The Good News February 20th, 2026

This week we begin our Lenten journeys. Lent is a time to pray, to ask for forgiveness, and to share what we have with others. For forty days, we prepare for the new life of Easter. By asking Jesus to show us the way, we can become more loving, caring, compassionate, and forgiving. Through prayer, fasting, and sacrifice, our hearts can be filled with the joy and love of God.

May this season of Lent be a time of peace and renewal for your family. We look forward to walking this path toward Easter Sunday together.

Also, since it's the Winter Olympics... Go Canada!

Warm regards,

Mr. Dan Holden & Mrs. Erin Croft

St. John XXIII Leadership Team

• N4 Elk Island Nat. Park
• 3F Linking Generations

• Ringette Club
• N1 Hawks of Alberta

• Early Dismissal 2:08 pm
• Parish Visit Gr 4
• Pink Shirt Day

• Hot Lunch

Looking Ahead:

March 4 - Early Dismissal (Spirit Day- Wear Purple for Lent), Literacy and Numeracy Night 5:30 (all families welcome), Gr 4 Symphony Trip

March 6 - PD Day (No school for students)

March 9 - Parent Council Meeting 6:30 pm

March 10 - N1 SWC

March 12 - KMR Hands on Science, N3/4 Greenland Seed Starting

March 13 - Gr 1 Fitset Ninja, KTF Hands on Science, N2 SWC

March 17 - Saint Patrick's Day, Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm)

March 18 - Parent Teacher Interviews (3-6 pm), No Kindergarten due to Interviews

March 23-27 - Spring Break

April 1- Lenten Cereal Domino Assembly

April 3 - Good Friday (No school)

April 6 - Easter Monday (No School)

Thanks to local restaurant Eggcellent P'Eats, we were able to celebrate our faith tradition of Shrove Tuesday with pancakes and fixings! Our students and staff were so incredibly grateful!

A special thank you to our parent council for organizing this special tradition. We appreciate your commitment to our school community.

Thank you to all the volunteers who picked up and served this tasty treat to the school and classrooms.

Our school community gathered in faith for Ash Wednesday Mass, beginning the sacred season of Lent together. As we received ashes, we were reminded that Ash Wednesday is a time to pause, reflect, and grow closer to God’s love.

Lent invites us to open our hearts through prayer, kindness, and service — choosing each day to love as Jesus teaches us. We are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate together in faith and to walk this Lenten journey as one school family.

May this season draw us nearer to God and to one another.

3rd Annual Lenten Social Justice Project

Cereal Box Challenge for the Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank

During the holy season of Lent, we are called to grow closer to Jesus through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Almsgiving invites us to care for those in need and share the blessings we have received.

This year, our school community will live out almsgiving through our 3rd Annual Cereal Box Challenge in support of the Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank.

We invite students and families to donate new, unopened boxes of cereal or other boxed, non-perishable food items. Donations can be brought to school starting Monday, February 23rd.

As the donations come in, we will proudly display the boxes in the front entrance of the school. On the final day of our campaign, Wednesday, April 1st, we will come together to build a giant domino chain using all the boxes collected. As we watch the dominoes topple, it will serve as a joyful reminder that even one small act of kindness can grow into something powerful, just like God’s love spreading throughout our community.

Each item donated is a sign of compassion, generosity, and love in action. Together, let us be the hands and feet of Jesus and share hope with our neighbours.

Thank you for helping us make a difference this Lent!

Staff and students are encouraged to wear pink on Pink Shirt Day as a symbol of love and a commitment to be kind to each other and ourselves. It is our belief that we are all beautifully and wonderfully made, created in the image of God and loved unconditionally.

Let all you do be done in love. - 1 Corinthians 16:14

Please cast your vote for our 2025-2026 Yearbook cover. Above are the images for the top 5 finalists.

One winner will be selected to be displayed on the front cover. Four other winners will be displayed on the back cover.

Voting will close on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Only one vote per email address is allowed. Use this LINK to cast your vote

To celebrate the Olympic spirit, Mrs. Buban launched a school-wide reading competition to spark a love for new stories. Mr. Holden, Mrs. Croft, Mrs. Buban, Mrs. Heesing and Mrs. Schaub all visited classrooms to read a unique book, after which students voted for their favourites. Based on these votes, the top three books were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals!

Please visit our website for more information on registration for the 26-27 school year. Here are some helpful links:

• Pre-Kindergarten registration at Elk Island Catholic Schools is a 3 step process. Please visit the Pre-K page of our website for details.
• Kindergarten - please visit the Kindergarten page for the kindergarten calculator, program information, boundary maps and much more.
• Nature Programs - please visit the Nature Programs page on our website.

All current St. John XXIII students are required to fill out the Next Year Intentions form (and not a new registration form) in PowerSchool so that we can plan accordingly for next year. Please log into your PowerSchool account and fill out the Next Year Intentions form. Please click the link in the top orange alert bar on the front page of PowerSchool.

Please refer to the PowerSchool page on our website for more information.

Policy Overview:

• School Hours and Property: From 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and while on school property, students are not permitted to use any digital devices unless they are part of instruction led by the teacher (Chromebooks and laptops). The only exceptions are for students with a diagnosed medical condition or identified inclusive educational needs coordinated with the school.
• Encouraging Disconnection: We strongly encourage students to leave their personal devices at home. However, if a student brings technology to school, it must be stored securely in their backpack and remain powered off during school hours.
• Communication Protocol: All communication with parents, including absences, illnesses, and pick-up arrangements, must go through the school office. To maintain our focus on learning, we ask parents to refrain from texting or calling their children during instructional time. In case of an emergency, please contact the office directly.
• Policy Violations: If a student violates this policy, the device may be confiscated, and parents will be notified. Repeated or severe infractions may result in further disciplinary action.
• Device Responsibility: St. John XXIII Catholic School does not assume responsibility for the safety, security, loss, repair, or replacement of personal devices brought to school.

As our student population continues to grow, so too does our staff. At this time, we have a limited number of parking spaces available for staff members.

We kindly ask for your cooperation in keeping designated staff parking spots available in the morning so that our staff have access to parking when they arrive for the school day. This small courtesy helps ensure a smooth and positive start to the day for those who work hard to support our students.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation, and we thank you for your continued support of our school community.

Now that students are well into their routines and know where their classrooms are, we kindly ask that if your child arrives late, you allow them to walk to their classroom on their own. If you are picking up your child early, please check in at the office and your child will meet you in the office.

Once classes have begun, extra adults in the hallway or at the classroom door can create a disruption for students and teachers. Thank you for helping us keep the learning environment calm and focused.

We recognize that this season can be a difficult time for some of our families within our community. If you or your family are struggling with finances, emotional or mental health, medical or physical needs, please reach out to someone within our school or parish community and we can respond. Everyone needs help sometimes, we are not meant to journey this life alone. There are many resources, agencies and people who have offered assistance and we can confidentially arrange for support.

Due to the high volume of calls we've been receiving at the end of the school day, we kindly ask that dismissal and transportation plans be arranged before students arrive at school each morning. Last-minute changes create challenges during our busiest time of day and may lead to missed messages or confusion for students.

If an unexpected change arises, please ensure the school is notified at least 15 minutes before dismissal so we can communicate with your child in time.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep students safe and ensuring the end of the day runs smoothly for everyone.

Does your child have medical information, a condition the school should be aware of or require medication? If so please complete a B.2) 2025-2026 Medical Status Update/Request for Medical Treatment form located in your Parent Portal . This form is required yearly. We use this important information to alert any staff members, including substitute teachers, of any existing medical needs we need to be aware of. If your child requires medication at school you must fill out the medical form with all relevant information related to the medication.

If your child requires use of an EpiPen, please make sure this is filled out immediately. If your child no longer has a medical condition, you are required to update the form accordingly.

Please note:

• All medications, even over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, Benadryl etc. require a label from the pharmacy
• the submission of a Medical Form is required prior to medication being sent to the school

If you need assistance, please click the Medical Form link found on our website.

If you wish to register your child for the bus or change your current route, please contact the Student Transportation Department of EIPS at (780) 417-8151 or st@eips.ca.

Order your child's hot lunch conveniently through MunchaLunch. Simply visit https://munchalunch.com/schools/stjohnXXIII to register or log in.

MunchaLunch makes ordering and payment (credit, debit-credit, Google/Apple Pay) simple. After adding your children, click "Order Lunch!" to get started.

Ordering Information:

Online ordering for March Hot Lunch will open Feb 22nd.

Friday, February 27th - Subway- ordering closes Feb 20th at 10pm

Wednesday, March 18th - Canadian Brewhouse

Tuesday, March 31st - Boston Pizza/Cotton Candy Shoppe

Important Reminders:

• Orders will be accepted up to 7 days before the hot lunch date.

• If your child is ill or absent on a hot lunch date, you’re welcome to pick up their lunch order by 11:30 AM. If you’re unable to do so, please consider it a donation for a child in need.

• Please note that we are unable to issue refunds. We appreciate your support of our hot lunch program, as the prices include costs associated with running the program and help raise funds that benefit the student experience at our school. Thank you for your understanding!

If you need assistance with ordering, please contact our hot lunch coordinator Brandy at Hotlunchstjohnxxiii@gmail.com

Mark your calendars! Our next School Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 9th, at 6:30 PM. We encourage all parents and guardians to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Our St. John XXIII School Council is excited to announce a new spring fundraiser, made possible by Bonnie Doon Flowers Garden Center just in time for Mother’s Day!

Each pansy bowl is 12” in diameter and 5” deep. The cost of the pansy bowl is $30 each. Tomato plant varieties are Early Girl and Roma and come in 6” pots. The cost of the tomato plants is $15 each.

How to Order:

• Orders can be placed through your Munchalunch account starting March 1st

• The deadline for orders is April 4th at 2pm.

• Pansy Bowls & Tomato plants must be picked up at the school on Friday, May 8, 2026, between 3-6pm.

Don’t miss out—order yours today!

Our program depends on the help of our wonderful volunteers! When you’re logged into your account, you’ll find a volunteer page where you can indicate your availability to help distribute hot lunch to the classrooms. If you’ve marked that you’re able to volunteer, the hot lunch coordinator will reach out with a schedule.

We're excited to offer our Big Box of Cards sets - your choice of the All Occasion box or the Birthday box set—perfect for any celebration! Each box contains 35 handcrafted cards for just $36.32.

Quantities are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis, so be sure to grab yours before they’re gone! You’re welcome to order as many boxes as we have in stock—perfect for stocking up for upcoming events.

Payment is quick and easy through your Munchalunch account, and must be completed at the time of order.

Mark your calendars! Our next School Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 9th, at 6:30 PM. We encourage all parents and guardians to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Starting Lent as a school community begins with the joyful transition from Shrove Tuesday to Ash Wednesday. The journey kicks off with the "merriment" of Pancake Day, where our students shared a final feast that symbolizes community and celebration. This energy then turns toward quiet reflection on Ash Wednesday, as the distribution of ashes serves as a humble reminder of our commitment to prayer, fasting, and service. Together, these traditions unite the school in a shared purpose of spiritual growth and kindness leading up to Easter.

Our grade 4 learners have been busy with a coding Teachers Pet field trip, learning about constellations, Olympic sledding and engaging in fun math games!

Indoor Recess means Games, and learning how to take turns, win and lose, and work together as a group.

The cold weather this week has led to some indoor recesses, but our fitness club has students moving their bodies!

Email: stj@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://stj.eics.ab.ca/
Location: 9526 89 Street, Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-998-7777
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St.JohnXXIII