St. Cecilia Community Messenger

Tues, Sept 10, Day 6

• Kindergarten Staggered Entry

Wed, Sept 11, Day 1

• Kindergarten Staggered Entry

Thurs, Sept 12, Day 2

• School Council 6:30 PM

Fri, Sept 13, Day 3

• Opening Mass at St. Cecilia - Arrival 9:45 AM, Mass 10:00 AM

Sept 12: School Council 6:30 PM at St. Cecilia

Sept 13: St. Cecilia Opening Mass for gr 1-6 - Volunteers needed. Please speak to classroom teacher.

Sept 24: Picture Day - Volunteers needed. TBA

Sept 25: Evening PT Interviews

Sept 26: Orange Shirt Day - All students encouraged to wear orange

Sept 26: Parent Trustee Forum - Details TBA

Sept 27: Pt Interviews, No classes

Sept 29: National Rail Safety Week

Sept 30 Truth and Reconcilliation Day - No Classes

Oct 5: World Teacher Day

Oct 7: Custodian Appreciation Day

Oct 10: World Mental Health Day

Oct 11: PG Day, no classes

Oct 14: Thanksgiving Day - No classes

Oct 17: School Council

Oct 19: Catholic Education Week, Catholic Education Sunday

Nov 1: District Faith Day

Nov 3: Daylight Saving time

Nov 8: Indigenous Veterans Day

Nov 11: Remembrance Day - No classes

Nov 17: Metis Week

Nvo 26: Scholastic Book Fair Arrives

Nov 28: Evening PT Conferences

Nov 29: PT Conferences - No classes

Dec 2: Bookfair leaves

Dec 19: Last day of classes before Christmas break

Dec 20: PG day - No classes

Hello St. Cecilia School Community.

Please note the attachments below. The Calendar file has the days labelled. IE, day 1, day 2, 3 etc. The next attachment is a copy of the St. Cecilia Handbook for this school year. Please review with your child. The last attachment is the Connections Newsletter from Calgary Catholic School District.

I would like to take a moment to welcome our new caretaker, Richard Manglanbayan. Mr. Manglanbayan was formerly the caretaker at St. William School. Please say hello when you meet him.

Please ensure your child is aware of transportation arrangements for the afternoon ride home. Please avoid calling the school at the last moment to make changes to the transportation. This creates disruption and is difficult to manage. This in turn, creates stress and anxiety for the child, parents and staff.

Thank you to all families who attended our welcome back bbq on Thursday evening. It was beautiful evening and everyone was in good spirits. I enjoyed meeting families and students and I look forward to many more events such as this one.

I would like to take a moment to thank the St. Cecilia Knights of Columbus for their support. The Knights prepared and donated the meat and buns for the bbq and they delivered the food at 4:30 PM. Not having the expense of purchasing the food helps us a great deal as begin the school year.

Thank you to all staff and volunteers who shared their time and talent to make this event come together with very little lead up time. It was amazing to see staff and parents pitch in to help with the preparations and this helped the event to run smoothly.

Finally, I would like to thank the community for their financial contributions which will go to support the playground. Over 800.00 was raised in the donation jar and sucker pull. We are off to a great start this year as our fundraising efforts will kick into high gear in preparation for building a new playground.

We will hold our first school council meeting of the year on Sept 12 at 6:30 PM. This will be an in person meeting at St. Cecilia. There will be no online portion.

All parents are members of school council by default and we encourage you to try to attend at least one meeting per year. School Council is a parent advisory body and it is the medium through which parents may give suggestions and feedback about decisions made at the school level. The executive is chose through a democratic process that usually takes place in the spring. If you have any questions about school council please do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca.

August 28, 2024

To view the Calgary Catholic Board Meeting Highlights for the Special Meeting of August 28, 2024, as well as previous Highlights please access the following link: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/highlights-minutes

Bonjour and hello to all of you in the St. Cecilia community. I hope you all had a fun and restful summer. My name is Dina Vella, and I am the new School Wellness Worker at St. Cecilia School. My role within the school is to promote and support student wellness through individual, group, whole class, and school-wide initiatives. I meet with students for a variety of reasons, e.g. conflict with friends, stress/worry, regulation and anything related to social emotional learning.

Returning to school after summer break is an adjustment for everyone and may be a little harder for some children(and adults too!) Having a consistent morning, evening and bedtime routine all year has enormous benefits for children and adults alike. Routines create structure and predictability, which gives children a sense of stability and safety. If children know what to expect, they will feel calm and worry less. It is important for parents to remember that routines can’t be established overnight. A routine needs to be repeated often for it to become a natural habit.

"Children who develop self-regulation through routine will build healthier mental health habits and typically handle unexpected stressors more effectively. Establishing a few new routines for your family is a great way to provide support and stability amidst the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life."( Niki Walls, MSW, LSW, Youth First, Inc.)

I will be at St. Cecilia on Days 2,4 and 6. If you think that your child could benefit from my supports, please feel free to reach out and connect with me. I look forward to an exciting school year at St. Cecilia 🙂.

On Thursday morning we held an opening assembly with all grade 1-6 students present. We covered a variety of topics including school routines, bussing and transportation, upcoming school activiites and some of the interesting and fun things we have planned at St. Cecilia this year. We introduced new staff and we also had a chance to share some information about ourselves. It was very nice to see all students gathered together.

Finally, we also viewed the video below on stress and "starfish breathing." Breathing exercies such as the one illustrated below are a calming technique that we teach to students. It is important for students to practice this strategy while they are in a calm state so that they can use it when they become dysregulated. Please take a look and discuss with your child.

Please take a look at the Sacramental Preparation documents we received from St. Cecilia.

You may notice posters inside the school describing the Seven Sacred Teachings.

• The 7 Sacred Teachings are used by many Indigenous groups across Turtle Island (what is now known as North America).

• Most cultures Indigenous and Non-Indigenous live by a set of virtues that are common to one another.

• These teachings are meant to guide individuals toward living a balanced and harmonious life.

• Each group is unique and, as such, there are slightly different interpretations of these teachings across Turtle Island.

• The main differences are that the animals change, depending on the region, and local animals.

• These teachings are not just individual virtues but are seen as interconnected and interdependent, guiding individuals and communities toward balance, harmony, and a meaningful life.

• It is important, wherever and whenever possible, to use teachings that are local to your area.

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.

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

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

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

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