February Newsletter

It's hard to believe that we are already a month into the new year and five months into the school year.

We hope that you enjoy the February Edition of our newsletter, it has been another busy month with many events, activities and acts of generosity from our community members.

Thank you to our teachers, families and students for making Sacred Heart Academy a great place to learn and excel.

In January, Miss Shelley came to represent the Marystown Lions Club and deliver a large number of pull tabs to the Grade One classes, helping with their collection for the Ronald McDonald House. Grade one students have been collecting tabs for a number of years now and our Lions Club was happy to partner with them to help with this project. The Lions Club would like to thank all those who saved their tabs for us and we look forward to continuing to help the grade 1 classes of Sacred Heart Academy.

One thing Miss Shelley would like to share, because it was so touching: When I took out my Lions vest to put on, one of the students said, "Hey, that's the Lions Club badge!" I thought wow, this 6 year old recognized our emblem. I then went on to explain what we do. The children were so amazed by the vest and the pins that were on it as they crowded around for a picture. This was certainly my "Why" moment of why I joined the Lions Club. I told them I will be back to visit, as a Lion, and I will bring them more pull tabs!! The smiles and the thank yous made for a great Lion moment!!

• Thank you to Miss Shelley and the Marystown Lions Club

If families have pull tabs they would like to donate, please feel free to contact the school.

In January, our 'Soothing Sammies' arrived. The aim of this project is to provide one means of supporting a student who is experiencing emotional trauma and a symbol of the support they have from the SHA community.

This project was made possible by the generous donations from the Marystown Lions Club, Kiewitt Offshore Services and our families...thank you.

Miss Hodder's, Ms. Drake's and Mrs. Warren’s grade one classes each adopted a baby calf this school year! Ms. Drake's and Ms. Drake's calf's are name Lily, and Miss Hodder's is Ivy.

Each month they receive news about their calf, statistics on its growth, videos and photos to enjoy, and educational resources to link with the grade one curriculum. Their calves are growing up in the state of New York.

They’ve taken a virtual tour of a dairy farm and are learning about how dairy products we enjoy begin on a farm and end up in our grocery stores.

Most recently students had fun creating their own dairy cow using their handprint. Each class helper of the day takes care of a dairy cow stuffie in which they’ve named after their adopted cows… this has been an exciting adventure for our grade one students!

On Jan 23, Merging the Seams sewing group of Marystown presented a cheque in the value of $1200 to the school for its Kids Eat Smart Breakfast program.

The school is very grateful to the members of the group whom made a quilt to raise money for charity.

Present were Louise Green, Tryphena Kenway and Wanda Kearley.

With the increase in influenza during the winter, NLHS has asked schools to provide families with information on measures to prevent and manage possible inflections. See the following memo for details.

Thank you to the staff of Brokerlink, Marystown for the donation on Friday, Jan 30 of hats, mittens/gloves and school supplies.

A part of our Literacy Day involved family and community members coming into classes to read to our students.

Students who brought in a reader had their name entered for a chance to win a basket that was sponsored by the Marystown Lions Club who are great supporters of our school community. Congratulations to Jocelyn Leonard, the winner of the basket.

Thank you to all who were able to be here and show your support for literacy.

On Friday, January 31, students were able to bring in a book and swap it for another during our school wide book swap event. Thank you to Ms. Stephanie Jarvis for coming up with this wonderful idea.

Our Family Literacy Day was on Thursday January 29. This year’s theme was “Make mealtime

family learning time”.

Families could submit a photo of themselves with their child completing one or more of the activities from a suggested list to be entered into a prize draw for $50 worth of new books,

Congratulations to Andrew Brenton.

Ms. Jarvis's Grade 2 class is currently completing a science unit on animal growth and changes. Each student is completing a research project on an animal of their choice. As part of that project, Mr. Whittle is showing students how to use the 3D printer to make a model of each of their animals.

SHA is participating in a Breakfast Blitz, to help fill our KES Cupboards, on Thursday, February 26, 2026. We are asking you to please send along a breakfast item:

• sugar free jam
• bread
• cereal such as Cheerios, Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes

If you wish to make monetary donation to support our school’s Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Club, it can be made online at www.kidseatsmart.ca and designate our school to receive your gift.

Remember $20 is breakfast for a child for one month! It’s important that we fill our KES cupboards to ensure our children start their days well-nourished and ready to learn.

Are you or your group interested in getting involved with our SHA community?

Consider volunteering with our Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador breakfast program and contribute to the health, well-being and academic success of our great students.

The schedule is flexible, you can select the dates that work for you.

Signing up is easy, see https://sha.nlesd.ca/resources to complete the volunteer forms. Printed copies are available at the Office.

Questions: Feel free to contact the school at (709) 279-2051 or email sacredheartacad@nlschools.ca

We look forward to seeing you.

In the January Newsletter, it was mentioned that the school was awarded a Dig In! Seed Grant from Farm to Cafeteria Canada at a value of $3000.

If you have visited the school recently, you would have seen that our Tower Garden is place, hopefully this week our seedlings will be large enough to placed in the garden. We will share updates on our Facebook page and in the next newsletter.

This past Friday, we hosted our first KinderStart session with Ms. Denika Ward from NL Health Services who spoke on helping children navigate their feelings. Thank you to Ms. Ward and families who were able to attend.

The remaining dates are:

• February 20
• March 13
• May 8

Specific details will be sent directly to parents/guardians who have registered for the program. If you have not registered, please contact the school at your earliest convenience.

Kindergarten students will not have classes on these days.

Our Kaetlyn Osmond Arena has been nominated for the Kraft Hockeyville contest again this year.

If successful, the arena will get a NHL preseason game plus $250,000 in upgrades.

This year they are also choosing a provincial and territorial winner - $50,000 each.

To nominate our arena, click on the link below and it will take you directly to our nomination page.

https://hockeyville.kraftheinz.com/community/11efd2207373cc90e380ca2cbefae445

• Teacher/ Staff Appreciation Week will be held from February 9–13.

Education Week will also be observed during this same time.

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week in Newfoundland and Labrador is hosted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils (NLFSC), while Education Week is hosted by the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association (NLTA).

Having both Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week and Education Week occur simultaneously provides a meaningful opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of educators and school staff, as well as the remarkable successes and vibrant learning experiences occurring in schools.

• Valentines Day Sock Hop and Dance

There will be a sock hop for K-3 students on Thursday, Feb 12 from 1-2pm and a dance for grade 4-7 students in the gym from 6:30 - 8 pm. Details will be sent out later this week.

• Pink Shirt Day

Pink shirt day will be on February 25. Details on this day will be sent out.