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September 2017
Dear Parents,
We would like to welcome you to the 2017/2018 School year. We extend a special welcome to all our new St. Kateri students and families. We are glad you are part of our school community and we are looking forward to a joyful, productive school year filled with wonderful learning. Welcome to our new staff, in 100 Voices Miss Duncombe, Kindergarten, Miss Moses, Grade 1, Mrs. Bunker andMiss Miller, Grade 2, Miss Kubinec, Grade 4, Mrs. Radisic. We welcome back to Grade 3, Mrs. Larizza.
The vibrant energy of the staff and students, as we start this new school year, is truly contagious. Ourincredible St. Kateri team has been working diligently to prepare for this new school year. As a dedicated staff family, we are committed to ensuring that each child is supported and cared for, while enhancing their academic, social and spiritual development. We dedicate ourselves to fostering our students' learning in a loving environment, while empowering each child to make decisions, take risks, collaborate with others and to be of service to others.
Our theme for the year, ‘Rooted in Jesus… Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve and Minds to Dream’ mirrors our District theme and calls on each of us to be the hands of Christ in our school and in our community. We invite our students, our staff and our community to use their beautiful hearts and hands to emulate Christ in all that they do. We invite them to see God in one another, to celebrate God’s goodness and to do good themselves as they strive to be examples of God’s grace in our world.
We look forward to a wonderful year with your children! Enjoy the wonder and love of each ordinary day.
Ida Poulin Darlene Payne Thomas Collins Principal Assistant Principal Assistant Principal
Tips for Parents at the Start of the School Year
As the new school year begins, it is important to remember that students who experience success in school are diligent and conscientious in their approach to school work. There are a number of ways that parents can help their children as they prepare for the start of the new school year:
Talk with your children about the school day. Use questions such as “How was your day?” “Tell me all about it.” “Do you have homework?” “What is your homework?” “What was the best part of your day?” “Who did you sit with for lunch?” If your children have recess, try these questions: “Who did you play with?” “What did you play?” These are just ideas for starting the conversation each day. Soon your chil-dren will start the conversation themselves. If you can initiate the conversation as soon as you see your children each day, it will become part of a daily, “scheduled” event.
Get to know your child’s teachers. Children notice when their parents greet their teachers — and when their teachers know who they are!
Check on the academic progress of your children. Start early! Parents may use the Student Agenda Book to record homework and assignments, it can also become a key communication tool between parents and teachers. Parents are urged to check their child’s agenda regularly.
Read the monthly newsletter and check our website often. The newsletter includes information that can answer many questions you may have and it will alert you to upcoming events. The newsletter is posted online on the first school day of each month that we are in session. Dates and upcoming events are listed in the newsletter and posted on our website. For those parents who are subscribed to SwiftK12, an email message is sent to parents when the newsletter has been posted. The newsletter can be accessed on our school website:
https://www.ecsd.net/schools/8238/Pages/Default.aspx
Please feel free to contact the school if you require clarification about anything.
Attend school events such as: Our Meet the Staff Evening, religious celebrations and masses, student-led conferences, Christmas concert and cultural events when they take place. If your child is on the sports teams, be a fan. We look forward to an excellent year with your children!
Meet Our Staff
Teaching Staff100 Voices – Leila DeDios E-mail: [email protected] Voices - Alysha Duncombe E-mail: [email protected] - Hayley Taylor E-mail: [email protected] Kindergarten - Sabatini Moses E-mail: [email protected] 1A – Andrea Bunker E-mail: [email protected] 1B – Jennifer Palmer E-mail: [email protected] 1C – Nicola Miller E-mail: [email protected] 2A – Kari Kubinec E-mail: [email protected] 2B – Emma Plante E-mail: [email protected] 2C – Alessandra Saporito E-mail: [email protected] Grade 3A - Joel Piche E-mail: [email protected] 3B – Angela Larizza E-mail: [email protected] 3C- Andrea Clizia E-mail: Andrea.Clizia @ecsd.net Grade 4A –Larissa Pompei E-mail: [email protected] 4B –Reaghan Manyluk E-mail: Reaghan.Manyluk @ecsd.netGrade 4C- Alison Radisic E-mail: Alison.Radisic @ecsd.netGrade 5A – Tessa Encina E-mail: [email protected] Grade 5B –Delia de Sousa E-mail: Delia de [email protected] 6A - Alix Crowell-Bour E-mail: [email protected] 6B – Nadia Moriconi E-mail: [email protected] Teacher – Amy Voyer E-mail: [email protected]/LC – Nicole Carignan E-mail: [email protected] - Chris Lirette E-mail: [email protected] Coach/ELL - Melissa O’Rourke E-mail: Melissa.O’[email protected]
Classroom SupportEA: Kathleen Kirkman EA – Stephanie Gruss EA: Lorina Groot EA-Pam Tancsics EA-Michelle Durrant Kindergarten EA: Kelly Harries Kindergarten EA – Patricia KlosterEarly Learning EA – Olga HammondEarly Learning Facilitator 100 Voices: Cindy LowryEarly Learning Facilitator 100 Voices: Leonor DragatisEmotional Behavioral Specialist-Lisa Hartley Family School Liaison Worker – Holly Reeve
Administrative Support StaffSecretary: Eva Perri E-mail: [email protected]: Amanda Venters E-mail: [email protected]
Custodial StaffHead Custodian: Norman RamosSenior Custodian: Jessie UrmatamLight Duty Custodian: Soonsik Jang
AdministrationPrincipal: Ida Poulin E-mail: [email protected] Principal: Darlene Payne E-mail: [email protected] Principal: E-mail: Thomas Collins E-mail: [email protected]
School Times 2017-2018 Kindergarten Times AMMorning 1st Bell - 8:29AM Instruction - 8:33AM Instruction - 8:33 AM Recess - 10:15 – 10:30AMRecess - 10:15 – 10:30AM Dismissal – 11:31AMLunch Recess -12:00PM Lunch - 12:20PM Kindergarten Times PMInstruction –12:40PM Instruction – 12:03PM Dismissal – 3:00PM Dismissal – 3:00PM *Thursday – EARLY DISMISSAL 12:06 PM *No classes on Thursdays 100 Voices AMInstruction– 8:33AMDismissal –11:31AM 100 Voices PMInstruction – 12:02PMDismissal – 3:00PM
*No classes on Thursdays
Office Hours
Our school office is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Parents who call the school before or after these hours are asked to leave a clear message and we will return your call as soon as we are able to. Please remember that we will be happy to give your child a message at recess, lunch, or at the end of the day. We thank you for your understanding of our wanting to protect learning time for all students by not interrupting classes for messages. Arrangements for friends to connect after school are to be made prior to your child’s arrival at school. The school phone is to be used for emergency purposes only.
Supervision
Supervision begins at 8:19 am and, therefore, for safety, please do not leave your children unattended until staff is supervising. After school supervision ends at 3:15 pm. Please ensure that your child(ren) are picked up between 3:00 pm and 3:15 pm.
Attendance
When your child is going to be late or absent from school, please contact Mrs. Perri or Mrs. Venters. If you call after school hours, you may leave a message regarding absences on our answering machine. Please state your child’s name, (spell the last name) grade and give the reason for the absence. Remember to speak slowly and clearly as the quality of the answering machine may not be the best and it is difficult to understand the message at times.
Late Arrivals
If your child is late, he/she will come to the office to have his/her agenda signed, which your child will show his/her classroom teacher. If you usually pick up your child from school at the end of the day and are going to be late, please contact the school to notify the office staff. Thank you.
Notification if your child will NOT be on the bus
Please inform the office and the bus driver if your child will not be on the bus. This courtesy is very important for the safety of your child. If your child is going home with anyone other than yourself or by bus, we require your permission in writing – note or email (we cannot accept your permission over the phone)
Taking Students Out Early
When you take your child out from school earlier than the usual dismissal time, please come to the office to sign your child out. We will contact your child’s teacher to ready your child to leave. We try not to disrupt our valuable teaching and learning time and, therefore, strive to reduce distractions at the classroom door.
Vacations/Extended Absences
21st century classrooms are dynamic learning environments that are fluid and constantly changing. Work assigned is often project-based and is designed to promote critical thinking and a deeper level of student engagement. Worksheets and paper packages of student work are increasingly rare in today’s classrooms, since research shows that they do little to promote higher level thinking skills or achievement. Because our learning environments are so dynamic, it can be very difficult for teachers to put together packages for students who will be away for an extended period of time. Consequently, we recommend that families avoid booking vacation time during the school year. If that is not possible, or if students must be away for truly important events or family emergencies, then parents are asked to contact the teacher to find out what general topics of study will be examined while the student is away. The student will be expected to read applicable textbook chapters and monitor work and material being posted to Google classrooms, with the understanding that the student will likely have work to make up when he or she returns to school.
*N.B. It is the responsibility of the student to see each of his or her teachers to find out what work was missed during an absence and to complete all missed work, assignments and/or exams.
Visitors & Volunteers
For the safety of all of our children, all doors remain locked during the school day. All visitors and volunteers MUST ring the doorbell to be let in. In keeping with our District Occupational Health and Safety requirements, all visitors and volunteers must report to the office, review the safety guidelines for the school, sign in, and receive a visitor’s badge. Everyone must sign out in the office as well. St. Kateri, like all schools in ECSD, complies with our district-wide volunteer procedure. Some of the key points in the procedure include:
1. All volunteers shall be required to complete a “Volunteer Registration Form” annually and prior to commencing any volunteer activities in the school.
2. All volunteers who are to be assisting with school activities on any given day, shall register at the school office at the beginning of each day. School staff shall be instructed that a volunteer register or log, shall be kept and made available to the school principal at all times. The volunteer register shall contain legible names of the volunteers and their expected location or classroom assignment during the course of their duties during the day.
3. While engaged in volunteer activities, all volunteers shall wear appropriate identification.
In keeping with district procedure, we will be asking all parents who have not yet done so to complete the volunteer registration form. Thank you for your cooperation and support!
Medical Alerts and Administering Medication
Upon occasion, parents request that staff members administer medication to students who are not sufficiently mature or reliable enough to care for their own needs. In order to administer medication to a student, we require a “Request for Administration of Medication/Medical Treatment Form” be completed and on file in the office. A copy of this form may be obtained from the school office. It is the parent’s responsibility to keep us informed of medical conditions and provide correct information regarding treatment and emergency contact information. We are not able to administer ANY medication without the proper forms and permissions. PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND CORRECT INFORMATION REGARDING TREATMENT AND EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION.
Allergies
There are many students and staff members who have life-threatening tree nut, peanut and other allergies at our school. In some cases, these allergies are so severe that just a trace of or even the smell of peanuts or nut products can send the child into anaphylactic shock. If this happens, the child’s throat tightens and swells and he or she may stop breathing. This type of severe allergic reaction can be fatal. The following website has a great deal of helpful information regarding anaphylaxis: http://www.anaphylaxis.org. We strive to keep each of our students’ safe during the school day. Even though your child may not be in the same class as one of our severely allergic children, there is still the possibility of cross-contamination. If, for example, a child has a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, then uses the computers after lunch, he or she might unknowingly leave trace amounts of peanut butter on the keyboard. If a severely allergic child used the keyboard during the next class, he or she could have a severe allergic reaction.
Although we cannot absolutely guarantee that students will not come into contact with nut products, we do wish to limit the chances of such an occurrence. Please help us by checking the labels, packages and ingredients of all foods your children bring to school. Please don’t let your child bring any foods to school that contain even a trace amounts of peanuts or tree nuts. We truly appreciate your cooperation and help in this important matter.
Illness and Recess
Normally, children who are too ill to go outside for recess are too ill to be at school. This isparticularly true in cases of severe colds, infections and headaches. With severe colds, children areunable to function well at school. In addition, they provide a source of infection for other children andwould recuperate faster if kept at home.
Once again, parents are asked to ensure their child’s teacher is made aware of any unique medical situations.
Agenda Books
Our students in Grades 1 to 6 use the Student Agenda Books. The Agenda assists students in keeping their homework assignments well organized and can be an invaluable tool in developing effective time management skills.
Please note: the first section of the Agenda contains a great deal of information about St. KateriSchool. Please be sure to read the first section of the Agenda with your child. Parents are asked tosign the Awareness Confirmation at the front of the agenda. Thank you!
Protocol for Parent Concerns
Edmonton Catholic Schools recognizes the freedom of all members of the school community (students, staff, parents and neighbours) to voice their concerns in an appropriate manner to the appropriate school personnel. The principle of “first contact” needs to be followed. This means that the person(s) who have the concern, have the responsibility to begin addressing the concern directly with those persons with whom they have the concern before taking their concern elsewhere. Parents who contact school administration prior to speaking with the persons with whom they have a concern will be directed to that person first.
Closed Campus
St. Kateri School has a closed campus for students over the noon hour. We are concerned with the safety of our students during the school day and it is difficult to properly supervise them if they leave the school grounds. As well, the allotted time for students between morning and afternoon classes is short, and un-less your son or daughter lives very close to the school, he or she would not have time to get home and return to school for afternoon classes. A few reminders for parents: 1. For those who live within easy
walking distance of the school, permission for your son/daughter to go home at lunch must be in writing and on file in the school office. 2. Please do not send notes giving your child(ren) permission to leave the school grounds to go to another student’s home at lunch time. They will not be honored. 3. Parents who wish to take their children out for lunch must come to the school office and sign their children out. There will be a variety of activities for students to take part in over the noon hour once the cold weather sets in.
Lunch at school & Reverse Lunch Time
Students are invited to bring their lunch to school. Appropriate student behaviour is expected when participating in lunchtime privileges. Students who choose not to comply with lunchtime expectations will not be permitted to stay at school for lunch. Parents who want their child to go home for lunch are to provide the teacher/office with a written permission note for your child to leave the school premises during the lunch hour. If you are picking up your child for lunch or for an appointment, please sign your child out at the office. We continue to have reversed lunch where our students go out for recess at noon and have their lunch at 12:20PM. Statistics show that students finish their lunches more readily when they have already had recess.
Hot Lunch Program
Once again, St. Kateri will be using Healthy Hunger as our hot lunch organizing service. Hot lunches are offered for students once a month. Our hot lunch providers include Mucho Burrito, Boston Pizza, OPA, Chutney’s Indian Grill and others. Because our vendors require advance notice, lunch orders must be placed in advance. Once parents sign up for the service, they will receive email notices when new lunch dates are added. Orders are placed and paid for online. The school does not collect money for lunches. Changes to orders, including cancellations, may be made up to five days prior to the hot lunch date. After that time, no changes may be made. If a student is absent or ill on hot lunch day, parents may call the school to make arrangements for pick-up if they wish. Otherwise, the lunch will be donated to someone else.
St. Kateri School is an APPLE School
The Purpose of being an APPLE School:• Improve nutritional habits• Improve physical activity habits• Increase knowledge about healthy living for parents, students, teachers and the school community• Implement and sustain comprehensive school health• Sustain capacity for healthy environments in school communities.
Thanks to a generous donation from a supportive Albertan, all APPLE Schools benefit from theinfluence of a school health facilitator whose role in the school community is to make the healthychoice the easy choice by changing school environments. The easy choices for students are healthylunches, nutritious snacks, daily physical activity and a school environment that supports healthylifestyles. In these healthy schools, everyone works together to improve a child’s health. The
facilitators in APPLE Schools engage with parents, students, staff, and community stakeholders toimpact students’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours.
Elementary Boomerang Lunch
The amount of food waste generated over one lunch hour at school is truly staggering! Children often throw items that they do not like away. At St. Kateri, we feel it is important that parents of students be aware of what their children are actually eating at lunch time and we would like to reduce waste in our school. In an effort to cut down on food waste, we will be asking students to pack uneaten food items, in their lunch boxes to be taken home. To facilitate this, students are asked to pack their lunches in sealed containers so uneaten food can be sent home in the same container. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!
Students are asked NOT to bring microwaveable items to school since students do not have access to microwave ovens at lunch time. Thank you!
Birthday Treats
We know that birthdays are very important in your child’s life. In keeping with our nutrition policy, weare asking parents to choose healthy alternative treats to send to school when their child is celebrating a birthday or by donating a book to the classroom library. Teachers will no longer be able to serve birthday treats containing lots of sugar (such as cake or cupcakes) to the entire class when a student is celebrating a birthday since this does not support our nutrition policy, the nutrition policy of the District and also is not in keeping with what parents are trying to promote with their children. To make your child’s party a healthy success, try some of the ideas below:
School Opening Celebration
Our school opening celebration will take place in our gym on Friday, September 15 at 9:30AM.Please join us!
School Photos
School pictures will be taken on Monday, October 2nd. Please mark your calendars! More
information will be sent out.
School Fees
School fees are now due. School fees are directed toward consumable items for students. Supplemental Educational Fees have been set for each level and will be in effect as of September 2017. The Supplemental Education Fee for 2017-2018 is $50.00 for Grades 1-6 and $30.00 for Kindergarten. St. Kateri will continue to collect additional funds on a strictly cost recovery basis for optional supplemental educational activities in the following categories: Extra-curricular teams/clubs, field trips, school activity costs (dances, social activities), student activity costs and costs for extra-ordinary course consumables. These fees offset the cost of mandatory, non-curricular or co-curricular activities and resources that enhance the educational experience. School fees can be paid online through PowerSchool using your credit card! Just log-in (with the parent log-in) and click on the School Fees tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
Back to School Resources/Curriculum Info for Parents
Alberta Education publishes My Child’s Learning as a means of providing parents with an in-depth look at the subjects and programs available from kindergarten to senior high school. Click on the “Customize My Printout” button to access information about Catholic education. http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mychildslearning/customize.html
Meet the Staff Evening
Parents, please mark your calendars and plan to join us for our annual Meet the Staff Eveningon Wednesday, September 13th at 6:30 pm. This event will not only give you a chance to meet our staff and your child(ren)’s teachers, you will also learn about our programs, activities and goals for the upcoming school year.
We will open the evening by gathering in the gym. Administration will give a brief opening address welcoming you to the school. Parents will then be invited into their child’s classrooms where they can meet the teacher and see firsthand the students’ learning environments.
School Council
Parents who would like to be more involved in their child’s education and in the decision-making process at the school are invited to join the School Council. New members are always welcome. Our first School Council meeting will be our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, September 12th at 6:30PM in the Staffroom. Babysitting will be provided. Please plan to attend!
Slow Down for School Zones
At Edmonton Catholic Schools the health and safety of students is always our first priority! School zones are in effect around elementary and junior high schools throughout Edmonton. Motorists are required by law to slow down to 30 km/h between 8:00am and 4:30pm on school days where school zone signs are posted. Please slow down and ensure the safety of students near elementary schools.
St. Kateri Safety Patrols
Our new and eager grade six crew of AMA safety patrollers is ready to go! The 2017-2018 school year will see our patrollers maintaining the 4-way stop controlled crosswalk with the point, pause, and proceed technique. This technique models what every pedestrian should do when crossing the street and is a much simpler procedure for school patrollers. The primary role of AMA School Safety Patrollers is to assist younger students to cross the street — not to direct traffic. Patrollers will extend their arm to indicate pedestrians want to cross the street and will only extend their stop sign when it is safe to cross their fel-low classmates. It would be greatly appreciated if parents could assist our patrollers in the fol-lowing ways: • Please do not park in the No Parking or Bus Zones in front of the school. Even if you are only dropping your child off, it makes it extremely difficult for the patrollers or supervisors to ef-fectively watch for oncoming traffic when there are vehicles in these areas. • Please exercise extreme caution when approaching the front of the school and the 4-way stop.
Thank you for your cooperation. Let’s make this a safe and successful year for our children!
Parking in the Round About
The Round About, in front of the school will be used as a one-way street. The lane closest to the school building will be the only lane designated for parents to STOP, HUG, DROP/PICK UP and GO. Please remain in your vehicle. The second lane is for free-flowing traffic, which means that there is NO stopping in that lane. Students have been taught that they can only enter a vehicle that is at the curb parked in the lane closest to the building. Students are not allowed to cross at the front of the school in the Round About. They are to follow the sidewalk for access to vehicles parked on the street. The handicapped zone must be free at all times (the length of a yellow bus) for those who require this space.
Please take notice of the various signage in the Round About Area. Private property, Student Drop Off Only, No Parking During School Days, No Parking and Loading Zone. Vehicles left unattended in this area will be ticketed by city bylaw. As well, please do not park in the alley or block our neighbour’s driveways.
Staff Parking
Parents are also asked not to drive into the staff parking lot to drop off or pick up children. Our staff parking lot is completely full and there is no extra parking or room for cars to turn around. Although at times it is more convenient to drop your child off closer to their entry, this can create a dangerous situation. Staff vehicles could be hit by parents backing out of the staff parking lot and of even more concern is the possibility of someone being injured. This area can become very congested and dangerous for student pedestrians. Please ensure that NO students are dropped off or picked up in the staff parking lot.
Bus Passes
The Government of Alberta has eliminated transportation fees for some students riding the yellow school bus and has subsidized the cost for some students who ride an ETS bus. Students residing within 2.4 kilometers of the school who ride the yellow school bus still pay for bus passes. Bus passes are sold in the office during the last week and the first few days of the month. Bus pass payments (as well as school fees and field trip fees) can also be paid online through PowerSchool. Cash payments can also be sub-mitted to the office. We are kindly requesting that exact payment is submitted as the office does not have access to monies to make change for payments. Bus passes will not be issued to students unless payment has been received. Please be advised that the deadline to purchase yellow bus passes is the 5th day of every month. If your child has not purchased his/her bus pass by that time, they will no longer be able to take the bus. Parents/Guardians will be notified that they will need to find alternate trans-portation for their child. If your child will not be on the bus on any particular day and you are picking them up, please call our school to inform us or use the student agenda to inform the teacher that your child will be picked up.
Bus schedules will NO LONGER BE POSTED on the Edmonton Catholic Schools website. Bus schedules will now only be available on PowerSchool. Therefore, it is imperative that all families set up and have access to their PowerSchool accounts.
The cost of student bus passes is $32.00 per month. A family plan is available for families with three or more children who take the yellow bus. The cost of family plan bus passes is $28/month for each child. Note: In order to confirm eligibility, parents must complete an application for the family plan. The Edmon-ton Transit System allows the holder of an ETS bus pass to utilize Edmonton Transit any time throughout the week, including weekends. In collaboration with Edmonton Transit, the Edmonton Catholic School District has enhanced the options available to yellow bus pass users. Students who possess a yellow bus pass will be allowed six rides per month on Edmonton Transit System throughout the week, including weekends, up to 8:00 pm. Students will have their yellow pass punched by an ETS operator and will ob-tain a transfer pass before boarding the bus or LRT. Students are reminded to take good care of their bus passes, particularly since they are charged the full replacement cost if they lose them. For ETS bus passes, replacement passes are $73.00. Replacement costs for yellow bus passes are $5.00
Yellow Bus Information for Parents
We would like to remind students who take the yellow school busses that they are expected to behave in a manner acceptable to the bus driver. Riding these busses is not a right. It is a service provided by Ed-monton Transit or by the school district. Students who misbehave on the busses could be asked to find al-ternate transportation to school.
Note: Video surveillance cameras were put onto yellow school busses throughout the school district in 2002.
SCHOOL START-UP – SEPTEMBER 2017
The following safety measures are in place for all Edmonton Catholic Schools yellow bus routes:
Code RED – All carriers have agreed to implement a code red system that requires dispatch to answer a Code RED call from a bus driver as a priority. Code RED is defined as, “any time a situation arises and a driver’s ability to safely drive is compromised.”
Oversize Items – Oversize items on a school bus can become a safety hazard if the bus has to stop sud-denly or is involved in a collision. To ensure student safety, the district has implemented the following guidelines:
Maximum size limit for large items: 13” wide x 13” deep x 30” high or 33cm wide x 33cm deep x 76cm high
Guidelines: The item must be in a backpack, closed bag or carrying case. The item must fit on the child’s lap or between their legs on the floor of the school bus. Items placed on the floor must not extend past the child’s chest area. Items cannot block aisles or emergency exits.
Notices – Information on oversize items is on large easy-to-read stickers that are clearly displayed on yel-low school buses. Bus drivers will also retain a copy of these guidelines on the bus and the information has been posted on the district website.
Drivers have been instructed that they cannot refuse transportation to a child even if the child shows up at the bus stop with an oversize item that exceeds the maximum limits. In this situation, drivers will stow the item as safely as possible. Once the bus arrives at the school, the driver will advise the school supervi-sor that the student has an oversize item and remind the school that the driver will not allow the oversize item back on the bus. The school must make arrangements with parents to transport the oversize item.
Driver Expectations – Edmonton Catholic Schools’ transportation staff attended orientation sessions for yellow bus drivers where they presented information on these new guidelines as well as outlined driver expectations. Driver expectations include:
Develop seating plans and assign students to specific seats. Follow the route as designed - no courtesy stops. Complete child check to ensure that children are not left sleeping on the bus, and
A reminder that kindergarten and grade 1 students are to be met at their stop by a parent or guardian. (in schools where transportation for elementary students is provided)
Camera Surveillance Equipment
Edmonton Catholic Schools operates video surveillance equipment in approximately 45% of our bus routes. The equipment will be assigned to longer bus routes and bus routes that have had a history of is-sues. If, at any time throughout the year, principals want a particular bus route to have video surveillance equipment, they may contact Transportation Services and arrangements can be made to have the video surveillance equipment available for that route.
Late Buses
In the morning if there are any issues with the buses running late or not showing up, please contact Transportation Services@ 780-441-6078. The Transportation department office is open at 7:15 a.m. The sooner Transportation Services are aware of an issue the sooner they can help. In the event that the bus will be late, a Swift K-12 message by the transportation department will be sent out to you informing you how late the bus will be. It is your responsibility to ensure that your child is at school.
Property TaxesAll property owners are encouraged to examine their Tax Notice to ensure that their support isassigned to Edmonton Catholic Schools. If you own a business or are in a business partnership,please check to see that your taxes are being allocated to our District (partial allocations can also bedesignated). If there is an error, please contact the City of Edmonton using their 311 number orthrough email: [email protected]
Registration, FOIP, ECSD Responsible Use Agreement and Student Owned Devices Policy
Copies of the registration information we have on file are sent home early in the school year. Parentsare asked to check this information over carefully, make any necessary changes and return the formsto the school. We also ask that parents of students who are of First Nations, Metis or Inuit descentidentify this on the registration forms. In some cases, this enables us to access additional support forstudents. It is extremely important that we have accurate information regarding our students in theevent of an emergency. As per the information above, parents of students who are new to our schoolare asked to also complete FOIP forms and the ECSD Responsible Use Agreement.
Personal Property and Electronic Devices
Students are responsible for all personal property, including electronic devices. All personal items should be clearly marked with the student’s name. Students should never leave money and valuables unat-tended. The school cannot be responsible for damage or loss and we do not investigate in the event that these items go missing.
Safety Drill Practices
In general, we will be practicing our fire drills in the Fall and Spring. We will practice lockdowns and other
emergency procedures all year. These valuable exercises are required so that the staff and students are aware of what the procedures are, should one of these events occur. For some of these practices, the students will be aware that they will occur. Other practices will be surprise events. In all cases, the office will make an announcement following the practice.
Cell Phone Use
Students at St. Kateri are not allowed to use cell phones, recording or transmission devices in theschool building without the direct permission of a teacher or staff member. Students who need tocontact their parents during the school day may use the phone in the office. To do so, students musthave permission from a staff member.
School Website
A great deal of information is posted to our school website. Please check the website frequently for up-dates with regard to school events and for information about our events and activities at our school.
Swift K-12 Communications
For several years parents & guardians have appreciated receiving attendance communiqués as well as school-wide messages such as important announcements and newsletters. The program that the Edmon-ton Catholic School District had been using was Synrevoice. The District has recently begun working with a new company called SwiftK12. We are expecting an easy transfer to Swift; however, like anything new, there may be some unexpected issues that need to be resolved. We’re pleased to say that parents are not required to make any changes to PowerSchool as the changeover is automated. We encourage all of our parents and guardians to continue with on-going communiqués from the school to ensure absenteeism checks, important announcements and essential messaging via email, voice broadcasting and SMS texts.
Information Regarding School Emergencies
In the Edmonton Catholic School District, the safety of our students is always our first priority and stu-dents are well supervised when they are on school property. When situations occur that warrant emer-gency procedures to ensure the safety of all students, we will provide parents with accurate and up to date information. One way to keep parents informed about an emergency and the safety procedures that have been put into place is by posting the information on the school web site. Information will be posted and updated as required when a school is experiencing an emergency. If there is an emergency situation at the school where your child(ren) attend, check the school website to stay informed and receive timely information. We also need to keep phone lines available at the school during an emergency, so we ask that you do not call the school. This will enable staff at the school to keep in touch with emergency pro-viders and District personnel. Thank you for your support and help in ensuring our students remain safe.
Edmonton Catholic School District Assessment and Reporting
Your child’s growth and progress as a learner is most important to us. To communicate student learning, the key learner outcomes from the Alberta Programs of Study are standard from school to school. Your child’s progress and understanding of each of the learning outcomes are expressed by one of the revised levels of achievement as indicated in the following chart:
Level of Achieve-ment Indicator Description/Criteria
ExemplaryThe student…. demonstrates in-depth understanding of the learning outcomes from the program of studies applies concepts in a wider variety of learning situations, including new contexts uses required skills and strategies effectively
Proficient The student…. demonstrates solid understanding of the learning outcomes from the program of studies applies concepts in most learning situations uses most required skills and strategies effectively
Progressing The student…. demonstrates understanding of the learning outcomes from the program of studies, and
may require additional guidance and support applies concepts in some learning situations uses some required skills and strategies appropriately
Beginning The student…. demonstrates limited or incomplete understanding of the learning outcomes from the pro-
gram of studies applies concepts in learning situations with repeated guidance and support uses required skills and strategies with repeated guidance and support
Insufficient Evi-dence
The student has not yet demonstrated enough evidence for reporting purposes An explanation is included in the comment box
There will continue to be a specific comment about your child’s progress in English Language Arts, Mathematics and Religion, (and where applicable, French/Spanish/Ukrainian Language Arts).
The District has replaced the ‘Growth as a Learner ‘and ‘Effort’ components of the previous progress report; instead there is a new Learner Skills section. From the list below, teachers will select learner skills that pertain specifically to your child, and will assess according to three indicators:
Consistently, Shows Progress or Requires Growth. Because more personalized information is embedded in the revised report card design, lengthy comments are not necessary; an additional comment may be included at the teacher’s discretion.
Report Card and Student-led Conference Dates
Report card dates and Celebration of Learning for this school year are scheduled for:
Citizenship This area reflects the student as a member of our Catholic school community
Is considerate and polite Accepts responsibility for own actions Responds to others in a respectful manner Respects property of others Shares ideas and takes action to make the class, school or community a safe and just
place Plays well in small and large groups
Collaboration This area reflects the student’s participation as a group member working to-wards learning goals
Shares learning, resources, and prior knowledge Responds positively to the ideas and opinions of others Assumes shared responsibility for group work Works with others to resolve challenges in order to achieve group goals
Self-Management This area reflects the student’s responsibility for personal learning
Takes responsibility for personal goals Remains focused and on task Perseveres when responding to learning challenges Seeks clarification and assistance when needed Organizes personal learning materials and space Follows classroom rules and routines Listens attentively during instruction and classroom discussions Takes initiative to extend learning
First Reporting Period: December 1, 2017Student-Led Conferences: December 6, 2017Second Reporting Period: March 16, 2018Student-Led Conferences: March 21, 2018Third Reporting Period: June 28, 2018If you wish to discuss your child’s progress or marks, please feel free to call the school to speak with his/her teacher at any time.
Happy New School Year
Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year. In the Eastern Catholic Churches (Byzantine Rite) the liturgical year has a formally designated beginning on September 1st, rather than the first Sunday of Advent (Roman Rite). What a blessing it is that we are starting a New School Year at the same time as the Eastern Christians are starting a New Church Year.We read in St. Paul's letter to the Colossians, “Make the best possible use of your time” (Colos-sians 4:5). The key word in this statement by St. Paul is the word "time." New Testament writers use two Greek words for time: chronos and kairos.Chronos time is chronological time, calendar time, time that moves along moment by moment, day by day, year by year. But kairos time is another kind of time, a special kind of time; time which is crucial; time which determines history. Jesus lived a life of kairos time. He never ignored a single moment or opportunity for doing good, for serving, for healing. He used time to the fullest: teach-ing, comforting, loving, preaching. Even when He was alone, He spent His time in prayer, commu-nicating with God as to how best use the time that was left in His life. The Lord gave us chronos time, calendar time, that we may turn it into kairos time, salvation time, time filled with opportunities for us to respond to God's gracious invitation to the Kingdom; time for bearing in our lives the fruit of faith, hope and love.The principal meaning of the word kairos in the New Testament is: the right time, the ripe time, the proper time, the opportune time for salvation. It is in this sense that St. Paul uses the word kairos in the second letter to the Corinthians: "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2).Because the Church does not want us to lose the kingdom, it takes chronos, calendar time, and turns it into kairos, salvation time. It does this through the liturgical year which we also call the church year or the church calendar. Every day in the liturgical calendar is dedicated to the memory of some event or saint in the history of salvation. The Church has taken the Bible and placed it, planted it into the chronos or calendar time in order to turn the calendar into the kairos of our sal-vation.So let us live out our salvation by taking the words of the theme for this school year Rooted in Je-sus ... Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve and make them into actions filled with opportunities to re-spond to God's gracious invitation to serve and to love Him, our students, and one another.
Have a Blessed 2017-2018 School Year!Fr. Julian BilyjDistrict Chaplain
August-September 2017
Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year! Our theme for this year is Rooted in Jesus…Hearts to Love and Hands to Serve. This beautiful motif illuminates the mission of Catholic education, to lead our students to come to know that they are members of the Body of Christ who are called to serve one another. St. Teresa of Ávila, the great mystic and Doctor of the Church, provides us with a beautiful vision of our Christian calling to serve the world: “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on Earth but yours.” It is empowering for our students to know that they are Je-sus’ hands, feet, and heart in the world today.On August 31, our staff gathered as a community to renew their commitment to Catholic education and to celebrate the Eucharist together. This special way of beginning each school year declares to all that Christ is the reason for our being, and that he is our model and teacher as we help our children to reach their God-given potential.As we fulfill our mission to provide a Catholic education that inspires students to learn and that prepares them to live fully and to serve God in one another, we have established our District Plan for Continuous Growth (2017-2020) to guide our work. This year, we begin with a District goal that is grounded in our special foundations and identity as a Catholic jurisdiction, followed by five goals that focus on teaching, learning, and student experiences. We have also included the measures and targets that we will use to assess our work to add clarity and focus. I invite you to visit our website to learn more about our goals and the key strategies that we will be implementing to achieve them at https://www.ecsd.net/AboutUs/annual_reports/Pages/District-Plan-for-Continuous-Growth.aspx .
District Goal Live and enhance the distinctiveness of Catholic educationGoal One ECSD students are successfulGoal Two The achievement gap between First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students and all other students is eliminatedGoal Three ECSD is an inclusive school districtGoal Four ECSD has excellent teachers, school and school district leaders Goal Five ECSD is well governed and managed
Edmonton Catholic Schools will see unprecedented expansion this year. We are delighted to be opening 5 new schools this fall and to be re-opening St. Margaret School to meet the increasing demand for Catholic education in the City of Edmonton. We welcome Bishop David Motiuk, Christ the King, Corpus Christi, Father Michael Mireau, and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Elementary/Junior High Schools to our District. It is a testament to the amazing Catholic educational experiences that we are providing to families to see flourishing enrolments in our new schools as they open their doors to serve their communities!Pope Francis offered uplifting words of encouragement to those gathered at his first World Youth Day, and they res-onate deeply with our theme. “If you follow these three ideas (go, do not be afraid, and serve), you will experience that the one who evangelizes is evangelized, the one who transmits the joy of faith receives joy” (July 28, 2013).
This is what we aspire to for our students, that they go fearlessly into the world to serve God and each other, building a better future for all.I wish everyone an incredible year of learning and growth, deeply rooted in the love of Christ!Sincerely,
Joan Carr Superintendent
