Sister Annata Brockman

Dear Sister Annata Brockman Families,

We hope this message finds you well. It has been a fantastic month since returning from Christmas break, and the energy and enthusiasm from our students and staff have been truly inspiring.

As we conclude Semester 1, we look forward to beginning Semester 2 with a variety of new option courses for our junior high students. These opportunities are designed to engage, challenge, and support students as they explore their interests and develop new skills.

February is a month to celebrate love and kindness. We are always proud of our SAB students and the kindness that they show others! In February, we will also celebrate Black History Month with information, literature, and music—an initiative led by our junior high leadership students.

With the season of Lent approaching, we turn our hearts to God. We take time to listen and pray, just as Jesus did in the desert. Throughout Lent, we focus on growing spiritually so that we may fully embrace the joy of Easter.

“Give thanks to the God of Heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.” — Psalm 136:26

Warm regards,
Alicia Fenton
Principal

Karoline Irlbacher

Elementary Assistant Principal

Katherine Stewart

Junior High Assistant Principal

February 5: SAB PD Day (No School)

February 5: Kindergarten Open House 6:00 p.m.

February 6: Hot Lunch Day (Order deadline is Sun, Feb 1)

February 13: Elementary Snow Valley Field Trip
February 13: Junior High Millenium Place Field Trip
February 16: Family Day (No School)
February 17: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Breakfast

February 18: Ash Wednesday Celebration 1:00 p.m.
February 25: Faith Development Day (No School)
February 26-27: Teachers' Convention (No School)

Please visit our website for our most comprehensive calendar.

Registration for the 2026-2027 school year opens on Monday, February 2, 2026. This is also when current ECSD students can complete the pre-enrolment process to select their school for the upcoming school year. Please visit our registration page for more information about registering new students. You will receive an email from the division regarding the pre-enrolment process for current students.

As a reminder, students will be outdoors if the temperature is warmer than -20. Please ensure that your children come to school prepared to be outdoors. When students arrive in the morning , if the weather is -20 or colder, they will be permitted to wait indoors. Students should still enter through their designated doors.

If you drive your children to and from school, please remember to drop them off and pick them up safely. When using the drive through, it is important for all drivers to adhere to the following expectations:

• Vehicles should enter the drive through in one lane and stay in the lane closest to the curb. Once students have been dropped off, the vehicles may then enter the left lane to exit the drive through.
• The drop off area is strictly for quickly dropping students off and exiting the drive through. Vehicles are not to be left unattended.
• When dropping students off, vehicles must proceed to the front of the drive through. This allows additional vehicles to enter the drive through. When vehicles stop in the entrance or by the front door, this prevents vehicles from entering and slows the traffic flow.
• Vehicles must drive slowly through the drive through and follow the expected school zone speed limit of 30 km/h while driving in the neighborhood.
• The south staff parking lot is for staff only.
• Vehicles must turn right when exiting the drive through.

Please choose safety over convenience. Thank you!

Parents looking to volunteer for upcoming field trips in K - 9, please call the office to add your name to our volunteer list. If you have updated Police or Intervention Record Checks, please email them to samah.kassab@ecsd.net.

For the past few months, leadership students at Sister Annata Brockman have been working hard to better the school community and influence Catholic faith into our everyday lives. The Grade 7 leadership class worked with elementary classrooms to do Christmas themed activities, like gingerbread houses with Ms. Nobel’s grade 6 class and reindeer ornaments with Ms. Skowronski’s Kindergarten class. One group did reading buddies with Ms. Yeoman's Grade 2 class. Leadership 7 students helped distribute and collect Advent hampers, with food items that helped support struggling families within Edmonton Catholic Schools.

In Grade 8 Leadership, students also demonstrated an exceptional level of leadership within our school community. They led initiatives that brought our school community together, which included organizing a bake sale, creating motivational and uplifting morning announcements and teaching our junior high students the power of positivity, teaching Grade 3 students about the Bible, planning our school theme days, running a Junior High Bible study club, and planning and hosting the Junior High dance.

We are so proud of our leaders at SAB!

Greetings to our extended Sister Annata Brockman family! We hope the beginning of the new year has been both safe and joyful for you. On January 8, we were honoured to have Father Julian Bilyj celebrate and perform a traditional Ukrainian Catholic water blessing. This beautiful blessing of the water was a first-time experience for many, and each class was given a small bottle of holy water.

As we approach the Easter season, our Parent Council will be hosting a pancake breakfast on February 17, which is Shrove Tuesday. Traditionally, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The day before, Shrove Tuesday, often referred to as Pancake Tuesday, was the final opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast. Pancakes are a perfect and delicious way to use these ingredients.

Mark your calendars for our Ash Wednesday celebration on February 18th at 1:00 pm in the SAB gymnasium, where ashes will be distributed during the event. We extend a warm invitation to all who wish to join us!

A heartfelt thank you to those who have already provided information regarding their child's sacramental completion. We are also beginning to collect the names of students who receive sacraments throughout the year. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage students to grow in their faith. Please fill out the following form to provide us with your child’s name and photos of the sacrament when it was received, so that they can be added to the sacrament board.

pax Christi vobiscum!

Daniel Moisan

SAB Chaplain

This time of year, can be especially challenging, when it comes to mental health. As parents and guardians one of the most important things we can do is to start conversations around mental health with our children. Sometimes, it can be hard to know how to approach this topic or how to respond if our child says that they are feeling sad, anxious or struggling with their mental health. Here are some tips on how to talk with your child about mental health:

1) Listen to them and validate their experiences

One of the most important things we can do is to listen. Sometimes, all our kids need is to know that they have a safe and caring person that will listen. Try saying things like:

“I’m here for you.”

“I would like to hear more about what’s been going on for you.”

“When is a good time to talk?”

Often our tendency is to jump to problem solving when we want to help, but slowing down and just being with the person gives them a chance to feel connected and think about what would be most helpful for them. We can validate our child’s experience by showing empathy and saying things like:

“That must be hard.”

“I’m sorry that you are feeling that way, but I appreciate you sharing your feelings with me.”

2) Be sure they know this is not their fault

Stigma around mental health still exists and because of this people will often feel that it is their fault or they have “caused” this. It is important that we help our children to know that many people struggle with mental health. You can help by talking to them about other people you know who have mental health illnesses. Talk with them about how brave they are for being open about their own struggles.

3) Talk about self-care and ways to support our mental health

One of the most important things for our mental health is to practice self-care. Encourage your kids to get a good sleep, eat healthy, exercise, participate in activities that they enjoy and make them feel good. Set limits around screen time and social media as many studies show that these have a negative impact on our mental health. Encourage your children to reach out if they are struggling with their mental health. The picture includes ideas of different coping skills to practice.

As parents we need to care for our own mental health as well. When we do this, we model this to our children. If you are concerned about your child, please know that you are not alone. You can contact me at marcia.peters@ecsd.net for support. There are also great supports in our community and here are a few resources:

Children’s Mental Health Crisis Line: 780-427-4491

Kid’s Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or

https://kidshelpphone.ca/

Teens helping teens: 780-428-8336

Indigenous Health Support Line: 1-800-735-6766

https://mykickstand.ca/

Dear Parents/Guardians,

There will be no meeting this month. Our next school advisory and council meeting will be held on March 4 at 6:00pm. It will be held at Sister Annata Brockman school. An agenda will be sent out prior to this meeting. The meeting will only address items that are on the agenda, so if you would like to add an item, please email me as soon as possible. We would love to see Parents/Guardians at the meeting to share their opinions and feedback on agenda topics.

Sincerely,

Nancy Brennan

Sister Annata Brockman

School Advisory Society and Council Chair

Nancybrennan11@outlook.com

We would like to remind families that school fees support many of the programs, resources, and opportunities that enrich student learning at Sister Annata Brockman. At this time, a number of accounts still have outstanding balances.

We understand that financial circumstances can vary, and we are committed to working with families who may be experiencing challenges. If you require assistance, please contact the school office so we can support you.

We kindly ask that any outstanding fees be addressed as soon as possible. Your cooperation helps ensure that we can continue to provide high-quality programming for all students.

If your child is going to be absent or late, please report it to the school by using SchoolMessenger or calling the school at 780-444-0250 and press 1. Please do not e-mail the absence to our general e-mail account. If you fail to report it, an automated phone system will call you until you are contacted. Your contact information is critical. Please keep it updated through the year.

SchoolMessenger

Edmonton Catholic Schools is using a program called SchoolMessenger to send out school emails, phone calls, and texts. Not only is SchoolMessenger an easy way to report your child's absences, but you can also find all of the previous emails stored there in case you accidently delete one.

1. Log into Parent PowerSchool using your existing account.
2. Click on the SchoolMessenger Icon on the left-hand menu to sign into the SchoolMessenger website.
3. Select the Attendance Menu to Report an Absence or Inbox to view previous emails, texts, or phone calls.
   

There is also a SchoolMessenger app that can be downloaded through your phone's app store.

For any issues with the busses, please contact Transportation Services at 780-441-6078. Hours: 7:15am-5:00pm. The sooner they are aware of an issue, the sooner it can be resolved.

Bus Delay Notifications

Transportation Services sends late bus notifications via the Division website and BusPlanner Delays App. The App is available for both Android and iPhone.

1) Download the free BusPlanner Delays App through the respective App Store on your phone.

2) Open the App, select the wrench at the top, select Edmonton Catholic Schools, and click next.

3) For alerts, select “My Child’s Bus.”

4) Select the school(s) you would like to receive notifications and click “+” after selecting each

school. Once you finish selecting schools, click “Next.”

5) Select the applicable bus route(s) and click “+.” If you wish to receive notifications for more than one route, repeat the process for each bus route. Once you finish, click “Done,” and the App will return to the main screen.

6) Please make sure notifications for the BusPlanner Delays App are turned on within your phone settings. Also, please ensure your phone software is up to date. Note: Data usage and rates will occur while using the BusPlanner Delays App.

SAB spirit wear is now available through our online Entripy Shop.

Browse a wide selection of products from top brands and customize them with our school logos and graphics. Show your pride with fantastic apparel designed entirely by you. Our online store is open 24/7, with no minimum order quantities, so students, parents, fans, and staff can order what they need anytime. Plus, 10% of all net sales are returned to the school to support students at Sister Annata Brockman.

Visit our store here: https://sisterannatabrockman.entripyshops.com/

*Please note that this online store is not managed by Sister Annata Brockman staff*

Website: sisterannatabrockman.ecsd.net

Phone: (780) 444-0250

355 Hemingway Road, NW

Edmonton, AB

T6M 0L7