Patriot Post
Sept 30th - Oct 4th, 2019
This Week at St. JPII
Monday Sept 30th
School Picture Day
Girls Volleyball Practice 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Tuesday Oct 1st
Girls Volleyball Game @ JPII
Boys Volleyball Game @ St. Theresa
Wednesday Oct 2nd
Early Dismissal - Students dismissed at 2:00pm
Orange Shirt Day (in lieu of Picture Day Sept. 30th)
Boys Volleyball Practice 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Thursday Oct 3rd
Girls Volleyball Game @ OLPH
Boys Volleyball Game @JPII
Friday Oct 4th
St. Theresa Volleyball Tournament
Saturday Oct 5th
St. Theresa Volleyball Tournament
Chaplain's Corner
26th Week of Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Pharisees a story. I stop short of saying “a story about” since that answer depends on one’s perspective. Is this a story about a rich man? Or is this a story about a poor man, Lazarus? Let’s start with the former.
The unnamed rich man in this story is surrounded by every material comfort he could want. Food, drink, clothing. He seemingly wants for nothing. And at his door is Lazarus, a poor man. Hungry, thirsty, sore-ridden. What’s more, the rich man sees him and knows he is deprived of even the most basic human needs. After both men have died, the rich man asks Abraham to “Send Lazarus” to comfort him. He knows by name the man who sat at his door, whom he chose not to help. Abraham has no pity on the rich man.
By contrast, seeing this as the story of the poor man, Lazarus, offers a different perspective. Wanting for even the most basic things, Lazarus seeks not even a meal at the rich man’s table but, rather, the scraps that fall. That dogs lick his sores seems to position these dogs as more caring of Lazarus than the rich man. Lazarus is meek, receives whatever may come his way, and is received into Heaven.
So, who is this story about? I submit that this story is not about one or the other. Instead, I read this story as being about each of us.
Each of us may find ourselves as the rich man at certain times in our life and as Lazarus at others. Indeed, at their death the two men in this story switch places and experience one another’s previous state, in a way. In this story as well as others, the question of who is our neighbor – and how we should treat them – is fundamental. The Gospel is clear that we are all neighbors. Once we take ownership of this reality, internalizing it, action must follow. Jesus modeled and preached a way of worshipping God that was far from theoretical and certainly far from comfortable. While we may worship God in many ways, among them must be through our concrete actions in love for one another. Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. (Mt 25:40)
Let us embrace this calling and embrace all whom we encounter as our neighbor.
God Bless each and everyone.
Mr. Brady
Junior Retreat Invitation
STAFFING UPDATE
Fort Saskatchewan Catholic Schools Parent Society
PATRIOT ATHLETICS
Grade 8 Sport For Life Program
BOOK TASTING
GrACE SUMMIT
ADMAZING TICKET BOOKS FUNDRAISER
ADmazing Savings Ticket Packs
A fundraising initiative offered by the Parent Advisory Council to raise funds to for a new playground and bussing at Saint John Paul II School.
ADmazing SavingsTicket Packs will be given to each student. The cost is $25.00 per book. This year it includes a free app along with the book.
Please return your order form with payment to the school office, cheques payable to EICS by Tuesday, October 1st.
A pizza party will be provided for the classroom with the highest sales.
The student with the highest sales in the school will receive a $275.00 Amazon Gift Card.
Thank You for supporting this fundraising project!
2019/2020 YEARBOOK COMMITTEE
Fort Saskatchewan Catholic Schools Parent Society News
The Fort Saskatchewan Catholic Schools Playground Society Presents:
Parent's Night Out- In support of the playgrounds being built.
Get ALL of your adult friends together and come to our Adults Only event and help us get the playground built!!
-We have a DJ that will be taking requests!
-Door Prizes!!
-BIG auction items!!
-Plus you can call The Bears Den to book a table for your group in advance!
EVERYONE 18+ is welcome to join us at The Bears Den SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd 6:00 pm.
Tickets are $20/person and 100% of the proceeds go toward our goal of building the playgrounds for our students!!
To order your tickets you can email fsplaygroundsociety@gmail.com, call 780-722-4442 or contacting us on our FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/fscatholicschoolsplaygroundsociety/
More options may become available soon.
Please SHARE with your friends, family, coworkers and neighbours!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
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, Oct. 9th @ 6:30pm in the school library. Congratulations to the following parents who were elected onto the Executive for this year: Chair Brad Burr, Vice-Chair Kelsey Van Der Kley, Treasurer James Wright, and Secretary Jennifer Gross-Burr.
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
Cafeteria News
September Menu is here! Our kitchen is stocked and ready to feed your hungry students Meals start at $4.50 and sides can be added for $1-3 each
Monthly pass $120 (this includes a meal and two sides every school day and works out to 4 free lunches!)
Lunch tickets- $7 each or packs of 10 for $65
Wed 11th- Meet the teacher night, we will be open if you have any questions or want to try one of our sides
Available everyday:
Gluten free options are marked with an * and are only available through online preorders.
Chicken Strips*, Pizza (ham & cheese, or extra cheese), Wraps (chicken caesar or turkey/bacon/ranch), Salad* (chicken caesar or egg), Mac&Cheese*
Daily Specials:
Monday- Taco Wrap/Salad*, Tuesday- Chicken Noodle Soup*, Wednesday- Pancakes with fruit and syrup, Thursday- Chicken Fried Rice*, Friday- Cheeseburger*
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*, puffed wheat square, tapioca pudding*, pretzels, smoothie* (mango or strawberry), milk* (chocolate or 2%), juice box* (apple or orange)
Monthly passes & lunch tickets now available
Email admin@fortsasklunchbox.com for info
Pre-order online or cash purchases
Online orders- how to get started:
· Visit www.fortsasklunchbox.com
· Click the order tab
· Create an account (use the email that is best for receiving receipts and create your own password)
· Choose St. John Paul II as your school- lunches can be picked up at the school cafeteria
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