September 2017 at a Glance

• St. Brendan Staff List

• Revise Assessment and Re-porting District Process for Junior High

• Hours & Fees

• Bus Transportation

• Supervision

• Visitors to the School

• Meet the Staff/Program Evening

• School Protocol

• SwiftK12 Alerting

• Parking

• Elementary Milk Sales

• Peanut Awareness

• Flex Instructions

• Yearbook Club

• Soccer season

• Student Leadership

• Terry Fox Run

• Cross Country Running

• Gr. 7 Jumpstart

• Class Lists for Students

• Snack Shack

• Message from the Pastor

• Superintendent’s Message

• Calendar

Welcome from the Administration Team

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year. I hope you had a great summer enjoying the city of Edmonton or the different destinations your holidays may have taken you. The staff is excited to embark on a new school year and is looking forward to working with your child to learn new things and engage in many varied learning activities. As you are aware, the success of your child is not only dependent on the teaching and learning that takes place at St. Brendan, but also the strong school/home partnerships that are fostered throughout the school year. We look forward to continuing this positive relationship with the St. Brendan community.

Our school year will be very exciting as we begin our second full year of operation in our new building. The school year will be very exciting as students, school, and community grow together and continue to build school spirit that was started last year. During the school year we will be concentrating on three specific areas that will help our students develop 21st century skills. Our school will work with all our students to develop strong literacy and numeracy skills, our students will become better informed on digital citizenship and be involved in different social justice projects. We will be creating many rich opportunities in and out of class to become better readers and we will continue using our new Learning Commons and mobile technology to teach students about responsible digital citizenship.

Please note the following information: (1) newsletters during the year will not be printed. Newsletter will be emailed to families on the last instructional day of the month and will also be posted on our school website. Our school website and newsletters will be our primary means of communication between school and home.

The staff wishes all students a successful 2017-2018 School Year! Sincerely,

Dale Astill Lori Lundeen, Larysa Matchak

Principal Assistant Principals

A Prayer to Share The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)

Principal: Mr. Dale Astill Assistant Principals: Mrs. Lori Lundeen & Mrs. Larysa Matchak Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Annette Abbenhuis Web Site: www.stjames.ecsd.net

Next Newsletter

October

School Council Meeting

Please join us!

9260 - 58 Street Edmonton, AB. T6B 3W2 Phone: (780) 466-1281 Fax: (780) 466-6057

Powerschool: https://powerschool.ecsd.net, website: http://www.stbrendan.ecsd.net

St. Brendan Staff List - 2017 2018

Administration

Mr. Dale Astill Principal Mrs. Lori Lundeen Asst. Principal (Junior High) Mrs. Larysa Matchak Asst. Principal (Elementary) Elementary Teaching Staff

Ms. Brianna Seitz Teacher 100 Voices Mrs. Nicole Danzo Teacher (Gr. 3 & 5) Mrs. Patricia Deprato Teacher (Kindergarten) Ms. Malorie Schwenk Teacher (Grade 1) Mrs. Shelley Frederick Teacher (Gr. 2) Mrs. Terenia Ilkiw Teacher (Gr. 3 & Music) Mrs. Kathleen Salt Teacher (Gr. 4) Mrs. Angela McKenna Teacher (Gr. 5) Mr. Raymond Bradshaw Teacher (Gr. 6)

Junior High Teaching Staff

Ms. Angela Anderson Music, English Language Arts, Religion Mrs. Jill Free English Language Arts, Art, Drama, Religion Mr. Robert Fuerderer Phys. Ed, Math, Athletics Coordinator Ms. Olivia Hernandez English Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Religion Mrs. Tetyana Kearnan Ukrainian Language Arts, Social Studies, Health Mrs. Vira Lavryshyn Math, Food and Fashion, Ukrainian Language Arts, Ukrainian Religion Mr. Rafael Martinez Spanish Math, English Math, Spanish Health Mrs. Meleka Mastre Social Studies, English Language Arts, Health, Religion Mrs. Larysa Matchak Math, Health, Academic Support Mr. Kevin Mazur Science, Phys. Ed., Golf Academy Ms. Donna Richards English Language Arts, Outdoor Ed. Mrs. Severina Rossi Social Studies, French, Chaplain Mr. Darrell Shaigec Math, Science, CTF Mrs. Liliya Sukhy Science, Ukrainian Language Arts, Ukrainian Religion Mr. Peter Zmewsky Social Studies, Ukrainian Language Arts, Ukrainian Religion, Health

Support Staff

Mrs. Annette Abbenhuis Admin. Support Mrs. Lidia Radyo Admin. Support Mrs. Patti Courchesne Educational Assistant Ms. Taylor Hutchison Behavior Specialist Ms. Anu Khurana Educational Assistant Ms. Barbara Kostal Educational Assistant Ms. Mary Kowal Educational Assistant Mrs. Mirka Osuch Media Resources /Office /EA Mrs. Jennifer Stanislaus Educational Assistant Mrs. Lea Stefanyk Educational Assistant Mrs. Cara Stephens Early Learning Facilitator Ms. Debbie Brown STAY (Support Network for Students) Ms. Jennifer Manzulenko Family School Liason Worker Father Julien Bilyj District Chaplain Custodial Mr. Ivan Ginda Head Custodian Mr. Dariusz Ostrzygalo Senior Custodian Mr. Iglesias Carlos Evening Custodian

REVISED ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING DISTRICT PROCESS FOR JUNIOR HIGH

With the recent revision of our assessment administrative procedure which highlights the

importance of student understanding of learner outcomes and success criteria as well as

assessment that is ongoing, our school district will work with a revised assessment and

reporting structure this 2017-18 school year. Key elements include:

September: homeroom teachers email parent/guardian of each homeroom student to

initiate contact and invite communication about student progress and well-being

throughout the year.

November/December: parent/student/teacher interviews to review student progress with

school work and PowerSchool quick look up as evidence and to set goals for continued

progress and success; the homeroom teacher will follow-up, through email, with

parents of students who show signs of struggle who did not attend an interview.

January 31th: an eLuminate progress report as per usual district standards with

comments and learner skills.

March: parent/student/teacher interviews to review student progress with school work

and PowerSchool quick look up as evidence and to set goals for continued progress

and success; the homeroom teacher will follow-up, through email, with parents of

students who show signs of struggle who did not attend an interview.

June 28th: an eLuminate progress report as per usual district standards with comments

and learner skills.

We look forward to ongoing communication with you throughout the year as we work together

with your child to support their progress and success.

School Administration

ELEMENTARY

TIMES FOR 2017—2018

Kindergarten—Grade Six

8:35 a.m. 1st Bell

8:40 a.m. Classes begin

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday Schedule

BLOCK Class Start & End Times

First Bell 8:35

Instructional Time 8:40 - 10:15

Recess 10:15 - 10:30

Instructional Time 10:30 –12:00

Lunch and Recess – 12:00 - 12:35

Instructional Time 12:40 - 2:00

Activity Break 2:00 - 2:05

Instructional Time 2:05 - 3:05

**Thursday dismissal is at 12:05 pm.

100Voices Schedule

*There is no instruction for 100 Voices

students on Thursdays.

JUNIOR HIGH

TIMES FOR 2017—2018

8:35 a.m. 1st Bell

8:40 - 8:46 - Home Room

8:48 a.m. Students in Class

8:48 a.m. Classes begin

BLOCK Class Start & End Times

B1 8:48 - 9:35

B2 9:37 - 10:24

B3 10:26 - 11:13

B4 11:15 - 12:00

Lunch Break – 12:00 - 12:30

B5 12:35 - 1:22

B6 1:24 - 2:11

B7 2:13 - 3:00

FLEX Thursday Schedule

*FLEX Thursdays do NOT follow the day rotation (it is a

NON-Day in the 6 day rotation)

HR 8:48 - 9:05

Flex 1 9:05 - 9:50

Flex 2 9:50 - 10:35

Flex 3 10:35 - 11:20

Flex 4 11:20 - 12:05

PM Class

12:25 - 3:20 pm

Elementary Fees

Kindergarten School Activities $20.00 Kindergarten Technology $10.00 Kindergarten Total $30.00

Gr. 1—6 School Activities $15.00 Gr. 1—6 Technology $25.00 Student Agenda $10.00 Gr. 1—6 Total $50.00 Grade 4: Music Recorder $10.00 Yearbook (optional) $10.00

Junior High Fees

Gr. 7—9 Technology $30.00 Gr. 7 –9 School Activities $10.00 Gr. 7—9 Student Union $10.00 Gr. 7—9 Student Agenda $10.00 Gr. 7—9 Total not including options $60.00 Course Name Amount Art $20.00 Food $20.00 Fashion $10.00 Drama $ 5.00 Outdoor Education $50.00 CTF $20.00 Band: if using school instrument $50.00 Band: if student owns instrument or rents from outside source $10.00 Locks (gr.8 & 9) $ 5.00 Yearbook (Optional) $40.00 The office will only be accepting school fees for bus passes only starting Tuesday, September 5th. Payment for the options indicated above will be not be accepted until September 18th. After this date parents can choose to pay with VISA or Master Card electronically through Powerschool. Cash or cheques will only be accepted at the school office. You have the option of sending 10 post-dated cheques for Bus Passes. Please see the St. Brendan website under (General - Fees) for more information. We would appreciate your support in paying these fees as soon as possible.

Bus Transportation

Bill 1

Under Bill 1 students who are attending their designat-ed regular program school and living 2.4 km or more walking distance from their designated school will qualify for a FREE Yellow bus pass or a reduced ETS bus pass. Please refer to the chart below Bus passes are available for purchase in the office at the beginning of each month (see the chart below) The cost of the pass is subsidized by Edmonton Catholic Schools. The District has a Family Plan for families who have three or more children attending an Edmonton Catholic School and who are registered in grades 1 - 12. 1. All 3 children must have a same parent/or guardians).

All 3 children must reside at the same residence and address. All 3 children must be using charter (Yellow) bus service/or accessing Edmonton Transit service.

Parents must complete an application form (available on ECSD website or in the office) in order to qualify for this subsidy. It is the responsibility of the parent (elementary level) to notify the bus company (First Student @ 780-469-4710) if your child will not be picked up in the morn-ing or after school. Parents of students who are scheduled to ride the Yellow School Bus must notify the office if their child is not riding the school bus home (elementary level only). In the mornings if there are any issues with the buses run-ning late or not showing up, please contact Transporta-tion Services@ 780-441-6078 starting at 7:15 A.M.

Elementary Bus Pass Fees:

Junior High Bus Pass Fees:

SCHOOL FEES

The following fees are in effect for the 2017—2018 school year

Grades Regular Rate

Family Plan

Replacement Cost

Kindergarten Free n/a Free

Elementary (Yellow) $32.00 $28.00 $5.00

Elementary(ETS) $32.00 $28.00 $73.00 Annual Yellow only and non-refundable $320.00 $280.00 $5.00

Bill 1 Yellow Bus Elem $0 $0 $5.00

Bill 1 ETS Elem $18.00 $14.00 $5.00

Grades Regular Rate

Family Plan

Replacement Cost

Junior/Senior (Yellow) $52.00 $48.00 $5.00

Junior/Senior (ETS) $52.00 $48.00 $73.00

Annual Pass (Junior/Senior) Yellow only and non-refundable $520.00 $480.00 $5.00

Bill 1 Yellow School JH $0 $0 $5.00

Bill 1 ETS JH $18.00 $14.00 $73.00

Supervision

Please note that supervision does not start until 8:15. Children should not arrive at the school before supervi-sion begins and will be asked to wait in the school yard.

Visitors to the School

In order to enhance the safety of our building and the overall environment for our children we have electronic and video system for entry to St. Brendan. Please remem-ber to use the main entrance and ring the doorbell on the left to be buzzed in and always check in with the office before proceeding anywhere in the school. Thank you for being so respectful of the learning environment we work so hard to maintain for the success of all.

Meet the Staff First Reporting Period Evening

On Thursday, September 14, we will host our meet the staff evening for all parents. This program night is the first reporting session of the school year and is an evening planned for parents only. At this time you will have an opportunity to meet the school staff. We will meet in the gym at 6:30 p.m. Please join us for this very informative evening.

Protocol for Parent Concerns

Edmonton Catholic Schools recognizes the freedom of all members of the school community (students, staff, par-ents and neighbours) to voice their concerns in an appro-priate manner to the appropriate school personnel. The principle of “first contact” needs to be followed. The person(s) who has the concern, has the responsibility to begin addressing the concern directly with those per-sons with whom they have the concern before taking their concern elsewhere. If resolution is not found please involve the school administration.

SwiftK12 Alerting

If your child is absent from school and the school has not received a phone call indicating the reason for absence, you will receive an automated phone call from the SwiftK12 Alerting Voice system. This system will also be used in case of emergency, and to send general infor-mation messages to either specific classes or the whole school. More information about receiving announcements through Swift will follow.

Parking / Student Drop Off

Parents, for the safety of our staff and your children, please DO NOT use the staff parking area or any areas assigned for Yellow Busses for student drop off and pick up. Doing so creates a safety hazard for all, as well as a traffic blockage. Thank you for your cooperation!

Milk sales

Elementary Milk Sales will begin by September 18th. Please watch for further information.

Flex Instructions

We are excited to continue to offer our students FLEX Thursday’s for Junior High students! This initiative endeavors to provide students heightened access to teachers for individualized support, facilitate collabora-tive learning, instill 21st Century learning skills among the students, and to prepare them for self-directed inquiry and engagement now and in their future learning! This opportunity will occur on Thursdays, with a number of areas within the school available for a variety of learning structures and needs.

Please dialogue with your child about this opportunity, and I welcome any feedback or questions you may have as we continue in our fourth year of offering this excel-lent learning opportunity for our students.

Monthly Newsletter

The monthly Newsletters will be e-mailed to you at the beginning of each month and also will be posted on our St. Brendan website at: www.stbrendan.ecsd.net . If you would like to receive Newsletter by e-mail and did not leave us your e-mail address, please do so at your earliest convenience. Only parents who have no comput-er access will be provided with a paper copy on request.

Peanut Awareness

Please be aware that we have students and staff mem-bers who have peanut allergies. We would like to ensure the safety for all students and staff and request that only peanut free foods are sent to the school.

Yearbook Club

If you are interested in getting involved at St. Brendan School, consider joining the "Yearbook Club". We will be looking for members who like to take photographs, who are willing to attend a variety of school activities, who enjoy collaborating with other students, and who have some aptitude with either computers and/or visual design. If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please listen to the announcements in Septem-ber for further information.

Soccer Season The soccer season has begun. Boys & girls soccer tryouts will commence on Wednesday September 6 after school until 4:30 p.m. All boys & girls wishing to tryout for the team should bring their cleats, shin guards and a water bottle to these tryouts. Good luck to the girls coached by Mr. Fuerderer and to the boys coached by Mr. Mazur.

Student Leadership

The St. Brendan Junior High Leadership Team is made up of energetic, positive, hard-working students who volunteer their time to help provide activities for all students at St. Brendan School. These include events such as Theme Days and Dances. As in past years, the team will be made up of students from grade 8 & 9.

If you are interested in becoming, or continuing to be, involved with our Leadership Team, please listen to an-nouncements about the upcoming information session.

Terry Fox Run

We are pleased to announce that St. Brendan School will be participating in the Terry Fox Run (date to be announced). Junior High students will be receiving pledge forms from their homeroom teachers. Pledges can be made on line at www.terryfox.org by clicking on the National School Run Day tab and then "Donate to a student/school". Pledges can also be cash or cheques (please make cheques payable to THE TERRY FOX FOUNDATION.) We're looking forward to a great opportunity to raise funds for cancer research, and to enjoy an afternoon of physical activity in the autumn sunshine!

Cross Country Running

Cross country running is starting up after school on Tuesday, September 12th and is open to all junior high students who have a love of the outdoors and want to stay in shape or improve their cardiovascular system. Group runs will take place after school and include scheduled breaks. In addition, the district has organized races each Thursday in September. Junior high students can get a permission form from Ms. Anderson.

Grade 7 Jumpstart

All grade 7 band students will take part in the grade 7 band Jumpstart which will take place in the morning on Thursday, September 28th. Permission forms will be sent home from the first band class.

Class Lists for Elementary and Junior High

Class Lists for Elementary and Junior High Students will be posted at the school entrance on the first day of school, September 5th.

Snack Shack

We are happy to provide a concession at St. Brendan that offers students snacks and drinks at a minimal cost. Students are still encouraged to pack and bring their own healthy lunch but for those days where they have forgotten or their lunch is not enough. The Snack Shack will be open from 12:05 – 12:20 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) starting the first week of September. Stock varies depending on availability from our suppliers. PLEASE CONSUME RESPONSIBLY!

Message from the Pastor – September 2017 Assumption and Resurrection Parishes

The community of schools affiliated with Assumption and Resurrection Parishes are: St. Gabriel Elementary School, St. Brendan Elementary and Junior High School and Austin O’Brien High School. St. Brendan School not only has a group of dedicated teachers and staff, but an entire community of parents committed to nurturing, in their children, a strong faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ. As partners in nurturing the faith, the school, the parish and the family work to-gether to build a dynamic Catholic partnership! To that end the parish and school are planning the fol-lowing for the children and staff: organizing a school Mass, receiving support in teaching areas specific to the faith, joint involvement in school celebrations, providing information and invitations to the Sacramental Prepara-tion Programs for First Holy Communion, First Reconcilia-tion and Confirmation and joint involvement in Social Justice activities. Please check our website at http://arparish.ca for Mass times and upcoming events. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Parish/School Liaison and Coordinator of Sacramental Programs: Janet Campbell (780-468-04071) or email pro-tect@assumptionresurrection.ca Have a blessed school year! Father Mitchell Fidyka Pastor: Assumption and Resurrection Parishes

Happy New School Year

Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year. In the Eastern Catholic Churches (Byzantine Rite) the

liturgical year has a formally designated beginning on September 1st, rather than the first Sun-

day of Advent (Roman Rite). What a blessing it is that we are starting a New School Year at the

same time as the Eastern Christians are starting a New Church Year.

We read in St. Paul's letter to the Colossians, “Make the best possible use of your

time” (Colossians 4:5). The key word in this statement by St. Paul is the word "time." New Testa-

ment writers use two Greek words for time: chronos and kairos.

Chronos time is chronological time, calendar time, time that moves along moment by moment,

day by day, year by year. But kairos time is another kind of time, a special kind of time; time

which is crucial; time which determines history. Jesus lived a life of kairos time. He never ig-

nored a single moment or opportunity for doing good, for serving, for healing. He used time to

the fullest: teaching, comforting, loving, preaching. Even when He was alone, He spent His time

in prayer, communicating with God as to how best use the time that was left in His life.

The Lord gave us chronos time, calendar time, that we may turn it into kairos time, salvation

time, time filled with opportunities for us to respond to God's gracious invitation to the Kingdom;

time for bearing in our lives the fruit of faith, hope and love.

The principal meaning of the word kairos in the New Testament is: the right time, the ripe time,

the proper time, the opportune time for salvation. It is in this sense that St. Paul uses the word

kairos in the second letter to the Corinthians: "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now

is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2).

Because the Church does not want us to lose the kingdom, it takes chronos, calendar time, and

turns it into kairos, salvation time. It does this through the liturgical year which we also call the

church year or the church calendar. Every day in the liturgical calendar is dedicated to the

memory of some event or saint in the history of salvation. The Church has taken the Bible and

placed it, planted it into the chronos or calendar time in order to turn the calendar into the

kairos of our salvation.

So let us live out our salvation by taking the words of the theme for this school year Rooted in

Jesus ... Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve and make them into actions filled with opportunities to

respond to God's gracious invitation to serve and to love Him, our students, and one another.

Have a Blessed 2017-2018 School Year!

Fr. Julian Bilyj

District Chaplain

August-September 2017

Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year! Our theme for this year is Rooted in Jesus…Hearts to Love and Hands to Serve.

This beautiful motif illuminates the mission of Catholic education, to lead our students to come to know that they are

members of the Body of Christ who are called to serve one another. St. Teresa of Ávila, the great mystic and Doctor of

the Church, provides us with a beautiful vision of our Christian calling to serve the world: “Christ has no body but yours,

no hands, no feet on Earth but yours.” It is empowering for our students to know that they are Jesus’ hands, feet, and

heart in the world today.

On August 31, our staff gathered as a community to renew their commitment to Catholic education and to celebrate the

Eucharist together. This special way of beginning each school year declares to all that Christ is the reason for our being,

and that he is our model and teacher as we help our children to reach their God-given potential.

As we fulfill our mission to provide a Catholic education that inspires students to learn and that prepares them to live fully

and to serve God in one another, we have established our District Plan for Continuous Growth (2017-2020) to guide our

work. This year, we begin with a District goal that is grounded in our special foundations and identity as a Catholic juris-

diction, followed by five goals that focus on teaching, learning, and student experiences. We have also included the

measures and targets that we will use to assess our work to add clarity and focus. I invite you to visit our website to learn

more about our goals and the key strategies that we will be implementing to achieve them at https://www.ecsd.net/

AboutUs/annual_reports/Pages/District-Plan-for-Continuous-Growth.aspx .

District Goal Live and enhance the distinctiveness of Catholic education

Goal One ECSD students are successful

Goal Two The achievement gap between First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students and all other stu-

dents is eliminated

Goal Three ECSD is an inclusive school district

Goal Four ECSD has excellent teachers, school and school district leaders

Goal Five ECSD is well governed and managed

Edmonton Catholic Schools will see unprecedented expansion this year. We are delighted to be opening 5 new schools

this fall and to be re-opening St. Margaret School to meet the increasing demand for Catholic education in the City of Ed-

monton. We welcome Bishop David Motiuk, Christ the King, Corpus Christi, Father Michael Mireau, and St. Thomas Aqui-

nas Catholic Elementary/Junior High Schools to our District. It is a testament to the amazing Catholic educational experi-

ences that we are providing to families to see flourishing enrolments in our new schools as they open their doors to serve

their communities!

Pope Francis offered uplifting words of encouragement to those gathered at his first World Youth Day, and they resonate

deeply with our theme. “If you follow these three ideas (go, do not be afraid, and serve), you will experience that the one

who evangelizes is evangelized, the one who transmits the joy of faith receives joy” (July 28, 2013). This is what we as-

pire to for our students, that they go fearlessly into the world to serve God and each other, building a better future for all.

I wish everyone an incredible year of learning and growth, deeply rooted in the love of Christ!

Sincerely,

Joan Carr

Superintendent

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 4

Labour Day - No school

5 Day 1

First Day of school

6 Day 1

7

Ukrainian Canadian

Heritage Day

JH assembly -bl.1

8 Day 2

Elementary Assembly - 9:00

a.m.

9

10 11 Day 3 12 Day 4

Start for Cross Country

Running for JH

13 Day 5

14

School Opening Celebration -

9:00 a.m.

Meet the Staff - 6:30 p.m.

15 Day 6 16

17 18 Day 1

Elementary Cross Country

Run

19 Day 2 20 Day 3

Ukrainian Bilingual Opening

Celebration

21 22 Day 4 23

24 25 Day 5 26 Day 6

First Day of Skating for K,

gr. 1&2

27 Day 1

28

Gr. 7 Jumpstart - a.m.

29 Day 2

September 2017