October

2019 18111 - 57 Avenue

Edmonton, AB

T6M 1W1

Phone: 780 444 4299

Fax: 780 483 1379

Website:

www.goodshepherd.ecsd.net

Our mission is to engage all learners by imple-menting best practices for improving student achievement. Through collaboration, respect, love, and faith, we strive to create an inclusive community where students will be inspired to take risks as lifelong learners, problem solv-ers, and Catholic citizens.

Principal: Boyan Yarovenko

Email: 8061web@ecsd.net

Assistant Principal: Heather Pawliuk

Secretary: Bonnie Gosche

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Catholic Schools Cross Country Run that our stu-dents participated in is a strong reminder for me of what an education at an Edmonton Catholic Elementary School is all about. Children respond to educational situ-ations not only intellectually, but emotionally and socially as well. To neglect the social, physical, and emotional as-pects of their development means we are only meeting the needs of part of the child. At Good Shepherd we try to provide a school that strives for academic excel-lence while strengthening and developing our artistic and athletic talents at the same time. We hope to find a bal-ance between these, while teaching with a Christian and value centered focus.

Without a doubt, we have had a busy school start up and it has been terrific seeing so many excited children come back to school from the summer holidays. In the four weeks that we have been back at school we have had our school opening celebration, Meet the Staff Night, 2 fire drills, a School Council meeting, running club, skating for the K-3 classes and much more. Octo-ber, if it is possible, looks to be even busier, with many exciting learning experiences for our children. Check your calendars—there is a lot happening!

The best learning occurs when parents, students and staff all work together. I would like to thank all the parents for the support and volunteer work they have already committed to and making Good Shepherd the wonderful place it is. I would like to thank all of the par-ents who attended our Meet the Staff Night. It was wonderful to see so many of you here to meet your child’s teacher. Our doors are always open and communi-cation between home and school is essential for student success.

Sincerely,

Boyan Yarovenko Heather Pawliuk

Principal Assistant Principal

School Times:

Early Learning:

Morning - 8:50 AM - 11:51 AM

Afternoon– 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM

No Thursdays

Grades 1-6:

8:55 AM - 12:15 PM

12:50 PM – 3:30 PM

Thursday Early Dismissal:

8:55 AM –11:44 PM

October 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Orange

Shirt

Day

1

2 Skating

K-3

3 Babysitting

course

4

5

6 7

Reading

Week

8 9:30 Thanks-

giving mass at

church

9 Skating

10

Babysitting

course

11 Photo Day

12

13 14

Thanksgiving

no school

15 Grade 3's off

to Ukrainian

Cultural Cen-

ter -

16 Skating

Gr. 6 Leadership

Symposium

SAC 7 PM

17

18

19 Maker Space

Student Con-

ference

20 21 Federal Election

CCAT testing-

Grade 6

Netball

22

23

Skating

24 25 Hot Lunch Boston

Pizza

26

27 28 CCAT testing-

Grade 6

29 Earth Rangers

presentation

for whole

school

30

Skating

31

Halloween

Parade 9:15

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Young

Authors

Conference

3 Education

Sunday

4

5 6

Teacher's Pet visits

kindergarten

(2 hrs each class)

7

8

Remembrance

Day memorial

9:00

9

10 11

No School

12

Immunization

Grade 6

13

Picture Retakes

14

STM

Volleyball

Tournament

15

16

17 18 19 20

SAC 7 PM

21 22Gr. 1 Clay for

Kids

Hot Lunch-

KFC

23

24 25

26

Card Club A

Book fair

27

Card Club B –Gr. 5/6

Book fair

28

Demonstration of

Learning

29

30

November 2017

Extended Vacations:

Taking extended vacations during the school year can great-ly impact your child’s learning. We ask that if you are con-sidering a vacation of more than one week, you consider scheduling this at another time. Teaching and learning have changed, and being away from the classroom for ex-tended periods of time will mean that your child will miss content that they will not be able to be assessed on and will impact their progress through the grades. We are not able to provide materials for you to work on during vacation be-cause of the way we teach. Learning happens actively in the classroom through collaboration and communicating with peers and teachers. We strongly suggest that you do not take your child out of school during the school year and ask that you try as much as possible to book your vacations during the regular school holidays. If you are not able to schedule these extended vacations for any other time, please let the office know in advance.

HALLOWEEN AC TIVITIES

We will be celebrating Halloween in the morning of October 31. The costume parade will start at 9:15 a.m. in the gym. Your child’s teacher will communicate with you about the activities for the class. Kindergar-ten and 100 Voices will have a celebration with both the morning class as well as the afternoon class during their regular sched-uled class times.

Each teacher will let you know what is

needed for snacks. Please do not

send extra treats and candy.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN DRIVE -THROUGH

This year we have four large buses as well as sev-

eral day care vans dropping off students in the

drive through. We ask for your patience when

using the drive-through in the morning. You may

be delayed by a few minutes while a bus or van

is unloading. If you need to get out of your vehi-

cle to assist your children in getting out of the

vehicle, it is recommended that you park on the

street.

After school, there is no access for parents in the

drive through as it is reserved for buses. Daycare

vans have reserved parking on the street after

school.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL SUPERVISION OF

STUDENTS

Please remember that the school provides su-

pervision of students starting at 8:40 in the

morning. Students should not arrive before this

time, if possible. After school there is supervi-

sion for 10 minutes only (until 3:40 p.m.). It is

important that you pick up your children on

time.

CROSSWALKS

Please use the crosswalks when crossing the street. For your safety, please do not walk through the

drive-through. It can be very busy with traffic.

Please ensure that you do not park too close to the crosswalks. It is difficult for the safety patrollers to

do their job safely when cars are blocking the line of vision. Parking too close to the crosswalk will re-

sult in fines.

Thank you to all who participated in our Terry Fox Run and to Mr. Senior for organizing the event.

The students and staff will be donat-ing $770.40 to the Terry Fox Foun-dation.

EMERG ENCY PROCEDURES

In the event of a potentially dangerous situation, we have a Crisis Management Plan in place. Depending on

the type of potential emergency, there are three possible responses.

On Alert is called when it is important that hallways are clear for a medical emergency or there is an exter-

nal threat. Students do not leave the building but all classroom and school activities continue as usual.

Lockdown is called when there is an immediate threat to the occupants of the building.

Evacuation would occur if there is a fire or other danger to safety within the building. If students would

need to be outside the building for a length of time, they would proceed to S. Bruce Smith School or Good

Shepherd Church.

We practice our procedures for Lockdown and Evacuation through the school year so the students are well prepared in the event of an emergency.

What Should Parents do in the Event of an Emergency?

Parents and community members play an important role in keeping our schools safe. Following all security measures such as:

signing in at the school office

allowing school and emergency services personnel do their job during an emergency

keeping contact information up-to-date such as phone numbers and emergency con-tacts

The most helpful parental responses to a school emergency are to remain calm and wait for accurate infor-mation to be sent to the number listed on your child’s emergency contact. We understand it is a natural instinct for parents to want to rush to their child. It is important for you to understand that, during such an event, individual schools and emergency responders have made preparations to deal with these incidents. Your cooperation in an emergency is essential to the safe and swift resolution of the incident.

Please do not call the school. It is essential to keep phone lines open so school officials can make outgoing emergency calls. If students are ill or injured, the parents of those students will be notified first. Please do not go to the school. As we have learned from past school emergencies, one of our greatest challenges is how to manage an onslaught of parents and concerned citizens rushing to the scene to “help.” By doing so, parents can inadvertently create traffic jams that may block emergency responders from getting to the sce-ne, or leaving if necessary to transport injured staff or students to emergency medical facilities. Additional key points:

• Remain calm, follow procedures, and cooperate with school and public safety officials.

• Remain close to the phone listed as your emergency contact number.

• Understand that emergency pickup procedures are different than routine pickup procedures.

• You maybe required to pick up your child at school or at a designated family reunification site.

• Follow emergency procedures. If you are asked to pick up your child, you will be asked to follow the checkout procedure established for emergencies.

• The reunification system was developed to ensure the safety of students and it is vital that the proce-dure be followed.

• Remain in designated areas at the family reunification site.

• Be patient!

School Council News

On behalf of the entire Good Shepherd School Council we would like to thank everyone that came to the

first meeting of the year on September 18th! It was wonderful to see both new faces and old, and attendance

was fantastic! We would like to remind all parents that you are always welcome at any meeting and we

hope you join us October 16th for our next meeting. The October session will be primarily focused on the

annual budget so it’s an important one! Join us and find out how fundraising and Casino dollars benefit your

children directly.

Here are some of the highlights to be aware of as we enter October:

- If you are buying baked goods for Thanksgiving don’t forget to stop at Cobs Bread in Grandville by Costco or Callingwood and tell them you support Good Shepherd School! 5% of all purchases supporting Good Shep come right back to the school! - The first Hot Lunch of the year is Boston Pizza on October 25th, don’t forget to put your order in at HealthyHunger.ca - QSP catalogues (magazines subscriptions), will be going home soon and this is another very easy way to support the school simply by renewing magazines you already read.

NEXT SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING: OCTOBER 16TH @ 7PM

KEY TOPIC: BUDGET SETTING FOR 2019/2020

SUPPORT GOOD SHEPHERD SCHOOL

SHOP AT COBS BREAD & 5% OF ALL SALES COME BACK TO OUR SCHOOL!

WHERE? COBS BREAD IN Granville by Costco

HOW? WHEN SHOPPING, TELL THEM YOU SUPPORT GOOD SHEP-HERD SCHOOL

WHEN? 365 DAYS A YEAR!

Thank you

Good Shepherd School Council

Hot Lunch Program

Good Shepherd School and Parent Council are excited to bring back the

ON-LINE HOT LUNCH PROGRAM

We will be using the program Healthy Hunger the place and pay for all out hot lunch

orders throughout the year.

Our first lunch will take place on Friday, October 25th, and it will pe provided by BOS-

TON PIZZA. You will notice that all the hot lunch dates and choices are posted for the en-

tire school year. You can order for the whole year at one time or you can order them at

anytime throughout the year.

Please visit https://healthyhunger.ca/ and follow the registration steps below. It only take

about five minutes to register your child for the year. If you are going to participate in Octo-

ber’s hot lunch, the deadline to register and to order is Sunday, October 18 at midnight.

We always need volunteers at 11:50 am on the day of hot lunch, and you can indicate your

availability to volunteer when you are submitting your order.

Sacramental Preparation

Reconciliation & First Eucharist - (Confession & Communion)

for children in grades (2 & 3) or (4 & 5).

Confirmation

for young people in grades 6, 7, 8 and 9.

To register, please visit the Sacrament page on our website http://goodshep.caedm.ca and click on the SACRAMENT tab or call Veronica at the Parish Office 780-487-7765.

Deadline to register is October 8, 2019

____________________________________________________________________________

For information about

Baptism for young people age 7 and up

Confirmation for young people in grades 10 through adults

Please call Veronica at the Parish Office 780-487-7765

Creating a Literacy Rich Environment in Your Home

Strong literacy skills are essential in today’s society. Your children’s teachers work hard every day to assist your chil-dren with their literacy skills. But you can help!

What can you do to support your child’s literacy at home?

• Surround your children with books! (Give books as gifts... visit the library...)

• Create a bedtime routine that includes nightly read alouds. (There are picture books appropriate for children of all ages.)

• For older children, in addition to picture books, read a novel together. • Give your child authentic reasons to read. For example, leave a note in their lunch kits. • Build regular talk time into your day: during car rides and at dinner time are especially effective. Choose one question a day that everyone in the family can answer:

What was the best part of your day?

Was there something that surprised you today?

What did you find challenging today?

Did you notice someone being kind today? What were they doing?

• Involve your children in authentic writing experiences. How?

Send a letter or card to Grandma and Grandpa. Have your children write thank you cards or emails when they receive birthday gifts. Buy each of your children a journal where they can write or draw.

THANKSGIVING - EUCHARIST - WHOM DO WE MEET IN CHRIST?

The second Monday in the month of October, every year, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It is a chance for people to give thanks

for a good harvest and blessings in the past year. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let us not forget God. Let us pause this

Thanksgiving weekend and take time to pray, reflect on our lives, and give thanks. Each Catholic Christian should make a real

effort to attend Mass and come to the Banquet of our Lord to lift up our hearts in Thanksgiving and to receive Him in the Holy Eu-

charist. Yes, we give thanks for the gifts of faith, Church, Sacraments and the Catholic Education in our province. We give thanks

for the loved ones who are entrusted to our care and those who care for us. We give thanks for our country which has provided

such great opportunities, security, and peace. In all, we give thanks and rejoice in the Lord who has blessed each of us with so

much and in so many ways.

The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek language and it means thanksgiving. The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a

brief definition of the word. The inexhaustible richness of the sacrament of the Eucharist, i.e. the “Mass” is expressed in the differ-

ent names we give it. Each name evokes certain aspects of it. It is called: Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God.

The Greek words eucharistein and eulogein recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim — especially during a meal — God’s works:

creation, redemption, and sanctification (CCC 1328). As we come to the Eucharistic Banquet this Thanksgiving weekend let us

pause and reflect on Whom do we meet in Christ?

In Christ we meet God. We meet also our true selves as God wants us to be. "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect,"

said Jesus (Mt. 5:48). The most important decision one has to make in life is the decision for or against Jesus Christ. Say "yes" to

Jesus as Lord and you gain light, life, forgiveness, joy and eternity. Say "no" to Jesus and you throw all these away. Father Ray-

mond L. Bruckberger, a French Dominican priest, pictures God the Father saying of Jesus: "Since I have told you everything in My

Word, Who is My Son, I have no other words that can at present say anything or reveal anything to you beyond this. Fix your eyes

on him alone, for in him I have told you all, revealed all, and in him you will find more even than you desire or ask. ... If you fix your

eyes on him, you will find everything, for he is My whole word and my reply, he is My whole vision and My whole revelation." ...

"From the day when I descended upon him with My Spirit on Mount Tabor saying, 'This is my beloved Son; listen to him!' (Mk. 9:7)

I have put aside the old forms of teaching and response and I have given all to him: listen to him, because I have no further faith to

reveal ... If I spoke, it was in order to promise the Christ ... in whom all good was to be found."

Who is this Jesus? He is indeed "the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, true God of true God ... Through Him all things were made." (Nicene Creed)

The need of the world is Jesus.

The hunger of the world is Jesus. The hope of the world is Jesus.

The healing of the world is Jesus. The light of the world is Jesus.

Resource: "Daily Vitamins for Spiritual Growth." Anthony M. Coniaris. Light and Life Publishing. Minneapolis Minneso-ta, 1994. Happy Thanksgiving! Fr. Julian Bilyj, ECSD Chaplain

October 2019

“I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love

with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

This scripture passage comes from a time that is very close to Jesus’ death. He is praying to God for his dis-

ciples. It paints a beautiful picture of divine love. Jesus ensured that we knew that he loved us and named

God as the source of that love. His goal is that we always know the deep and enduring nature of the glori-

ous love of the Father and the Son for all people.

There is a very famous phrase from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: “that which we call a rose

by any other name would smell as sweet.” On September 1, the new Education Act reformatted the names

of school jurisdictions in Alberta. Our legal name is now Edmonton Catholic Separate School Division, but

we will continue to also use our familiar names of Edmonton Catholic Schools and ECSD. You can rest as-

sured that our commitment to excellent Catholic education remains as our foundation .

Our promise to provide innovative ways to meet the needs of students is creating exciting new opportu-

nities. We are pleased to announce that we opened up a Millwoods Campus at 7319-29 Avenue for our

Cardinal Collins High School Academic Centre. This classroom-based learning model is designed for stu-

dents who are in their fourth and fifth year of high school and require an alternative way of finishing high

school or need to upgrade Grade 12 diploma courses. The end result of this model is that our Division

has outstanding high school completion rates, excellent transition rates, and a very low drop out rate.

We are so pleased to be able to now offer this educational option in the south side of the city.

We have some upcoming opportunities for parents and guardians to engage in various aspects of our

faith and faith formation. Edmonton Catholic Schools is proud to be sponsoring an evening with the

highly engaging Father Richard Leonard as part of Newman Theological College’s 50th anniversary cele-

brations. The session is on Tuesday, October 29 from 7-9 pm at the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton,

8421 – 101 Avenue. Visit www.newman.edu/FrLeonard to register for this free public lecture.

ECSD will be offering 2 identical sessions, one at Corpus Christi Parish (Nov. 6) and one at St. Charles Par-

ish (Nov. 7) from 6:30 – 8 pm, that will provide parents and guardians with the opportunity to celebrate

Mass with Archbishop Smith and then learn more about the religious education programs of study

across the grades. Please visit http://bit.ly/religiouseducation by Wednesday, October 30 to find out

more and to register.

Pope Francis shared a tweet on August 27 that is a lovely reflection of our yearly theme and the learning

that takes place in our Edmonton Catholic Schools. He shared, “The light of God enlightens those who

welcome it.” Our work with the over 44,300 students who join us each day is to help them to welcome

that light into their hearts and minds!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and month of October!

Sincerely,

Joan Carr