Principal’s Message

Welcome to the 2015-2016 School Year! Welcome to the 2015/16 School Year at St. Philip. I am very excited about leading this wonderful

learning community. This is my fifth year as a Principal in Edmonton Catholic Schools and first

time outside the Ukrainian Bilingual Program, where I was either an administrator or teacher over

the last 23 years. I am looking forward to working within a wonderful tradition here of the Italian

Language and Culture program - looking at various ways of developing it and securing a strong

future for the program. I welcome all of our returning and new families to St. Philip, especially those

who just moved into our community from other schools or even from other countries. In late May

our enrollment numbers were quite low, close to 220. Fortunately, this has increased to 248 as of

September 8 and still growing. As a result of our increase, we have hired a new teacher. We wel-

come Ms. Jackson to our teaching staff, as the teacher of our 1B class.

Our Edmonton Catholic Schools motto this year is “Life of Grace - Journey of Love”. We hope that

God’s love permeates all that we do at St. Philip School. We are called to love one another as broth-

ers and sisters in Christ. In this spirit, I look forward to building a strong community of students,

staff, parents, local community and the Italian Canadian community and its preschool - all working

towards one goal – making St. Philip school a positive place of learning, sharing and growing in

God’s Love. In increasing the community spirit we have started the no border playground at recess

time. All students will be able to play as one community, mixed grades in our playground. We will

also start school spirit days at the end of every month where we have one special collaborative activ-

ity a month as a school community. Lastly, we introduce you to our new school theme “God’s Giv-

ing Tree of Love”, focusing on daily thanksgiving, love and generosity.

It is my sincere wish that every St. Philip student is excited about coming to school every day. We

hope to continue and grow the wonderful reputation that our school has, both in our community and

our Edmonton Catholic School District. I look forward to getting to know you all in the coming

weeks and months.

God Bless!

Taras Podilsky – Principal St. Philip School

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Back to School Prayer

It’s the first week of school Lord,

It’s a big week for all of us. Students full of questions and doubts and excitement. Teachers full

of ideas and plans and dreams. Parents full of all the emotions.

Protect our babies Lord,

Whether it’s the first day of kindergarten or grade 6, those students are our children. We want

this school year to be full of good things. Let them make friends and reach out to those who are

lonely. Give them attentive minds and caring hearts.

Bless the teachers Lord,

These men and women who have committed to invest in the next generation. Give them

discernment and wisdom to see each student’s unique abilities and gifts. Multiply their

preparation and may their plans be fruitful. Fill the day with moments of wonder. Remind them of

their special place in the lives of their students and give them confidence in their abilities as

teachers.

And for all the parents, Lord, a prayer for peace.

Give us plenty to do so we don’t have time to fret. Let us be extraordinarily grateful for the priv-

ilege of parenting. Fill us with wisdom as we watch our babies grow. Grant us patience and kind-

ness as they stretch their wings. Hold us close to You as we learn to let them go.

It’s the first week of school Lord,

Watch over all of us—students, teachers, and moms. Guard our hearts. Focus our minds. Draw us

to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

St. Philip Staff 2015-16 2

Important Dates 2015-16 3

School Pictures/Fees 4

Hours of Operation 5

Parent Concerns 6

Meet the Staff Night 6

SC Fundraising 7

Bus Transportation 8

Online Fee Payments 9

Archbishop’s Message 10

Superintendent’s Message 11

Parish Message 12

Calendar 13

Inside this issue:

Page 2

STAFF LIST 2015-2016

TEACHERS

Principal – Taras Podilsky

Assistant Principal - Jennifer Zubot

Learning Coach – Linda Giampa-Letchford

Early Childhood – Nicole Fedorak

Grade 1A – Cathy Verduci

Grade 1B - Candice Jackson

Grade 2A – Frank Balice

Grade 3A – Mirella Caputo

Grade 3/4B – Sofia Gallo-Bubula

Grade 4A – Sonia Dent/Vina Mollame-Borges

Grade 5A – Sandra Giaretta/Vanessa Warnes

Grade 5B – Loredana De Grazia

Grade 6A – Garet Dafoe

Grade 6B – Matthew Charrois

Music – Vanessa Warnes

SUPPORT STAFF

Admin. Support – Maryanne Ferbey

Library – Ivy Chaput

E.A. – Anne Butler

E.A. - Cathy Armani

E.A. - Dinah Dwyre

CUSTODIAL STAFF

Head Custodian - Joe Sirica

Light Duty - Debbie Keddy

First Days of School (Staff) September 3 & 4

Labour Day (no school) September 7

First Day of School (Grade 1 – 6 Students) September 8

Kindergarten Staggered Entry September 9 & 10

Kindergarten First Full Day of School September 14

Meet the Staff Night (K-6) 6:30PM September 16

School Opening Mass September 16

Grade 6 Camp September 17

Terry Fox Run September 18

Thanksgiving Celebration October 9

Thanksgiving (no school) October 12

School Pictures October 14

Halloween Party (during school hours) October 30

Remembrance Day Celebration November 10

Remembrance Day (no school) November 11

Picture Retakes November 17

Report Cards Home November 30

Scholastic Book Fair December 1-3

Parent/Student/Teacher Celebration of Learning December 3

Grade 1-6 Skiing December 8

Full day (Dismissal 2:56) December 17

4th Advent Celebration December 18

Dismissal for Christmas Break (11:50 AM) December 18

Classes begin after Christmas January 4

Grade 6 Retreat January 15

District Faith Development Day (no school for students) February 2

Kindergarten Open House February 3

Carnevale February 9

Family Day (no school) February 15

Shrove Tuesday (free pancake lunch) February 9

Ash Wednesday Celebration February 10

Teachers’ Convention (no school for students) February 25 & 26

Report Cards home March 21

Parent/Student/Teacher Celebration of Learning

(full day of school)

March 23

Stations of the Cross March 24

Good Friday (no school) March 25

Classes begin after Spring Break April 4

Easter Celebration April 6

St. Philip Day/ Celebration May 3

Victoria Day (no school) May 23

Kindergarten Info Night (6:30p.m.) May 25

Grade 6 Farewell June 23 (AM)

Fun Day June 24

Year End Mass June 27 (AM)

Talent Show June 27 (PM)

Students dismissed for summer vacation June 28

Page 3

This year our students’ individu-

al photographs will be taken on

Wednesday, October 14 by

Lifetouch. More details will be

coming your way in the student

packages. Consistent with last

year, class pictures will once

again take the format of a

composite of student indi-

vidual portraits.

School Photo Day Page 4

SAFETY!!!

For the safety of your children, you are reminded that the school parking lot is for teacher

use only from 7: 45 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is never available for parent parking during these

hours. Please do not drive into the parking lot to turn around as it is very unsafe!

As well, the bus zone at the front of the school is only to be used by our school buses for stu-

dent drop-off and pick-up! Please do not park in the bus zone!

Dropping off students at a cross walk is illegal and can bring a fine. The safest place

to drop students is along the fence line on 87 Street. Please do not park in the drop off

zone!

School Fees for the 2015-16 school

year are as follows:

Kindergarten to Grade 6:

$100.00

An invoice will be sent home with

your child in September and can be

returned to school with payment.

If you would like to pay your fees

online, instructions are on page 9 of

this newsletter.

SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS

Office hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. During this time there will be someone in the office to take

your calls.

Please leave a message on our answering machine if you call outside office hours.

*If your child will be late or absent from school please call the office at 780-475-3566 by 8:20 am or

12:30 pm for afternoon classes to avoid the automated phone message from Synervoice.

School Fees

Page 5

THANK YOU to our Head Custo-

dian Joe Sirica for his hard work

in preparing our school in such a

clean manner for the return of

staff and students! We are very

lucky to have you!!

Students are reminded that it is

their responsibility to use the

waste baskets, recycle contain-

ers and juice box containers

properly. If we all work togeth-

er, we can keep our school

looking ‘back to school’ clean!

MILK SALES

Students may purchase

white or chocolate milk for

75 cents at lunch time. Stu-

dents may also purchase a

milk card for $10.00 (15 milk

purchases) at the office. (1

free milk with the purchase

of each milk

card).

HOURS OF OPERATION

Grades 1-6 Morning Afternoon Monday 8:20 - 11:50 a.m. 12:30 - 2:57 p.m. Tuesday 8:20 - 11:50 a.m. 12:30 - 2:57 p.m. Wednesday 8:20 - 11:50 a.m. 12:30 - 2:57 p.m. Thursday 8:20 - 11:50 a.m. No School for Students Friday 8:20 - 11:50 a.m. 12:30 - 2:57 p.m. RECESS 10:05 - 10:20 a.m. 5 Minute Break Kindergarten Times Monday 8:20 - 11:20 a.m. Tuesday 8:20 - 11:20 a.m. Wednesday 8:20 - 11:20 a.m. Thursday No School Friday 8:20 - 11:20 a.m.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS

Please remember to sign in at the office and get a volunteer name tag if

you are a parent volunteer in the school on any given day. As per Dis-

trict Policy and Regulation 135: all parents wishing to volunteer must

fill out a Volunteer Registration Form (See your child’s Teacher).

Page 6

Grade 6 Camp Our grade 6 students will be attending Birch Bay Camp on

September 17th.

The bus will leave the school at 9:00AM and return to school

that evening around 8:00PM.

Parents please watch for the fieldtrip form that will be com-

ing home shortly with more information.

PROTOCOL FOR PARENT

CONCERNS

Edmonton Catholic Schools recognizes the free-

dom of all members of the school community

(students, staff, parents and neighbours) to voice

their concerns in an appropriate manner to the ap-

propriate school personnel. The principle of

“first contact” needs to be followed. This means

that the person(s) who have the concern, have the

responsibility to begin addressing the concern di-

rectly with those persons with whom they have

the concern before taking their concern else-

where. Generally, in most cases, this would mean

talking with or meeting with your child’s teacher

prior to meeting with the school administration

when you have a concern.

If resolution is not found please then involve

school administration. If needed, District School

Operations Services (SOS) may also be involved

as needed. SOS can be reached at 780- 441-

6090.

All parties will deal with concerns in a manner

that is constructive and consistent with the teach-

ings of the Catholic Church.

MEET THE STAFF NIGHT

Our Parent Information Evening and Meet The

Staff Night will take place on Wednesday,

September 16, 2015 at 6:30 pm. On this even-

ing, parents will receive general information

about the school and district initiatives from

the principal and more detailed information re-

garding your child’s curriculum and the day to

day routines of his/her classroom from your

child’s teachers. This is an excellent opportuni-

ty for you to meet your child’s teacher and

begin to build that important working relation-

ship! Please plan to attend this important even-

ing.

The schedule for the evening is as follows:

6:30 p.m.. – Presentation by Mr. Podilsky in

the gym

7:00 p.m.. – General Session for all parents in

each classroom

7:15 p.m.. – Proceed to other classrooms of

teachers you wish to speak to.

SCHOOL OPENING CELEBRATION Please join us on Wednesday, September 16th at 10:30 AM for our school opening mass at

St. Matthews Parish. 13131 86 Street. As is our tradition, students will be walking to the

church so please make sure they dress for the weather! Kindergarten and grade one stu-

dents will ride the yellow school bus.

St. Philip school desperately needs volunteers for some upcoming

bingos. If you can help, please call the school and let us know.

The dates and times are as follows…

- December 7

- January 22

- February 21

- April 15

- May 31

The required times are:

- 10:15 - 3:45 PM

- 4:15 - 9:30 PM

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL CALL FOR BINGO VOLUNTEERS

Page 7

NEW HOT LUNCH PROGRAM!!!

Our first Hot Lunch Day is Friday, September 25, 2015. Students will be served hot dogs! Orders

will be done online this year. Look for more information in today’s

Friday envelope.

SAC Fundraising

Thank you to all those who brought empties for our June bottle drive. The school raised $344.55.

In the month of September we will be having a Lit-

tle Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraiser. The start date to

place orders will begin September 16th- October 7th, 2015. More in-

formation will be sent home in September.

YELLOW SCHOOL BUS INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

SCHOOL START-UP – SEPTEMBER 2015 In June 2015, a Joint Safety Committee was formed with representatives from Edmonton school jurisdictions and contracted yellow bus carriers. The purpose of the committee is to meet bi-annually to discuss yellow school bus safety with all stakeholders involved with yellow school bus transportation in Edmonton. The following new safety measures will be implemented on all Edmonton Catholic Schools yellow bus routes in September 2015:

Code RED – All carriers have agreed to implement a code red system that requires dispatch to answer a Code RED call from a bus driver as a priority. Code RED is defined as, “any time a situation arises and a driver’s ability to safely drive is compromised.”

Oversize Items – Oversize items on a school bus can become a safety hazard if the bus has to stop sud-denly or is involved in a collision. To ensure student safety, the district will be implementing the follow-ing guidelines:

Maximum size limit for large items: 13” wide x 13” deep x 30” high or 33cm wide x 33cm deep x 76cm high

Guidelines: The item must be in a backpack, closed bag or carrying case. The item must fit on the child’s lap or between their legs on the floor of the school bus. Items placed on the floor must not extend past the child’s chest area.

Items cannot block aisles or emergency exits.

Notices – Information on oversize items will be on large easy-to-read stickers clearly displayed on yellow school buses beginning September 2015. Bus drivers will also retain a copy of these guidelines on the bus and the information has been posted on the district website.

Drivers have been instructed that they cannot refuse transportation to a child even if the child shows up at the bus stop with an oversize item that exceeds the maximum limits. In this situation, drivers will stow the item as safely as possible. Once the bus arrives at the school, the driver will advise the school supervisor that the student has an oversize item and remind the school that the driver will not allow the oversize item back on the bus. The school must make arrangements with parents to transport the oversize item.

Driver Expectations – Edmonton Catholic Schools’ transportation staff attended orientation sessions for yellow bus drivers where they presented information on these new guidelines as well as outlined driver expectations. Driver expectations include:

Develop seating plans and assign students to specific seats.

Follow the route as designed - no courtesy stops.

Complete child check to ensure that children are not left sleeping on the bus, and

A reminder that kindergarten and grade 1 students are to be met at their stop by a parent or guardian.

Camera Surveillance Equipment

Edmonton Catholic Schools operates video surveillance equipment in approximately 45% of our bus routes. The equipment will be assigned to longer bus routes and bus routes that have had a history of issues. If, at any time throughout the year, principals want a particular bus route to have video surveillance equipment, they may contact Transportation Services and arrangements can be made to have the vid-eo surveillance equipment available for that route.

Our plan is to add new video surveillance equipment to our buses every year so that this equipment will be

on the entire fleet of buses assigned to Edmonton Catholic Schools.

Page 8

On-Line Fee Payment Instructions

1. Log in to PowerSchool at: https://powerschool.ecsd.net/public/

*Parents who have not yet logged into PowerSchool will be receiv-

ing their Log-in information in the Friday Envelope.

2. Select ‘School Fees’ from the Navigation Menu and then click on to

connect to the Student Quick Pay website.

3. Select the Student’s tab to view itemized fee details

4. Click to Add specific items to the Cart or choose to Add ALL at once

5. Once selected, View Cart or proceed to Checkout

6. Enter the credit card information and Submit Payment

PowerSchool for Students and Parents

Log-In Information

Parents who have not yet logged into PowerSchool will be receiving

their Log-in information in the Friday Envelope.

If you logged into PowerSchool last year, your Log-In and Password

remain the same!

Welcome to The Italian Pre-School Program

Located at St. Philip School

Comitato Promotore della Lingua Italiana-Italian Preschool

Facebook page is:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Comitato-Promotore-della-Lingua-

Italiana/112139012210287?ref=hl

Phone: 780-722-5391

Website with links to fur ther information and regis-

tration forms:

http://italianpreschool.shawwebspace.ca/

Page 9

A MESSAGE FROM THE ARCHBISHOP

September 2015

Dear Students, Teachers, Staff and Families,

The first days of a new school year are filled with a great deal of excitement. I welcome our new and returning stu-

dents, teachers, and staff to Edmonton Catholic Schools.

The theme for the new school year, Life of Grace...Journey of Love, places before us the love of God. St. John tells us

that God is Love, (1 John 4.16) and it is this Love that allows a conversion of heart and mind that is directed toward

God. I am sure that this beautiful theme will permeate the entire life of our schools, and allow each one of us to know

that God is Love.

Please be assured of my continued prayers for each and every one of you. Yours sincerely in Christ,

Richard W. Smith Archbishop of Edmonton

Page 10

MedicAlert’s No Child Without Program is at Our School The No Child Without program offers a free MedicAlert membership to students who attend our school and are between the ages of 4 up to their 14

th birthday. If your child has a medical condi-

tion, allergy or is required to take medication on a regular basis then you should consider a Medi-cAlert membership through this program. Your child’s voice in an emergency, MedicAlert membership;

Gives emergency first responders immediate access to your child’s medical information on their MedicAlert bracelet or necklet

Enables first responders to quickly obtain up to date medical information by means of the

child’s Electronic Health Record through the 24 Hour Emergency Hotline.

Communicates with the parent or emergency contact upon activation of the Hotline

Allows free updates of the child’s medical record as needed

MedicAlert identification can alert school staff, friends, coaches and others about your child’s med-ical condition should an emergency occur. For further information come to the office for a brochure or visit www.nochildwithout.ca. To regis-ter your child you will need a No Child Without brochure from the office. If your child is already part of the No Child Without program and there have been changes to their medical condition, medications or emergency contact information, call MedicAlert at 1-866-679-3220 Ext 1 to update your child’s file.

Welcome to another exciting year of Catholic education in Edmonton Catholic Schools! Our theme

for the year is Life of Grace…Journey of Love. Scripture is abundant with reference to the abiding

love that Our Father has for us, a love that was so great, He sent His only Son as the instrument of our

salvation. We look forward to spending much time this year unfolding the richness that is to be found

in love of God and love of neighbor.

On August 27, our administrators will gather together to celebrate the Eucharist, - which is at the cen-

tre of all that we do, and to explore 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. The framework for our

community of faith-based learning is provided in our District Plan for Continuous Growth (2015-

2018) goals.

Goal One Live the Distinctiveness of Catholic Education

Goal Two Every Student is Successful

Goal Three Quality Teaching and School Leadership

Goal Four Engaged and Effective Governance

Goal Five First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Students are Successful

If you would like to take a more in-depth look at these goals, please visit our website at https://

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

Each year, our entire staff has the opportunity to publicly renew their commitment to Catholic educa-

tion when we gather as a community of Christ to celebrate a Eucharistic Mass with Archbishop Smith

and Bishop Bittman. This moving celebration will take place on September 3.

All of our Edmonton Catholic schools will be focusing very intently on our Catholic identity this year.

We will be working with the Five Marks of Catholic School Identity to enhance the articulation of the

uniqueness of learning in a Catholic environment. We will also explore the Learner Competencies

Formed Through Catholic Education, which defines the competencies that students who graduate from

Edmonton Catholic Schools can demonstrate. It will be an exciting time for Catholic education!

Student growth will continue to be enhanced this year through Transform!, our teacher-led, job-

embedded professional learning, where every school community chooses specific areas of focus, cre-

ates systems of support for teachers to lead and engage in professional learning and celebrates the suc-

cess of teacher and student learning in building collaborative cultures. In September, our district con-

sultants will support our school teachers through conversations involving literacy, numeracy, coach-

ing, assessment, critical thinking and/or digital fluency.

We were devastated by the news of the fire at École Frère Antoine on August 11. There was signifi-

cant damage to 7 of the modular classrooms, which will have a great impact on the operation of the

building until they are replaced and other repairs are complete. We are grateful for the commitment

and dedication of our custodial and maintenance staff and of Alberta Education to get the school fully

operational as soon as possible in order to minimize the impact on our students. Please join us in con-

tinued prayer for this special community.

Pope Francis shared a tweet in June that offers a fantastic first step on our Life of Grace…Journey of

Love. He tells us the “God’s love is free. He asks for nothing in return; all he wants is for his love to

be accepted.”

Wishing your children a wonderful year of learning in Edmonton Catholic Schools!

Sincerely,

Joan Carr

Superintendent

Page 11

On Friday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m., we will be participating in a school walk/run to commemorate Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. We will be asking for donations of a ‘Toonie for Terry’. Please wear Red and White and bring your Canada Flags on Sep-tember 18 as we celebrate this great Canadian! All parents and siblings are invited to join in the run.

GREETINGS FROM ST. MATTHEW’S PARISH! 13131-86 St. Edmonton

We hope you had a restful and enjoyable summer. Here are some important an-

nouncements for your attention.

Are you or someone you know interested in becoming Catholic? We are beginning

our journey for children aged 7 and above, teens and adults to develop their relationship

and knowledge of God, to celebrate the sacraments, and to enter fully into the Catholic

Church. To register or for more information please contact Father Paul at 780-475-2888.

First Reconciliation: There will be 4 sessions for Reconciliation preparation: Oct.

3, 10, 17 and 24, 2015 at 10 am. At least 1 parent/guardian must attend all sessions with

their child. There is a $25 dollar fee for this session.

First Holy Communion registration: There will be 4 sessions for Communion prep-

aration: November 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2015 at 10 am. At least 1 parent/guardian must at-

tend all sessions with their child. There is a $25 dollar fee for this session. **Note: Chil-

dren may not celebrate their First Holy Communion until they have celebrated their

First Reconciliation.

Confirmation: There will be 4 sessions for Confirmation preparation: January 9,

16 and 23, 2016 at 10 am. The session on January 30th will run from at 2:30 pm – 4 pm.

At 4 pm we will have rehearsal for Confirmation mass. Your child’s sponsor should at-

tend at this time. The candidates, sponsors and family are required to stay for mass at 5

pm as we will have our Commitment Ceremony. At least 1 parent/guardian must attend

all sessions with their child. There is a $25 dollar fee for this session.

Reconciliation in preparation for Confirmation will be February 4 & 5, 2016.

Page 12

Kindergarten Staggered Entry

St. Philip Catholic School

8720—144 AVE

Phone: 780-475—3566 Fax: 780-478-9659

September 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3

4 5

6 7 Labour Day

8 First day of school for grades 1-6

9 10 11 12

13 14 First full day

for Kindergarten

15 16 School Opening Mass

10:30a.m.

Meet the Staff Night 6:30p.m.

Little Caesar’s Sales

Begin

17 Grade 6 Camp

18 Terry Fox Run

@ 2:00p.m.

19

20 21 22 Grade 6 cross country run @ 3:00p.m.

23

24 25 26

27 28 29 30

No Kindergarten

classes

Page 13