Dear Madonna Families,

Loving God, we thank You for the gift of faith that guides us, for the students entrusted to our care, and for their families who have chosen our school community. May Your grace continue to inspire us, unite us, and fill us with wisdom and love as we journey together in faith. Amen

It was truly heartwarming to witness our oldest and youngest students come together to celebrate at mass during last week's open-air mass on the Emerald Hills Football field. The sight of these two generations side by side, united in prayer and reflection, was a powerful reminder of our shared values and the strong sense of community that binds us.

We are deeply grateful to all the families who joined us, making this moment even more special through their presence. A heartfelt thank you to our chaplain Ms Fortier and Fr Jim from OLPH Parish and Fr Slavko from the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese.Their combined leadership and spiritual guidance made the celebration truly meaningful.

Looking forward to another great week at Madonna!

Madonna Catholic School Admin Team

Mrs Cathy Hinger, Principal

Mrs Fiona Wimmer, Assistant Principal

The newsletter is organized based on our four school assurance priorities for this year.

1. Faith Integration
2. Learners and Learning
3. Systemic Wellness
4. Community Engagement

Grade four families will have received a letter this week letting them know of the special Faith Day for our oldest students held at Camp van Es in October. We look forward to spending time working with our student leaders in a beautiful and peaceful setting. We will celebrate mass together and the students will be receiving their blessed bibles from Fr Jim that day.

As we move through the fall we would like to introduce (or reintroduce to some families) our staff to our larger Madonna community.

Mrs Roberts is the face of our school and the first person you meet when you come into Madonna. This incredible secretary has been serving students, families and staff in our building for 12 years. She loves our kids almost as much as she loves her grandchildren!! When she is away from work she enjoys being outdoors, gardening and she is often in the middle of an upcycling project. She is VERY crafty! We appreciate Mrs. Robert's big heart and her desire to support ALL of us.

School photo day for the whole school is September 25.

Students who are not at school that day will have their pictures taken on September 26.

Please encourage your child to wear an orange shirt on September 27 as we will gather in our gymnasium in recognition of this important step towards Reconciliation.

Consent Forms are now due for your child. Please log on to our Parent Portal and use this link https://www.eics.ab.ca/parent-resources-including-technology-powerschool/parent-technology-handbook-powerschool-for-parents to access directions for submitting your Yearly Consent Forms. Thank you

PowerSchool App: The PowerSchool app provides some access to student information but access to pay school fees, complete forms, view report cards and other important funcionality is not available via the PS app.

Pinned to the bottom of the dashboard is a message reminding users that only a small portion of the features available on the portal are also available within the app. If you click the post, it will give you a link to log into the full version of the portal.

Hello!

I wanted to tell you all a little bit about myself and give you all some of my favorite resources for this month.

I am a mother of two boys, with an education background of Child and Youth Care. I have 12 years of experience working with children and families with diverse needs, trauma and abilities. I love teaching and learning through play and finding what tools work best for each individual and family dynamic.

If you are having difficulties and require support I am here for your family! Please reach out to me and I will be happy to help.

Some resources I wanted to share are:

WeCan Food Basket Society: is a wonderful food resource that “provides the opportunity to purchase nutritious food at an affordable price.”

https://wecanfood.com/about-us/

Strathcona County Family Resource Network has a plethora of family oriented resources that can support a variety of needs. I'd like to highlight their Confident Kids and Emotions Academy in their Fall Programing this year.

https://storagecdn.strathcona.ca/files/files/cfw419-frn_program_booklet-fall24-digital.pdf

I hope these resources spark some interest for you and if you find yourself looking for something that is not here, please reach out and I can help you get started!"

Mrs. Andrea Calles-Menjivar

Family Wellness Worker

andrea.calles@eics.ab.ca

Madonna Catholic Elementary School

Available: Monday, Thursday and alternating Fridays

(780) 467-7972

On Friday, Madonna Catholic participated in the Terry Fox Run. We once again were super excited to take part in this annual tradition that supports cancer research while building school spirit. We are very proud to announce that Madonna Catholic not only reached, but went above our target goal and raised $665. Thank you everyone who donated, you make the future of cancer research look bright! Your support will help cancer survivors here and across Canada.

Parents are needed each week when hot lunch is offered in our school. Typically parents help from 11:20-12:45pm in the school kitchen where they sort, distribute and help pack up the weekly food order. Without your support the hot lunch program is not possible.

Our Madonna School Council is looking to offer a special fundraiser this fall and would like the help of any parent(s) who have pick up trucks and/or trailers. Please reach out to Council Chair Kerstin Adamson @ adamsonker@gmail.com if you can help.

We’re excited to announce that the ability to submit student absences is now available in PowerSchool! Please log into your Parent Portal here to record an absence.

PowerSchool can also continue to be used to view grades and report cards, pay fees, and update student information (including medical information).

You can view the EICS Parent Technology Handbook for further details on these items.

All programs can be accessed for $2 per session with our punch pass system or a fee of $40 covers all sessions between October and May. Each program runs from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at our Spruce Club location (#3 Spruce Ave, Sherwood Park)

Minecraft Monday: (Monday)

Drop-in to Minecraft Mondays to build, create and explore! Minecraft Mondays is a virtual program where children can explore math, engineering and problem solving skills in the world of Minecraft. Participants can log in to our BGC world every Monday evening to build, explore and complete challenges with their friends!

Art Night: (Tuesday)

Drop-in to Art Night for fun, scheduled art projects that get to come home with you! Art Night provides a space for children to expand their art skillset and try new methods and mediums. Projects are designed to support children's development as artists as well as allow creativity to flourish.

MasterChef: (Wednesday)

Drop-in to MasterChef to create a masterpiece meal! BGC's MasterChef program provides children the opportunity to develop their culinary skills while participating in a fun competition. Participants are split into 2 teams, a recipe and ingredients are provided, and then the cook-off begins! The best part is, everyone gets to eat the tasty dish they've created!

Sports Night: (Thursday)

Drop-in to Sports Night to learn new sports, partake in favourites and most of all, have fun! Participants play different sports each night with a focus on fun and skill development. Participants are exposed to new sports and can get active in a fun and casual sports environment.

John Dalton
Director of Community & Specialized Programs
T: 780-416-1500 | #123 2016 Sherwood Dr. Sherwood Park

www.scbgc.com | @strathcona.bgc

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