Madonna Catholic School News

Dear Madonna Families,

As we were able to spend time this past week reflecting on the gift of working and learning in a publicly funded Catholic school, we invite you to join us in reflecting on this year’s inspiring theme: The Power of the Holy Spirit. Our guiding scripture from Romans 15:13 prays that "the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace... so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

We are incredibly blessed to witness this joy, peace, and hope in your children every single day. Thank you for continuing to walk this beautiful journey of faith and learning with us. We look forward to celebrating the gift of Catholic education with our students all through the school year!

Fiona Wimmer, Assistant Principal

Cathy Hinger, Principal

October 27-28 - School Photo Retakes (more info to follow later in month)

October 28 - Grade 4 bible presentation during assembly

October 30 - Madonna Halloween Dance sponsored by Parent Council *important info below*

November 3 & 4 - Parent Teacher Interviews - see info below

November 4 - 4HW to Fort Edmonton Park (AM)

November 5 & 6 - Kindergarten to visit church in AM

November 6 - Remembrance Day Observation in gym @ 10:30am * families welcome

November 9-13 - Fall break * no school*

November 16 - Classes resume at Madonna

Parents and grandparents: if you are interested in volunteering at our school or for school events/fieldtrips, please make sure you complete our Volunteer requirement. We have attached the Volunteer Forms for your convenience.

Parent Teacher Interviews are schedule for November 3rd & 4th. The booking link is now live. *Please make sure you select the correct teacher for your child.*

To book, please click here. Should you require a booking code, use wc285.

Cogito Parents: we are clearing out our old uniforms at $40/each! If you are interested, please email mcs@eics.ab.ca with the size and style you're interested. We will add the fee to your Parent PowerSchool account and once paid, you can come pick it up! Sizes are limited.

Congratulations to Vedansh S. in grade 4 who was our Madonna Catholic School GrACE contest winner for this year. We have had a number of amazing entries which you can see in our front entrance showcase when you attend the Halloween Dance or School Interviews. Thank you Vedansh for creating a unique piece that caught the eye of the GrACE panel and for sharing our Catholic faith with the larger school community.

The Linking Generations program in Strathcona County is a partnership that brings local seniors and students together for guided visits. By sharing activities and stories, they help seniors feel connected to our youth and build understanding between different age groups. This perfectly matches our Catholic school values by teaching students to respect older adults and form caring friendships. Pictured below is Nana Sandi who came in to read with 2 Larose this week!

This dynamic and engaging club started this week under the leadership of Ms Andrea. Ask your child if they enjoyed attending the charades games she had ready for the two groups. Looking forward to seeing new faces on the next round of Oodle Noodle Club. Listen to morning announcements to know when they are meeting again :)

A million thanks to all of our participating families who were able to join us October 15th for our Cultural Potluck meal. As this is our 5th year we are incredibly proud of this growing event and the chance to meet earlier in the school year to unite friends outside of school. Beautiful food and fellowship - shout out to Mrs. Larose for her leadership in coordinating this event!

We’ll also have ice cream, treats and bottled water available for cash purchase at the dance.

We will definitely need some parent volunteers to help us out that evening!

A volunteer sign-up with different roles and time slots will be shared closer to the date.

Our Bake Sale is back on November 3 & 4!

We’ll be looking for help in two ways:

• Baked goods – families can sign up to send in baking for the sale
• Volunteers – we’ll have 30-minute volunteer shifts available during the actual sale

Sign-up sheets for both will be shared closer to the dates.

If you haven’t joined yet, please feel free to join our Parent Council WhatsApp group. We use it for meeting reminders, upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, quick updates and just to stay connected throughout the year.

Join here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JB2V5hfggfxLEptGCIiMIB?mode=gi_t

Thanks everyone for your continued support and for always helping us make these events happen!

Madonna Catholic School Parent Council

We are thrilled to share that the Actions for Healthy Communities (AHC) team has officially returned to our school! They kicked off a great first week by jumping right in to support our Grade 1 & 2 students on Monday, and our Grade 3 & 4 students on Thursday.

AHC runs the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program across the Leduc and Beaumont region. Funded by the Government of Canada, this is a 100% free initiative designed to help newcomer students and their families adapt and thrive during their first years in Canada.

Here are just a few of the amazing, fully free services the SWIS team brings to our newcomer families:

• School Support: Assistance with parent-teacher interviews, interpretation, and translating important school documents.

• Academic Help: Homework assistance, alongside English reading, writing, and speaking support.

• Cultural Bridging: Great programs like orientation to Canada and conversation circles to help families connect and integrate.

We are so incredibly excited to have this wonderful resource available to our community!

OLPH (Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish)

Masses at OLPH will be livestreamed. Please join using this link. https://www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark/videos/

Visit OLPH Website for more information about the parish and in regards to sacramental preparation.

Visit www.facebook.com/olphsherwoodpark