The Good News December 19th, 2025

Dear Families,

As we celebrate the joyful season of Christmas, we are reminded of the great gift of hope and love that comes with the birth of Jesus Christ. This holy season invites us to pause, reflect, and give thanks for the many blessings in our lives—most especially our children and the gift of community we share.

We are grateful for your continued partnership, trust, and support throughout the year. May this Christmas bring peace to your hearts, joy to your homes, and renewed faith as we celebrate Emmanuel—God with us.

We wish you a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with health, hope, and God’s grace.

Merry Christmas and God bless,

Dan Holden & Erin Croft

St. John XXIII Leadership Team

Teacher communication

To ensure our teachers get a true Christmas break, they won’t be responding to messages or Dojo posts until school is back in session. We appreciate your support in letting them unplug and enjoy the festivities. See you in the New Year!

Monday, Jan. 5

3ET Linking Generations

Tuesday, Jan. 6

Regular day

Wednesday, Jan. 7

Parish Visit - Kinder
Early Dismissal 2:08 pm , School Spirit Day- wear your favourite jersey

Thursday, Jan. 8

N3/4 Glass Fusion (in class)

Friday, Jan. 9

ISP meetings (See information below)

Looking Ahead:

Jan. 12 - Picture Retake Day 1, Parent Council Meeting 6:30pm

Jan. 13 - Picture Retake Day 2

Jan. 14 - 4D Fort Museum

Jan. 16 - Hot Lunch

Jan. 22 - N4 Natural Playground

Jan. 23 - Kinder Activity - The Makery

Jan. 26 - N3 Natural Playground

Jan. 27 - Gr 4 TPet, 2L & 2G TPet

Jan. 28 - (Wednesday) - formerly a PD day and end of Semester 1, now an instructional day. (Schedule A: Nature Kindergarten and Monday/Thursday Yockey will attend)

Jan. 29 - 2W TPet,

Thank you for your amazing generosity in our Basket of Blessings Raffle that was held the night of our Christmas Concert. $2968.15 was raised for Lurana Shelter

May God bless you and your family this Advent Season.

A reminder that ALL ISP's need to be endorsed by Friday, December 19th. Please log into Power School to view and endorse your child’s ISP. Please refer to the instructions found on our website on how to access the ISP through PowerSchool, and how to endorse your child’s ISP.

Parent Meetings were held this week and there is one more day (Friday, January 9) scheduled for ISP meetings in the new year. The purpose of these meetings is to review your child’s ISP and to answer any questions you may have. We understand that some families are already in regular communication with their child’s teacher and may not feel a meeting is necessary at this time, which is absolutely fine.

Meeting times can be booked using the link below, similar to how parent–teacher interviews are scheduled.

*Mrs. Walsh is not available on Friday, January 9 in the afternoon for ISP meetings.

Booking System Opens: Wednesday, December 10th at 9:00 am
Booking System Closes: Wednesday, January 2nd at 12:00 noon

Book your appointment here: ISP Conference Link 2025

Thank you for your continued engagement and support. If you have any further questions about meetings, or scheduling a time outside of these three dates, please contact Erin Croft (erinc@eics.ab.ca)

Lifetouch will be here for picture retakes on the following dates:

January 12:

PreK
Kindergarten M/R
Grades 1 & 2

January 13:

Kindergarten T/F
Grades 3 & 4
Any students who were absent on January 12th that would like retakes

To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.ca or create an online account.

To view them online, please log in to your account at mylifetouch.ca. If you don’t have an account yet, you can create one using your email address. You’ll need your student’s ID number to locate their photos. *6 digit ID number is located under your child's name in PowerSchool. Bonus: All families can also order a FREE digital Pictures2Protect Card—a great way to keep your child’s photo and emergency info handy. Learn more about the Pictures2Protect program here.

Thank you! —The Lifetouch Team

In search of a parent representative

We are looking for a parent representative who has a strong passion for Catholic Education and wants to engage with parents and other community members to support the gift of Catholic Education. The committee, comprised of parents, parishioners, school division representatives, and community members is within the provincial GrACE Alberta advocacy group for Catholic education and promotes the importance and protection of Catholic education within our division and our province.

What is involved?

The EICS GrACE committee meets approximately 4 times within the school year (for approximately an hour) and is a wonderful and welcoming group. The role includes being able to attend meetings (virtual or in person), participate in meeting conversations to share what your particular school is doing, and bring back to your parent school community (through school council) information from the meetings. The EICS GrACE committee is focused on advocating for Catholic education, celebrating the great things being done in our schools, engaging parents and the community to support Catholic education and sharing of resources, all while building a community among the pillars of parents, parish and school.

If this is something you are interested in learning more about, please email Erin Croft at erinc@eics.ab.ca or by calling the school at (780) 998-7777.

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, especially through this Advent season.

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.

Our EICS Division Administrative Procedure 134 provides guidelines for us at Saint John XXIII for responding to the winter months:

Decisions regarding outdoor activities are to take into consideration inclement weather that may result from the following conditions or combination of conditions: Continuous rain; Extreme wind, and/or Extreme cold
The suggested guideline is that students do not go outside if the temperature is - 25 C or colder. The suggested guideline above is at the discretion of school Administrators and staff as part of their consideration for determining whether recess will be inside or outside. Outside time is sometimes shortened or withheld to accommodate winter conditions
Morning: Supervision begins at 8:30 am, please do not drop off students prior to 8:30 am.
Outdoor breaks are a very important time for students for play, social-emotional regulation, fresh air, and exercise. We will go out almost every recess; rain, snow or shine. Please ensure that your child comes prepared for the weather. Recesses will be indoors only during extreme weather conditions deemed unsafe to head out for even short spurts.
In order to support the important balance of learning and play, we will have three responses to recess breaks to respond to Alberta weather:

1. Regular recess outside (temperature and conditions not an issue)

2. Inside Recess (Extreme cold and/or weather conditions that are deemed unsafe for full duration of outside playtime)

3. Polar Bear Recess: (Temperatures are lower and cold but still safe to head outdoors for short periods). Students must be dressed for weather conditions and during a Polar Bear recess, students will be given a choice to head outside for a short duration of supervised play or stay indoors for supervised play.

We know from research that outside play is so important for a child's mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being and we will do all we can to support daily outside play as much as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact the school.

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.

School Council Website

School Council Facebook Page

Help Us Plan for an Amazing 2025/2026 School Year

We're looking for volunteers who are interested in getting involved in some initiatives for the 2025/2026 school year, as well as hearing your comments and suggestions.

Please take a moment to complete our School Council Survey

https://forms.gle/CykbDt3J4vPLJQ4Z7

We invite all St. John XXIII students to submit their artwork for this year's Yearbook Cover Contest! All entries must be submitted by January 23rd. A panel will select the top five submissions, and then the school population will vote on their favorite design via a Google form.

The winning artwork will be featured on the front cover, while the remaining top four selected designs will be showcased on the back cover.

Don't miss your chance to have your artwork seen by the entire school!

Submit art on:

8.5 x11 sheet of white paper
Vertical orientation only
Colorful (bold, dramatic lines and colours. No pencil crayons or water-colour paints as they do not show up well when scanned. Suggested tools- markers, sharpies)
Please write your name and classroom on the back of your artwork

All entries must include:

Our theme - “Growing Together in Christ’s Love", inspired by John 15:5,8: “I am the vine; you are the branches… bear much fruit, and become my disciples.”

Entries due January 23rd

Tips for a good entry:

Limit the amount of white space - lots of colors (including the background)
Use up the whole sheet of paper (the bigger the better)
Choose bright and bold colours! Avoid using pencils and light colored crayons.
To make your cover POP, create a thick outline using a sharpie or marker
Covers will be scanned so artwork must be completely flat

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 January Hot Lunch is live:

Friday, January 16 - Booster Juice & Fort Sask Lunchbox Hotdogs
Monday, January 26 - Cobs

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

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, January 12th, at 6:30 PM. We encourage all parents and guardians to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Don’t Forget: Support our School Through Ongoing Fundraisers!

COBS Dough Raiser Program: Mention "St. John XXIII School" at COBS Bread in Fort Saskatchewan, and 5% of your purchase will be donated.

Boston Pizza: Dine at any participating Boston Pizza and submit your original receipt to Mrs. Potter in the school office by January 15, 2025, to earn our school 5% cash back (receipts must be from before December 31, 2025).

As a school community, we gathered together to enjoy Advent Mass. It was a wonderful, faith filled opportunity to come together in Peace, Love, Joy and Love.