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As we end the season of Lent, we turn our thoughts to Easter and the joy and the hope that it represents. Without Easter, without the Resurrection, we would face a future of darkness rather than the promise of eternal life. Easter is truly a time of celebration! As we see signs of renewed life all around us in nature, we realize that we can share in that renewal. What a sign of God’s love we experience with the Resurrection! We are truly Easter people. Together as a community, we face the future – with all of its challenges and all of its opportunities – with renewed faith and hope as we voice our joyful “Alleluia”. Along with our Spiritual renewal, we are rejuvenating St. Gabriel Catholic School. We continue in the candidacy phase for certification in the Primary Years Program (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate program. We are on track to be Authorized in the Spring of 2019 and we could not be happier about the progress that has been made in the last year! What an amazing job our students and staff are doing. Also, rejuvenation is happening in our physical building as St. Gabriel is to be painted this year. We are really excited about modernizing our colours and sprucing up the building a bit to have the physical building match the excitement that happens here daily. As we move into the final months of the school year, the days are getting longer and sleep patterns become disrupted. Students are encouraged to maintain a routine, including a regular sleep schedule. A consistent routine will be helpful to all as we adjust to spring. That said, enjoy the turn in weather it has been a long winter. We wish everyone a Blessed Easter. Christ has Risen!

Tom Rees Karen Molyneux Principal Assistant Principal

Easter Triduum

 

Lent exists so that we can prepare ourselves for the Easter Triduum. Triduum comes from a La n word meaning “three days.” The three‐day observance begins with the Mass of the Lord's Supper in the evening 

of Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil and ends with evening prayers on Easter       Sunday. The solemn liturgies of the Triduum are the most important liturgies of the Church year. These 

liturgies teach us the meaning of Christ's life, death, and resurrec on. 

ST. GABRIEL PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAM

NEWSLETTER APRIL 2018

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IB News Worth Knowing

A big THANK YOU to all of you who stopped by the IB booth at Demonstration of Learning! It was great talking to you about what IB is and how it is being implemented in our school. We had over 30 families enter the draw for the Cineplex gift card! Congratulations to the McNally family who won the draw. I look forward to having another information booth/contest next year. The Staff at St. Gabriel School are looking forward to the next district wide PD on April 12th, as we will be hosting all PYP schools in Edmonton Catholic. During this upcoming PD we will be diving into what stu-dent "Action" looks like and how to encourage "Student Agency". Student agency is the power to take meaningful and intentional action, and acknowledges the rights and responsibilities of the individual, supporting voice, choice and ownership for everyone in the learning community. This month, students will be reflecting on the learner profile attribute "Balanced" in their classrooms. Please review the chart below to see how you can help develop this attribute at home.

*Reminder, please read the IB Parent Handbook on the school website Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns Sarah.ostlund@ecsd.net

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Kindergarten and Grade 1-6 Registrations

We continue registering students for next year. Families who are interested in registering their children at St. Gabriel are encouraged to call the administration for a tour of our school to demonstrate the learning and community that is evident in our classrooms.

If you have a child, or know of someone who has a child, who is five years old by March 1, 2019, please call or come and visit to receive more information about registering your child at St. Gabriel school for kindergarten. We look forward to our continued work with our children and with our new families as well. Please call the school for more information or to arrange a tour (466-0220).

100 VOICES PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Our 100 Voices program is a pre-kindergarten program for four year olds. We are excited to accept children from our community who will be four before March 1, 2019. Children who are ESL (English as a Second Language) learners or who have a mild, Moderate or severe developmental delay (identified by Alberta Health Services) may be eligible for financial support. We are also accepting students who will by three by September 30, 2018 and who have a severe developmental delay as identified by Alberta Health Services. Our pre-kindergarten experience is vibrantly filed with language, fine arts and 21st Century Learning, which takes place in our great facility with much space and many resources. Please call for more information or to come by for a tour of our Reggio Inspired classroom!

                 

Allergy Sensitive School Please be aware that we have several students with a variety of se-vere food allergies that can be deadly. We ask that students not share food during recess or lunchtime. We appreciate your sup-port in being aware and refraining from sending high allergy prod-ucts. E.g. peanut or nut products.

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Swimming Lessons

Students from grades 1 thru 6 will be participating in swimming lessons at Hardisty Pool this Spring. More information and a field trip notice will follow closer to the dates. Please mark the following dates and times on your calendar:

Grade 1 : 10 am: June 11, 12, 13, 18

Grade 2: 1 pm: June 11, 12, 13, 18

Grade 3: 10 am: May 30, June 4, 5, 6,

Grade 4/5: 1 pm: May 30, June 4, 5, 6,

Grade 6 : 10 am: May 22, 24, 29, May 31

We ask for at least one male and one female volunteer to assist at the pool with each class. Lessons are $40 per student. Watch for permission forms to be sent home towards the end of April/beginning of May.

PROVINCIAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS

Grade 6 students will be wri ng their Provincial Achievement Tests on the following dates:

May 10—LA Part A June 18—LA Part B June 19 —Math Part A & B

June 20—Social Studies June 22 ‐ Science

Plenty of rest and a good breakfast will give the children that li le boost of energy needed on days that require

Easter celebra on 

Please join us for our Easter Celebra on on      Friday April 6 at 9:00 a.m.   

  

Basketball for Grades 3, 4, and 5 On April 13, 18, 20 and 25 former University of Albert Panda Jill Schlender will  be 

running an basket ball camp for any Grade 3, 4, and 5 students  

who are interested in learning how to play Basketball and improve their skills!                

  

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Thanks to our SAC, St. Gabriel is being afforded two amazing learning opportunities for our students. From April 9th to the 13th Dani Altiere will be doing an Artist in Residency at our school where she will be working with our students on Gymnastics and Acrobatics.. Here is a quick description from her website: GYMNASTICS & ACROBATICS The residence is taught in a safe step by step manner that allows students the comfort of taking risks safely and the information to adapt skills to their personal abilities. As well our SAC is helping us present Author Marty Chan who will be at St. Gabriel all day on May 11! Marty will work with all of our students from 100 Voices to Grade 6 talking and teaching them about being an author and how to im-prove your writing.. Here is some info on what her will do with the different divisions. Young Authors Presentation Grades 1 – 3: Marty combines storytelling, stage magic and improv to in-troduce young audiences to folktales. He’ll also talk about the real-life cats behind his hilarious picture book, True Story.

Grades 4 – 6: Marty shares the real-life origins behind his mystery novels and talks about how he came up with the ideas for his Barnabas Bigfootseries. With an interactive writing game, he emphasizes the im-portance of details in stories. A huge thank you to our SAC for providing us with these opportunities as without their financial aid these and many other events would not be happening at St. Gabriel!!! We appreciate greatly the work you do to help make this a special place!

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Easter Message from Father Mitch Assumption and Resurrection Parishes The Easter Season begins with the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Easter Sunday (Sunday, April 1) and ends 50 days later with Pentecost Sunday. The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as one Feast day, or as one “great Sunday.” During this season, above all others, is a time to sing the “Alleluia!”

God bless you at Easter and always!

FORMED.ORG

ON-LINE CATHOLIC RESOURCES

FREE TO OUR SCHOOLS!

The parishes of Assumption and Resurrection would like all staff, parents and children of Austin O’Brien High School, St. Brendan Elementary and Junior High and St. Gabriel Elementary to have access to a remarkable website with excellent on line Catholic resources. By the parish paying for the license (at a cost of $2000.00) we have now made it a FREE resource for all parishioners and people in our community schools. We hope you will make use of it often to enhance your knowledge of the Catholic faith. They can readily be used in Catholic instruction. Each of you now has access to hundreds of excellent video and audio presentations about our Cath-olic faith. Please take the time to browse through the site and make yourself aware of all the possi-ble resources. To Register: Through Google … Log on to formed.org Scroll down the page to the blue box that says, Register with access code. Enter the access code: 84YK3J, click and create your own ac-count. When you create your own account you are required to create your own password. This password must have at least ONE number, SIX letters, and ONE special character (such as !, *, -). Please keep your password readily accessible.

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Edmonton’s 38th Annual Good Friday

Outdoor Way of the Cross Speaking Truth to Power 

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth & the Life.” 

Good Friday, March 30, 2018, 10 AM (Immigration Hall- 100 Street & 105 Avenue)

The Outdoor Way of the Cross is an ecumenical prayer event marking the suffering and death of Jesus. It is a time to notice how the gospel values of Jesus apply to individual and public life today. People of all faith traditions are welcome. Participants should dress for weather conditions with good footwear, but the two-hour two kilometre walk is reasonable for most ages and levels of fitness and ability. Light refreshments are availa-ble after the final station. Donations of non-perishable food or toiletries appreciated. Free street parking all around start location. For more information please call 780.466.6327 (evenings) or 780.218.6989, or visit Facebook Event page “Good Friday Outdoor Way of the Cross” ( https://www.facebook.com/events/575486099463913/).

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The Journey to Jerusalem and Easter Blessings

Messages from the Board of Trustees and Superintendent Joan Carr

The Journey to Jerusalem “Palm Sunday is the great doorway leading into Holy Week, the week when the Lord Jesus makes his way towards the culmination of his earthly existence. He goes up to Jerusalem in order to fulfil the Scriptures and to be nailed to the wood of the Cross, the throne from which he will reign forever, drawing to himself humanity of every age and offering to all the gift of redemption.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, April 1/12) Palm Sunday, March 25, marks the beginning of Holy Week this year. Jesus is welcomed joyfully into Jerusalem by the crowds who have been waiting for their Messiah. He knows that his time is near, yet his love for us is so great that he continues on his journey. This week offers us a special opportunity to walk alongside Jesus and to experience the magni-tude of that love. You can have your feet washed by him and break bread with him at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. You can walk The Way of The Cross beside him in his Passion as he is crucified for our salvation. You wait at his tomb during the vigil and meditate on his great sacrifice. We wish you the holiest of experiences this week as you contemplate the gift of love that our God gave us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Easter Blessings All the earth is filled with rejoicing, Light and life the wonder of God!

Christ has triumphed! Risen forever! Joy of our hearts, and hope of our dreaming: God is alive! Alleluia! (God is Alive, David Haas)

The lyrics of this joyful song are the perfect expression of the glory of God that is made known to us in the resurrection of Jesus. The Easter promise has been fulfilled; Jesus has triumphed over Death and assured us of God’s promise of eter-nal life. We can rejoice in the abundant gift of God’s love! We, the Board of Trustees and Superintendent of Edmonton Catholic Schools, wish you a glorious Easter Season, know-ing the love of our Father and proclaiming to all that God is alive in your life. Many blessings! God is Alive Sing your joy, proclaim God's glory! Rise and sing, the morning has come. Bless our God and praise all creation; Song of the earth, and light from heaven: God is alive! Alleluia! All the earth is filled with rejoicing, Light and life the wonder of God! Christ has triumphed! Risen forever! Joy of our hearts, and hope of our dreaming: God is alive! Alleluia! May we learn to become your Kingdom. May we be your kindness and truth! Love is our calling, gift of your presence; Children of God, and spirit of Jesus: God is alive! Alleluia! Light our way, O God of the living, May we learn to see with new eyes! Jesus the Lord, our power and promise; Light for the blind and food for the hungry: God is alive! Alleluia!

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April 2018

…Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again,

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ~John 20: 19-21~ This passage from the Gospel of John occurs on Easter morning. The disciples of Jesus are bereft at the

loss of their shepherd, and it is a time of sorrow and fear. Jesus reveals himself to his followers many times over the course of the following week, and a consistent theme is that they don’t recognize him as he walks among them. Each time that his people finally realize that their Lord has been walking beside them, their sorrow turns to joy. It is with that sense of joy that Jesus passes on his mission to the disciples, to go forth and spread the Good News of God’s love. That is the call that he also shares with each of us as we discover the magnitude of God’s love; to go forth and be missionary disciples.

Edmonton Catholic Schools has once again been named one of Alberta’s Top 70 Employers! This annual competition, which is held by Postmedia Network Inc. and Mediacorp Canada Inc., takes a comprehensive, compar-ative look at various aspects of operations and human resources practices to determine which organizations have the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. This is the third consecutive year that we have earned the designation, and we are proud to be one of the leaders in our field in creating exceptional conditions for our em-ployees!

Each year, the Council of Catholic School Superintendents of Alberta sponsors the Excellence in Catholic Education Awards. These awards honor individuals who provide our students with exceptional learning experiences that are deeply rooted in our Catholic faith. We are delighted to share that 3 of our leaders are receiving this pres-tigious award: Floriana Bruni-Bossio, principal of St. Stanislaus Catholic Elementary School; Heather Kaup, principal of Mother Margaret Mary Catholic High School; and Hugh MacDonald, principal of St. Joseph Catholic High School. April offers opportunities for parents and guardians to join us in learning. The last session in our Mental Health Par-ent Evening Series, Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health (Go-to Educator)/Program Transition, will be held on Wednesday April 18 from 6:30-8 pm. There will be two sessions which will focus on mental health literacy and sup-porting your child as they move from home to the Early Learning, Elementary, Junior High, and Senior High levels. Visit http://bit.ly/ECSD-Parent-Series for more information and to register. We are pleased to host an evening with renowned speaker and author Father Richard Leonard on Tuesday, April 24. Join our Board of Trustees for an inspiring evening titled Confessions of a Catholic Educator – What Catholic Education Can Do for Your Child and What You Can Do for Catholic Education. The event is from 6-9 pm and in-cludes dinner. Father Leonard is a master storyteller whose ability to hold the audience’s attention through a com-bination of vivid work portraits, humour and song, make him a much sought-after speaker. Visit https://ecsdconfessions.eventbrite.ca to learn more and register.

In the 2018-19 school year, Edmonton Catholic Schools will be expanding dual credit offerings, in partner-ships with additional post-secondary institutions and industry/business. We have signed a Memorandum of Under-standing to collaborate with Mount Royal University to offer students two courses to explore their passions and in-terests in Aviation. The two dual credit Aviation courses, which are required courses within the Mount Royal Univer-sity Bissett School of Business Aviation Diploma, will be offered at St. Joseph Catholic High School to interested grade 11 and 12 students who meet the pre-requisites of English 30-1, Math 30 -1, and medical clearance.

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By offering the courses after school hours, it will enable students from across our District to enroll. Stu-dents will be able to develop their knowledge to achieve Transport Canada requirements respecting navigation and aviation operations, along with Basic Meteorology to interpret weather information for pilots as supplied by Atmos-pheric Environment Services. In partnership with WestJet, our students will be able to experience flight simulation and in-flight experiences with trained pilots. WestJet will support this opportunity through personnel, simulator ex-periences, and site visitations at YEG. For more information, please contact cheryl.shinkaruk@ecsd.net.

The provincial budget was tabled on March 22. Our preliminary findings are that the government will con-tinue to provide funding for enrolment growth and we will continue to receive dollars to eliminate school fees relat-ed to instructional supplies and materials, as well as to provide transportation costs for children living 2.4 km or more from their designated school. We will receive new dollars to expand our School Nutrition Program. Overall, the rate of funding per student remains unchanged. In the upcoming weeks, we will continue to analyze the provin-cial budget and its implications for our District.

I wish you all a blessed Easter season, and leave you with a reflection from Pope Francis: “Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.” (Pope Francis, Homily, 03/30/13) Sincerely, Joan Carr Superintendent

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April 2018 Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Dear Friends, In my Christmas message to you, I spoke of the Light of Christ that broke through the dark-ness. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. During his life on earth, many came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Image now if you can, their disappointment when he died on the cross! That light which had come into the world seemed to have gone out…but we know that the light continues to shine. At the Easter Vigil, we celebrate the light of Christ through the blessing and the lighting of the Paschal Candle. From this candle, on that night of nights, the light of Christ slowly spreads through the Church. The light of Christ is alive in the Church. We also renew our baptismal promises at the Easter Vigil as a sign of our renewed commitment to live as Christian witnesses in the world. In parishes throughout the Archdiocese, many adults and children enter the Roman Catho-lic Church, after many months of preparation through the sacrament of Baptism. They re-ceive the light of Christ from that same Paschal Candle and make their promise to live a Christian life. As a community of disciples, we are overwhelmed with joy at the rebirth of these newest members of the Church. The newly baptised are fully initiated through Confir-mation and First Eucharist. Their presence is a sign of new life. In fact, they are called “new sprouts” or neophytes. These “new sprouts” are like the children in our Catholic Schools, who come to our schools in search of the Risen Lord. They encounter the Lord in the teachers and staff and also in each other. They encounter the Risen Lord in the Word of God and in the Sacraments. On their journey of faith I hope that they too will come to know and believe in Christ; to follow where He leads them. I prayer that this Easter Season be a time of growth and joy in the Risen Lord!

Richard W. Smith Archbishop of Edmonton