Message from Administration It is the month of February and teaching and learning continues at Monsignor Doyle. Lent is just around the corner. We will celebrate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes cooked up by our Knights of Columbus and then Ash Wednesday will be on February 10 th . We have been adjusting to the loss of the St. Vincent de Paul students and staff and have started to repurpose some of the areas within the building. The portables are staying for the time being but they will likely be moved in the summer. We have moved a conference room table into the former office space near the gym providing a much needed space to convene small group meetings and small group student group work space. “Home is Where the North Is” TREX art exhibit is currently on display at the school. Nineteen pieces of art by a variety of artists is on display at our school in a mini “art gallery”. You are welcome to come in and enjoy after you sign in at the office we will direct you to our art gallery. Students will be spending time appreciating art and using it to inspire their own art. We will house these beautiful art pieces for a month and then they will travel to another exhibit site somewhere in Alberta. While you are visiting our art, poke your head into our computer lab. We have rearranged our computers to the walls to allow more collaborative spaces where students can use our new Chrome books and Chrome boxes. Our school district has paid for the replacement of our out dated desktops. We will gradually move these desk top computers out of use and use the monitors and keyboards with the chrome boxes. We also have two class sets of chrome books carts for use within classrooms which complements our class set of IPads. We welcome two new student teachers from St. Mary’s University. Michael Alexander will join Mr. Lee and Ms. Shantal Maskewich will join Ms. Koop class. They will be with us from February 22nd to April 29th. Monsignor Doyle is a wonderful place for all learners. We continue to strive to provide a wonderful learning environment for the students at Monsignor Doyle where we treat each other with Love and Kindness and we walk humbly with God. Linda Foo Tanya Bartram Principal Assistant Principal MONSIGNOR DOYLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 8887 Scurfield Drive, NW Calgary, Alberta T3L 1H6 Phone: 403‐500‐2098 / fax: 403‐500‐2298 http://www.cssd.ab.ca/msgrdoyle/ FEBRUARY 2016
Transcript
Message from Administration
It is the month of February and teaching and learning continues at Monsignor Doyle. Lent is just around the corner. We will celebrate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes cooked up by our Knights of Columbus and then Ash Wednesday will be on February 10th. We have been adjusting to the loss of the St. Vincent de Paul students and staff and have started to repurpose some of the areas within the building. The portables are staying for the time being but they will likely be moved in the summer. We have moved a conference room table into the former office space near the gym providing a much needed space to convene small group meetings and small group student group work space.
“Home is Where the North Is” TREX art exhibit is currently on display at the school. Nineteen pieces of art by a variety of artists is on display at our school in a mini “art gallery”. You are welcome to come in and enjoy after you sign in at the office we will direct you to our art gallery. Students will be spending time appreciating art and using it to inspire their own art. We will house these beautiful art pieces for a month and then they will travel to another exhibit site somewhere in Alberta.
While you are visiting our art, poke your head into our computer lab. We have rearranged our computers to the walls to allow more collaborative spaces where students can use our new Chrome books and Chrome boxes. Our school district has paid for the replacement of our out dated desktops. We will gradually move these desk top computers out of use and use the monitors and keyboards with the chrome boxes. We also have two class sets of chrome books carts for use within classrooms which complements our class set of IPads.
We welcome two new student teachers from St. Mary’s University. Michael Alexander will join Mr. Lee and Ms. Shantal Maskewich will join Ms. Koop class. They will be with us from February 22nd to April 29th. Monsignor Doyle is a wonderful place for all learners.
We continue to strive to provide a wonderful learning environment for the students at Monsignor Doyle where we treat each other with Love and Kindness and we walk humbly with God. Linda Foo Tanya Bartram Principal Assistant Principal
MONSIGNOR DOYLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 8887 Scurfield Drive, NW Calgary, Alberta T3L 1H6 Phone: 403‐500‐2098 / fax: 403‐500‐2298 http://www.cssd.ab.ca/msgrdoyle/
FEBRUARY 2016
We are excited to start our Lenten journey this
year with a ‘Doyle community pancake breakfast’. The Knights of Columbus will be cooking for this event with food supplies provided by our School Council funds. All students will be provided with pancakes early Tuesday morning.
On Wednesday, February 10th, our grade 2’s will be leading our school in our Ash Wednesday liturgy. During this liturgy we will remind students of the importance of penance, love and charity during our Lenten journey. The season of Lent is a 40 day period which begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of Evening Mass
on Holy Thursday. The primary purpose of the Lenten season is to prepare for the celebration of Easter. Preparation is both baptismal (to help us recall or prepare for baptism) and penitential (to call us to repentance). The call to repentance invites us to participate in the traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Our preparation is intended to help deepen our Christian life and prepare us for the celebration of Easter. Please take a moment to discuss with your child what their Lenten promise will be for this season.
ASH WEDNESDAY
SHROVE TUESDAY
7th ANNUAL VETERANS FOOD DRIVE!! Monday, February 22nd marks the kick-off to our 7th
Annual Catholic Community of Caring VETERANS FOOD DRIVE. This will run for one week only – February 22nd-26th. Last year the elementary students from St. Vincent de Paul School joined us and the results proved to be our best yet! Together we contributed in excess of 9100 items!
Although students from St. Vincent have reunited with the junior high students back in their own facility, we thought it would be fun to still include them in the food drive, and what better way than to ‘lay down the gauntlet’ and CHALLENGE them in a MONSIGNOR DOYLE vs. ST. VINCENT de PAUL ‘SMACK DOWN’!!
In the past, challenges have been between grade levels and/or homerooms, and this year, at Monsignor Doyle we are still running challenges between home rooms… but ALSO as a whole school we are facing off against the staff and students of St. Vincent de Paul!
As always, each student will be given a special reusable grocery bag, courtesy of Canada Safeway. On that bag will be a list of items and ideas of donations that they Veterans Food Bank can use. Items can also include grocery gift cards and cash/cheque donations as well! PLEASE NOTE THAT CHEQUE DONATIONS WILL BE ISSUED TAX RECEIPTS from the Veterans Food Bank! Make cheques payable to either the Calgary Poppy Fund or the Veterans Food Bank and ensure your name and address accompanies your cheque for tax receipt purposes.
Each morning, the homerooms will submit their daily item count to the St. Vincent de Paul and Monsignor Doyle offices following morning announcements. Daily and cumulative results will be exchanged between the schools so a ‘running tally’ can be displayed and announced following lunch every day. These homeroom totals and DOYLE vs. VINCENT totals will also be displayed by the gym so students have a visual way to track the progress and competition! Food is to be kept in the homeroom until the end of the week, and if there are any questions or concerns about items please see Mrs. Frizzell.
We would like to thank the soldiers of the Kings Own Calgary Regiment for coming to Monsignor Doyle on the morning and St. Vincent de Paul on the afternoon of Friday, February 26th to collect and transport these donations for delivery to military families. On this day students from both schools will be invited to carry their grocery bag out to the waiting soldiers and view the vehicles and ask the soldiers questions they may have. What a wonderful one-on-one opportunity!
CCC ‐ 7th Annual Veterans Food Drive
A huge thank you to the following sponsors: Kings Own Calgary Regiment (KOCR), Canada Safeway, Brite Signs, and others who have kindly donated. We also want to thank all families in advance for your support on this event.
Our current grade six students are looking at their options for next year’s choices for Junior High School. Staff from Ecole Madeleine d’Houet French Immersion will visit our grade 6 class on February 19th and there will be an Open House at Madeleine d’Houet on
March 8th at 6:30pm. St. Ambrose has an integrated Fine Arts program and the Junior High Hockey
Skills Academy. Staff from St. Ambrose will come to visit our school on February 17th and they have an information night on March 3rd at St. Ambrose - 6:00pm for the Hockey Academy and 7:00pm for the Fine Arts program.
St. Vincent de Paul is having an Open House on Thursday, February 25th at 6:30pm and staff from that school will also come to our school for a classroom visit to answer any questions about junior high.
Every year the Alberta Education asks for feedback from students, parents and staff at our school. Students give their anonymous responses through a survey given in November called the "Tell Them From Me Survey." We are using these responses to guide our practices at school especially in the area of mental health and anxiety. Staff give input and feedback anonymously on a survey as well. Historically, the response from parents has been poor so we haven't had a representative voice from our parents. Alberta Education has recently sent out surveys directly to parents. We ask you please to take a few minutes to complete the survey and give your feedback. We use these responses to make our school plans every year so your voice is important. Administration would like to provide a small incentive to students from each family who responds – let us know that you have completed the survey by writing a note in your child's agenda and we will invite all these children to a bonus gym time for free activities. Surveys are due by the end of February.
ACCOUNTABILITY SURVEYS
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS FOR NEXT YEAR
We have some great clubs currently meeting at Monsignor Doyle. Our Choir meets on Thursdays at lunch. We thank Mrs. Miller and Mr. Calvelo for leading this group. We have a new club that just started in January, The Guitar Club meets on Wednesdays at lunch. It is open to musicians of all levels and talents. Mrs. Foo leads up this group. Mr. Calvelo also has a Basketball Club of interested Division II students that meets in the mornings on Mondays and Tuesdays. We also have the best elementary school Running Club that exercises every Wednesday and Thursday morning at 7:30. Often they run outside but if it is too dangerous they run inside the school. The running club is led by Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Houston and Mrs. Koop with Mrs. Foo and Ms. Pham joining them when they can. We thank our teachers who offer their free time to help improve the learning opportunities for our students.
We have some frightening things happening on a daily basis where parents are crossing the street in between the large yellow school buses rather than walking the extra few steps to cross safely with the Safety Patrols. Mrs. Foo will continue to pray the Hail Mary prayer every time she sees someone jaywalking in the hopes that this assists in ensuring a safe arrival at the other side of the road. Please think about what you are teaching your children and the possible future effects of this dangerous practice.
We ask that you please refrain from entering the staff parking lot to drop off or pick up students. This lot is one way in and out, meaning parents pulling in have to then turn around or back up, endangering students entering or exiting these vehicles. The Community Center parking lot has more room to drive through so this is a safer option. Also, the back drop off loop behind the school where the old bus loop was is also a good place to drop off and pick up students.
PARKING LOT AND BUS AREA
CLUB AND INTEREST GROUPS
Our next School Council meeting is on Wednesday, March 9th at 6:30pm. During this meeting we will be discussing: Learning Commons, Alberta Government Accountability Surveys and Community Events. We look forward to seeing you there!
You are invited to a Parenting night put on by our school district:
SCHOOL COUNCIL
Every school has area boundaries to ensure our schools
have dependable population as well as efficient transportation. Monsignor Doyle is the designated school for Scenic Acres and Silver Springs students. We also have students from Tuscany that overflow from St. Basil. We have buses that run from Tuscany and Silver Springs areas. We are currently accepting registrations from these areas and if you know of neighbors or friends with children who are of kindergarten age next fall and older who are interested in our school, please encourage them to come in and register at our office. They will need their birth certificate and baptismal certificate when they register. Our administration is always willing and able to accommodate tours and conversations to any interested parties.
On February 24th, 6:30-8:00pm, we will have a family storytelling event with a Celtic Storyteller. We have invited Jeff Stockton, the Celtic storyteller, to come and share stories with our families at Monsignor Doyle. Jeff shares stories accompanied by his Celtic harp that entertain and have lessons as well. He has done numerous artist-in-residency programs throughout Calgary schools. He has done wonderful work helping students with public speaking and presentation skills. After the presentation, you will go to areas within the school to create stories with your own children as families. We will have laptops and iPads available, paper and pencils, and costumes and props to help your creative juices flow as well as comfy places to just make up oral stories. This is meant to be a fun evening where families can share some time together listening and telling stories together. One of the most important things children need in today's busy world are caring adults they can connect to. Stories help us connect.
JEFF STOCKTON STORYTELLING EVENT
SCHOOL BOUNDARIES
Join us at the Saddledome on Friday, February 12th, where the band from St.
Michael School will provide pre-game entertainment, students will display their art skills while face painting, and some athletes from our hockey programs will show off their talents on-ice during intermission!
To purchase tickets for your family at the special rate of $12 each, follow the link below:
calgary-hitmen-february-12/ Offer Code Instructions: Under ‘Ticket Type’ select ‘Promotions and Special
Offers’. Then enter the offer code ‘LUNAR’ when prompted (prior to selecting your seats) for the special rate.
DISTRICT DAY WITH THE HITMEN
The Calgary Italian Dancers – Gli Azzurri, proudly present their fundraiser, an original musical production, “If the Shoe Fits”. With music from Broadway, movies and original scores, this feel-good production will leave audiences of all ages feeling inspired in their own shoes. It’s a must see show! The production is comprised of 15 vocalists and a full ensemble of musicians. It has a contemporary story line that will appeal to all ages. There will also be special guest appearances by some well-known princesses. The Calgary Italian Dancers – Gli Azzurri, have been a strong influence in the Calgary cultural community since 1987. This tradition of sharing Italian culture through dance and music has been thriving through the generous support of families and local businesses. As a non-profit organization, fundraising is essential to keeping this dance group alive and to allow our youth to showcase and share this tradition to others around the world. If you enjoy an afternoon of inspirational and humorous entertainment, please consider supporting our dancers. Tickets can be purchased at www.eventbrite.ca. If the Shoe Fits February 28th, 2016 RockPointe Church Bearspaw Doors: 2:30 pm Show: 3:00 pm
IMPORTANT DATES! February 5th FUN LUNCH – BOOSTER JUICE February 9th Shrove Tuesday – Pancakes!
SPIRIT DAY! – RED DAY February 10th Ash Wednesday Liturgy – 9:30am February 11th-12th Teachers Convention – No Classes February 15th Family Day – No Classes February 16th Professional Development Day – No Classes February 17th St. Ambrose Jr. High here for Gr. 6 Presentation – AM February 19th FUN LUNCH – SUBWAY Veterans Food Drive KICK-OFF! February 22-26th Veterans Food Drive February 24th Jeff Stockton Wellness Event – 6:30 – 8:00pm February 26th FUN LUNCH – WOK BOX
1000 Fifth Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 4T9 403-500-2000 www.cssd.ab.ca
CALGARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT MONTHLY NEWS
ConnectionsFEBRUARY 2016
District Day with the Calgary Hitmen – February 12On Friday, February 12, 2016, Calgary Catholic will take over the Dome with face painting, mascots, students highlighting their hockey skills on-ice during intermission and a school band providing entertainment. Visit our website under News & Updates to find out how to get your discounted ticket for $12!
High School Open House Dates – February 2016CCSD high schools will be hosting open house nights in February to provide prospective students and their parents with the opportunity to learn more about our high schools and the programs of-fered. For a complete list of dates and locations, please visit our website under News & Updates.
Evening Credit CoursesCCSD offers a variety of Evening Credit Courses in Semester II (February – June 2016). These courses are available to all high school students, as well as adult learners. For more information and to register, please call 403-500-2012, ext. 412 or visit our website under Students/Academic Support/Evening Credit Courses.
September 2016 Kindergarten RegistrationAll CCSD elementary schools offer a half-day kindergarten program. Depending on total kindergar-ten enrolment, schools may offer a choice of morning or afternoon classes on a first-come, first-served basis. To register for kindergarten in September 2016, children must turn four years old on or before March 1, 2016. Your child’s birth certificate is required at the time of registration. To register, contact your local Calgary Catholic school or visit our website under Parents/Registration to learn more.
Last chance to get your Calgary Catholic Education Foundation raffle ticketsSales end on February 14 and the draw is happening Feb. 17! Don’t miss the opportunity to win some amazing prizes, while supporting the education of over 54,000 students in the district. Visit the web-site at https://theccef.ca/ to get your ticket today!
Get to know your Calgary Catholic Board of TrusteesDid you know that Calgary Catholic has seven trustees that work together for the whole district, with each representing wards in Calgary and the surrounding area? Learn more about your school’s trustee and the work they do on our website, under Board of Trustees/Role of School Trustees. Trustees also write a monthly, informational column which appears in a variety of community newsletters to keep you up-to-date on their work. Check out our Board of Trustees/Newsletters section to find out more.
Nominate a great teacher for the 2016 Excellence in Teaching AwardsParents, students, colleagues, principals, superintendents and all Albertans are encouraged to nomi-nate a teacher or principal who demonstrates excellence in the profession. Alberta Education wants to recognize educators that inspire students and colleagues with their creative, innovative and effective teaching practices. Please take this opportunity to show your appreciation for the leadership of great teachers in your schools by acknowledging their contributions. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1SZvP8j
Family Day - No ClassesAll district schools and administration buildings will be closed on Monday, February 15, 2016. We hope everyone is able to spend quality time with their families on this holiday.
Did you know?
We are very excited about the four schools planned to open in 2016 in the communi-ties of Auburn Bay, Cranston, Evanston and New Brighton.
