The Good News - April 16, 2023

“You are my joy. You are my heart’s delight. My Child, you are My delight, you are the comfort of My Heart. I grant you as many graces as you can hold. As often as you want to make Me happy, speak to the world about My great and unfathomable Mercy. You have taken a great part in My Passion; therefore I now give you a great share in My joy and glory.” (Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 27, 164, 205)

Monday, April 17

• Faith Assembly 9am
• SAB Peer mentors visit
• Parent School Council Meeting 7pm Google Meet link

Tuesday, April 18

• Regular Classes - Better Together

Wednesday, April 19

• Open House 6pm
  

Thursday, April 20

• Gr 3 TPet

Friday, April 21

• KMW TPet
• Gr 1 Gardening with Sharon
  
• Earth Day - Pack a litterless lunch

LOOKING AHEAD:

April 22- Earth Day

April 26 - Easter Mass at OLA 10am

April 28 - Gr 3 Swimming

As we welcome new learners to our St. John XXIII community, we want to give our parents an opportunity to find out more information about our school and what to expect for the fall. On Wednesday, April 19th, from 6:00-7:30 pm, we invite families to our Open House/ Information Evening.

During the evening families will have the opportunity to tour the school and find out more about what makes our St. John XXIII community amazing.

There will also be a presentation on our new Nature Kindergarten program.

Nature Kindergarten is an optional program available to students at St. John XXIII and OLA in Fort Saskatchewan. Children will continue in their regular Kindergarten classrooms as per the EICS Kindergarten calendar, attending nature kindergarten on the other days providing an option to attend kindergarten full-time.

This early years enrichment opportunity will allow children to spend the vast majority of their day outside engaged in meaningful ways with their body, mind and spirit while located in a natural setting. Working as a group of explorers, nature-based kindergarten children will be given additional outdoor opportunities to be self-directed through their own curiosity and play. Using multiple natural learning environments, children will develop confidence in their own abilities to investigate and to collaborate outdoors and within their natural environment. Children will be physically active and engaged in movement skills that will facilitate their balance, stamina and strength.

• Age requirement is 5 years old by December 31, 2023
• Nature Kindergarten will run Tuesdays, Thursdays and scheduled Fridays for the 2023-2024 school year.
• Fees: $425 per month

For more information about this exciting program, visit the EICS Nature Kindergarten link.

To register in the Nature Kindergarten program at St. John XXIII, please follow the registration link, complete the Kindergarten registration form and then complete the Nature Kindergarten form. This program is offered on a first come, first served basis.

If you would like more information or have questions, please call the school at 780-998-7777.

Spring means new life, growth, and time for new adventures around the corner. While this year's staff and students work diligently to honour the current year we are in, administrators have been in the planning stages for next year since January.

There are many ways in which we plan for and support student transitions from grade to grade and school to school.

As part of this planning, please let the office know if your family is moving and won't be attending St. John XXIII or St. John Paul II for the next school year.

Let's get growing St. John XXIII families!

This spring we are offering a variety of beautiful, locally-grown flowers and plants to help raise money for our Parent School Council who in turn help support our wonderful school with initiatives that support our kids!

Please click on the link below for all of the details and to see all of the gorgeous options:

https://stjohnxxiiicatholicschool.growingsmilesfundraising.com/home#

Orders must be placed and paid for online.

Feel free to share the link with friends and family to further support our school!

The website is now open for orders and will close at midnight Wednesday, April 26th.
Pick up will be Friday, May 12th from St. John XXIII School from 1-2pm & 6-7pm.

Thank you so much for your support! We couldn't do it without you.

St. John XXIII Catholic School Council

Saturday, April 22nd is Earth Day! Our Grade 4 Servant Leadership Squad has some earth-friendly activities coming to St John XXIII students this week. To help facilitate our students’ learning, please work with your child to create a litter-less lunch this Friday. See the image for ideas!

Consultant

Learning Outside - Talk about your street, point out letters on signs, numbers on houses and license plates. At the grocery store talk about shapes and colors of foods, count out items at the checkout. Provide opportunities for new experiences: festivals, museums, zoo, stores. Use natural items to create art, build number sense by creating groups of different numbers with rocks, sticks etc., use these natural items as loose parts to include in play. Write your name in the mud, snow, sand, or with water. Build a fort, a lean-to, keep a nature journal, take pictures of cool things you discover on walks. The natural world can be one of our greatest teachers-have fun exploring!

OT

Use Scissors! Cutting is a great way to develop hand strength and to get those 2 little hands working together in a coordinated way. Sit on the floor when cutting and cut all kinds of materials: recyclable materials of varying thicknesses - envelopes, cards, chocolate bar or candy wrappers, toy flyers or magazines - straws, plant greenery, thin spaghetti (try cooked and uncooked), licorice strips, cheese strings, french fries. The possibilities are endless!

SLP

Practice clapping out the syllables in words (e.g., “Let’s clap out the word banana. Ba-na-na. Hey that word has 3 parts!”). You can clap out the names of items you find in the house, names of friends and family etc. “Let’s clap out mommy’s name. Li-sa. Her name has two parts!”.

Kindergarten and NEW student registration is now open. The registration form allows parents to choose Kindergarten scheduling preferences. Please note these will be number dependent. Please register early as class placements will take into account: class sizes, student's needs, and scheduling requests.

• To go to the St. John XXIII Kindergarten webpage - please click here. This includes information about Nature Kindergarten, a Kindergarten calculator, programming and transportation information.
• Pre Kindergarten at St. John, screening information click here
• EICS Flexible Pathways Program here
• St. John XXIII Pathways Program click here
• EICS NEW Student Registration-click here
• To request transportation, click here

In addition to attending Kindergarten at their community school, EICS offers a supplemental Nature Kindergarten program which operates Tuesday/Thursday and some Fridays. This paid program offers students the opportunity to learn through explorative play, providing an option to attend kindergarten full time.

*Please note, you only need to register your child if they are entering Kindergarten or are brand new to St. John*

Our Lady of the Angels Parish

OLA parish is preparing a pictorial directory for our parishioners at the church. The days that family photos will be taken at the church are Friday June 9th and Saturday June10th.

Each family will get a free 8x10 photo.

Please register for your family photo at the parish office by calling (780) 998-3288.

As Family We Walk In Christ's Footsteps

Email: stj@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://stj.eics.ab.ca/
Location: 9526 89 Street, Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-998-7777
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St.JohnXXIII
Twitter: @St_JohnXXIII