St. Edmunds Newsletter – March 2022
On March 2nd we begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday and given the current world events, Pope Francis has announced that Ash Wednesday will be a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Ukraine:
“I encourage believers in a special way to dedicate themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.”
Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter in the Christian calendar, is a time for prayer, penance and works of almsgiving and charity for others. During this time, we recognize our need for God’s forgiveness and seek to deepen our relationship with him. The important thing is to find something that will help us focus more on God and what he wants for our lives.
May this upcoming Holy season of Lent be a time for all of us to reflect on what is good in our lives and invite God to help us put right what is wrong and to remember just how much He loves us.
Let us take the time to reflect with our children, the true meaning of this season, so that we may focus on the power of Christ in our lives and strengthen our resolution to follow Jesus even more closely.
Praying for Others:
Lenten Prayers for the Seminarians – Your children will be receiving mite boxes to help support our Seminarians. These young men, with God’s grace, will one day serve as priests in our Archdiocese. We ask that you continue to pray for them and for vocations. Lenten mite boxes can be returned after Easter.
Our Grade 2 and Grade 7 classes have begun preparing for the Sacraments of Reconciliation (March 31st), Holy Communion (May 1st) and Confirmation (May 29th). Please keep them and their teachers in your prayers during this special time in their faith formation.
Acts of Kindness
The month of February was full of excitement with Catholic Schools Week, Student-Led Conferences, Valentine’s Day and Pink Shirt Day. Throughout all these activities the students were challenged to think of ways to show kindness towards their school peers, staff, families and community members. Our grade 1 class ended the month of February with a beautiful prayer service. Thank you as well to our PAC for “chalking” positive messages onto the school playground on Pink Shirt Day!
Let’s continue to focus on “lifting each other up” and making acts of kindness a daily activity!
How can we continue this focus with our children?
– How did you show kindness or love today?
– Did you tell anyone “Thank you?”
– Did everyone have a friend at recess?
– Did you help anyone today?
What a wonderful way to begin a conversation with your children and help them see how easy it is to show love and kindness every day. The importance is to make the time to talk to your children regularly and bring in connections to our faith. Children can thank God for a good friend or ask God for help to remember to think about the words they use because they can make a big difference to someone else!
Early Dismissal Day – March 7th
After the students are dismissed at 12:00 on Monday, March 7th, our staff will be participating in a special professional development session. The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is an interactive educational experience, sharing the historical and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. It is an important way for us to become more aware of our shared history with Indigenous peoples in Canada and is a powerful stepping stone to dialogue, understanding and reconciliation between nations.
Hip Hop at St. Edmund’s – March 7th -11th
We are welcoming back 1Vibe Productions into our Physical & Health Education classes for the week of March 7th. Each class will be learning a routine as part of a dance and movement unit for all grades. We are looking forward to the opportunity for the students to build on their previous skills as well as have fun! Although we won’t be performing for a “live audience” this year, we will be filming each class routine that will be shared with our Tbird families. Stay tuned!
Parent Support Meeting – Sexuality and your Child
Stay tuned for our upcoming parent support meeting. Parents of Intermediate children will be soon receiving information and a link to access the LoveEd program. The purpose of the Archdiocesan Parent Support Meeting is to support parents as the first and primary educators to transmit the truth and meaning of human sexuality to their children.
Calendar Highlights:
1st – PAC meeting
2nd – Ash Wednesday Mass
- no hot lunch orders today
4th – Primary Celebration of “100 Days”
5th – Grade 7 Spirit Day Confirmation Retreat (1-5:30 pm)
7th – Early Dismissal (12:00)
7th – 11th – Hip Hop Dance Unit
8th – PEC meeting
9th – Grade 7 Class Mass (with Gr. 3 Buddies)
14th -25th – Spring Break
28th – Purdy’s Chocolate Orders Due
29th – Intermediate Spelling Bee
30th – Grade 6 Class Mass (with Gr. 2 Buddies)
– Grades 3 to 7 Confessions
Please be sure to check our online calendar for further information and updates. We also ask that you check your email spam folder in case any school emails have been lost there.
Registration for 2021/2022 – due Wednesday, March 9th.
On behalf of Fr. Steny and the PEC, I would like to thank you for attending our virtual AGM last month on February 23rd. We all feel blessed to be learning together and supporting each other in our community. Please remember that you must take your “green forms” to the parish office in order for Fr. Steny to sign the pastor’s authorization for your Category 1 status. Completed registration packages and applicable fees are due back to the school office by March 9th. Please refer to your checklist when completing your registration package to ensure you have signed and returned all necessary documents.
Uniform
It is the expectation that all students come to school dressed in full uniform every day. Please ensure that your child has their school sweater and black school shoes. As many of your children are growing, we also ask that over spring break you take the time to check the fit of your child’s uniform. Remember that you can order uniform pieces online at Cambridge or call the office to enquire about items we may have that are available for a donation. Please also ensure that your child’s uniform is labeled with their name!
Covid-19
I continue to commend our school community for their responsible cooperation with our Health & Safety Guidelines and I urge our parents to continue with their diligence in the daily health check. Thank you for your discretion and effort thus far which has helped to maintain a safe school environment for all of us.
T-birds in Action
Tennis – Feb. 22-25th
Thanks to Coach Marcus Andersson from Fun Tennis Services, Inc. for being with us for four fun days of learning tennis skills and games. The students loved the experience!
T-bird Sr. Basketball
We are extremely proud of our Sr Girls and Boys Basketball teams for a successful season! Both teams advanced to the playoff round and our Sr. Boys will be representing St. Edmund School at the CISVA Quarterfinals at the Richmond Oval on March 2nd!
Go T-birds!
With Gratitude:
An enormous thank you to our parent drivers! We couldn’t have had a successful season without your help to get us to our games! We appreciate your time, dedication and support of our athletes. We are also grateful to our coaches, referees and scorekeepers for their expertise, excitement and support of our program!
Fundraising
Once again St Edmunds will promote a fundraising initiative using Purdy for Easter Chocolates Treats, a great way to support our school community.
ORDER ONLINE:
https://fundraising.purdys.com/1188790-93800
PLACE & PAY FOR ORDERS BY:
March 28th, 2022
PICK UP ORDERS ON:
April 12th, 2022, 2:30-3:30pm
Perfect for Mother’s Day and Earth Day!
Fundraise with hanging baskets, patio planters, annuals, veggies and succulents!
ORDER ONLINE:
stedmunds.growingsmilesfundraising.com/
Order due: April 19th, 2022
Pick up: May 5th, 2022