St. Mary's Catholic School

Saturday, Dec 20th - Sunday, January 4th

Christmas Break! Blessings to you and your family!

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Upcoming Dates:

Monday, January 5th School Resumes

*Next Smore will be on Sunday, January 4th, 2026

“You must also be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” - James 5.8-

Peace and blessings to you all!

As we enter the Fourth Week of Advent, our hearts are readying themselves for the joy of Christmas. This season invites us to slow down, even just a little, make room for Christ, and notice the many blessings around us. This week our halls were full of excitement, anticipation, and a lot of Christmas spirit! The days leading up to this break were a wonderful mix of fun and togetherness. From Grinch Day to Christmas Sweater Day, to a Pajama afternoon, and the fun activities in the gym, it was a joy to see students laughing, participating, and simply being kids.

We want to thank our amazing staff for all they do. Your care, energy, and sense of humour make a huge difference, especially during such an exciting week. Thank you as well to our students for the reverence and leadership you showed at our Advent Mass with Father Iryney and Father Chad. You represented our school beautifully. And, a heartfelt thank you to our parents for your ongoing support, encouragement, and for helping us create such a caring and joyful school community.

As we reflect on the words of this week's Scripture: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”” (Matthew 1:23), we are reminded that Christmas is not just about gifts or celebrations, it is about God being present with us in our daily lives. Emmanuel is with us in our joys, in our challenges, and in the laughter and love that fill our school and homes.

As we head into the Christmas break, we wish you and your families a season filled with peace, rest, love, and joy. May your homes be warm, your hearts hopeful, your celebrations meaningful, and maybe just a little too full of perogies and chocolate!

We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday, January 5th. Until then, have a truly Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

With gratitude,
The STMY Administration Team

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Winter is Here!

In the past couple of weeks, we have noticed that many of our students have not been dressed properly for the frigid and snowy conditions that are upon us. As winter weather sets in, we ask all students to dress appropriately for cold, snowy, and icy conditions. Warm coats, hats, gloves, and proper footwear are essential to ensure safety and comfort while traveling to and from school and during outdoor activities. While we appreciate our students' expression of style, Birkenstocks are best saved for warmer weather! They pair better with sunshine than snowbanks! Students will not be allowed to participate in fieldtrips, sports activities, etc., unless they are properly dressed! Thank you for your support in helping our students stay safe, warm, and ready to learn this winter.

Thank you once again for your patience and support as we return to normal operations following the three-week labour stoppage. Our collective focus remains the same: ensuring every student has the opportunity to meet the necessary instructional outcomes and curriculum expectations for their current grade level.

To maximize student learning, we plan to use the proposed calendar changes to extend Semester One to January 30th, with Semester Two beginning Monday, February 2nd.

Report Cards: End-of semester report cards will continue as usual.
Diploma Exams and Grade 9 PATs: To ensure students and teachers can concentrate on learning after lost instructional time due to the teacher strike, Alberta’s government has cancelled the January 2026 diploma examinations and Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs). Students will be automatically exempted.

Students who choose not to write at a later date will receive their school-awarded mark as their final official course mark. A notation will be added to transcripts confirming that no diploma exam was written. This ensures there is no impact on students’ ability to graduate or transition into post-secondary programs.
Students may choose to write January diploma exams in April or June 2026.

Exam Week: This may be condensed to two days: January 29th and 30th. All final assessments will be completed at this time. Regular instruction will continue until Jan 28th.

These changes allow us to recover a significant amount of instructional time for the first semester, with minimal impact on the second.

Proposed School Calendar Amendments:

The Board of Trustees will be considering amendments to the 2025/26 school calendar, to add extra instructional days for students, and to provide teachers with extra time to complete instruction.

The Board plans to review following proposed changes which will be finalized at their November 18th, 2025 public board meeting:

For all schools:

January 28th, 2026 - currently a Professional Development Day, will now become an instructional day for Semester 1
January 29th, 2026 - will remain an instructional day, but in Semester 1
January 30th, 2026 - will remain an instructional day, but in Semester 1
February 2, 2026 - will remain an instructional day, and mark the start of Semester 2

Busses will be running on January 28th, which will follow the normal Wednesday (early out) schedule.

Our Commitment to support uninterrupted learning:

Training and professional learning will focus on essentials—such as curriculum implementation and student support—while keeping classroom time as the top priority.
We will seek to maximize student learning, while balancing student wellness
Central Learning Services will minimize meetings to promote teacher/student time in classrooms.
Schools are balancing the time committed to non-curricular school wide events to optimize student learning

How We Will Communicate Student Learning

As we return to regular learning routines following the recent disruption, we wish to share a few important updates and adjustments about assessment, reporting, and student support plans for this term. These adjustments are consistent with Alberta Education’s expectations and ensure that our assessment, reporting, and individualized support practices continue to meet all provincial requirements.

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Fall conferences remain an essential opportunity to connect about your child’s learning. Schools will complete conferences between November 3 and December 12, either on original or rescheduled dates. St. Mary’s will run their conferences from November 19 and November 20, 2025.

Report Cards:

Grade 7-12: One formal report card will be issued at the end of each semester.

What Students Will Be Learning

All Alberta Education outcomes remain in effect. We are working divisionally to pace outcomes in ways that are meaningful to optimize learning.Our focus is prioritizing key learning outcomes.

Individualized Support Plans(ISPs):

As shared in the September communication, Elk Island Catholic Schools is implementing a new ISP process to better support students and strengthen collaboration with families. To allow for implementation training and meaningful parent engagement, timelines have been adjusted as follows: K–12 ISPs: December 19, 2025

Parents remain valued partners in the development and review of all Individualized Support Plans. If you have any questions regarding your child’s ISP, please contact your school.

We recognize that families and educators have faced significant change this fall. Through compassion, collaboration, and clear communication, we continue to live our divisional theme:
“Growing Together in Christ’s Love.”

If you have specific questions related to your child’s course load or schedule, please contact your child’s teacher, or the school.