Principal Letter October 2, 2026

Rooted in Faith

2026-2027 CISVA Theme

At the beginning of the school year, I shared with you that one of our main areas of focus would be to continue improving the quality of education we provide at St. Helen’s.

This year, we have invested in new resources for Mathematics, Science, STEM, Language Arts, and Physical Education. We have also continued to improve our facilities and have hired additional staff to better support both our students and teachers.

I was extremely pleased to recently receive reports from the Ministry of Education regarding our students’ performance over the past five years on the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA). The results for our Grade 4 and Grade 7 students in Mathematics and Language Arts are very encouraging and reflect the dedication and hard work of our students and teachers.

At the same time, we all recognize that academic achievement is only one part of educating the whole child. The social, emotional, and spiritual well-being of our students is equally important. We want our children not only to succeed academically, but also to feel safe, supported, respected, and connected to their school and faith community.

I was therefore particularly pleased with the feedback we received through our Safe Schools review. The report recognized St. Helen’s strong Catholic school identity and expressed high confidence in the opportunities provided for faith formation, the visibility of Catholic values throughout the school, and our commitment to supporting each student’s faith journey.

This affirmation is especially meaningful because our mission goes beyond academic achievement. We are called to educate the whole child—mind, body, heart, and spirit—while helping our students grow in their relationship with Christ and live out the Gospel values of faith, kindness, respect, service, and compassion.

These reports are encouraging, but they also remind us that improvement is an ongoing journey. We will continue to strengthen our curriculum, support the social and emotional needs of our students, deepen our Catholic identity, and provide every child at St. Helen’s with an excellent education in a safe, caring, and faith-filled environment.

Waldemar Sambor

Principal

OCT 5 FANTUAN LUNCH PROGRAM BEGINS

OCT 5 INDIVIDUAL PICTURE DAY (FULL FORMAL UNIFORM REQUIRED)

OCT 6 BLESSING OF THE PETS @ 9:15 AM

OCT 7 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS @ SWANGARD

OCT 9 NO SCHOOL (PRO D DAY)

OCT 12 NO SCHOOL (THANKSGIVING)

OCT 16 WALKATHON (PIZZA LUNCH PROVIDED)

OCT 23 SCHOOL MASS (FULL FORMAL UNIFORM REQUIRED)

OCT 27 G.6 IMMUNIZATIONS

OCT 27 ND OPEN HOUSE

OCT 30 FALL FIESTA ASSEMBLY

OCT 30 FAMILY NIGHT FUNDRAISER

Grouse Grind is difficult—but that is part of the purpose. Grade 7 is an important year as we prepare our students for high school and for greater independence and leadership. Today they learned that leadership also means perseverance, supporting one another, working hard, and not giving up when something is difficult. Terry Fox was a great example for all of us.

We are extremely proud of our Grade 7 students. They accepted the challenge, encouraged one another, and showed tremendous determination.

Link to Photos

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CS185dyiPWhZwWi47

St. Helen’s Safe and Caring Schools Report – Findings

We are pleased to share the findings from our recent Safe and Caring Schools survey. Feedback from students, staff, and parents/caregivers demonstrates that St. Helen’s is a welcoming and supportive Catholic school community built on strong relationships, trust, communication, and a sense of belonging.

Participants recognized St. Helen’s for its strong Catholic identity, opportunities for faith formation, the visibility of Catholic values throughout the school, and our commitment to supporting each student’s faith journey. The survey also reflected confidence in our commitment to respecting Indigenous cultures and perspectives and advancing social equity and reconciliation.

From a school safety perspective, staff demonstrated strong awareness of our School Code of Conduct. The findings also identified areas where we can continue to grow, particularly by increasing awareness among students and parents/caregivers about reporting procedures and responses to threatening behaviour. Continued staff learning regarding critical incident response and threat assessment procedures was also identified as an area for development.

Importantly, the findings indicate that the necessary policies, procedures, and supports are already in place. Our focus moving forward will be on making these systems even more visible, clearly communicated, and well understood throughout our school community.

Overall, the survey highlighted many strengths at St. Helen’s: positive relationships, meaningful opportunities for student engagement, a strong faith-based culture, and a shared commitment to the safety and well-being of every student.

We are grateful to our students, staff, and families for their participation and for their continued partnership in making St. Helen’s a safe, caring, faith-filled community where every child can learn, grow, and belong. ( Note: 120 students from Gr.4,5,6,7. participated in this survey )

FSA RESULTS:

Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) Overview

We are pleased to share St. Helen's School's latest Foundation Skills Assessment results in Literacy and Numeracy. These results provide a snapshot of student achievement in Grades 4 and 7 and allow us to compare our school's performance with independent schools and the province. We are proud of the strong results achieved by our students and grateful to our teachers and families for their continued support of student learning.

Our STEM Room has received new resources and updated science equipment, providing our students with even more opportunities for hands-on learning, discovery, and exploration.

A special thank you to our coordinators, Michelle Milan and Rosa Dente, for their hard work and dedication in organizing and enhancing our STEM program.

We are excited to see our students enjoy these wonderful new resources!

Delivery will begin on Monday, October 5th. More information will be emailed soon.

To pre-order, please go to the link.

https://f.fantuan.ca/2pQoN

For more on our website on how to set up an account: https://www.sthelensschool.ca/lunch_program.php

Gr. 3 organized a very meaningful assembly to remind us that every child matters and presented a traditional indigenous song to emphasize the importance of indigenous culture and ability to protect our mother earth.

KA Jacob Lim, Paola Alvarez, Ella Tran

KB Emilia Guglielmucci, Demi MacBride, Adam Tran

1A Mercedes Orellana, Cedric Cheng, Naya George

1B Michela Baek, Sein Kim, Eirelynn Song

2 Drea Mobilio, Lukas Cheung, Alessia Katsionis

3A Aila Belmondo, Violet Leow, Roman Sanhu

3B Mason Sorace, Maks Vujicic

4A Luke Poniz, Brayden Lim

4B Katarina Ranallo, Caleb

5A Chen Celine, Gonzalez Gonzalez Anna, Aaron Shen

5B Enzo Caballero, Santino Corea, Ian Zhao

6A Alessia Yi Carolo, Sasha Hilton-Carranza Salazar

6B Chloe An, Logan Zhou, Lorenzo Mincieli

7A Maxine Lee, Grace Ge, Riccardo Fortugno

7B Yully Seo, Nayan Sivia, Ethan Zamprogno

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rKXrWAqd9hdK6xqn9

Our extracurricular sports have now begun. Thank you to all our coaches and students for their participation!

We are still looking for donors to support our new outdoor classroom signs, which will be permanently displayed outside our school. We only have a few sponsorship opportunities remaining!

You can support this project in one of two ways:

• Single Donor Sponsorship: $1,000
• Shared Sponsorship: $250 per donor

Your generosity helps us continue to improve and beautify our school for our students and the entire community.

We are counting on your support. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to St. Helen’s!

Available Signs left are:

1A /1B

2A

3A / 3B

4A

Current donated signs are from:

2026 Grad Committee, Prpic Eyecare Centre, Alison Lim and Family, Ella and Milan Mrsic, Fischer Family, Rikki and Charlie Tse, Bogdanovich Family, Bobeldijk Family, Chloe Kemp and Family, and a shared sign from Villagra Family/Rattan Family/ Gabriel and Ofelia Guglielmucci and Mason and Jackson Piovesan.

A big thank you to Paul Mobilio and Lloyd Villota for their hard work upgrading our playground, adding new bark mulch—generously supported by our PSG—and repairing our Gaga Ball pit.

Thanks to your efforts, our students now have even more opportunities to enjoy our improved outdoor facilities, stay active, and have fun together.

One of our parents received a very prestigious award, which I would like to share with you. Matthew Katsionis has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada for his work in family law for the third consecutive year. The recognition reflects professional excellence in the field, as voted on by his peers. He has also been featured in Canadian Lawyer and The Globe and Mail for his commentary and perspectives on family law.

Congratulations Mr. Katsionis

• https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=sthelens.searchers%40gmail.com&ctz=America%2FVancouver