Bring the entire family out to our Carnival, Raffle, BBQ and Silent Auction.

6:00-7:00 Food: We’ll be firing up our BBQ to offer burgers and hot dogs.

6:30-8:00 Carnival: Come prepared to have a great time with our carnival games! Tickets for games can be purchased at the door. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Silent Auction (closes at 7:30): Items will be available for bidding. Donations to date include family admission to Lake Louise, Calaway Park, SouthCenter Gift Card and much more.

Raffle (closes at 7:00): Numerous local businesses have donated items for the raffle, and each classroom will be working on a themed basket for the raffle. Themes include “Outdoor Fun”, “Wellness”, “Movie Night”, and many more!

The Staff and School Council of St. Damien invite you to come on out for a fun evening of community and fundraising. Parents who wish to help out, please contact the school office and we will get you in touch with School Council. Volunteering is a fantastic way to make some new friends and meet people while also helping our school community. Many hands make light work!

You are invited to drop in for

St. Damien Spring Fling

5:30p.m—8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2017

We hope to see you here!

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Welcome to spring in Calgary—wild winds, snow, sleet, rain and the occasional hot day. What a crazy country we live in!

I hope your Easter break was restful and meaningful. We are still in the Easter season for 50 days after Easter Sunday. Sister Madeleine is coming to St. Damien School on May 15 to sing and discuss this blessed season.

Mrs. Pacheco, who was covering Mrs. Lajeunesse-Feltis’ maternity leave, was finished at the end of April. We welcome Mrs. L.F. back to our flock. She was dearly missed. We have also hired Crystal Finlay as our Noon Hour Assistant and Victoria Kerr was hired as an Educational Assistant in our Kindergarten class. Welcome aboard!

Our school is like a revolving door of students attending field trips. Our Grade 5 classes have gone (or are going to) the Atco Blue Flame Kitchen, our Grade 2s are going to the zoo, our grade 1s are going to Fort Calgary and our Grade 4s are going swimming! It looks like the Kindergarteners, Grade 3s and Grade 6s are being left out, but that is not the case—our Kindergarten class has Scientists in School on May 4, the Grade 3s enjoyed a week at Zoo school earlier this year and our Grade 6s have a couple of things planned in June.

Our Welcome to Kindergarten evening will take place on Tuesday, May 9 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The Kindergarten children and their parents will enjoy a special evening to gear up for next September. If you have not yet registered your child and they are coming here next year, please let the office know as soon as possible.

Our School Council’s annual Spring Fling will take place Thursday, May 25. Your child has likely asked for a contribution for their classroom basket, but there is so much more at the event! There will be carnival games, a silent auction, food and much more! Please join us for a fun-filled evening. We are in need of volunteers for that night so if you are free to help, even for an hour or so, that would be great.

We are also in need of volunteers for rosary making. We are learning to make the knots on Thursday, May 25 at 2:45 and we will make the rosaries on June 2 at 9:00 a.m. Please let the office know if you can volunteer those two days.

Safety reminder: please remember that making a U-turn in a school zone is extremely dangerous. We are concerned for the safety of our students and driver’s attention to safety and rules is very important.

Enjoy the weather and God Bless,

Shannon Griffin-White, Principal Laura Fleming, Assistant Principal

CONTACT INFO:

Address: 3619—28 St SE Calgary, Alberta T2B 2J1

Telephone #: 403-500-2073

Fax #: 403-500-2273

Web: cssd.ab.ca/stdamien

Inside this issue:

Spring Fling Information 1

Letter from Administration 2

Staff Highlights 3

First Ride information 3

Marian Liturgy Information 3

Dear Miss Karla 4

Spring Fling Volunteers 4

School Calendar 5-6

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Marian Liturgy The Grade Four classes would like to extend a special invitation to:

Who: All mothers, grandmothers, aunts & female caregivers Where: St. Damien School Gymnasium

When: May 12th at 11 am.

Why: To join with us in celebrating and honoring Mary the Mother of Jesus

SATURDAY MAY 27 @ BISHOP CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL

SUNDAY MAY 28 @ FOREST LAWN HIGH SCHOOL

Online Registration: April 3 9:00 a.m. to May 25 4:00 p.m. at www.eventbrite.ca search for My1st Ride

Program includes: school bus orientation, a presentation and a ride on a school bus, followed by additional information and goodies for the kids:

Duration 1-1.5 hours

The Calgary Board of Education, Calgary Catholic School District, Southland Transportation, and First Dtudent will be available to answer questions.

STAFF HIGHLIGHTS

Our first staff member to profile is Mrs. Amy Beaton. Mrs. Beaton was new to St. Damien School this year and she is teaching Grade 5.

Mrs. Beaton grew up in Mabou, Cape Breton and has lived and worked in Canada and Korea. She attended Dalhousie University and the University of Calgary. Amy has taught at several Calgary Catholic schools in her 9 years of teaching (St. Joseph, St. Brigid, Our Lady Queen of Peace, and St. Clare). She has also worked as a nanny and in the French department at Dalhousie.

Mrs. Beaton loves to cook and do outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, and swimming. She also enjoys yoga. She has a precious daughter named Lucy that is turning 2 this year.

Amy loves her bright classroom and the lovely students at St. Damien.

Monique Lajeunesse-Feltis has just returned from a maternity leave and teaches Grade 1 at St. Damien. She is a Saskatchewan girl at heart and loves our Green Riders! She lived in Big River, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon all before she was 5 years old!

Mrs. L.F. (as she is affectionately called) is fluent in French and has taught at Ecole St. Pius prior to working at St. Damien. She has taught since 2009.

Monique attended the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. She is learning to sew and she likes to

make crafts and bake with her daughter. Mrs. L.F.’s day is brightened each time she sees the smiling faces of the

students and staff at St. Damien and our day is brightened when we see hers! Welcome back Mrs. Lajeunesse-Feltis!

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DEAR MS. KARLA,

I am having a tough time finding free summer programming for my kids. Any suggestions?

Sincerely,

Mrs. G

Hello Mrs. G,

Thank you for writing in. Yes it can be tricky to navigate the ever-changing community programs in Calgary. Our city has a wonderful free program called Park n’ Play. This program is for children 6-12 years of age running Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m from July 31st- August 4th. The Forest Heights location on 4909 Forego Ave. S.E. would be our choice for the Dover community. The City of Calgary also runs a free Zone-Up Basketball Program for children ages 11-15. This free program runs out of Forest Lawn’s Bob Bahan Aquatic and Fitness Centre. Please call 311 to find out more information about these programs.

The Dover Community Centre offers free/low-cost summer programming and day camps. It is a great resource for families. Please remember to use this community connection this summer, 403-273-6124.

I hope this is helpful Mrs. G. Please feel free to connect with me with any information.

Ms. Karla

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

St Damien has two opportunities for volunteering coming up in the upcoming month.

School Council is looking for volunteers to help with the Spring Fling, which will be taking place

on Thursday, May 25. If you are at all interested in helping out, please fill out and return the

form below.

We are also looking for volunteers to help our students make rosaries. There is a training session

in the afternoon of May 25, from 2:45-3:45 p.m., and then the session with the students to make

the rosaries will take place on Friday, June 2 from 9 to 11 a.m. If you are available at both of

these times, and willing to help our students make some rosaries, please fill out and return the slip

below.

SPRING FLING VOLUNTEERING

I am able to volunteer for the Spring Fling this year.

_______________________________________ ________________________

Name Phone Number