Message from the Administration

The flowers have appeared on the Earth; the time of singing of birds has come ~ Song of Solomon 2:12

April has brought rain, snow, blue skies and sunshine. With the unpredictable changes in

spring weather, please ensure that you are sending your child to school with appropriate

outerwear and possibly some extra clothing. Our playground becomes very wet in the

spring and sometimes wet pants and wet socks are unavoidable. Oh … the joys of spring!

Our Grade 2/3 Mixed Choir had the opportunity to share their singing talents this past

month at the Whitecourt Rotary Music Festival. The choir performed at Central School

on the morning of March 14 and scored a Gold Certificate. Congratulations to Mrs. Ulliac

and the Mixed Choir! All of our K-3 students will also have the opportunity to

demonstrate their talents this month at our annual Spring Concert. The Spring Concerts

will be held on Wednesday, April 25, and Thursday, April 26 at 1:15pm on both days.

There will be a note sent home closer to concert dates that will outline the day we ask

your family to attend. This plan will ensure that we are keeping with our fire and safety

protocols. We would like to thank Mrs. Ulliac for her hard work and dedication in

preparing our students for these wonderful showcasing opportunities and all the staff

members who dedicate their talents and time for concerts and choir performances.

This past month, our staff and students prepared for the season of Easter and reflected

upon helping others at this special time of year. God blesses us with many wonderful gifts

and we need to remember to slow down and show our appreciation for everything we have.

This month begins with the Resurrection of Jesus as we move into Easter holidays and

Spring Break. Our students will enjoy their holiday beginning March 30th, and return to

school on Monday, April 9th. We wish everyone a safe and blessed Easter and a restful

Spring Break!

Mrs. Whitten & Mrs. Seed

Parent/Visitor Parking

Safety is of the highest priority at École St. Mary School. We are aware that our current

parking situation is not ideal and we must work together as a school community to ensure the

safety of our small children. Parents and visitors to the school are asked to park at the

Church. The

Church provides a very large parking lot and is a very short walk from the front doors. Parking

is not permitted in the front of the school or in the side parking lot near the Parish house.

There are two handicap parking spaces in the side lot facing the Parish house. Parking is only

permitted in those spots if the appropriate permit is visible in your vehicle.

During discussions with our School Council in 2014-2015, the Council suggested that the

parking lot near the playground be converted to staff only parking spaces. This parking lot is

narrow and has posed many parking/safety challenges over the years. We ask that parents not

park in this lot during the peak drop off and pick up times. If you are visiting the school to drop

off your child's lunch or other quick visits, you may park in that lot if a space is available.

Parking in the front of the school is not permitted at any time for visitors. This area is

staff parking and an emergency access.

For Your Information

STUDENT ENTRY TO BUILDING

In keeping with School Division Policy, all students will be permitted to enter the building at 9:00 a.m.

each morning. A student must then report immediately to his/her classroom. Students are expected to go outside

for the recess and lunchtime breaks, weather permitting. The administration will decide “in” days at recess and

lunchtime should such be required. When the temperature reaches –20C, a student is expected to remain

indoors, for his/her own safety.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

In the event that school will be closed due to inclement weather, the Superintendent of Schools will notify

the local radio stations with the message: “There will be no school at ST. MARY SCHOOL in Whitecourt on

(current day)”. Often it is only the country buses that may not be running, however, the doors will be open to all

students that are able to get to the school. It will be announced on Boom 96.7 FM and XM 105 radio.

Medication at School

Any child requiring the administration of medication during school hours must have a

signed consent form from their parent that clearly states the name of the drug, amount to

be given according to the original labeled direction and authorization of staff to do so. All

medication is to be in its original labeled container. Children should not be bringing

medications to school with them. We expect parents to drop off the medication at the

school office.

If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please call the school secretary as soon as possible. If for

some reason no one answers, please leave a message indicating who will be absent and for what reason. This

greatly reduces the absentee calls sent out daily. 780-778-2050

SPEECH SERVICES Reminder: If your child has received speech services in the past, and you are interested in continued services for this school year, he/she will need to be reassessed at the Alberta Health Services office. It is the parent’s responsibility to contact the Speech Pathologist to book this appointment.

Call Cheryl Baranitsky at 780-706-3527 ext. 223

Notice to all parents and Visitors

All Visitors to the school are asked to please stop at the front office to sign in and get a pass before proceeding anywhere in

the school.

École St. Mary School continues our effort to go paperless!! There are a limited

number of paper copies of our monthly newsletter at the school office if you do not

have access to a computer at home. Please check your child’s agenda daily for

important messages. Important information can be found on our school website

www.stmarywhitecourt.ca and our school Facebook group (École St. Mary School).

You may sign up on the website to receive a copy of our newsletter via email.

St. Mary School collects:

POP CAN TABS FOR JUVENILE DIABETES Here at St. Mary School, we collect pop can tabs to aid the fight against Juvenile Diabetes. How, one may

ask???

The pop can tabs are recycled to help in the making of insulin needles; this in return helps reduce the cost

of insulin supplies for a diabetic. There will be a box just outside the office door for collecting the tabs.

So, when you get your pop cans/beer cans ready to take to the Bottle Depot, take that extra second to

remove the tab. Every tab makes a difference. Even the tabs from some food cans, such as soup, beans,

etc. can also be collected.

MISSION CLUB BOTTLES

If you have bottles to donate to the Mission Club throughout the year, to help support our foster children

and various other activities, please contact Miss Fortin at school 780-778-2050 or at 780-778-9397. Thank

you for your support.

School Council Do you want to become involved in school events? Do you want to make our school an exciting

place to be for our students? Do you want to have a voice about decisions in the school?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then come and join us for our next School Council

meeting on Monday, April 23, 2018 @ 6:30 pm. You can make a difference!

If you are a room parent for one of our classrooms, we encourage you to attend these monthly

meetings.

Allergy Alert

We are writing to ask for your assistance in keeping our students with severe allergies safe. We have students in our school who are severely allergic to certain food items. If they are in contact with these foods, it could cause an anaphylactic shock. This condition is very dangerous and could potentially put the lives of some of our students at risk. We ask that the following items be kept at home:

Nuts of any type including nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, Nutella, etc.)

Pineapple

Seafood (particularly shellfish, salmon, cod, trout and halibut)

Scents There are many other types of allergies at our school, but the above mentioned are the ones that will cause the most severe reactions. If your child has a severe (anaphylactic shock) allergy to something not listed above, please contact the school and we will adjust the list. This list will be posted on our school website and Facebook page. If your child has a severe allergy that might require an Epi-Pen, we as ask that parents teach their child about their food allergy and encourage them to talk to the peers about it. Empowering our children to be advocates for their health and raising awareness of the severity of some allergies is critical to ensuring safety. We appreciate your support in keeping all of our children safe. Additionally, there are some wonderful tips and advice on healthy eating available at www.healthyeatingstartshere.ca, http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/page/recipes-diet.aspx and http://allergicliving.com/advanced-search/ Thank you for your cooperation and commitment to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to learn in a safe and caring environment.

Our next M.O.O.S.E. meeting will be Monday, April 23, at 7:30.

Check out the bulletin board in the front boot room for updates and M.O.O.S.E. information.

Thank you all for your continued support. Our Purdy’s fundraiser has wrapped up and was a great success. Our final fundraiser is underway and everyone should have received the Spring DeVry order form. Let’s make this final fundraiser a GREAT one!! Orders are due April 16th. Don’t forget about our final 50/50 draws at the Spring Concerts April 25th and 26th.

ABC AWARDS AND SEVEN TEACHINGS AWARDS

Academic Behaviour Christianity Sacred Teachings -Respect

KF Aiden Eger Ryker VanderBurg Kael Harris-Stevens Thor Handel, Charlie Hanrahan,

Jeremy Martin KB Madison

Finnegan

Mariah Ricalton Ryan Drysdale Lyla Bohn, Maisie McCready,

Zander Courchesne, Allison Green KL Sophie-Anne

Rossignol

Jayne Tientcheu Tesla-Rose Walker Kali Volden, Liam Gaulin, Lauren

Fath, Ryder Proctor KM Gabriel Majcher Kaylee Simard Callum Lawton Cohen Simard, Kaylee Simard,

Everly Steward, Rylen Schamehorn

KQ Deklan

Crossland

Joseph Hanlon Nathan Asmerom Camdon Munro, Carlos Neufeld,

Rowan Linde 1D Ella Simmons Quin Detert Jeralin Stroebel Cohen Marshall, Hayden Woodfine,

Jero Edades 1K Nolan Hoda Max Floyd Jemma Bourassa

Yolanda Wiebe, Colby Hein, Eddy

Schulte 1P Locklynn

Mosionier

Mya Perrin Brielle Smallwood Alyssa St. Pierre, Kiefer Tangedal

1S Jaxon McKenzie Austin Stuber Rhett Rogers Gracie Bray, Charl Gatchalian,

Jaxson Watson 2D Ella Coupland Kingston

Crossland

Brayden Brown Emily Ryckman, Yolanda Neufeld,

Neo Medrano, Kayto Tokohopie 2F Logan Wiege Gage Perkins Dylan Gagnon Orisia Linde, Alex Tran, Alliyah

Gonzales, Kora Gour 2N Logan

Stanchfield

Kenzie McArthur Ryan Werzun Erynn Anderson, Sophia Landman

2R Miral Ammar Isla Anderson Shelby White Madison Smith, Taylor Stieb, Bryden

Lefort, Quinton Larsen 2T Cohen Danyluk Bentlie Clifton Blaire Galliot Tavyn Cooney, Danika Quaife, Livia

Goodrunning, Jacob Handel,

Nicholas Hutchings 3D Jacob North Zack Trofimuk Dwayne Cayabyab Olivia Geiger, Trystan Hayden 3G Serenity Tipler Blaize Stokes Emily Lachance Gracey Heidt, Cooper Remlinger,

Logan Tran, Jace Wilson

3M Shanah Torres Trae Kokotailo Ashton Schwindt Destiny Eade, Elijah Hilts, Liberty

Macalister, Emerson Mason, Jake

Cowie 3N Mackenzie

Stephen

Jeje Edades Krystal Penuela Emma Lee, Saige Brown, Kaylie

Bergeron, Logan Sergeew 3Z Jacob Penney Cyrion Golby Mercedez Walsh Madelynne Wilson, Luke Garnier,

Austin Norring JK-AM Peyton Black Jase Kneller Eric Lawton Liam Engelbert, Jaidyn Landman,

Cooper Perrin JK-PM Jace Turcotte Payton Argue Corinne Demerchant Emersyn Krinke, Tate Vandergriend

April 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Easter

Break

2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

Classes resume

10

Gr. 3’s Swim to

Survive

11 12

Gr. 3’s Swim to

Survive

13

Grade 2 Cultural

Day

Grade 3 STEM

afternoon

14

15 16

May Hot Lunch

forms go home

17

New Life

Celebration @

11:00 (at the

school)

18

April Hot Lunch

Day

19

9:15 Assembly

School Spirit –

Jersey Day

20

P.D. Day – No

School

21

22 23

School Council

Mtg @ 6:30

24

Gr. 3’s Swim to

Survive

May Hot Lunch

forms due

KM Library

Tour @ 1:30

25

Spring Concert

1:15 pm –

Families whose

last names start

with A-L attend

today

26

Spring Concert

1:15 pm

Families whose

last names start

with M-Z attend

today

27

2T & KQ Swim

12:50 – 3:00

KL Library Tour

@ 10:00

KB Library Tour

@ 1:30

28

29 30

2N & 1D Swim

12:50 – 3:00

KQ Library

Tour @ 1:30

Education Week

May 1

KF Library Tour

@ 10:00