St. Cecilia Community Messenger

March 31 - April 4, 2025

Week at a Glance

Sunday, March 30 - Bottle Drive 10:00 Am - 2:00 PM

Mon, March 31 - Faith Day, No classes

Tues, April 1, day 6

Purdy's chocolate order deadline.

Wed, April 2, Day 1

Thurs, April 3, Day 2

Fri, April 4, Day 3

On the Horizon

April 7: Book Swap

April 11: Pledges from Read A Thon Are Due

April 15: Gr 6 drama production - Please bring a non-perishable food donation

April 17: Holy Thursday Liturgy

April 18: Good Friday - Easter holidays begin

May 1: Asian Heritage Month

May 7: Hats on for Mental Health

May 8: Spring Family Dance (Tentative, organizer needed)

May 15: School Council AGM

May 16: PG day, no classes

May 19: Victoria Day - No Classes

May 22: Marian Liturgy

May 28: ELA PAT - Gr 6 Students

May 30: Sacramental Recognition Liturgy - 10:30 AM

June 5: School Council Meeting - 9:30 AM

June 6: PG Day - No classes

June 12: Gr 6 ELA PAT Part B

June 13: Gr 6 Math Part A

June 18: Year End Mass

June 21: National Indigenous People's Day

June 25: Last day of classes for students

June 26: Last day for teachers

Circle of Friends Survey for Class Placement

Circle of Friends Survey For Class Placement Sept 2025

Greetings

School Council Notes and Information

We are in need 2 to 3 volunteer to coordinate the Spring Dance. The DJ is booked for May 8th if we cannot find volunteers by March 28th the Spring Dance will be cancelled. If you are interested please email school council stcecilia@schoolcouncil.cssd.ab.ca
Book swap: St. Cecilia School Council Book Swap will start collecting books on Tuesday April 1. Kids get to pick books April 4. Thank you to all the volunteers that have signed up. There are a few more spaces please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EA9A82BA4FBC70-55299623-book
Hotdog Lunch - Thanks very much to parent volunteers for organizing and preparing the hot dog fun lunch. We appreciate your help. This activity raised almost $1000.00 for the new playground.

Read a thon: Congrats to all the kids that have won a book during the book draws this week. Hope all the kids are having fun and challenging themselves to read!
Kathy MacDonald - Cybersafety presentation - Thank you to our School Council for organizing a lovely evening with our guest speaker Kathy MacDonald. Lots of great information on the topic of cybersafety was presented.
School Council Meeting, April 10, 2025, 6:30 PM. Please see agenda below.

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April 2025 Meeting Agenda.pdf

Book Swap letter home - March 2025.pdf

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Bottle Drive in Support of the Playground

St. Cecilia Playground Community Bottle Drive – Volunteers Needed!

We’re excited to launch our community bottle drive to support the building of our playground! We are urgently seeking volunteers for:

Bottle Collection (March 30; 10am-12pm OR 12pm-2pm) – Assist with collecting bottles on drive day. We will need those with vehicles that can transport bottles from the community to the school. We will be stationed at the school to distribute mapped areas, and you can sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4CAAA82DA2FB6-55592613-stcecilia

Your help will make all the difference in reaching our goal. If you have any questions or want to connect, text Elyse (403-966-3331). Sign up today!

Student Success

Monk Lunch

We have made some progress on Monk Lunch this week. We have made some improvement but I would like to encourage all students to reflect on Father Paul's homily from our Liturgical celebration on Thursday on the value of being still and silent.

As part of our service to others, we are now collecting food donations for St. Vincent de Paul. Students are invited to bring a non-persishable food item to school to donate.

Well Being

School Wellness Worker

Hello Families,

According to the Oxford Dictionary, self-care is "the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health" and "the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress".

Self-care is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it's about finding what works best for you and making it a regular part of your routine. The 5 C's of mental health—Connection, Compassion, Coping, Community, and Care—provide a comprehensive framework for fostering mental well-being.

So, what can you and your family do to practice self-care? Click on the link to view a fun bingo game with a lot of great ideas.

Take Care 🙂

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WholeKidsFoundation_2021_Self-Care-Bingo.pdf

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Faith Formation

Sacramental Recognition Liturgy May 30, 2025, 10:30 AM

St. Cecilia School will recognize students who have received a Sacrament (First Communion, Reconcilliation, Baptism and Confirmation during this school year. Please call the office at 403 500 2040 or feel free to email me at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca and let us know the name of the child, the Sacrament that was received and the parish you attended.

Third Week of Lent

As we finish the third week of Lent we invite our community to reflect on the following:

- What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

- How do we accept truths that may be difficult for us to hear?

- What expectations regarding prayer do I have of God?

- What situation in my life might be a sign of my thirst for God?

- When do I give people second chances?

- How do I put God in a box?

Student Activities

Continue to practice daily prayer.

See student Lenten activities recommended here: https://www.thereligionteacher.com/lent-activities/

Preparing Our Hearts for Jesus

Read scripture each day.

Continue with your commitment to support, pray for and learn about a social justice organization as suggested during the First Week of Lent.

Catholic Education Assurance

Parents, please complete the Catholic Assurance Survey.

St. Cecilia Parish Bulletin

Hello everyone, please open the bulletin and related attachments below.

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12 Lent 4 March 29-30.pdf

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Indigenous Education

Enrollment in A Catholic School for Non-Catholics

The Education Act requires the Calgary Catholic School District to prioritize resources and facilities for resident (Catholic) students. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the advancement of a non-resident (non-Catholic) student from one grade to the next in the same school or from elementary to junior and senior high school.

We do not reassess the enrollment priority of a non-resident student during a school year, but we may do this for a future school year. This may result in us informing you to seek enrollment at a different school in the Calgary Catholic School District or another school division for a future school year.

Please contact me at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca or by phone at 403 500 2063, if you have any questions about your child’s enrollment priority.

Board of Trustees Priorties

March 26, 2025

To view the Calgary Catholic Board Meeting Highlights for the Special Board Meeting of March 26, 2025, as well as previous Highlights please access the following link: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/highlights-minutes

Creating Calgary Together Newsletter

Please click below to open the attachment for the Creating Calgary Together Newsletter.

Useful Links

Faith Formation Links

Formed, AKA Netflix for Catholics

All About Shrove Tuesday

Student Success Links

My Child's Learning: A Parent Resource

Canadian Parents for French - CPF is an advocacy group whose aim is to promote French bilingual education.

St. Cecilia Student Handbook

K to 12 Education in Alberta: This link gives a broad overview of Alberta's K to 12 education system.

New LearnAlberta Parent Support Website: Contains an overview of grade level topics and is a good place to start for parents who are looking for ways to engage with their child's education.

Programs of Study: Links to K-12 programs of study as well as Tools for Parents.

Please click the links below to view the volunteer orientation and please make sure to complete the acknowledgement forms. These steps are very important in keeping you up to date as a school volunteer.

Volunteer Orientation: https://youtu.be/QaOxx2x3-eM

Acknowledgement Form: https://forms.gle/sDCD7aYau9PTGgSPA

Circle of Friends Survey for Class Placement Sept 2025

Indigenous Education Links

21 Things You May Not Have Known About the Indian Act

Indigenous Veteran's Day - Nov 8.

The Seven Sacred Laws Animated Web Series

RupertsLand Institute

Indigenous Elder Definition

Wellness Links

Action for Happiness Action for Happiness is a great resource to bring more positivity in our lives.

The Summit - The Summit program is an Alberta Health Services program that supports children and families experiencing mental health concerns that need to be addressed. They provide long term counselling as well as walk in’s.

CanLearn Society - A great resource for parents on how to manage mental health issues or concerns in the home.

Healthy childhood development through outdoor risky play: Navigating the balance with injury prevention.

Brief review about outdoor play

The importance of regaining outdoor PA

HealthyHunger.ca Healthy Hunger.

Bullying Prevention Resources for Alberta Government

Links for Playground Donations

For St. Cecilia School students/parents, please click below link to login school fee payment account to make the donation:

https://www.studentquickpay.com/CSSD/Default.aspx

For guest donors, please click below link to login and make the donation:

https://www.studentquickpay.com/CSSD/MyAccount/Main.aspx?webitemid=8670