Principal ’s Message

April 2016

Dear St. Catherine Families,

April showers bring Mayflowers. We have been fortunate to have such a calm and temperate winter this year, and here’s hoping this spring-like weather will stay with us! We would like to wish all of our St. Catherine families a happy and blessed Easter vacation, be it at home in Alberta, or somewhere with warmer temperatures and beaches, perhaps. Please remember that we are on Easter vacation until Monday, April 4.

In regards to the April on-goings at the school, we have our Grade 6 students off to Ralph Klein Park for a three-day excursion. Our Spring Photos will take place on April 11. There is a Professional Develop-ment Day on April 25, meaning there will be no school for our students. Finally, we will be celebrating St. Catherine Day on April 29, with a mass at St. Gerard Parish in the morning at 10 a.m. and St. Catherine activities throughout the day.

Ms. Able and her grade 6 students are gearing up for the Provincial Achievement Tests taking place in May and June. A calendar has been included in this month’s newsletter fro you to make notes of the dates and times of these tests.

On behalf of the staff and administration at St. Catherine, I would like to wish you a blessed and restful Easter vacation.

Dan Osborne

Principal

C a l g a r y R o m a n C a t h o l i c S e p a r a t e S c h o o l D i s t r i c t

St. Catherine School

11 Canata Close S.W.

Calgary AB

T2W 1P6

(403) 500-2061

Easter reminds us

that each time

we deny you, Lord,

another nail is sharpened;

and each time

we defy you, Lord,

into your hand it’s hammered.

When faith is weak,

temptation strong

and courage fails,

forgive us, Lord

and once again

become that risen presence

within our hearts. Amen

UPCOMING NO SCHOOL DAYS

March 24th (early dismissal) to April 3rd—Easter Break

Monday, April 25th— Professional Development Day

Pizza Wednesday!

April 13, 20 and 27th. There will be no pizza April

6th due to Easter Break.

Forms for Pizza Wednesday will go home every Friday and need to be returned to the school by Tuesday at noon.

Please only send money for 1 Pizza Wednesday

at a time.

Thank you to our grade 6 leadership team for helping out with this event.

School Council

There will be no School Council meeting in April. The next meeting will be

Wednesday, May 18th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

All are welcome! Please come and join us.

FUN FOOD DAY

Friday, April 29th.

Dress up in St. Catherine Apparel or school colours.

We will have milk for the students starting Monday, April 4th.

When sending money with your

child to school please use

separate envelopes for each

item. Thank you

You’re invited to St. Catherine Kindergarten Orientation

Thursday, May 5th 6:00 p.m.

Please bring your child to be introduced to his or her new school, classroom, teacher, and classmates. You will also

receive important information regarding the upcoming school year.

If you have not registered your child yet, please do so before you attend the

orientation. Please RSVP to mailto:jennifer.stewart@cssd.ab.ca

Or phone 403-500-2061

Thank you to all students and families who visited the Scholastic Book Fair last week. Special thanks to student volunteer, Bianca , and to parent volunteers, Eileen Coady and Kelly Murray. Proceeds of the Scholastic Book Fair, close to one thousand dollars, will be used to add to the Learning Commons collection.

Congratulations to Tatyanna, the winner of the Family Draw Prize. Tatyanna won $25 worth of books for herself, and an additional $25 for Mrs. Doyle's classroom.

Sylvia Santiago

Learning Commons Librarian

St. Catherine School

1000 Fifth Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 4T9 403-500-2000 www.cssd.ab.ca

CALGARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT MONTHLY NEWS

ConnectionsAPRIL 2016

Board of Trustees’ Easter Message“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) Every year at Easter, we recognize and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through God’s sacrifice of his only son, we are all “born again” with renewed hope and joy. Read the full message on our website under News & Events/News & Updates.

Chief Superintendent’s Easter MessageThis Lenten and Easter season has truly been a special period of renewal. We have been blessed with sunny skies and spring-like weather and it helps us all feel the hope and joy of this holy season. I want to thank our students and staff for journeying with us throughout the Lenten Season, which began on Feb-ruary 10 – Ash Wednesday. Read the full message on our website under News & Events/News & Updates.

District and School Websites UpdateThe Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) is getting ready to launch our revamped district In-ternet site and new school websites, starting the week of April 11, 2016! Learn more on our website under News & Events/News & Updates.

New Calgary Catholic Schools UpdateWe are pleased to announce that school names and principals have been selected for our four new Calgary Catholic schools.

• Our K-9 Auburn Bay Catholic school will be named Prince of Peace School with Mr. Marc Pilon as principal.

• Our K-6 Cranston Catholic school will be named Our Lady of the Rosary School with Ms. Marni Harrigan as principal.

• Our K-9 Evanston Catholic school will be named Our Lady of Grace School with Ms. Judy Yurchuk as principal.

• Our K-6 New Brighton Catholic school will be named St. Marguerite School with Ms. Kim Fradette as principal.

Each of these principals have been with the district for many years and will bring a wealth of experi-ence to their new roles. Please join us in congratulating them! We look forward to welcoming stu-dents into our new schools this fall. Start dates for students to be determined based on construction completion. Learn more on our Schools/Future Schools page.

Calgary Catholic Education Foundation UpdateThe Calgary Catholic Education Foundation (CCEF) would like to thank everyone who supported their 2016 “Chance 2 Enhance” raffle from selling tickets, to buying tickets, to helping spread the word. Thanks to your generosity, over $60,000 was raised and will be invested into Calgary Catho-lic schools to enrich and enhance educational opportunities for students. A complete list of raffle winners can be found on the CCSD website under News & Events/News/Fundraising. The CCEF is also actively looking for new volunteers and board members. If you would like to learn more, please contact Executive Director Moyra Martin at Moyra.martin@cssd.ab.ca.

Excellence in Catholic Education Award 2016 RecipientsCongratulations to three outstanding educators from our district who have been recognized with an Excellence in Catholic Education Award! Read more about Chelsea Marshall, Luisa Zimich and Trisa Soroski on our website under News & Events/News/Awards & Accolades.

Did you know?

Students from Holy Spirit, St. Timothy, Bishop Carroll and St. Stephen schools had the opportunity to perform at a youth-focused show for the 2016 Juno Awards. It took place on March 14 at the Bella Concert Hall at Mount Royal University. Congratu-lations to our talented students!

Spring Program Schedule 2016

For Parents of Early Elementary Students (Ages 5 to 9 years)

Workshop Location: St. Martha School 6020 4 Avenue NE

Brought to you by the District’s Family/School Support Team

1. Proactive Parenting Toolbox

Wednesday April 13, 2016 . Time: 6:00-7:30 pm.

This workshop covers effective approaches to parenting your young child. This

presentation will have a focus on building strong and supportive relationships, improving

communication, solving problems collaboratively and effective discipline practices.

2. Understanding & Responding to Children’s Emotions

Wednesday April 20, 2016. Time: 6:00-7:30 pm.

This workshop is designed for parents who are dealing with a child who may be struggling with anxiety, anger

or aggression. A section of the presentation will focus on child/parent separation and how to bridge the

relationship while away from your child. Attention will be given to strategies which will assist with talking to

your child about their moods and emotions.

3. Family Routine, Effective Consequences and Behaviour Management

Wednesday April 27, 2016. Time: 6:00-7:30 pm.

This session looks at strategies to help your child with daily routines including getting out the door on time,

bedtime routines, and dealing with homework. In addition, part of the session will focus on behaviour

management when dealing with your child including effective consequences, time-outs and discipline taking a

positive approach.

4. Friendships & Social Skills

Wednesday May 4, 2016. Time: 6:00-7:30 pm.

This workshop explores age appropriate social skills for your child. Topics covered will include how play skills

build on each other, learning your child’s play style and how to best support them. In addition, parents will learn

how to teach their children the foundational social skills necessary to be a good friend.

Free childcare provided on site: Registration required. Space is limited.

To register please email Brittany Doherty at Brittany.doherty@cssd.ab.ca with name

and number of people attending, school child attends, whether childcare is required &

age/grade of children attending.

Parents can register for individual or multiple workshops

March 18, 2016

Monday, April 11, 2016

photographs

The Spring program has the added benefit ofbeing a fundraiser. For every studentLifetouch photographs, we will give $2 backto the school.

St. Catherine 403-500-2061 April 2016 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 Easter Break No School

2

3 4 DAY 4

Regular classes resume

5 DAY 5 AM Preschool to Firestation 10 a.m.

6 DAY 6 No Pizza today

7 DAY 1 8 DAY 2 PM Preschool to Firestation 2:00 p.m

9

10 11 DAY 3

Spring Photo Picture Day AM

12 DAY 4 13 DAY 5 Gr.6 class to Ralph Klein Park

Pizza Day

14 DAY 6 Gr.6 class to Ralph Klein Park

15 DAY 1 Gr.6 class to Ralph Klein Park

16

17 18 DAY 2 19 DAY 3 20 DAY 4

Pizza Day

21 DAY 5 22 DAY 6

H.S. Interviews

23

24 25 Professional Devemopment Day No School

26 DAY 1 27 DAY 2

Pizza Day

28 DAY 3 29 DAY 4 St. Catherine Day Mass at St. Gerards 10 a.m.

Fun Food Day Subway. Wear St. Catherine colors or shirts.

30