Shining Bright @ Madonna!

Happy Thanksgiving Madonna Catholic School family!

Together we have much to be grateful for and you are encouraged to hold space this weekend to celebrate gratitude for your many blessings.

I am incredibly grateful for the amazing team of people who create safe spaces for your children to thrive. This Madonna Catholic School Team is truly nothing short of Saintly for all the ways they love big on your most precious children. I, and we, are grateful for your trust in us to guide and support them while they are within the walls of this fantastic school.

I am grateful for the "AH ha!" learning moments - and there are many - grateful for the hugs, smiles, Bonjour Mme Gravelle off the bus, the laughter in the halls, the screams of joy at recess, the jokes we tell, the help that is offered to each other. Truly, truly grateful.

Thank you, to our awesome parent community, who sing Madonna's praises and who carry the school banner wherever you go!

May this weekend be a time when we consciously and purposely express thanks for all that we have. May your blessing be many, and may your weekend be Merry! Let us GLOW this weekend by sharing all that we are grateful for!

May God continue to bless our Madonna Catholic School faith family!

Happy Thanksgiving.

#GLOWEICS

Mme Gravelle

Principal

October:

9 - Monday

• No School. Happy Thanksgiving!

10 - Tuesday

• Faith & Thanksgiving Assembly @ 9:00am - All are welcome!
• Gr 3 & 4 Delegate Student Leaders represent MCS @ Here Comes the Sun Retreat
• Swimming for 3/4G, 2L, 4P & 3V
• Kinders Visit Strathcona County Library

11- Wednesday

• Grade 4 field trip to Heritage Center in Fort Saskatchewan

12 - Thursday

• Grade 4 Parent Information night for Drumheller. 6:30 PM at the school.
• Swimming for 1S/W, 1B & 2/3O

13 - Friday

• Great day for learning!
• Safety Practice
• Linking Generations Grandparent Visits 4P
• Hot Lunch for those who ordered

Grade 1 to 4 students are participating in Strathcona’s Swimming & Water Safety programs from October to December at the Emerald Hills Leisure Centre, for a total of 8 lessons. Thank you to all our families for completing the forms and paying your fee on Parent Portal. Please note the schedule below:

Tuesdays: Group #1 : (1:00-1:45):

Oct. 3rd, Oct. 10th, Oct. 17th, Oct. 24, Nov.14th, Nov. 21st, Nov.28th, Dec.5th

Class: Ms Gauthier - 3/4G

Class: Mrs. LaRose - 2L

Tuesdays: Group #2 (1:45-2:30):

Oct. 3rd, Oct. 10th, Oct. 17th, Oct. 24, Nov.14th, Nov. 21st, Nov.28th, Dec.5th

Class: Miss Podoborozny - 4P

Class: Mrs. Vukovic - 3V

Thursdays: Group #1 (1:00-1:45):

Oct. 5th, Oct.12th, Oct. 19th, Oct.26th, Nov.2nd, Nov.16th, Nov.23rd, Nov.30th

Class: Mrs. Stadnick & Ms. Wiunow - 1S/W

Class: Ms. Bourassa - 1B

Thursdays: Group #2 (1:45-2:30):

Oct. 5th, Oct.12th, Oct. 19th, Oct.26th, Nov.2nd, Nov.16th, Nov.23rd, Nov.30th

Class: Mrs. Obiobala - 2/3O

Blessings and thank you for your donations so far! They are being loved big by kids and staff already! The sidewalk chalk, safety vests, GOTCHA Glowing prizes, sports equipment...thank you! We receive your gifts with absolute gratitude!

Throughout the year we will invite our community to donate materials and equipment that are in need at Madonna Catholic School. Your support and help is always so appreciated!

Single Use Forks, Spoons & Cups

While it is always encouraged that students bring their own forks and spoons for lunch, as well as their own water bottles, occasionally they are forgotten. It is appreciated to have a collection of these items for those occasions. We appreciate donations of wooden or biodegradable single use spoons and forks as well as paper cups. Thank you for bringing them to the office, or having your child deliver them for you.

GOTCHA Prizes

We are in need of GOTCHA prizes for children and for staff (yes, staff can get them too!). What kinds of prizes are great prizes? If your child gets excited about something, chances are other kiddos at school will too! Things like Squishmellos, colouring books, minecraft toys etc are great ideas. Those are great prizes! Any kind of self care products, or special treats for staff are great prizes for their prizes. Thank you in advance for donating GOTCHA prizes!

Sports Equipment

We and the kids are always looking for great toys to play with at recess, and a hot item for kids are the balls - soccer balls, basketballs, footballs....regular sizes ones and the mini sized ones.

Thank you in advance for ALL of your support!!!

Each week we have over 300 views of Madonna's Shinning Bright @ MCS newsletter! Thank you!

It is an excellent source of important information to help you and your family navigate the week and we work hard to keep you informed. Thank you for partnering with us to stay connected and in the know of the amazing learning, growing and connecting happening in our wonderful community!

Avoid spreading the illness. It's encouraged that your child stays home when they are sick.

Alberta Health Services suggests that if you have a flu or cold to stay away from others to avoid spreading the disease.

You are always welcome to connect with your child's teacher to help catch up on what learning has been missed. A great go-to at home to keep up on learning is to read with your child and practice adding, subtracting, and re-grouping.

You are invited to visit myhealth.alberta.ca if you're child is sick and you're not sure what to do. It's a great resource for parents.

My Health Alberta: https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/Pages/default.aspx

We will be having our first lockdown safety practice at school on Friday, October 13. Your child's teacher will be talking about it in class and preparing the students for the process. Teachers will help students keep the lockdown practice a neutral safety procedure, much like a fire safety practice, because practicing helps us know what to do in an emergency. Thank you for talking with your child and reminding them to listen to their teachers, as they are there to keep the children safe. For helpful language about keeping children safe, you are invited to read the article below from a Canadian teacher about lockdown practices.

Hot Lunch is looking for parent volunteers on Fridays from 11:30am-12:45pm. If you are able to help please email madonnacses@gmail.com.

At the moment we do not have enough volunteers, if we don't have enough helpers we will not be able to run the hot lunch program. Hot Lunch is School council’s biggest fundraiser and the kids really love hot lunch Fridays.

Please help us continue the program!

Thank you so much,
School Council

With winter on the way, School Council is so excited to launch this wonderful fundraiser!

Bear Tracks is an ice melting product, perfect for our long winters. Not only does it melt ice to prevent slips, but it is pet friendly, concrete friendly and safe around vegetation.

They are 30$ per 16kg pail!

Ordering starts October 1st and closes October 16th.

Thank you for your continued support.

~~ Click the button below for ordering instructions! ~~

Did you know that when you shop at Save On Foods on Wye Road and you bring your receipts to Madonna Catholic School, we receive a % of the purchases?

Did you know that it also works on 15% off Tuesdays?

Did you know that Save On Foods will also Ad Match any advertised price?

Shop @ Wye Rd Save on Foods, save money & support Madonna Catholic School!

Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM

Sunday Mass: 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 7:00 PM.

If parents have any questions, they can also contact the church by phone 780-467-5470 or email sacraments@olph.ca

October:

17 - Swimming for 3/4G, 2L, 4P & 3/4G

18 - Parent Council Meeting at 7: In-Person & Hybrid

19 - Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2/3O

19 - Free Digital Safety Information Night for all K-4 Families

20 - Bend the Rules

24 - Swimming for 3/4G, 2L, 4P & 3/4G

26 - Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2/3O

31 - Halloween Parade

31 - No Swimming

November:

1 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

1 - Early Dismissal at 2:13 PM

1 - Spirit Day: PJ Day

2 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

2- All Soul's Day

2 - Swimming for 1S/W, 1B, 2/3O

3 - Remembrance Day Ceremony