Monthly Archives: January 2012
February Newsletter
Principal’s Message
When John the Baptist saw Jesus come towards him he said, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The blood of lambs was a symbol that the first born be saved from the Angel of Death. The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world…our sins. His mission lies in the future. Jesus is a person infused with love and passion. He returns good for evil and brings out all the good we are capable of. Thus, the main reason for Jesus coming is to bring out the best in us and to take away the sin of the world. Not long ago we celebrated the birth of Jesus and this month we focus on the reason for his birth, which ironically is his death. This is our faith. As Christians we are known as Easter People, and everything we do in life has to do with this incredible time. We have been given the brightest of lights to lead us out of dark times. Encouragement and hope is ours because of the Resurrection of Jesus.
Easter takes place the first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox, which is why the dates are not fixed and float on a yearly basis. This year Ash Wednesday is February 22nd and Easter is April 8th (Lent can occur as early as February 4th or as late as March 10th). May this Lenten Season be one of meaning and significance for you and your families as we journey together to become more like Christ. Blessings!
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the official start of the Season of Lent. It is a day to clean the soul before the Lent fast. Ashes, made by burning palm fronds which have been saved from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, are blessed. (Blessed ashes have been used in God’s rituals since the time of Moses). There is significance in using the palms in this manner. Palm Sunday was the time when people rejoiced at Jesus’ triumphal entrance to Jerusalem. They celebrated his arrival by waving palm fronds, little realizing that He was coming to die for their sins. Using palms from Palm Sunday is a reminder that we must not only rejoice in the coming of Jesus, but also regret that our sins made it necessary for Him to die for our salvation.
The priest or assisting layperson, marks the forehead of each participant with these ashes, in the shape of a cross, which traditionally is retained until sundown (Children may wash it off sooner). A mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person’s ownership. Having your forehead marked with the sign of a cross, symbolizes that you belong to Jesus Christ, who died on a cross. Because the ashes are a sign, they are a reminder and an invitation. Ashes remind us of what is left after chaos or catastrophe. Ashes also remind us of a common origin (Genesis) and also of our end. Ashes also invite us to repentance; to turn again to God and to receive new life.
While the ashes we receive are a sign of our humility and our penitence; they also remind us of our individual sins and the complexity of corporate sin. However, more than anything, the ashes invite us into God’s presence, into God’s love, and into God’s gift of new life.
Please join us for our Ash Wednesday Service on February 22 at 9:00 a.m. at St. Martin’s Catholic Church.
Nut Allergies
As we have a number of students who have severe life-threatening allergies to nut products, we ask all students not to bring nuts, nut products or items that contain nut products to school at any time. We remind all families that this measure is taken to ensure the safety of our students and we thank you for your cooperation in this regard.
Who Will Help to Fix Grimshaw School? – Education in the News
Today’s Education in the News article features a story from the Edmonton Journal on the conditions of a school in Grimshaw, Alberta, which is about 600 km northwest of Vegreville. The school is facing some very serious mechanical and structural issues. Read the original article from the Edmonton Journal for more information. Please come back and share your opinions.
Teacher Profile – Rachel McMaster
Mrs. Rachel McMaster has a dual role at St. Martin’s this year. She teaches grade 1 most of the time and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons she teaches French as a Second Language to students in grades 4, 5, and 6.
When asked what prompted her entry into the profession of teaching, Mrs. McMaster stated:
“I have always enjoyed being around children and the overall atmosphere of a school. I love that everyday is a new day and brings new challenges. “
Mrs. Master has a passion for early years education and one of her favorite experiences in education is seeing the growth that young people develop in their reading and writing skills. Another favorite memory of Mrs. McMaster occurred when she was teaching kindergarten and the class visited the local RCMP detachment. Mrs. McMaster recalls the cute questions and comments directed towards the police officers in attendance.
I have tried to give each teacher an opportunity to share any other thoughts that they may have. Mrs. McMaster took full advantage of this opportunity when she stated:
“I have truly enjoyed the many students and parents that I have worked with since I began my career here at St. Martin’s. They all hold a special place in my heart, but my job could not be as meaningful and enjoyable without the amazing staff that I have worked with over the past 10 years!”
I can only speak for myself when I say that I hope there are many more years to come of teaching for you at St. Martins. Your enthusiasm and commitment to the children and the learning in your classroom is very evident.
Livy Jeanne – Up and coming country musician to visit St. Martins
Livy Jeanne is a rising star on the country scene.
A few years ago, while teaching in Ardrossan, AB at Holy Redeemer Catholic School I had the pleasure of teaching a young woman who was passionate about music. She worked hard at her school work, but her heart was with her music. She often shared her gift at morning assemblies singing O Canada and at talent shows and other events. Her name is Livy Jeanne and she is sharing her music and a message with the St. Martin’s community on the afternoon of February 8. As a teacher, I saw Livy as a dedicated person, who seemed very happy in all that she did. She left the school prior to her grade 9 year. I assumed it was so that she could complete her school in an alternative way that would make following her music dream easier to work around school.
I have followed Livy the last few years through her website and her Facebook page and recently received an e-mail from her asking to visit St. Martin’s to share a message. The message that Livy wants to share surprised me though. It is a message about bullying. Livy included two Youtube clips that I will post below about how it wasn’t always so great at school and those friends I thought she had were actually some of her biggest detractors. They would tell her that she ‘wasn’t good enough’ or that she ‘wasn’t going to make it’.
As tough as it is for me to hear her share these words, it scares me to know that this was happening in my classroom and on the playground my colleagues and I were asked to supervise. Livy will share a message through her words and her music about what young people should do to stand up for themselves by asking for help and getting assistance from those around them.
Mrs. B. McMaster Leaves on Maternity Leave
A new chapter in Mrs. McMaster's life begins in the very near fturue. She will be missed by staff and students and St. Martin's.
The Grade 1 McMaster class and the Grade 5/6 class had many hugs for Mrs. B. McMaster on Friday. Mrs. McMaster is beginning a maternity leave. Baby McMaster is not expected for a few weeks, but Mrs. McMaster will be getting some much deserved rest prior to the baby being born and a whole new chapter beginning in her life.
I have only known Mrs. McMaster for five months, but in that time, I have seen her passion for education and for children. I am positive that she will have a blast raising and teaching a little one. All the best to you Mrs. McMaster [and Mr. McMaster] and please don’t be a stranger once Baby is born. There are 250 little people that would love to see the new baby. There are even some big people that would like to see the baby, too.
Please see Mrs. McMaster’s teacher profile that was posted earlier this year.
Feel free to post comments and best wishes to Mrs. McMaster.
Skating a Hit
This past Friday, students in grades 1 – 6 made their way over to the Vegreville Arena for some skating. One student, Ryca Ramos, who just came to Canada from the Philippines this past summer experienced skating for the first time. Ryca was a little bit tentative at first, but certainly gave it her best effort and by the end of the 45 minute session was moving substantially faster than when she first stepped onto the ice.
I had an opportunity to skate with the grade 6 students and after awhile, a small white ball and some cones hit the ice. We split up the students into two teams (all of the Oiler jersey’s ended up on one team somehow) and a game sockey (soccer / hockey) was played. I still contend it was a tie, but the “Oiler” team claims it was a 3-2 victory. We are still waiting on the game film to be sure.
A big thank you goes out to all of the parents who helped tie skates and who came onto the ice with the students and teachers.
We are very lucky at St. Martin’s to have a large collection of skates and helmets that we can offer to students to borrow on days that we go skating, but we could certainly use more skates and helmets in larger sizes. Some of the division 2 students struggled to find skates that fit them and many of the helmets just squeezed on. If you or anyone you know has skates or helmets that are just sitting in the garage or storage room, St. Martin’s would gladly accept them.
One last note, if there are any parents that are able to drive the bus for either of our last two skating trips (January 26 and February 2), please contact Mr. Coles at 780.632.2266 or danc@eics.ab.ca as it is much more cost effective for us to use a volunteer driver and our yellow school bus as compared to contracting a bus service for the day.
Stay tuned for a future blog post that will contain pictures from our skating adventure.
Helping Your Child with Homework
Last week, my daughter Kaitlyn was in her bedroom writing in a scribbler. I wasn’t too sure if it was homework or not, but the first three words of her story were “Once a pond…”. I chuckled to myself and said, “Kaitlyn, honey, stories start out, ‘Once upon’”.
Kaitlyn rolled to her side so that I could see both pages in the scribbler and I slowly felt like a fool as I saw a large blue oval on the page. Kaitlyn then proceeded to point at the large blue oval as she stated, “Once a pond…”.
I had to chuckle to myself and Kaitlyn had a good laugh at my expense, but it got me thinking what role do I play in Kaitlyn’s homework?
I found some internet sites that discuss how parents can assist their own children with homework. It was interesting reading and I figured I would share them. As always if you have any comments, good ideas on how you assit your children, please feel free to share.
- KidSource – http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/homework.html
- National Association of School Psychologists – http://www.nasponline.org/resources/home_school/homework.aspx
Thursday January 19 – Re: Hot Lunch
Please be advised that if there are no buses running tomorrow, hot lunch will be postponed to another date. I would advise all students and parents to prepare a lunch for Thursday to ensure that lunch is available and if hot lunch is served, the regular lunch items can be returned home.
While on the topic of lunches, I know this is one of my dreaded chores as a parent. I know that it is a good idea to prepare the night before and I sometimes do, but more often than not, I scramble to make them in the morning. With a picky eater, this can be a real pain in the backside…every morning.
So parents, any great ideas for lunches? What do you do to get your child to eat? What frustrations do you have? Feel free to share your insight.
In the meantime, here are a couple of links for lunch ideas:
- http://www.school-lunch-ideas.com/
- http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/healthy/ideas-kids-school-lunches
Education in the News
Education has been a hot topic in the province of Alberta recently. Just today, Minister Thomas Lukaszuk announced that he would like to have a deal finalized with Alberta teachers in the coming weeks so that he has budget numbers that he can bring forward to the Provincial Treasury Board. Click here to get more information from a CBC Edmonton news article.
Also, on January 10, 2012, Alberta Education issued a news release identifying a 10 point plan for Education in the province. Click here to read the news release.
Feel free to comment in the comment section on either of the two stories in the comment section.
Save the Date – January 23
An important part of any school community is the Parent or School Advisory Council. The next meeting is January 23 at 7:00 pm in the school library.
Please click here to access the agenda for the meeting.
All parents are invited to attend.
