March 2016 At A Glance

Important Dates

New Registrations

Open House

Demonstration of Learning

Art Auction

Kids’ Convention

School Activities

St. John Bosco Parish News

Bishop’s Message

Superintendent’s Message

An Irish Prayer

May God give you...

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.

Next Newsletter

Thursday, March 24th

Principal: Mrs. Lori McDonough Assistant Principal: Mrs. Michelle LaFrance Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Renee Bourlai

School Council Meeting

Monday, March 7th

at 6:30 p.m.

Message From the Administration Our school community continues to let its light shine for Catholic Education. We began our Lenten Season with an Ash Wednesday cel-ebration led by Fr. Romano on February 10th. Throughout these next weeks of Lent, our school community will make the journey towards Easter together by reflecting deeply, praying often, making some special sacrifices and most importantly; putting into action for-giveness and charity. We pray:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, You have made the sun to light our day

and the moon and stars to light the night. Help us walk in your light. During this season of Lent,

renew us through the gift of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thank you also to our wonderful School Council that organizes many of the fun days at St. Maria Goretti School. Our Shrove Tuesday pancake lunch was delicious. Thank you to the par-ent volunteers who picked up the supplies, made the pancakes and served them. They were enjoyed by all! As we begin to plan for next year, please remember to share the message with friends and neighbors about the excellent programs and positive atmosphere that exists at St. Maria Goretti School! We are accepting new registrations for the 2016 – 2017 school year and everyone is invited to our Kindergarten Open House on March 3rd at 6:30 pm. We wish you a blessed Lenten journey!

Mrs. L. McDonough Mrs. M. LaFrance

March 2016 Newsletter #7

4214 -127 Ave.

Edmonton, AB T5A 3K6

Ph. 475 - 0158 FAX 478 -8635

www.stmariagoretti.ecsd

St. Maria Goretti Kindergarten Open House

Thursday, March 3rd

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

4214 - 127 Avenue

Full Day Kindergarten Registrations

We are now accepting Kindergarten registra-

tions for the 2016 - 2017 school year. Children

must be 5 years of age on or before March 1, 2017

to register. “Word of mouth” is, without a doubt,

the most effective way to promote our school. We

ask that you spread the good news about our won-

derful school to your friends and neighbours.

Strong Kindergarten programs ensure a bright

future for our school. It’s time to let everyone

know how great a school St. Maria Goretti really

is!

If you know anyone who would be interested in

our open house, please encourage them to call the

school for more information. All prospective fami-

lies who have registered or are wanting to register

their children in our Full Day Kindergarten pro-

gram are invited to attend an open house evening

on Thursday, March 3rd, at 6:30 p.m. We look for-

ward to meeting our new families and welcoming

them into our school.

Important Dates in March/April March 7, 14, 21– Positive Parenting Discussion Group (5:30 Supper provided) March 9– Confession with Fr. Romano– (Grades 2-6) March 11– Report Cards sent home March 14–18– Numeracy Week March 17– Celebration of Learning 1:30-4:30 6:00-7:30 March 17– Art Auction– SMG Gym (See our budding artists!) March 17– Book Fair March 18– Hot Lunch & Inside –Out Day

Final Spelling Bee Competition March 23– Bread & Wine Celebration (K-6) March 24– Kids’ Convention March 25– Good Friday– Start of Spring Break March 27– Easter Sunday April 4 – Classes Resume April 8– Easter Mass– St. John Bosco Parish 9:30— Parents Welcome! April 13– Early Learning Conference– No School for K students. April 19– On Line Safety Parent Session– 6:30 p.m. April 22– Earth Day April 29– Hot Lunch– Multi Cultural Day

Scholastic Book Fair

All are invited to the

Scholastic Book Fair from

March 15—March 17th. Thanks to Mrs. Okinczyc and her parent volunteers for organizing our book fair. The Book Fair will be open during the regular school day. Please note that during the Demonstration of Learning even-ing, on March 17th, there will be extended hours

until 7:30 p.m.

Report Cards and Demonstration of

Learning

Report cards will be distributed to the Grades 1 to 6 students on Friday, March 11th. Our Demonstration of Learning for all Kindergarten to Grade 6 stu-dents will take place on Thursday, March 17th. Come and celebrate your child’s achievements and accomplishments between 1:30 - 4:30 and 6:00—7:30 p.m. Demonstra-tion of Learning is critical to the home-school partnership, and teachers will be available to meet with parents to discuss their child’s pro-gress. If you are not able to attend the Demon-stration of Learning on this day, please talk to your child’s teacher to schedule another time. We look forward to your active and en-gaged participation.

St. Maria Goretti Art Auction!

The 2B and 2/3 class have

decided to hold a Silent Art Auction for a

social justice project! Since February 2B

and 2/3 have been creating art pieces to

help others in need. The Silent Auction will

be held on March 17 in St. Maria Goretti’s

gym. Come check it out during Demonstra-

tion of Learning! The proceeds will go to-

wards the S.M.G. Families Helping Fami-

lies Fund. The students are looking forward

to supporting to those in our community.

Reminder:

Who: Mrs. Wasylciw, (Gr. 2B) & Miss.

Sdao (Gr. 2/3)

What: Silent Ar t Auction

Where: St. Mar ia Goretti Gym

When: March 17, 2015 from 1:30 to 4:30

and 6:00 to 7:00 pm.

Why: To support the S.M.G. F

Families Helping Families Funds.

How: By creating, selling and auctioning

our art masterpieces.

Come, enjoy and support

the next generation of artists!

Triple Positive Parenting

Program

With so much conflicting

information about parenting,

how do you know what’s best

and what works? Triple P Positive Parenting Pro-

gram has 30 years of research to back it up.

Come out and learn strategies and approaches to

a better family life. There is NO cost to attend

these sessions and all parents are welcomed.

Please note that these are adult sessions.

March 7th - Dealing with Disobedience

March 14th - Managing Fighting and Aggression

March 21st - Developing Good Bedtime routines and

Hassle Free Shopping

Time: 5:30 – 7:45 pm

5:30 – supper provided

6:00 – discussion group begins

Please RSVP by calling Mrs. Bourlai at

780-475-0158.

February Kids’ Convention at St. Maria Goretti School

Central Theme: Celebrate 100 days of school! As we are 100 days smarter, students

explored various ways to represent and celebrate the number 100!

On Feb. 11th, the SMG students participated in Kids’ Convention. Teachers developed various

sessions focused on exploring 100. Students were able to choose from one of the ten sessions.

Sessions Included:

#2: Growing Old- Have you ever wondered what you might look like when you are 100? Stu-

dents were able to fast track to the future. Using various materials students made a self-

portrait of their old wrinkled self!

#6: Mosaic Art - Make a mosaic out of 100 art pieces! Using their creativity, students were

able to design a few tiles to add to a group mosaic made from 100 pieces!

#9: Guinness World Records - What are the oldest living people & animals on Earth? Students

researched who and what is living 100 years. A booklet was made using their findings.

#10: Century Sensory Art - A century is a hundred years, but students were only given one

hour to create an awesome piece of art. Using their sense of touch, students were given 100

items to make a sculpture or a 3D project!

“The mosaic was pretty. We

got to make our own design.

We do fun stuff at Kids’

Convention.” (Abule, Gr. 2B)

“I like how we got to see

ourselves as 100 year old el-

ders.” (Georgia, Gr. 5A)

“I like that everyone got a chance to work out. Not one person didn’t

participate. Everyone loved it.” (Junentee, Gr. 6A)

100 Day of School

Fun! Our grade one students

celebrated the 100th day of

school on Thursday, February 11th. To cele-

brate, the students dressed up like they were

100 years old.

Attention: Are you missing

some clothing?

Check the Lost & Found Box

Please assist your child to

check for missing clothing and

footwear. Items will be displayed during

Demonstration of Learning on March 17th.

Welcome!

Student Teachers! St. Maria Goretti School community is pleased

to welcome two Student Teachers from the

University of Alberta:

Sydney Volk & Marianne Madrazl

Thanks to Mr. Nagy, Mrs. Giles, and all our

staff, who will be mentoring our student

teachers. They will continue their field

experience in March.

C.C.A.T.’s

The Grade 3 students will be writing the “Canadian Cognitive Abilities Tests” over several days between February 29th and March 4th. Please make sure that your child comes to school prepared, by ensuring that he/she has had sufficient sleep and a good breakfast.

Knights of Columbus

Basketball Free Throw

Our students will continue to partici-

pate in the Knights of Columbus Basket-

ball Free Throw throughout the month of

March. Thanks to Miss Hansma and Mr.

Erdelac for coaching our students. Best

wishes to all our participants!

February Critical Thinkers

Kindergarten

Alyse C

Grade One

Emma A Gavin M

Jaden S Jordyn R

Max P Sydney M

Travis S Alicia C

Andrew Z Joel W

Kevin J Kurtis F

Lilah MW Paul M

Sabina S Victoria M

Wylder P Olivia K

Owuraku AM

Grade Two and Three

Alex S Avery G

Cecilia A Liam C

Lual L Maria M

Mya S Achai A

Blake B Cristian R

Jesse Z Sanay D

Antonio D Nick C

Rachel M Zach W

Ashlyn S Brianna M

Brooklyn G Brooklyn R

Emma S Dzenelle A

Gabbi M Jenna R

Maddy P Rocrock C

Zoey R

Grade 4

Aa’Niyah TH

Akual D

Ciara S

Demitry G

Deng A

Franz A

Jade S

James H

Jessie R

Julianna G

Kaden Brooke S

Kaylee W

Lauren M

Merlin I

Nathaniel R

Saul PR

Grade 5

Alex C

Desirae S

Justine T

Madi S

Grade

Zac L

Brooke L

Jordan YS

Joshua L

Kayla Q

Maria O

Pierce N

Raymond S

Robyn B

Saron ET

Sofia MM

Alyse C

Ash Wednesday

.

KA—Lilly C.

KB—Erick H.

KC—Maximus B.

1A- Jaden S.

1B– Alyssa P.

1C– Alyssa B.

2A– Joshua G.

2B— Jamal L. O.

2/3A–Brooklynn G.

3A- Payton D.

4A— Kaylee W.

5A– Preston M.

5/6A– Krystina I. D.

6 A– Noah D.

Skiing Grades 5 & 6

On February 5th, our Grade 5 and 6 classes went skiing to Sun Ridge Ski Area. Thanks to our Parent Council for sponsoring this wonderful opportunity

for our students!

Read-At-Home Winners

Congratulations to the following students

who are winners of the Read-At-Home pro-

gram for the month of February:

Visitors to the School

Please remember to always check in with the office before visiting throughout the school. Thanks for being so very re-spectful of the learning environment that we work so hard to maintain for the suc-

cess of all.

Thanks also for volunteering, remember-

ing to sign in at the office.

Safety Over Convenience

The safety and security of our students is our first priority. We need your help to ensure that our students arrive and depart from school safely. To this end, we ask you to honor and obey all the city traffic bylaws in regards to parking when dropping off or picking up your children. Double and triple parking is not allowed in front of the school. Please use parking along 127th avenue now that it is a completed road-way. Also, parents, please do not park in the reserved numbered stalls, these are for staff use. As well, the field area is not for dropping off or picking up. This is a dangerous practice be-cause students are not on the look-out for cars on the field area. The safety of all our students is dependent on everyone’s willing-ness to follow these procedures. We appreciate your support in providing a safe environment for all children.

Upcoming St. Maria Goretti School Spelling Bee

We are pleased to inform you of our upcoming Spelling Bee competition. All students in grades 1

to 6 are welcome to participate. Spelling words will be used from a list that is developmentally appro-

priate for each grade level. Up to two students will be selected from each room to represent their

class.

Week of Feb. 29 – Practice Spelling List - Each classroom teacher will provide a list of 20 grade

level spelling words.

Week of March 7 – Spelling Test –Teachers will implement the classroom spelling test to all stu-

dents.

- The students with the highest score on the spelling test, will move onto the challenge round.

These students may be tested, both written and orally, on a few higher level words.

- One to two classroom representatives will be selected by Friday, March 11th.

Friday, March 18 – Final Competition – At 1:00 p.m. the school will gather in the gym for the final

spelling bee competition. Prizes will be awarded to students who place 1st, 2nd & 3rd.

Good luck and lots of fun to all our participants!

Upcoming Parent Session

Supporting our Children Safely Negotiate our Digital World

Date: Tuesday, April 19th

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Location: St. Maria Goretti School

Technology is advancing quickly. Parents sometime feel that their children know how to navigate

the social media world better than they can.

All parents are invited to an evening session with S.T.A.Y. Officer, Constable Rick Cole.

The following is some of the information that will be reviewed.

-What you send is public there are no private conversations on the net.

-Cell phones and camera’s: what are we giving away for free?

-Social networking: what do they sell to raise money?

-Some of the facts about criminal prosecutions.

-Writing your history in public.

-Interesting facts about devices at home.

Constable Cole is also open to taking questions.