St. Cecilia Community Messenger

May 19 - 23, 2025

Week at a Glance

Mon, May 19 - Victoria Day, no classes

Tues, May 20, Day 3

Wed, May 21, Day 4

Thurs, May 22, Day 5

Marian Liturgy - 10:00 AM. Kindergarten class is leading. Format is a bit different than usual.
Gr 5 - 6 District Faith Day at St. Michael's Parish

Fri, May 23, Day 6

Popcorn sales

On the Horizon

May 28: ELA PAT - Gr 6 Students

May 30: Sacramental Recognition Liturgy - 10:30 AM - RSVP required

May 30: Popcorn sales.

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 19: Year End Mass 1:00 PM, Gr 6 Farewell following the Mass. (Changed from previous date, please note correction)

June 20: Gr 1-6 ; Heritage Park Field Trip

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 - Closing soon

Circle of Friends Survey For Class Placement Sept 2025

If you have not already done this survey, please complete asap as it will soon be time to work on class placements for next year. The survey is your chance to share your voice and let us know about any important matters to consider when we create classlists.

Greetings

School Council Notes and Information

Volunteers Needed!

June 23 Staff Appreciation Lunch: We need 6 volunteers from 1135 till 1230 to do lunch monitoring on the playground and in the gym so all the teachers and support staff could have lunch together. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EA9A82BA4FBC70-56937225-staff
Sept 4, 2025 Welcome back BBQ - We need a committee of 3 to 4 people to organize the welcome back evening. School Council and M. Fortier will provide support for this event. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EA9A82BA4FBC70-56937479-welcome
2025/2026 Healthy Hunger/ Fun Lunch Volunteers- We would like to have a group of 4-5 people to help organize the Healthy Hunger/ fun lunches for the 2025/2026 school year. If we had 4 to 5 people you would only need to volunteer once a month at lunch. If you are interested in more information or have any interest at all please reach out to School Council at stcecilia@schoolcouncil.cssd.ab.ca or click on this sign up, this does not commit you to doing it but to receive more information. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EA9A82BA4FBC70-56937811-interested

Healthy Hunger Survey

Healthy Hunger 2025/2026

West Jet Raffle

We are pleased to share, through Ryan Snell’s volunteering efforts, St. Cecilia School has been awarded the WestJet Gift of Flight to use for fundraising purposes! Funds raised will go towards our Outdoor Recreation Improvements, as the playground in the schoolyard of St. Cecilia will be removed in the summer of 2025. All proceeds from this raffle will be used to purchase new equipment and create an enriching outdoor environment.

We encourage you to buy your raffle tickets for your chance to win one roundtrip flight for two guests to any regularly scheduled and marketed WestJet destination!*

- Tickets can be purchased via Rafflebox at https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/ffscs-1

- Ticket costs are as follows: 1 for $10; 3 for $25; 10 for $50 or 25 for $100

- Ticket Sales close on June 8, 2025, at 11:59 PM MDT

- Winner will be drawn at St. Cecilia School in Calgary on June 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM MDT

Tickets will be sold until Sunday, June 08, 2025. The draw will be held at St. Cecilia School in Calgary on Monday, June 9, 2025. The winner will be notified within 3 days of the draw.

Classes will be competing for prizes. The class who sells the most tickets will win a pizza party. The class who sells the second most tickets will win popsicles. Remind people to choose the correct teacher’s name when purchasing tickets to count towards the class total.

Ticket purchasers must be 18 years of age or older. Ticket sales must take place within Alberta. Persons visiting from out of province may purchase a ticket if the entire transaction of payment and receipt of ticket occurs while the person is in Alberta.

Questions may be directed to: stceciliafoundation@gmail.com

Freezie Friday - June 5, 12 and 19. All proceeds go to playground

Students are invited to indulge in Freezie Fridays in June. Details are in the poster below.

GRADE 1-6 ONLY

Student Success

Student Success and Wellbeing

Social Emotional learning (SEL) continues to be an important part of learning on a daily basis. Students can use many techniques to deal with emotions throughout the day. Students learn about science, math, reading and writing but they also learn about how to interact with others and manage their emotions. SEL, Social Emotional Learning is an important part of learning while at school. Techniques on how to breath, refocus, ask for help are all part of learning.

Here are so links if you would like to learn more.

Healthier Together (AHS): Parent resources from experts at AHS
Alberta Family Wellness Initiative: Parents can learn more about the growing brain; "The Brain Story"
EVERFI: Parents can sign their kids up and go through the modules with them; modules on everything from SEL and Mental Health Basics to Financial Literacy, Empathy, and Digital Citizenship
Community Education Service (AHS): Free webinars on various topics for teachers and parents. Topics include: Nutrition and ADHD, Emotional Regulation Using Mindfulness, Intergenerational Trauma, Kids Have Stress Too, Core Story of Brain Development, and Teens in Trouble with the Law.
Stress Strategies: A problem solving approach to stress management.
SEL activities: Activities to increase social-emotional learning (SEL) skills.
Fundamentals of SEL - CASEL

Well Being

School Wellness Worker

Hello Families,

We know sleep is so important for our minds and bodies. It's what heals and restores us. This week we will focus on sleep and children's mental health.

Lack of sleep significantly impacts children's mental health in several key ways:

Emotional Regulation: Children who don’t get enough sleep often struggle with mood swings, irritability, and difficulty managing emotions. This can lead to increased anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues
Cognitive Development: Sleep is crucial for brain development. Insufficient sleep has been linked to reduced grey matter in areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory, and decision-making
Learning and Academic Performance: Poor sleep affects concentration, memory retention, and problem-solving skills, all of which are essential for learning
Behavioral Problems: Kids with inadequate sleep are more likely to exhibit impulsivity, hyperactivity, and aggression
Long-Term Mental Health Risks: Chronic sleep deprivation in childhood can increase the risk of developing long-term mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety

Are your kids getting enough sleep? Are you?

Please click on the link for more information.

Also, attached to this message is a poster with tips to get a good night's sleep.

Hope you find them helpful!

https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/sleep-benefits-and-recommended-amounts-for-children

pdf

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SleepHygienePosterENG_RGB (1).pdf

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500.6 KB

Sacramental Recognition

We will recognize students on May 30 at 10:30 am at our Sacramental Recognition Liturgy. Parents are welcome to attend the liturgy.

So far, we have received notification of the following students who have received a Sacrament during this school year. Please send me an email at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca to let me know if your child has received a Sacrament. You may also call the school at 403 500 2040. We will need to know the Sacrament and Parish where it was received.

Christopher K 2/3SH

Nina F 5MC

Esther D 2CV

Emily F 2/3 CR

Lisa H 2CV

Nathan R 3JBK

Abbey E 6MW

Joshua V 2/3 CR

Charles S 3JBK

John E 2/3 CR

Alina Y 2 CV

Zack 6MW

Jahdore 2CV

Kelechi A 6MW

Amarachi A 6MW

Lyndsey R 2CV

Caius N 1/2 FR and Eucharist

Deimela P - K Baptism

Herkus P Gr 5 - Baptism

St Cecilia Parish Bulletin

Please open the attachment below for the Parish Bulletin.

pdf

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19 Easter 5 May 17-18.pdf

Download

4.6 MB

Catholic Education Assurance

Parents, please complete the Catholic Assurance Survey.

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

Board Meeting Information

May 15, 2025

To view the Calgary Catholic Board Meeting Highlights for the Special Board Meeting of May 14, 2025 as well as previous Highlights please access the following link: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/highlights-minutes

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