SCHOOL NEWS

As we begin the month of December there is likely much on the minds of students and parents.  One that may not be top of mind is what is the purpose of Advent? The tradition that we have is an incredibly powerful opportuity to frame this period before Christmas.  While these coming weeks are filled with joyful anticipation, it wasn’t alsways that way.  In fact some might say that baby Jesus was unwelcomed by the world.  Things may not always easy or joyful.   So in the coming weeks as we reflect on the weekly themes of Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love we hope that you are able to see the blessings in your life.  And when you think of spreading Christmas cheer, consider sharing your blessings with others, whether in act of service or gift of charity.  There are many things we are involved in at the school to share our blessings including the Backpack Campaign, Sponosr a Soldier, Knit-Wits and our Gift Card Joy Tree.  As well, we spread the joy of the season by connecting with all our families during the coming weeks at advent concerts and classroom activites.

Advent Service - Sponsor a Soldier in the Netherlands

The Dutch people have never forgotten our brave soldiers’ efforts to free their country during the Second World War. One of Canada’s most significant contributions in military history was the Liberation of the Netherlands. 

More than 7,600 Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen died fighting in the Netherlands.  They are buried today in official war cemeteries across the country.  The largest, Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery near the city of Nijmegen, holds the graves of 2619 Canadians.

Every Christmas Eve, school children in Groesbeek, go with their families to honour our fallen soldiers by placing a candle on the grave site of every Canadian Soldier. 

Our St. Mary’s students and their families have been very generous.  They have each donated a loonie or more to help sponsor the laying of a candle on a soldier’s grave in the Netherlands.  When a child donated, they were given a prayer card with a soldier’s name on it for them to pray for that soldier and his family.

Our donations will be going to the candlelight committee in the Netherlands.  The candlelight committee (Stichting Lichtjesavond Groesbeek) will use our donations to help buy candles, to help bus the children and their families in the Netherlands to the cemetery and to treat them to hot chocolate afterwards.

Our donations will be matched by NAV Canada (Navigation Canada).  Their donations will go to the Royal Canadian Legion in the Netherlands, Branch 005, to help with wreath laying ceremonies.

Students and Families at JPII have joined us!  We have already had such wonderful support!  Thank you to all who have already donated!  We will continue to collect donations until December 13.

On Friday, December 13, we are inviting any St. Mary’s students and their families, who would like to pay their respects to our fallen soldiers, to gather at the Field of Honour in the Okotoks Cemetery at 7:00pm to participate in a rosary prayer service.  Please bring your own rosary and battery operated candles (to light the area as we pray) for the prayer service.

Please come join us as we remember our fallen soldiers and gather as a faith community. Hot chocolate will be served afterwards!

If you have any questions, please ask your child’s teacher or contact Mrs. Boynton at St. Mary’s School.                                                                         

Parent Council

Join us to chat about how to make our school the best we can.

  We meet the second Wednesday of the month. 

Next meeting: Wednesday, January 8 @ 6:30-8:00. 

Discussion items:

-Tastes from Around the World

-Family Lent Event

-Shrove Tuesday

Advent Service - Knit Witts

Our Knit Wits Club has started up once again at St. Mary’s School!  Students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 are knitting using needles or looms!  

The first scarf or toque they make will be filled with toiletries and donated to those in need for Christmas.  We would be very grateful if St. Mary’s students and families would help us stuff our toques. The following is a list of items that we could use:

Toothbrush                                                                    Gift Card

Toothpaste                                                                    Candy Treat

Soap                                                                                 Warm Socks

Shampoo                                                                        Crossword Puzzle Book and pen

Body Wash                                                                   

Any other ideas you may have

The above items are merely suggestions.  We know families are asked to give so much during this season, so any items will be helpful!

Thank you for all of your support!

#Relationships In A Digital Era

This is an excerpt from the #Relationships e-newsletter you received this month….

Digital. Images. Are. Forever.

The internet opens the world to us through words and pictures. We have access to unlimited information using multiple sources and devices. This information can be easily shared, commented on and reshared instantly.

Did you know? Twitter users are posting 140 million tweets a day. On average, 95 million photos are uploaded daily on Instagram. Approximately, 3 billion snaps (Snapchat) are created every day, and there are over 5 billion video views each day on YouTube. TikTok’s subscribers view an average of 1 million videos per day. Whether searching for a topic of interest or scrolling through social media, our children, teens and young adults are inundated with images. Once seen, an inappropriate image cannot be ‘unseen’….

*NEW  For parents who are interested view our newsletter or read further on the topic of #Relationships in a Digital Age, CTR staff Recommended Reads are located on CTR's website under About and #Relationships.

ABOUT OUR SCHOOL

St. Mary’s School is a faith-filled environment where students recognize they are a gift from God.  They develop meaningful prayer lives and serve others with generosity and love.  We are a literacy school where students are encouraged to read a lot and explore multiple genres.  Students are able to self-select books from the library or from their classroom library and share their reading and writing with others!  Our school has high-expectations for all students while ensuring mastery of foundational skills and designing lessons that are engaging and meaningful.  We understand the value of multiple dimensions of learning and address this through specialist-instructed programs in Music, French, Physical Education and Outdoor learning. 

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