Newsletter 8405 175 Street │Edmonton, AB T5T 0G9│Phone: 780 487-2264 │ Fax: 780 487-2284│www.stjustin.ecsd.net

March 2017 Newsletter #7 Inside you will find: Important Dates Registration for 2017-2018 Report Cards/ Demo of Learning Our Random Acts of Kindness Teacher’s Convention Lent Book Fair Student Leadership

and much, much, more….

May the strength of God Guide me this day, And may God’s power

Preserve me. May the wisdom of God

Instruct me, The ear of God hear me,

The word of God Give sweetness to my speech,

The hand of God Defend me,

And may I follow The way of God

To the end of the rainbow! Happy St. Patrick’s Day - March 17th

Dear Parents and Guardians, After many months of winter, we anxiously look forward to welcoming signs of Spring! Although our students have enjoyed their experiences skiing, skating, and playing in the snow-covered park, it is indeed time for skipping ropes, basketball and rainboots. March promises to be another busy month, with the Lenten season in preparation for Easter, new digital report cards (available to you on-line!), Demonstration of Learning, Bookfair, and continued work promoting your child’s academic growth – particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy. On February 24th, we celebrated our first ‘Pizza with the Principal’ luncheon, as a reward for a lucky student from each classroom who has been participating in the ‘Read at Home’ program. Thank you to all families who have been supporting this initiative! There will be a draw each month for the remainder of the year, and further opportunities for everyone participating to celebrate our growth as readers together. With warmer weather comes the renewed joy of new life around us. Let us be ever conscious of the many blessings that we enjoy in partnership with our parents and community, and celebrate this as we move towards the final term of the school year. Yours in Catholic Education, Mrs. Laurie Pollitt Mr. John Gosse Principal Assistant Principal

IMPORTANT DATES February 27-March 7 CCAT Grade 3 March 1 Ash Wednesday 1:00 service at school March 2-3 Teachers’ Convention – NO SCHOOL March 3 World day of Prayer March 10 Report Cards available on line at 3 PM March 12 Daylight Savings Time starts- turn clocks ahead one hour March 13-16 Scholastic Book Fair March 16 Demonstration of Learning 4-7 PM March 17 St. Patrick’s Day – Pizza lunch March 20 Council Meeting 5:30 PM March 23 Full day of school – dismiss at 3 PM March 24 Half day of school – dismiss at 12:00 PM March 27-31 Spring Break – NO SCHOOL April 3 Classes Resume KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATIONS 2017- 2018 SCHOOL YEAR We will begin accepting kindergarten registrations for the 2017-2018 school year on February 1, 2017. To attend our full day Kindergarten Program, children must live within the school boundary and be 5 years old on or before March 1, 2018. If you have a child, or if you know of someone who has a child, eligible for the 2017-2018 school year, please phone 780-487-2264 for registration information. Further information will also be posted on our website in the registration section. Please be sure to register as soon as possible to secure a placement for your child in the 100 Voices or Kindergarten program. 100 VOICES/ PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM Our 100 Voices program is open to all children living in the 100 Voices catchment area who turn 4 years old on or before March 1, 2018. In addition to 4 year olds, we also accept some 3 year olds within our 100 Voices catchment area. Children must be 3 years of age as of September 30th, 2017, and qualify for funding as determined by a screening process. These children will be integrated into our existing 100 Voices program. For both 3 and 4 year olds, the screening process will determine if your child qualifies for funding, otherwise the program fee is $375.00 a month. There are more funding restrictions for children who are 3 years of age. Children are also expected to be toilet trained. Tentative registrations are currently being accepted. Please contact the school as soon as possible if you are interested. LENT We approached the season of Lent by sharing a Pancake Breakfast with all of our students on Shrove Tuesday, February 28th. Many thanks to the School Council for their organization and gracious generosity of finances in supporting this event. We are most grateful! Lent is a time of preparation for one of the major liturgical seasons of the year. It begins on Ash Wednesday in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and ends liturgically on Holy Thursday, April 13, 2017. It is a time that we set aside for increased prayer, fasting, and in giving more fully to one another. In this way, we prepare for the greatest feast in the Church, Easter, when we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead. CANADIAN COGNITIVE ABILITIES TESTING (CCAT) Grade 3 students will write the C.C.A.T.s (Canadian Cognitive Ability Tests) during the week of Feb. 27th - March 3rd . The tests will be administered in sections throughout the week. It will be most beneficial that your child is in attendance for these tests, arrives on time for instructions, and is well rested to allow him/her to achieve their personal best.

REPORT CARDS AND DEMONSTRATION OF LEARNING All students will have their Third Progress Report available to view on the computer on Friday, March 10th. Parents can access the digital report cards by logging into their Parent Portal through PowerSchool. The instruction sheet (PowerSchool Parent Login) is on page 13 of this newsletter. If you have not yet created a Parent PowerSchool account and need assistance, please contact Mrs. Lynch in the main office as soon as possible. The students have been working hard towards achieving their goals this term. Please allow your child to show you how proud they are of their work by coming to the Demonstration of Learning for all students in 100 Voices to Grade 6, on Thursday, March 16th from 4-7 p.m. We look forward to seeing you! BOOK FAIR 2017 The second Book Fair of the 2016-2017 school year will be held from March 13th - 16th. During the Demonstration of Learning, please drop by the library and purchase some new books! We are in need of several volunteers to take a shift to assist in set up, take down, and selling of books in order to make our Book Fair a success. If you are available, please call Mrs. Lynch or Mrs. Honeycotte at 780- 487-2264 and leave your name and the time you can help. Thank you in advance for your support! PARKING LOT SAFETY Please adhere to our “NO DRIVING INTO THE PARKING LOT” policy. Thank you to the many parents who are successfully using the Drop Off Lane and pulling up to the far north end to facilitate the flow of traffic coming behind. Your efforts to support safety in our community is greatly appreciated.

WELCOME BACK AND FAREWELL We would like to extend a warm welcome to Mrs. Allen who has returned back to our St. Justin School family. What a gift to have both Mrs. Allen and Mr. Alstad to offer their musical gifts to our students. This month we said farewell to Mrs. Ramirez from 100 Voices and Mrs. Irwin from Kindergarten B. We wish them both well on their journey at their new schools.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK St. Justin School has earned the title to be a Kindness Certified School. This title was certainly evident throughout a wide range of activities during Random Acts of Kindness week. Among the activities included were: drawing attention to mental health on Bell Let’s Talk day, Daily Kindness Challenges shared by our grade 3A class to our students and staff on SJTV news, celebrating team pride (for Jaguars or other teams of choice), and celebrating national pride on Canada Flag day. Another highlight was seeing a sea of pink on Pink Shirt Day to mark our commitment to take a stand against bullying. Our spirits soared this week as we celebrated the beautiful spirit of kindness in our building.

SCENT FREE ZONE Many employees of Edmonton Catholic Schools are negatively affected when they are exposed to scented products. At St. Justin School, we are taking all reasonable steps to ensure safe and healthy environments for all. We kindly ask your help in refraining from the use of scented products, and fragrances for all who enter our building. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

CELEBRATING STUDENT LEADERSHIP Special thanks to students from the following teams and service groups who have demonstrated responsibility through their behavior and service to others. Throughout the year, we will be recognizing the members of the various students involved and celebrating their contributions to our community.

Girls Volleyball Team: Gabrielle Agsunod, Beatrice De Jesus, Zara Digol, Verina Hanna, Gorgette Hanna, Paige Labidiuk, Althea Lagadan, April Remulla, Pamela Rutto, Eriz Tamon and Kate Zales. Boys Volleyball Team: Joelle Alexis, Raejay Diego, Ian Dolega-Cieszkowski, Xzander Navarro-Cortez, Allen Ocampo, Andrei Ocampo and Raul 11.

Congratulations to these students for representing themselves so well at the H.E.B Volleyball tournament on January 21-22. They demonstrated excellent volleyball skills and exceptional sportsmanship. Thank you for being such wonderful ambassadors for St. Justin School. Thanks to Miss Mitchell, Mrs. Nykolyshyn, Mr. Sharkey and Ms. Wong for providing such a great experience for our students.

Broadcast Team: Raejay Diego, Tadiwa Nleya, Rea Pallay, Gabrielle Agsunod, Ashton Datoy, Beatrice De Jesus, Zara Digol, Verina Hanna, Gorgette Hanna, Kailey Hoekman-Hoeksra, Althea Lagadan, Pamela Rutto, Anna Lucia Sauriol, Eriz Tamon and Kate Zales.

Each morning we are gifted with the leadership skills of these students in preparing and presenting the St. Justin Morning News for our school community. Their dedication to arrive early each day, work together as a team to present the news on time, and celebrate important events such as birthdays, is appreciated by our entire school community. We thank Mrs. Honeycotte and Mrs. Zarowny for their commitment to supporting this team and encouraging them to be their best!

Keep watching future newsletters for more leadership highlights.

MESSAGE FROM SCHOOL COUNCIL Hello parents and guardians of St. Justin, It’s hard to believe that there are only 4 months left in the school year. There’s still a lot of work to be done and we’re hoping to count on your support and input in the upcoming months. As the playground is now behind us, my wish is to ensure that school council can meaningfully invest into our child’s education. As a council, we must decide what priorities most need our financial support. This is where your input is needed. I personally hope that anything that school council invests in, can benefit the school for years to come and result in higher achievement results of our students. We need to work together with school administration to ensure that any major needs are addressed. Please join us at our next meeting on March 20 from 5:30-7:00 in the school library. We hope to see you there! Regards, Ray Aceron Chair, St. Justin School Council

St. Justin Catholic Elementary School 8405 -175 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5T-OG9 Tel: 780 487-2264 · Fax: 780 487-2284

February 23, 2017 Dear Parents/Guardians, As an annual check-up on the education system, the Accountability Pillar survey provides an opportunity for Alberta Education and school authorities to ensure that we are equipping students for success.

The Accountability Pillar survey uses a set of 16 indicators. Data on these indicators consists of surveys of students, parents and teachers on various aspects of education quality, student outcomes such as dropout and high school completion rates, and provincial assessments of student learning.

From January to the end of February, Alberta Education will be conducting the annual Accountability Pillar Survey.

• In January, parents of students in grades 4-12 received a survey from Alberta Education. • In February, students in grades 4 - 12 and all teachers completed their surveys online at school.

All surveys are anonymous and ask questions about experiences with your school.

Your participation in the survey helps provide important information on the quality of education your child is receiving, so we encourage you to return your survey promptly.

Survey results will be available to school authorities in May 2017, and will be reported publicly as part of their 3-Year Education Plans and Annual Education Results Reports. Thank you for taking the time to participate in this important survey to assist us with gathering important information to assist in providing excellent learning opportunities for all students. Yours in Catholic Education, Mrs. Laurie Pollitt Principal

-----www.stjustin.ecsd.net -----

COMMENTS FROM THE FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD RETURN THIS PORTION OF THE NEWSLETTER TO HIS OR HER HOMEROOM TEACHER

[ ] Yes, I have received and read the March Newsletter [ ] Yes, I agree to support the attempt to have a paperless Newsletter, and I will access the next Newsletter on the School website at www.stjustin.ecsd.net. This means that I do not need to receive a printed copy of the Newsletter next month [ ] I would like to receive a printed copy of the Newsletter Parent email address: ____________________________ ______________________ _______________ ___________________________ Name of Student(s) Homeroom Parent/Guardian Signature Comments:

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

I love that all visitors to

the school have to sign in at the office. I know my

kids are always safe.

Great idea to have the students hand their cell phones in to the

main office every morning! Thanks for doing this.

The school is always so clean.

Great Job!