the vg voice

Principal: Marina Lotoski Vice Principal: Colin Loiselle Ph: 780-459-7734 www.vg.gsacrd.ab.ca

April 2015 ADMINISTRATOR’S MESSAGE We hope that you are reading this newsletter relaxing at home or on holidays! What a wonderful way to start Spring Break! During this Lenten season staff and students gathered together every Monday morning to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter. Each week we were reminded that through prayer, fasting and almsgiving we prepare ourselves to be more Christ-like. As well, grade 4 – 6 students participated in the Stations of the Cross. Spring is a time of change. Exciting changes lie ahead for our grade six students. They are beginning the transition to Junior High. Our grade six students had a chance to meet the administration from Fowler, to go for a tour, and attend R.S. Fowler’s open house in the evening. We are very excited for our students to begin this next phase of their educational journey. Students have actively participated in two-weeks of jumping rope in preparation for our Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser. This is a wonderful heart healthy activity that students should be encouraged to continue during the spring and summer months! We hope that all families enjoy a restful Spring Break; whether you stay at home and just get a break from running around, or venture out on a family holiday – stay safe. On April 21 at 9:00 a.m., parents are welcome to join all grade one – six students and staff at Holy Family Parish to celebrate Mass during the Easter season. Come join in the celebration! We celebrate the Easter season for fifty days; this is a time to continue to live a life as Jesus modeled; through “Shepherding our flock… We are all called to LOVE”! Have a restful Spring reak! Marina and Colin

The VG Voice

Shepherding Our Flock …

KEY DATES Tuesday, April 7 Faith Theme Gathering 8:45 a.m. Friends of VG Hot Lunch

Wednesday, April 8 AGM School Council Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Friday, April 10 VG Fun Carnival 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 14 Rotary Music Festival

Wednesday, April 15 Booster Juice Day Theme Day: Dress as a Twin Day

Thursday, April 16 Kindergarten Information Evening 6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 17 NO KINDERGARTEN Popcorn Sale

Tuesday, April 21 Easter Mass at Holy Family Parish 9:00 a.m.

Thursday, April 23 First Reconciliation Celebration 6:00 pm (gr. 2) at Holy Family Parish

Friday, April 24 NO CLASSES PD/Staff Meeting

Thursday, April 30 Assembly 8:45 a.m.

Thursday, April 30 Confirmation Retreat (Gr. 6) 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Holy Family Parish


RUNNING ROOM GAMES Congratulations to the girls running team! They recently ran in the Running Room Indoor Games at the Butterdome. They made it to the semi-finals and got 23rd overall against over two hundred teams. Great job girls! You did amazing! HEALTHY HEARTS SUPPORT HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION!! Our school-wide Jump Rope for Heart campaign to fundraise for the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation was a great success, wrapping up with a Skipping Assembly on March 25, 2015. After 2 weeks of practice during DPA classes and lunch hours the students from grades 1-6 showed off their jump-rope skills during a school-wide assembly. We’d like to thank all skipping participants, and a special thanks to all who donated to this very worthy cause. Thank you for helping us help the community, while getting healthy! ST. ALBERT ROTARY MUSIC FESTIVAL Our school choirs will be performing at the St. Albert Rotary Music Festival under the direction of Mrs. Anderson on Tuesday, April 14 at the St. Albert United Church. The Celebration Choir (Grades 1-3) will be performing at approximately 10:10 a.m. The Senior Choir (Grades 4-6) will be preforming between 12:40 – 2:55 p.m. The Senior Choir will have to be picked up at the United Church after their final performance. More information on these exciting events will be coming home shortly after spring break.

Kindergarten Information Evening

Thursday, April 16 6:30 p.m.

Kindergarten is the beginning of a new world of learning, discovery and friendship for you and your child.

YOU KNOW IT’S SPRING WHEN ... we get to go swimming! 3A starts April 13, Gr. 1A & 2A start May 19 and Gr. 4’s start May 25. Fountain Park Pool here we come!


REGISTRATION PACKAGES Registration packages will be coming home shortly after Spring Break. Please complete and return them as soon as possible. As well, if you have a child attending Junior High next year, we can send the registrations over to the school for you. Remember that in order to get their preferred options, they need to be handed in right away. Also, please spread the word to family and friends in the area that our Kindergarten packages are available at the office.

YEARBOOK Attention Parents – There are only 30 yearbooks left! Hurry up and secure your order today for your child. Give them some lasting memories of their friends and fun times at Vital Grandin. Only $18.00! Available on school cash online or at the school office. Yearbooks will be distributed in the fall of 2015. Get yours today!

LEARNING SUPPORT FACILITATOR CORNER Over the past several months, all of our VG students have all begun to use the Zones of Regulation Program. Each class is having lessons on the program and is encouraged to use vocabulary from Zones to describe how they are feeling.

Zones is a cognitive behavior approach used to teach self-regulation by categorizing all the different ways we feel and states of alertness we experience into four color zones. Zones provides strategies to teach students to become more aware of, and able to control their emotions and impulses, manage their sensory needs, and improve their ability to problem solve conflicts.

THE FOUR ZONES • The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense

emotions. A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, explosive behavior, devastation, or terror when in the Red Zone. A person is described as “out of control” if in the Red Zone.

• The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions; however, one has some control when they are in the Yellow Zone. A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.

• The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone. This is the zone where optimal learning occurs.

• The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness, such as when one feels sad, tired, sick, or bored.


SURVEY REMINDER Please remember to complete the quick (2 minute) survey we sent out recently. Your input helps with our planning for next year. The survey will close on April 17. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2QDSLDT Thank you.

NOTICE

Vital Grandin Catholic Elementary School Council Annual General Meeting

This is to give notice that the Annual General Meeting for Vital Grandin’s Elementary School Council will take place on April 8, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the teacher’s lounge. An election for the executive members will take place at the meeting and all parents of students attending the school are eligible for election and to vote.

The business of the annual meeting will include: i. Election of executive members ii. Financial Report of the year iii. Annual Review of Bylaws iv. Discussion on issues in which parents should have input.

We look forward to seeing you there and should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Rachel Demeter Chair, VG School Council

FRIENDS OF VG Our Family Carnival will be held on Friday, April 10th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the school gym. Please see the form attached to this newsletter or watch your child’s backpack for more information.

The April popcorn date is on Friday, April 17th. Still only 50¢ a bag. LICE……KEEP CHECKING!!!!! It is a lousy topic that we don’t like to discuss! We all have to remember that the best way to prevent lice is by doing regular head checks of all members of your family. Please don’t wait for a letter to be sent home, check regularly! Letters are sent home to the class where there is a reported case of lice and a letter is sent to all classes reminding everyone to keep checking. For further information on head lice please check out the following website! http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b655/pdf/Head%20Lice%20Fact%20and%20treatment.pdf


MARAFUN RUN WILD

The WildOnes Kids MaraFun is a unique race format that allows young people ages 4-12 to participate in their first marathon. Please register online at http://www.runwild.ca/marathon-races/wildones-marafun/

MUSIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM Our program is well appreciated, and keeps the joy of learning classical string music available for children in our community. The 2015/16 season is scheduled to start the week of September 14, 2015 and will continue until the end of May 2016. Registrations for the 2015/16 season open on April 1, 2015 on our website. Our current website is www.musicenrichment.org, but we hope by April 1 to have moved to our new website: www.musicenrichment.ca. At

Vital Grandin Catholic School Guitar Levels 1-2 Class will be offered on Tuesdays 6:00 to 7:40 p.m. Please visit our website for further details.

Join us for a

Family Carnival!

Who: Vital Grandin Families When: April 10th, 2015 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Where: Vital Grandin School Gym What: Family fun including a Giant Inflatable Obstacle Course, Popcorn, Face

painting, Raffles, Cotton Candy and more… Cost: $12.00 per family for everything at the carnival!

Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door. Help: We need parent help to make it fun for everyone. Please sign up for a

½ hour shift by returning the bottom portion of this form or by contacting Lorena Gehl at [email protected]

Family Name: _______________________ $12 payment Enclosed: __________

I would like my ½ hour shift to be at the: ____ Raffle Table ____ Snack Table ____ Door ____ Cotton Candy ____ Set-Up ____ Inflatable ____ Clean-Up ____ Fishing Pond ____ Craft Table

Name: ________________________ Contact #:___________________ How Many Children in your family will be attending? ________

APRIL 2015 VITAL GRANDIN SCHOOL Shepherding the Flock …

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4

Spring Break Spring Break

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Easter Sunday

Easter Monday NO SCHOOL

Faith Theme Gathering 8:45 a.m.

Friends of VG Lunch Program

School Council 7:00 p.m.

VG Fun Carnival 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Rotary Music Festival Celebration Choir 10:10 a.m. Senior Choir 12:40 – 2:55 p.m.

Booster Juice Day

Theme Day: Dress as a Twin Day

Kindergarten Information Evening 6:30 p.m.

No Kindergarten

Popcorn Day

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

EASTER MASS at Holy Family Parish 9:00 a.m.

First Reconciliation Celebration @ Holy Family Parish 6:00 pm (Gr. 2)

PD / Staff Meeting NO CLASSES

26 27 28 29 30

Assembly 8:45 a.m. Confirmation Retreat @ Holy Family Parish (Gr. 6) 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Date: Friday, April 10, 2015 Location: Notre Dame School Library

Time: 8:30-‐9:30 AM

If you are a parent of a young child, you are invited to a “coffee talk” to discuss:

Selective Eating

& Making Eye Contact

Please come and enjoy refreshments while meeting other parents. Information from the Positive Parenting Program will be shared.

You will also be able to choose future “coffee talk” session topics of interest. J

Hope to see you!

Sponsored by Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools & Morinville FCSS

Date: Friday, April 10, 2015 Location: Ecole Marie Poburan School Library

Time: 10:30-‐11:30 AM

If you are a parent of a young child, you are invited to a “coffee talk” to discuss:

Swearing/Interrupting

& Supporting Your Partner

Please come and enjoy refreshments while meeting other parents. Information from the Positive Parenting Program will be shared.

You will also be able to choose future “coffee talk” session topics of interest. J

Hope to see you!

Sponsored by Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools

ST. ALBERT PUBLIC LIBRARY

the vg voice

Documents