Principals Message

Madame Linda

What a busy month! I would like to thank our Volleyball coaches as the volleyball season will be coming to an end in a few weeks: Chelsea Stone, Kate Weber, Shawn Allison and two members of the community, Chris & Kimberly, were our dedicated team coaches. This means our basketball teams will start shortly, and we need some coaches. If you are interested, please contact the school to let us know. Thank you all for your efforts towards the school fundraiser. We did quite well with it; almost as good as last year. The top sellers were awarded during assembly for their extra efforts. November will be another busy month with a lot of activities happening throughout. Our Grade 6 class is taking on the initiative of Operation Christmas Child; they will need your help very shortly for the Christmas Boxes. On November 8th at 2:15 will be our Remembrance Day Celebration, organized by our Grade 1 class. Please come join us. Our annual Toy Bingo will take place this year on Saturday, November 30th at 2:00 p.m. (More information included in this newsletter) We look forward to seeing you there! Thank you for coming to our early Parent Teacher Interviews; we had very good feedback about the early process, as well as the new procedure of having interviews in the gym for the junior and senior high parents. You will receive your childs report card shortly. (See monthly calendar for dates) If you have any concerns that were not already addressed, please contact the teacher. Communication Process: We do have lots of ways of communicating now, from the website, to Twitter, newsletter, teachers newsletter, and news bulletins via e -mail. With an administrative perspective, we always try to keep the line of communications open. We also try our best to respond to e-mails in a timely manner. We do receive an incredible amount of e-mails every day and try our best to respond, but if it happens that we didnt respond to you, please accept our apology and try again or phone. It is very important to me to respond to any concerns, or provide support when needed, etc. Once again please re-send or phone.

NOVEMBER 2013
Grande Prairie Catholic School District Sexsmith, AB

NO SCHOOL Nov. 11th

(This date is not on fridge magnet or district calendar)

& 22nd

VIRTUE Of the Month Acceptance

Report Cards / PTIs

Our first report cards will be going home on Friday, November 8th. These are the Senior High report cards. All other report cards will be handed out on Friday, November 15th. Parent Teacher Interviews were held previously on October 16 & 17. The Book Fair was held then as well and was a great success once again. Thank you for your support of our Library.

LOOKING FOR BASKETBALL COACHES... Basketball season is approaching soon and we are looking for some basketball coaches. If you think this may be something that would interest you or someone you know, please contact the school. (780-568-3631) The time commitment would be two nights a week for practice and then a game each week.

Faith Series - Careful Attention Needed: We are not alone in this Journey!
Sometimes the soil we are working with is not as easy to work with as we first thought it would be. Its hard, resistant and does not allow its condition to be easily changed. Sometimes the soil may even cause us to move and stray from the original path we first set out on. This is reality of the condition and range of hearts that come into our schools and classrooms every year. Within our classes, we did not choose who or what we were given; its simply there for us to give it our best effort and our choice of how we respond to it, each day, each month and each year. The students God has placed in our care are on a journey and God is entrusting to us to use whatever skills, tools, etc. it may take to lead this journey to grow and develop into the faithful Christians our Creator has created them to become. The gift of this journey together is that we are not alone in tiling the soil. God has promised to be with us and guide us if we ask him, just as God has promised to be with and guide our students as well. As Deuteronomy 31:8 says It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you: he will not leave or forsake you. Let us remember in this month of November that the fruit of our labor is worth striving for. God never gives up on us; let us pray we never give up on the seeds requiring our care. May we trust that the seeds that were planted and path we are on does in fact lead us home into the arms of God!

ANNUAL FALL SUPPER & Evening of Entertainment Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
WHEN:

Saturday, Nov. 9 Doors open at 5:00 pm

WHERE:

Sexsmith Civic Center

Two impersonators, silent auction and live auction, fun for the whole family. COST:

$20/person, $50/family, $15/senior

FOR TICKETS: Call Julie @ 780-568-2381 or email julieannslade@yahoo.ca or Lise Gillon @ 780-568-3788

Russ Snoble, Religious Education Consultant

KINDNESS VIRTUE AWARD WINNERS - October

ECS:

Julius Cooke Connor McLaughlin Nevan Rohatyn Barran Van Polen Khalia Kane Cameron Slade
Kegan Dowell

Grade 5: Greyson Cox Samantha MacCoubrey

Rhylo Lambert Payton Nielsen

Grade 1: Levi Jones

Cooper Seely

Jennah Wiebe

Grade 6: Joely Hewko Taylor Sakundiak Grade 7:

Zach Wall Brynna Nelson

Maclean Balderston
Grade 1/2:

Grade 8:

Kenyana Anderson Emily Almeida

Tahlia Nelson
Grade 2:

Jaxon Hiebert Kiersten Greig Carson Gordey Grace Hagen

Kesstyn Lambert Zoe Labrecque

Grade 9:

Dmitri Kruger Abigail Munn

Korbin Rigler
Grade 3:

Grade 10: Grade 11:

Skylar Deines Shade Cooke

Gabriel Retzlaff
Grade 4: Teron Anderson

Grade 12: Grant Louie Jonathan Hoffmann

Joseph Davis

Allison Ikenouye

Catalogue Fundraiser
Our catalogue fundraiser was a great success bringing in around $13,660 in sales!! The portion that we get to keep should be around $6,147. Thank you for your support in making this a success! Our top seller from Pre-K to grade 3 was Tameeka Copeland - she received a Lamontange stuffed Tiger backpack. For grades 4-6 top seller was Hanna Lagace - she received a Lamontange stuffed Penguin. The top seller for Jr and Sr High was Rena Doucette - she received a movie pass. The Pre-K class won the pizza party for most sales per student ratio. Congratulations to everyone! We would also like to say a big thank you to the two top families: the Bradys (Received movie passes) and the McLaughlins (Received bowling passes)

TRIPLE PPP WINNERS for October (Positive Promotion Program)

Grade 7: Ashley Brady, Tara Galway, Emily MacDonald, Adreana Somerville Grade 8: Ryan Kosa, Josh Pohl Grade 10: Trace Griffin Grade 11:Bryan Bharadwaj, Andrew Bidewell, Jordan Johnson Grade 12: Brandon Bharadwaj, Sarah Kosa

CONGRATULATIONS!!! To our School Logo Contest Winners!

1st Place: Holly Palfy received $100 2nd Place: Kale Salacki received $50 3rd Place: Tenley Cooke received $25

Thank you to our Sponsor Paul Davis System Restoration

SWIMMING LESSONS ARE COMING SOON!! GRADES 2-5 ARE GOING FOR SWIMMING LESSONS THIS THURSDAY, NOV. 7TH, FRIDAY, NOV. 8TH, AS WELL AS NOV 12-15TH GRADES 2&3 WILL BE LEAVING THE SCHOOL @ 8:50AM SHARP AND RETURNING TO THE SCHOOL AROUND 11:15AM GRADES 4&5 WILL BE LEAVING THE SCHOOL @9:45AM AND RETURNING AROUND 12:15. PLEASE PROVIDE MONEY FOR THE LOCKER IF NEEDED. THANK YOU!.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD - Gr. 6 Service Project

St. Marys Catholic School is excited to participate in Operation Christmas Child again this year. This program brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled show boxes. Since 1993, millions of shoe boxes have been packed, shipped, and delivered across the globe. How will we pack the shoeboxes? Step 1: Each classroom will collect donations for their boxes. We ask that students donate small items for boys and girls in need. Please use the gift ideas located on the back of this letter. The final date to bring in any donations is Tuesday, November 12th . Step 2: It costs 7$ to ship each shoe box, so a monitory donation of any value will be greatly appreciated. Depending on the total amount we collect we will calculate how many boxes we are able to send.
We hope that this will be a special way to share with students the gift of giving. Please help us fill our shoe boxes!

The community event is taking place at the Sexsmith Fire Station 9926 99 St on Saturday November 9th 2 4pm
It is Shoebox season again! Join us on Saturday November 9th in Sexsmith at the Fire Station to pack your shoeboxes full of presents for deserving kids! Bring empty shoe boxes, gift items, and $7 to help the box get into those little hands! Or just come and help us pack items that have been collected throughout the year! Spread the news, invite your friends, it will be a time of excitement for kids of all ages!
For more information check out the website: http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/operation-christmas-child.aspx. Or call Alana at 780.568.4744

Did you know that Nov. 14-21 is National Addictions Awareness week?
Did you know that Nov. 14-21 is National Addictions Awareness week? During this time focuses our attention on the actions we can take to prevent addictions. By increasing protective factors and decreasing risk factors associated with addiction, we can work toward developing nurturing environments where youth can thrive and develop resilience. Protective factors increase a young persons chances of becoming a healthy, productive adult in spite of difficult circumstances. Protective factors include: Developing healthy social skills Participating in positive-social activities Having friends who make a positive influence Having parents who monitor their childrens behavior Feeling connected to school Getting high grades Living in a neighborhood with positive adults and pro -social activities We can all play a role in the lives of youth, even if we are not involved in elaborate prevention programs. In the day-today simple interactions we have with youth, we can build strong, caring relationships and empower youth to make healthy choices for themselves. Whatever environment you are in (work, home, school, community), take a moment to make a positive influence on the youth in your life.

AHS: Addiction Services

Did you know? Alberta Health Services- Addiction Services provides outpatient counseling services to students and their families right at the school. These services include everything from information on alcohol, other drugs, tobacco and gambling to classroom resources for teachers and students as well as individual and family counseling. Why access this service? High School aged youth are faced with innumerable choices! Decisions about alcohol, other drugs and tobacco use are often made out of curiosity with inaccurate and inadequate information. An Addiction Services Youth Counselor can provide a safe environment for students (and their families) to get answers. Some students may be concerned about their own use or the impact of alcohol and drug use on someone they care about. The Youth Outpatient Counselor provides a safe and confidential place to explore their feelings about drugs and alcohol in hopes that they will make positive choices. How can you access the service? As a parent, you can refer your child directly by either letting someone, say a teacher, counselor or principal, at the school know you would like your son or daughter to speak with the Youth Counselor or by contacting Addiction Services directly at the number below. As a student, your child may also request to speak with the Addiction Counselor on their own. The Addiction Services Youth Counselor is Diane Nelson. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact her anytime at 780-538-6330 during office hours (Monday-Friday 8:15 - 4:30).

November 2013
Virtue of the Month: ACCEPTANCE

Sun
October 27 Sunday Mass @ 11:00 am Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

Mon
October 28

Tue
October 29

Wed
October 30

Thu
October 31

Fri

Sat

1
ALL SAINTS DAY

TIME CHANGE

4
Staff Mtg. Early Out @ 2:30

7
Swimming Lessons Grades 2 & 3 9:30-10:30 am Grade 4 & 5 10:30 - 11:30 am

Swimming Grades 2-5

STUDENT LED Sunday Mass @ 11:00 am At the Catholic Church

Lessons Remembrance Day Service @ 2:15 Sr High REPORT CARDS GO HOME

9
Catholic Church Fall Supper & Evening of Entertainment
(See Newsletter for more information)

10
Sunday Mass @ 11:00 am Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

11
NO SCHOOL

12
Swimming Lessons Grades 2-5 Deadline for

13
Swimming Lessons Grades 2-5

14
Swimming Lessons Grades 2-5

15
Swimming Lessons Grades 2-5 ECS Gr.9 REPORT CARDS GO HOME

16
BONSPIEL FOR HOPE
(FRI/SAT/SUN - See
Newsletter for more information)

Remembrance Day

Operation Christmas Child

shoebox donations

Hot Lunch $ Due

17
Sunday Mass @ 11:00 am Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

18
School Council Mtg. @ 6:30

19

20
PIZZA Hot Lunch

21

22
NO SCHOOL Day Off in Lieu Of P.T.I.S

23

24
Sunday Mass @ 11:00 am Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

25

26

27
Toy Bingo Toy Donations Due

28
Virtue Awards @ 2:00

29

30
TOY BINGO @ 1:00 PM
@ School Gym

St. Marys Mission Statement: We are a Catholic Faith community that reflects the teachings of Christ. We cultivate a compassionate environment that values the uniqueness of all individuals by striving to create and inspire confidence, success and the ability to achieve life-long learning as students, staff and community.