St. Cecilia Community Messenger

Mon, Nov 4, Day 4

Tues, Nov 5, Day 5

• Remembrance Day Liturgy - 10:30 AM

Wed, Nov 6, Day 6

Thurs, Nov 7, Day 1

Fri, Nov 8, Day 2

• Indigenous Veteran’s Day

Nov 8: Indigenous Veterans Day

Nov 11: Remembrance Day - No classes

Nov 17: Metis Week

Nov 19: Advent Food Drive Begins

Nov 21: School Council Meeting

Nov 26: Scholastic Book Fair Arrives

Nov 28: Evening PT Conferences

Nov 29: PT Conferences - No classes

Dec 2: Bookfair leaves

Dec 13: Student Faith Day - Face to Face Ministries

Dec 19: Last day of classes before Christmas break

Dec 20: PG day - No classes

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

Our next School Council meeting will be held on Nov 21, 2024. All parents are automatically members of School Council and as such you are welcome to attend the meetings and to voice your opinions on the matters discussed in those meetings. I would encourage all parents to attend at least one school council meeting over the course of the school year.

Please see the minutes from the October meeting in the attachment below.

Our school playground is scheduled for removal next summer and as such, fundraising for a new playground is also continuing. Thanks to the efforts of our Education Society (Foundation) we are please to offer the following activities. Your participation will help to grow fundraising efforts to assist with building a new playground here at St. Cecilia.

Growing Smiles Fundraiser

Christmas is coming and what better way to create a festive atmosphere than to add some greenery or a poinsettia to your home. Please see the attachment below for information on selection and how to order. You may also click on this link to place your order. Thank you for your support. St. Cecilia School Foundation (Bilingual)

50/50 Draw

The 50/50 fundraiser is live, https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/ffscs-playground

Ticket sales close at midnight on November 26th, open to Alberta residents 18 and over so please share with friends and family! Winner will receive 50% of the total minus rafflebox fees.

Dear St. Cecilia Families!

This year for our Remembrance day liturgy we are wanting to personalize our assembly to include veterans from our St. Cecilia Family. We know that many families have been impacted by conflicts around the world and there are veterans of many different armies within our school community.

If you have a family member you would like to honour at our liturgy, the Grade 6 class would like to invite you to submit their photo (preferably in uniform - but NOT required) and the following information: the name of the student (or students - in the case of siblings) who submitted the picture and their relation to person pictured, the name of the person in the photo and which war or military action they were/are serving. ie: WWII, which nation’s military and branch of military. Additional information could also be provided such as their rank, where they were stationed etc.

Photos need to be submitted no later than Friday, November 1st for inclusion in the Remembrance Day assembly/ liturgy.

Thank you!

Michelle Weston

Parents as the primary educator of their children work together with school staff to maximize learning and student growth and development. The image below describes tips and techniques that parents can use to encourage learning at school. Please keep open lines of communication with your child's teacher and school administration, attend school council meetings and come to school events. Your involvement promotes learning. Volunteering in your child's class is a great way to learn about life at St. Cecilia and most elementary students enjoy seeing their parents at school.

Dear families,

Non-suicidal self-injury (harm) of students is not unheard of in elementary schools. Schools have protocols to deal with this sensitive issue, but it's even more important for parents to understand what non-suicidal self-injury is and what to look for at home if you are concerned about your child.

Please click on the link to read more about it.

Take care.

Learning About Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Your Child

In the month of November, the Church devotes itself to prayer and remembrance for the faithfully departed and for souls in purgatory. On November 2, we celebrate All Souls Day – a great opportunity to pray for all those we know who have died, especially those in our families and communities. Page 4 of this issue includes a Prayer for the Deceased.

This month, on page 3, we explore Jesus’ identity as the Light of the World and how that inspired some great classical art in the 17th century.

Check out information on the Formed resource series on “The Case for Jesus” on page 2. Formed is an online subscription-based service that most of our parishes have provided access to. If you don’t have an access account, check with your local parish!

Page 2 also has some information on a popular devotional – the scapular.

We are excited for our district Faith Day tomorrow – November 1! Pray for an enriching and joyful day to celebrate our faith theme: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift”!

As part of our service projects St. Cecilia staff and students will work on the Jacket Racket winter coat collection. We will also participate in a Food Drive for St. Vincent de Paul between Nov 12 and Dec 12. More information will be forthcoming on the logistics of these service projects.

For the Food drive, we will have a list of desired items. Each class will be asked to contribute to the food drive. Please note that participating in charitable actions and service projects such as these is part of our Catholic Faith and these are learning opportunities for students.

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.

October 24, 2024

To view the Calgary Catholic Board Meeting Highlights for the Regular Board Meeting of October 23, 2024, as well as previous Highlights please access the following link: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/highlights-minutes

Formed, AKA Netflix for Catholics

All About Shrove Tuesday

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.

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

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.

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

Aug 26-Sept 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/8n1cr

Sept 9-13, 2024 : https://secure.smore.com/n/at85k

Sept 16-20, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/uaxp4

Sept 23-27, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/kb635

Sept 30-Oct 4, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/kuvsr

Oct 7-11, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/kaxy90

Oct 14-18, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/t5dgy

Oct 21-25, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/knphv

Oct 28-Nov 1, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/d01564

Nov 4 - 8, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/9ntu5p