return the appropriate amount of money to school office. If you would like to write a cheque, it can be payable to Elk Island Catholic Schools. WE HAVE 6 DIFFERENT VIP PACKAGES TO GIVE AWAY – GOOD LUCK!
Please contact the office at 780-998-3716 if you would like more draw tickets. Tickets should be returned to school before noon on Wednesday, December 11th - we will be drawing our six lucky winners at 1:00 pm.
Thank you and God bless you for your generosity and hope for those less fortunate.
Our Chalice Foster Child
A Letter from Ivo:
May I inform you that I am now in class V at Kagugu Primary School. The school has 5 teachers; 3 are female teachers, and 2 are male teachers. These are few teachers to our school. We get lunch at the school and breakfast and dinner at home. My parents are engaged in their crops subsistence cultivation.
Thanks,
God Reward you Exceedingly.
Yours Sincerely,
Ivo Mapunda
Advent Concert Request from Mrs. Lukie
News from Mrs. Heesing
Important News from the Playground Society
Dear Fort Saskatchewan Catholic School Parents,
As most of you already know, for the past two school years our playground executive team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes. We are now at a very important point for phase 1 of the playground build that could mean a playground THIS FALL!! We received a call from CFEP – One of the big grants, and we are at the top of the list!! However, we don’t have our portion of the money yet. Through company and in-kind donations, as well as our fundraising we need approx. $50,000. If they call back and we can’t show our share, we lose our spot. Meaning it could be several more years before the playground gets built and hundreds of more students with a parking lot to play on.
We appreciate those that have helped us in any way. We wouldn’t be here without you, THANK YOU! Unfortunately, the support has been small considering the 700+ students we have at JP2, OLA and SJ23; all of whom will eventually benefit from this playground. I think this may be caused by a misconception that there is a lot of help or possibly even from talk of a new school. The new school is not next on EICS’s list of builds and could be many years away yet.
Regardless, we are a supportive Catholic school community and we can get this playground built if we work together! Let’s show our kids what working together can accomplish. Giving our kids, something to be excited about and enable them to really focus and learn when they go back to class after recess. I know we can do this, but we can’t do this without YOU! Please if you can volunteer and/or donate, please don’t wait to reach out. We can accept cash, cheque and even credit!! We can even provide you with a donation receipt to claim it!
If you have a business and can offer IN-KIND donations or know of a company that might be able to donate, please get in touch with us! We are even willing to add plaques or a sign with company names, a great way to both advertise and support the community!
If you can help in any of the following areas send us a quick text or email:
- Finding IN-KIND donations
- Monetary donations (EVERY dollar makes a difference!)
- Volunteers to go door knocking at businesses around town with our donation request letter, we can’t do this on our own.
- Help at the upcoming bottle drive November 30th, 10:00-2:00; knocking door to door, driving a vehicle around to hold the collected bottles before returning to the trailer at JP2or even just dropping off all the recycling from you and your friends and neighbours!
- Help building the playground when the time comes
We look forward to working together to get the playgrounds built!
Fort Saskatchewan Catholic Schools Playground Society
fsplaygroundsociety@gmail.com / 780-722-4442
Collaborative Learning in 1Oi
Grade 4 Science
We LOVE Kindergarten
OLA Parish News
Our Lady of the Angels Church December 5th at 7:00pm
Children’s Liturgy Nativity Pageant:
A coordinator and 4 volunteers are needed to organize this years pageant. Please contact Linda at lrrose@telus.net or Deb in the office at 780-998-3288.
Looking Ahead . . .
Monday, November 25
- Faith in Action Assembly 12:30 pm - everyone welcome!
- Fort Sask Public Library presents the Young Reader's Choice nominees to Grade 4
Tuesday, November 26
- Grade 1 & 2 Clay for Kids
Wednesday, November 27
- SLS Wellness Team Meeting 2:00 pm
Thursday, November 28
- Holodomor Memorial Day - Ukraine Famine Genocide (acknowledged in prayer)
Friday, November 29
- Staff Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Sunday, December 1
- The Advent Season begins
Monday, December 2
- No Assembly - Mass tomorrow
- Grade 1-4 Select their Power Options in class
Tuesday, December 3
- Advent Mass at 1:00pm at OLA Catholic Church - Please join us!
- Poinsettia Pick up 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Wednesday, December 4
- School Spirit Theme: Ugly Christmas Sweater and/or Christmas Hat Day
- Early Dismissal at 2:19pm
- Grades 1-4 Power Options 12:45pm - 2:00pm
- SLS Wellness team Meeting @ 2pm
- Homemade Soup Hot Lunch (for students who pre-ordered)
- Poinsettia pick up 9:00am - 4:00pm
and a Little Further Ahead . . .
December 6 Grade 3 & 4 Skating 1:00 - 2:00 pm at the JRC
December 6 - Last Day to share your voice for Catholic Education and Choice in Education. Click here to complete the survey. Let's keep Catholic Education in Alberta!
December 6 OLA SC PJ Party & Family Christmas Movie Night 6:00 pm - Movie is Disney's "Noelle"
December 9 Grade 3 Lego Bridges
December 9 Grade 4 Gears & Pulleys Presentation
December 12 Advent Concert 9:15 am performance
December 12 Advent Concert 6:30 pm
December 19 Daytime School Council Meeting at 9:30am in French Room
December 20 Last day of classes for 2019
December 25 Happy Birthday Jesus! Merry Christmas!
January 6 Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
January 6 Faith Assembly and Celebrating Epiphany at 12:30pm
January 6 Grade 1-4 Children select their Power Option
January 8 Early Dismissal 2:19pm
January 8 School Spirit Theme: PJ Day
January 8 Grade 1-4 Power Options 12:45pm - 2:00pm
To see what is coming even further ahead, please visit our website calendar.
You can check out our M/W Kinder calendar here,
our T/Th Pre-K/Kinder calendar here,
and our Pre-K AM calendar here.
"The secret to a happy heart is the security we find when we are anchored, rooted in Jesus: in his life, in his words, in his death and resurrection. "
Pope Francis
Twitter, November 22, 2019
Our Lady of the Angels School
Fort Saskatchewan, AB
T8L 1W7
Email: ola@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://ola.eics.ab.ca/
Location: 9622 Sherridon Drive, Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Phone: (780)998-3716
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/OLASchoolFtSask/photos/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: @OLAFortSask