St. Cecilia Community Messenger

April 14 - 18, 2025

Week at a Glance

Mon, April 14, Day 3

Tues, April 15, Day 4

Afternoon Performance - Gr 6 Play 2:00 PM.
Evening Performance - 6:30 PM, Gr 6 Students arrive at 6:00 PM.

Wed, April 16, Day 5

Easter Liturgy - 10:30 Am - Sacrament of Reconciliation for students to follow. (Optional)

Thurs, April 17, Day 6

Fri , April 18 - Good Friday, No Classes; Easter Holidays begin

On the Horizon

April 22: Last chance to order plants for spring flowers fundraiser

April 28: Classes resume. Election Day

May 1: Asian Heritage Month

May 7: Hats on for Mental Health

May 8: Spring Family Dance - Cancelled

May 15: School Council AGM

May 16: PG day, no classes

May 19: Victoria Day - No Classes

May 22: Marian Liturgy

May 28: ELA PAT - Gr 6 Students

May 30: Sacramental Recognition Liturgy - 10:30 AM

June 5: School Council Meeting - 9:30 AM

June 6: PG Day - No classes

June 12: Gr 6 ELA PAT Part B

June 13: Gr 6 Math Part A

June 19: Year End Mass 1:00 PM, Gr 6 Farewell following the Mass. (Changed from previous date, please note correction)

June 21: National Indigenous People's Day

June 25: Last day of classes for students

June 26: Last day for teachers

Circle of Friends Survey for Class Placement

Circle of Friends Survey For Class Placement Sept 2025

Greetings

Growing Smiles Fundraiser is LIVE

Please consider purchasing bedding plants through our Growing Smiles fundraiser. All proceeds will go to support the new playground.

School Council Notes and Information

Read a thon update. Thank you to all the families and kids that supported the read a thon. The amount of minutes read by all the kids with sent back forms was 357 hours. There will be prizes for top minutes read in each grade which will be announced at school. The pizza party will be going to Mmd Danielle's AM kindergarten class, congratulations! Pizza party will be Tuesday AM. The total raised is over $7500. Final number will be given out in a few weeks when I have final numbers from the parks foundation.

April 28 - National Election

St. Cecilia will be a Polling Place. There will be no classes in the gym that day as it will be set up as a polling station. Voters will enter through the Summit entrance and will be greeted by an election official and directed down the hall to the gym where they will vote. Voters will not have access to washrooms or the rest of the building.

Summit childcare will use alternate spaces that day on the other side of the school.

Student Success

Lenten Food Drive

Our Lenten food drive will wrap up this week. Please consider donating some non-perishable food items for the needy. All items will be donated to St. Cecilia St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Well Being

School Wellness Worker Message

Hello Families,

Have you ever heard the expression " Nature is medicine"?

According to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, research has shown that exposure to green spaces can lower cortisol levels, reduce blood pressure, reduce stress and promote relaxation for people of all ages.

Many of us just FEEL better when we are outside, and this is especially noticeable in our kids. We don't need to go on a long road trip to get into nature because we are fortunate enough to live in a city that has plenty of parks and green spaces.

You can all take a walk, play in the grass or plant a flower. The options are endless.
Please click on the links for more information.

https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/

https://www.participaction.com/blog/outdoors/7-science-backed-reasons-get-outside/

PS. This is a great article about bringing the outdoors inside!

https://www.self.com/story/nature-benefits-in-home#:~:text=Simply%20open%20up%20a%20window,outside%20one%20of%20those%20windows.

Take Care 🙂

Faith Formation

Holy Week

This week is Holy Week and as such, students will attend our Holy Thursday Liturgy on Wed, April 16 at 10:30 AM. Father Paul will then offer the Sacrament of Reconcilliation to staff and students. Receiving the Sacrament is optional.

As we enter the final week of Lent, we would like to invite students to reflect on the three pillars of Lent; Almsgiving, Fasting and Prayer. Some of the following questions might be of interest to parents as we get set to celebrate Easter next Sunday.

- How do I deal with betrayal? Is there something more or better that I could do?

- What sustains me during times of doubt?

- Am I eager to learn from the words of scripture?

- Am I obedient to God’s call, or would I rather rebel or run away?

- Do I continue to praise God even as I endure hardships?

- What are some of the scripture readings and prayers that sustain me during times of difficulty?

- How do I respond when a friend or family member disappoints or betrays me?

Catholic Education Assurance

Parents, please complete the Catholic Assurance Survey.

St. Cecilia Parish Bulletin

Hello everyone, please open the bulletin and related attachments below.

pdf

insert_drive_file

14 Palm Sunday April 12-13.pdf

Download

5.1 MB

Indigenous Education

Enrollment in A Catholic School for Non-Catholics

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.

Board of Trustees Priorties

Board Meeting Information

April 9, 2025

To view the Calgary Catholic Board Meeting Highlights for the Special Board Meeting of April 9, 2025, as well as previous Highlights please access the following link: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/highlights-minutes

April 11, 2025

All public board meetings are held on Wednesdays at 1:30 pm and members of the public are invited to join the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

The Calgary Catholic Regular Board Meeting Agenda and memos for the April 16, 2025, meeting can be accessed with the following link:

https://www.cssd.ab.ca/board-meetings

Useful Links

Faith Formation Links

Formed, AKA Netflix for Catholics

All About Shrove Tuesday

Student Success Links

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.

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

Circle of Friends Survey for Class Placement Sept 2025

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

Wellness Links

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.

Bullying Prevention Resources for Alberta Government

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