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www.cssd.ab.ca/holyangels January 2018 Newsletter

Happy New Year!

As we begin a new year, we would like to wish everyone a prosperous and peace filled new

year. Once again, we will borrow some thoughts on how to approach the new year and share

with you one idea to focus on as we face each day.

Live each day fully. Remember that life is lived not yesterday or tomorrow but today. In

Salutation To The Dawn, The Sanskrit writer, Kālidāsa, reminds us that a life well lived is a life

lived fully in the coming twenty-four hours.

Look to this day!

For it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:

The bliss of growth;

The glory of action;

The splendor of achievement;

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision;

But today, well lived, makes every yesterday

a dream of happiness,

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Live well, therefore, each day.

In this coming year may we discover within ourselves what matters most. And may we have the

courage and conviction to live in alignment with our heart's desire and with our faith.

Sincerely, Mark Macgillivray Lisa O’Donnell Principal Assistant Principal

WELCOME

As we begin 2018 at Holy Angels School, we would like to welcome back to the school

Mrs. Pederson who is returning after her maternity leave. Mrs. Pederson will be taking

over the grade 6 class, which was taught by Miss Landgraf since September. We would like to thank Miss Landgraf for her contributions to the school while she was here and

wish her all the best in her new position. We would also like to welcome our new

caretaker, Mr. Bernard, to the Holy Angels community.

THANK YOU’S!

A big thank you goes out to all of the kind and caring donations we have received for our Christmas

Raffle, the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Angels and the Food Bank . We were able to provide gift cards and food articles to help with St. Bernadette’s gift/hamper program, which went a long way to support

those who were in need over the Christmas holidays.

We would like to thank our staff members for all of the time and effort that went into preparing,

organizing and carrying out these wonderful projects. A big thank you goes out to Ms. MacPhie’s Grade 3

and Mrs. Bellavance’s and Mrs. Maher’s grade 4 students for preparing hampers at the church and to all the students and teachers who helped with these initiatives as well.

Thanks to all who contributed to our annual Christmas Craft Raffle fundraiser – either by providing a gift

to raffle or who sent money with their children to buy tickets. We raised over $1000.

Thank you to the parents who have come out and helped us in the classroom or on field trips during the

year. We truly appreciate all the time and effort you put in to giving our students new opportunities and in helping to make our school a better place!

BE PROACTIVE FOR THE WEATHER

With winter upon us, the weather will be getting colder and more unpredictable. Please ensure that your

children are wearing winter jackets, mitts, hats, scarves and boots on those cold weather days. As per district protocol, students will be going outside for recess on days when the temperature is -20°C and

warmer. We will use our discretion and always put your children’s safety first. Please take the time to

mark your child’s name on all their outdoor clothing items including mittens and hats. It helps us to return the items to your child when they are placed in the lost and found.

HELP KEEP OUR SCHOOL CLEAN!

Our caretakers, Mr. Bernard and Mr. Nio, do a wonderful job of keeping our school

clean. Please help them out by removing your boots/shoes at the front door during poor

weather. All students should have a pair of indoor shoes at this point of the year. Thank you for your consideration.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION NEWS

Please note that we are accepting registrations for the 2018 - 2019 school year for

students in Kindergarten to Grade 6. Students need to be 4 years of age by March 1, 2018 to qualify for Kindergarten registration. Registration information is located on our

website at: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/schools/holyangels/

BUS ZONE AND PARKING LOT SAFETY

▪ No parking or drop offs are permitted in the bus zone in front of our

school. This will assist our bus drivers and ensure student safety. ▪ Please do not enter the Holy Angels parking lot before, during or after

school. The parking lot is for staff members and district personnel.

▪ Students are reminded to use the sidewalk at all times. Please ensure your child does not cut through the busy parking lot on foot or with their bicycle.

▪ Please do not perform U-Turns after dropping your child off. This is an extremely dangerous

practice with the amount of foot traffic in the area.

Child’s name

On all clothing

ANNUAL EDUCATION SATISFACTION SURVEY

As in previous years, the Ministry of Education will be conducting its annual stakeholder satisfaction telephone surveys to collect public and other stakeholder perceptions of Alberta’s education system. The surveys gather responses from a random sample of parents, the general public, high school students, teachers, principals, superintendents and school board trustees in the province. The total number of completed surveys will be over 6,000, ensuring that survey results for each of the 10 respondent groups are statistically representative. The survey responses are completely confidential, and only aggregate data will be reported. In addition to telephone surveys, this year Alberta Education is piloting online surveys of teachers and the public using the same survey instruments. This is being done to examine alternatives to the existing telephone survey methodology.

The purpose of the surveys is to determine stakeholders’ satisfaction with:

• the overall quality of the education system;

• the education system meeting the needs of students and supporting our society and the economy;

• schools providing a safe, caring and inclusive environment for students;

• preparation of students for lifelong learning, employment and active citizenship;

• the education system having effective working relationships with partners and stakeholders;

• leadership and continuous improvement of the education system;

• knowledge, skills, abilities and other related attributes of recent high school graduates; and

• facilities and equipment in the education system.

Your participation is important, as it provides valuable information to help the ministry identify

areas of strength and areas needing improvement, thus helping provide a more effective and

accountable education system. Some survey results are also used in specific business plan

performance measures and will be reported in the ministry’s 2017/18 annual report.

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS Happy New Year!

Hello and welcome back, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break. On behalf of council, I wish

you a blessed 2018 and would like to take this time to thank you for supporting the school and fundraising

- a gift that comes back to our students! Please remember that we have a passive fundraiser with Boston Pizza and you can drop off your receipts

anytime.

Student Council Chair

JANUARY PARENT AND TRUSTEE FORUM

The January Parent and Trustee Forum will feature a presentation by Dr. Jody Carrington. Dr. Carrington has spoken at a number of district events and has received tremendously positive feedback about her presentations. These forums are open to ALL parents. If you plan to attend, please let Mr. Macgillivray know by January 17th so that he can let the district know how many parents to expect.

Lots of stories and much laughter with Dr. Carrington!

Dr. Jody Carrington is a Registered Psychologist who has been “living the dream” of a practicing psychologist since 2005. She has worked in Nova Scotia and the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. They then moved to Olds to raise their family. The dream of having a “rural private practice” developed and now Jody’s big love is speaking to most anyone (who will listen) about the power of the relationship and listening to anyone who wants to tell their story.

Jody has learned the power of Relationship. Empathy. Connection. She has learned that these are important for anyone who might want to understand their story

and shift it in some way. Or heal in some way. Or repair it in some way. Or change their story once and for all. So that their next chapter as “teenager”, “spouse”,

“parent”, or “friend” can be better. Jody has worked with adults and children, as well as families.

More on Dr. Carrington: Jody’s “story” of becoming a psychologist started at Red Deer College, continued at the University of Alberta. She was involved with police work and worked with families through Ronald McDonald House. Jody continued her studies at the University of Regina and completed her pre-doctoral residency in Nova Scotia in 2006 where she trained primarily in Cognitive-Behavioral and Narrative approaches. Jody completed rotations both with adults and children and learned she really enjoyed understanding the “stories” of children—particularly those who had difficult experiences.

Jody returned home to Alberta and accepted a job at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary and in this position learned she needed to connect in order to have any significant impact. Desperate to learn more about attachment, she set off on a quest for mentors who “got it” and has been very lucky to have been influenced by some of “the greats”.

NEWSLETTER RETURN SLIP

JANUARY 2018

STUDENT’S NAME(S): ________________________ HOMEROOM (S): ____________________

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