Elk Island Catholic Schools Division

Our Ukrainian program at St. Theresa Catholic Middle School spent time in prayer before writing Pysanky . Grades 5-8 did an amazing job! Наш учн писали творч... писанки! We did miss having all our parent volunteers, but the students were champs! ( and a shout out to the teachers-admin for assisting with all the dyeing!) See more

Holy Week information (further clarification at Sunday masses): Palm Sunday: regular Sunday mass times (extra palms will be left out for the following weeks fo...r those unable to attend that day) Holy Thursday: @OLA 5:30pm and 7:00pm (livestreamed) - registration opens April 1st @8am Good Friday: @OLA 1:00pm and 3:00pm (livestreamed) - registration opens April 2nd @8am Easter Vigil: @OLA 9:00pm (livestreamed) - registration opens April 3rd @8am Easter Sunday: regular Sunday mass times - registration opens April 3rd @8am Stations of the Cross: Good Friday @10am Easter basket blessings April 3rd: OLA: 1pm and 2pm Skaro: 1pm Redwater: 2pm Gibbons: 3pm Like last year, basket blessings will take place in the parking lot. Simply open your trunk with the basket in it and Father will come around and bless them.

On April 19th from 12:30-3:30 PM via Zoom, Provincial GrACE will be hosting its annual Summit Conference! We would like to extend the invitation to anyone inter...ested in joining a local GrACE group (or those who simply want to learn more) to participate in this virtual gathering. As advocates for Catholic education, we recognize the importance of the relationship between school, parish and family. Knowing this, we would greatly value your presence at this conference! You will have the opportunity to learn and celebrate what is being done in your local community (and across the province) to promote the great gift of publicly-funded Catholic education. To register (FREE), visit this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GrACESummit #IBelieveinCatholicEd We hope to "see" you there!

Staff smoothies made by our wonderful Wellness Team for the morning after interviews. #choosejoy

Check out this inspirational video from Assistant Superintendent Paul Corrigan on the incredible partnership that EICS has with Catholic Social Services and how this makes a difference for people in a very positive way. https://bit.ly/3cjf4p1

We are getting ready to Break the Rules next week and raise money for our Chalice Foster Ivo in Tanzania! Check out this video to get us ready! Thank you 4P! h...ttps://drive.google.com//1j-B8_BJaFqvF0aFr_QDth1Bth/view Each rule you break will cost you $$. Bring your $ each morning to receive a ribbon for proof of payment and break the rule ALL day! #choosejoy #eicscatholic #IBelieveinCatholicEd #schoolspirit

Today we celebrate the feast day of Epiphany! The Solemnity of the Epiphany / Three Kings Day. This feast marks the end of Christmas and focuses on the revela...tion that Jesus is the Son of God. It focuses primarily on this revelation to the Three Wise Men (or Magi) from the East, but also in Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and at the wedding at Cana. The three Wise Men brought Jesus gifts of frankincense, myrrh and gold. See more

What does compassion fatigue look like to you? We're asking education workers (teachers, principals, admin assistants, custodians, educational assistants--anyone who works in a school) to send in a visual representation. Prizes available! More info here: https://loom.ly/lHxbGFQ

Go Oilers Go! Today we celebrated the start of the NHL season by wearing Oilers colours or the jerseys of our favourite teams. The energy around the school was incredible!

Happy New Year! Happy feast of Epiphany! We welcome back our St. John XXIII staff, students and families today! We will be online together for the next three da...ys, please check your child’s Google Classroom for daily learning tasks and connection times. Welcome back-we’ve missed you! Elk Island Catholic Schools Division See more

You have to love automation. These great folks at Sherwood Park Bottle Depot get you in and out in no time. Pleasant, courteous and friendly. My kind of people!...!! Just came back with an extra $114 for my kids at École père Kenneth Kearns School in Sherwood Park. With the dine-in being closed, we needed help for our bottle drive and we got it! Keep it going Shackers!

A warm and joyous welcome back to all of our families. We will begin virtual learning Jan 6-8th.

Have a great Christmas break everyone. We’ll see you all in 2021! If you’re looking for last minute Christmas gifts or ways to support the local economy over th...e holidays, there are so many great local businesses in Sherwood Park and the Edmonton area (many of which owned by EPK families or folks in our EICS community). Buy products or gift cards from these excellent businesses And we’d like to give a special thanks to Shack A Patate for choosing our school to give their bottle deposit money to this school year. We appreciate the generosity! Merry Christmas from all of us at ÉPK. Blessings to all.

Celebrating World’s Children Day! Today, please say a prayer for all children globally for their rights and care. May each of us do our part to help all child...ren have a safe and beautiful childhood. Elk Island Catholic Schools Division World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.

Join the OLA Family! We would love to connect with you! You're invited to contact us at 780-998-3716 or visit our website at ola.eics.ab.ca for more informati...on. February 1, 2021 is the day! We look forward to opening Kindergarten Registration on February 1, 2021! Registration for Grades 1-4 opens the same day! We look forward to connecting with you and welcoming you to the OLA family!

Christmas Sweater Day! Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year #EICS #chooseJoy

Unanimous agreement: Beginning the day with a staff mass in our chapel with Father Kris is a blessing and truly brings peace and joy to the day. It's like the feeling of coming home! #choosejoy #elkislandcatholic #IBelieveinCatholicEd

Merry Christmas from the staff and students of St. Nicholas Catholic School! May you have a safe and joyous Christmas!

Boston Pizza Lunch: December 2nd, 2020 $5.00 each. Orders are only available through PowerSchool. Deadline to order is Sun Nov 29.

It’s a big day in grade 4 as our leadership teams received their shirts today. Our Young Citizen, School Spirit and Ukrainian teams are proud to be leaders for the younger students in the school and to spread joy around St. Nicholas!

Snow much fun at recess! Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn. -O. Fred Donaldson Elk Island Catholic Schools Division #choosejoy

Our custodians are rock stars!

Well done Fort Sask! Illustrious Interiors and community made a beautiful memory for this family

Today Aurora was celebrated for spreading love and hope! She raised $4800 for Valeda House and #CatholicSocialServices by selling her many beautiful paintings!... Aurora and her mom presented Troy and Rachelle from Catholic Social Services with 4800 reasons for hope! They were honoured with #EICSCatholic Superintendent Mr. Shawn Haggarty and Assistant Superintendent Mr. Paul Corrigan, Fort Saskatchewan Trustee Mr. Al Stewart, OLA's Principal Mme Pamela Gravelle, Assistant Principal Mrs. Sandy Weller along with Aurora's teacher, Miss Miller. Bravo Aurora! Thank you for being a light to others, and reminding us that we each, young or old, can make a difference! #signofhope #IBelieveinCatholicEd #grandinmedia #grace4cathed #choosejoy Auroras art helps the homeless

A fantastic example of the true meaning of Christmas with Aurora from Our Lady of the Angels who selflessly donated close to $5000 to Catholic Social Services' Sign of Hope Campaign. Aurora sold numerous pieces of artwork in Fort Saskatchewan. Amazing artwork and generosity come from special little angels this time of year. Pictured here are Troy Davies from Catholic Social Services, Administration from Our Lady of the Angels and Trustee Al Stewart and members from the EICS Administration Team.

Thank you for your support for Catholic Social Services! We are accepting donations (cash to the school) Friday and Monday by 9:00am. See your child's backpac...k for this green sheet...need more tags? Please call us at the school! Last day to get more is Friday. Thank you again for spreading love, hope and joy! See more

Grinch Day was amazing! We raised $310 for Catholic Social Services. Thank you all for your generous donations. #eics #choosejoy

Our Parish Pastor shares our Elk Island Catholic Schools Division theme this year #choosejoy during his homily today. Thanks Father Kris for connecting our theme to scripture and Advent JOY. #choosejoy @EICSfaith_well #infinitelyloved

These student teachers deserve a major round of applause for teaching during a pandemic, switching from in person to online learning, balancing a round of quarantine... and STILL they are smiling! Thank you for all that you've shared and inspired! #wearecardinals #choosejoy #EICS

Dearest parishioners, With these most recent restrictions we can be grateful that we are still permitted to have mass but there’s no doubt it has severely limit...ed our options, especially nearing Christmas. Now limited to only 15% capacity, I have had to make the difficult decision to move all of our masses to Our Lady of the Angels in Fort Saskatchewan. Being the largest building, it allows us to maximize attendance, though I know this means a sacrifice for many of you. All masses are sign up only and walk-ins will not be permitted. Sign up can be done at olafortsask.caedm.ca by clicking on the yellow button titled sign up genius. Please stay tuned at mass, on the website, or on Facebook for updates regarding Christmas. Thank you for your understanding. Fr. Kris

Thankful for the Christmas season and joyful colleagues.

1MW is deep into researching Bethlehem so they can build a "Road to Bethlehem!" Thank you Mrs. Weller, Mrs. V. And Mrs. Kucy for your tech help! Last picture is a sneak peek of phase I. #choosejoy #elkislandcatholic #IBelieveinCatholicEd #advent2020

Expanded health measures will be in effect province-wide. All Albertans, businesses, organizations and service providers must follow all new health measures. Ne...w expanded mandatory measures come into effect Dec. 8 for social gatherings and mandatory masking. All others come into effect 12:01 a.m., Dec.13. SOCIAL GATHERINGS - Effective Immediately All indoor and outdoor social gatherings public and private are prohibited. This does not apply to service visits from caregivers, health or child care providers and co-parenting arrangements. Close contacts are limited to household members only. Individuals who live alone may have the same two non-household close contacts for the duration of this restriction. MANDATORY MASKING Effective Immediately The mandatory indoor public masking requirement will be extended province-wide. Applies to all indoor workplaces and facilities outside the home. Applies to employees, visitors and the general public. Farm operations are excluded. PLACES OF WORSHIP Effective Dec. 13 All places of worship will be limited to 15% of fire code occupancy for in-person attendance, with physical distancing and masking. Virtual or online services are strongly encouraged Drive-in services where individuals do not leave their vehicles and adhere to guidance will be permissible and are not subject to capacity restrictions. RETAIL SERVICES Effective Dec. 13 Retail services must reduce customer capacity to 15% of fire code occupancy, with a minimum of 5 customers. Curbside pick up, delivery and online services are encouraged. Shopping malls will be limited to 15% of fire code occupancy. CLOSURES Effective Dec. 13 Restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafes will be closed to in-person service. Only take out, curbside pickup and delivery services are permitted. Casinos, bingo halls, gaming entertainment centres, racing entertainment centres, horse tracks, raceways, bowling alleys, pool halls, legions, and private clubs will be closed. Recreational facilities fitness centres, recreation centres, pools, spas, gyms, studios, day and overnight camps, indoor rinks and arenas will be closed. Entertainments businesses and entities libraries, science centres, interpretive centres, museums, galleries, amusement parks and water parks will be closed. Hotels may remain open but must follow restrictions no spas, pools or in-person dining. Room services only. Personal and wellness services, including hair salons, nail salons, massage, tattoos, and piercing, will be closed. Health services, including physiotherapy or acupuncture, social or protective services, shelters for vulnerable persons, emergency services, childcare, and not-for-profit community kitchens, or charitable kitchens will remain open for in-person attendance. WORK FROM HOME Effective Dec. 13 Mandatory work from home measures will be implemented unless the employer determines that work requires a physical presence for operational effectiveness. These restrictions will be in place for a minimum of four weeks. https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

Thank you 3MK for welcoming Kokum Doreen into your class today to learn about the Seven Sacred Teachings! She is a delight and a wealth of knowledge! Thank you ...too, to the Fort Saskatchewan Multicultural Society for making this beautiful connect possible! She gets to visit two more classes on Wednesday! #choosejoy #elkislandcatholic #IBelieveinCatholicEd See more

ÉPK is truly a wonderful school. Today we received an email explaining the ways in which ÉPK is giving back this season. Please swipe to see what your grade is ...contributing (no obligation to participate). . ÉPK is also collecting items for the food bank. Some items that are considered good non-perishable foods to donate: canned beans. dry beans. peanut butter, or other nut butters. rolled oats. canned fruit in juice, not in light or heavy syrup. canned vegetables, with no or low-sodium. low-sodium soups. canned tuna in water.

Thank you, Fr. Kris, for leading our Staff mass yesterday. A gift of peace for us. Elk Island Catholic Schools Division

A little pick-me-up and thank you to our amazing staff who show up every day to spread love and joy to each other and to the littles we welcome every morning! #choosejoy #IBelieveinCatholicEd #elkislandcatholic

Meet your GrACE board 2020-2021! #iamblessed

Twin Day Yesterday!

Some winter art and joyous reflections line our hallways.

Ugly Sweater Day...and they were awesome! Here's a sneak peak! #choosejoy #elkislandcatholic

It is always nice when our families take the time to let us know that we are doing ok THANK YOU to our parents who are supporting the education of their ch...ild from home. We are really each other’s bottom hands. We know our teachers are working so hard for you. THANK YOU filling our bucket Elk Island Catholic Schools Division #ChooseJoy See more

Never doubt for a moment the resiliency of educators to find a way to push through the darkness of COVID and bring the light. This is one way we continue to share in our #Advent prayers together at @St_JohnXXIII #lighttheadventcandle #violetsinthesnow Elk Island Catholic Schools Division

We are so pleased to end the year on a high note! From over 7,000 organizations engaged, APPLE Schools was selected as one of only 11 national ventures for the ...LEAP Healthy Futures Accelerator. Over the next five years, we will be working closely with LEAP, who will provide us with strategy support to scale our project with a goal of reaching 62,000 students in 200 schools by 2025! LEAP’s mission is to catalyze large-scale social impact by selecting, supporting, and scaling breakthrough social ventures that’s us! They will help APPLE Schools to unleash our potential to improve health and reduce chronic disease in Canada. Find out more: https://bit.ly/3lxd51B

In the darkness, we turn our hearts and gaze towards the light and wait with hopeful anticipation for the coming of Jesus. Light the Advent Candle one, now the waiting has begun! #hope Elk Island Catholic Schools Division

Please review the latest message from our admin team regarding learning from home. The learning continues on Monday, November 30. https://www.smore.com/app/pages/preview/wvh62

This past week Superintendent Shawn Haggarty visited St. Nicholas to deliver flowers and a certificate to Mrs. Beliveau. Earlier this year she was nominated for... the Excellence in Catholic Education Award. Congratulations Mrs. Beliveau and thank you for all that you do in your role as school chaplain. @elkislandcatholicschools See more

Holodomor Awareness Week brought our school community together through prayer and art. We recognized the great famine of 1932-33 where millions of Ukrainians p...erished . Grade 5-8 Ukrainian classes led daily prayers and provided the school information about Holodomor. Many classes created art of wheat and paper candles to light up our hallways in remembrance. Вчная пам’ять See more

Do you need extra assistance this Christmas, or know someone who does ? Please share The Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank's Christmas Hamper Campaign delivers food... hampers and toys to families, individuals and seniors in need, here in our community of Fort Saskatchewan How to apply for Christmas assistance: Applications are available November 2nd - December 4th Applications can be made in person, at the Food Bank office during the following times: Mondays 2:00 - 6:00pm Wednesdays 10:00 - 2:00pm Fridays 10:00 - 2:00pm Appointments can be made by calling 780-998-4099 during office hours or on Hamper Days. What to bring with you: ID is required for all adults on the application. Current proof of address (a utility bill or gov't issued mail). AB Health Card or Birth Certificate for each child on the application. You must be a resident of Fort Saskatchewan. For those residing outside of Fort Saskatchewan limits please see the website 211 for assistance in your region. You may only apply for your immediate family and those permanently residing at the address. Please Note: Christmas Hamper Delivery Day is December 19th You must be home to accept your hamper! There is no option for picking up a Christmas Hamper. We’re here to help Fort Saskatchewan, Thank you!

I keep learning about new tools and technology at a feverish pace lately Today, using some fun and easy tech, I taught cellular biology as Kermit the fro...g, put a virtual cat on my head to talk about adaptations and was a potato to teach about plants (roots specifically) I was also a Viking, a smurf and other random things. Kids loved it. Kept it fresh and added a little novelty to our online learning. Anything to keep my students engaged St. Isidore Catholic Learning Centre

Alberta is declaring a state of public health emergency and putting aggressive measures in place to protect the health system and reduce the rising spread of CO...VID-19 cases. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE GATHERINGS (PROVINCE-WIDE) Effective immediately, no indoor social gatherings will be permitted. Individuals who live alone may have up to 2 non-household close contacts who are able to visit in their homes. They must be the same two people throughout the duration of these measures. Social gatherings in indoor workplaces, such as lunchroom gatherings, are also not allowed. Outdoor social gatherings are permitted to a maximum of 10 people. Funeral services and wedding ceremonies must follow all public health guidance and are limited to a maximum of 10 in-person attendees. Receptions will not be permitted. Not following the mandatory restrictions could result in fines and enforcement. The Emergency Alert System will be used to ensure Albertans are aware of the mandatory requirements. PLACES OF WORSHIP (REGIONS UNDER ENHANCED STATUS) Effective immediately, places of worship are limited to a maximum of 1/3 normal attendance per service, physical distancing between households and masking will be required. Faith based leaders are encouraged to move services online. BUSINESS AND SERVICE RESTRICTIONS (EFFECTIVE NOV 27) Businesses within the enhanced status regions that must be closed for in-person service include: Banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows, auditoria and concert venues, non-approved/licensed markets, community centres Children’s play places or indoor playgrounds All levels of team and individual sport Businesses that may remain open with 25% occupancy including: Retail, including liquor and cannabis Grocery stores Pharmacies Clothing stores Computer and technology stores Hardware Additional services that may remain open with 25% occupancy including: Movie theatres Museums and galleries Libraries Casinos, offering slots only. Table games must be closed at this time. Indoor entertainment centres including amusement parks, water parks, bingo halls and racing centres. Indoor fitness, recreation, sports and physical activity centres, including dance and yoga studios, martial arts, gymnastics and private or public swimming pools. Restaurants, bars, pubs and lounges will be open with restrictions: Max of 6 people from the same immediate household at a table and no movement between tables People who live alone can meet with up to 2 non-household contacts as long as they’re the same two throughout the duration of these restrictions Only seated eating and drinking is permitted. No other services or entertainment will be allowed. K-12 SCHOOLS (PROVINCE-WIDE) In all schools, grades 7-12 will move to at-home learning on Nov. 30, ending in-person classes early. Students in Early Childhood Services and Grades K-6 will remain learning in-person until Dec. 18. All students will return to at-home learning after their winter break and resume in-person learning on January 11, 2021. This measure is mandatory. Alberta’s government is making diploma exams optional for the rest of the school year. Students and their parents can choose whether to write the exam or receive an exemption for the April, June, and August 2021 exam sessions. MANDATORY MASK REQUIREMENTS A new mandatory mask requirement is in place in Edmonton, Calgary and surrounding areas for indoor workplaces. This includes any location where employees are present, and applies to visitors, including delivery personnel, and employees or contractors. Masking will be mandatory in places of worship and existing school masking requirements will continue. More information is available at https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

Diploma exams will be optional for the entire 2020 21 school year due to COVID-19. This includes the January, April, June and August 2021 exam periods. Som...e students may be required to write diplomas, including, but not limited to: + Home education students, if needed for post-secondary admission + Adult students who can write an exam without taking a course + Students who don't have a passing classroom mark Students may also write diplomas if they want to raise their mark, or want to have a diploma exam mark on their transcript. Students are encouraged to talk to their teachers for more details. More info: https://www.alberta.ca/diploma-exams.asp

This month, St. Theresa participated in the ‘Grins for Grands’ program, and created over 300 letters and cards for seniors living in centres affected by the pan...demic. We can’t wait to spread some joy to our community, we are all in this together! #ChooseJoy #TheHawksWay Elk Island Catholic Schools See more

Join us Monday night for our School Council meeting via Google Meet starting at 7pm. We will be discussing our upcoming Christmas fundraiser, a couple of potential investment requests from our Foundation and planning for a special Parent Engagement night. Everyone welcome!

We are responding to the rising COVID-19 spread by implementing targeted public health measures in Edmonton, Calgary, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray ...and Red Deer. These targeted measures take effect on Friday, November 13: Fitness group classes and team sports must stop until November 27. This does not include outdoor sport, individual sports, individual exercises, training or equipment use. Gyms are not required to close. This also doesn’t apply to junior, university or professional sports. Group performances, such as singing, dancing and theatre must cease. These measures don’t apply to professional performance venues. Additional public health measures will also implemented in all regions under an enhanced status: All restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs in these regions must cease liquor sales by 10 p.m. and close by 11 p.m. until November 27. Maximum attendance of 50 at wedding or funeral ceremonies. All faith-based activities are recommended to limit attendance to one-third capacity per service. Residents should not hold social gatherings within their home and should not plan social gatherings outside their community. Employers in office settings are recommended to implement measures to reduce the number of employees in the workplace at one time. We are asking all Albertans to do their part. If these measures are not successful, it will be necessary to implement more restrictive measures. For more information visit: https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

For those who leave never to return. For those who return but are never the same. We remember. #RemembranceDay

Remembrance Day Projects

* SOLD OUT - the goal to raise $4,000 was reached in under 3hrs - A huge thank you to everyone for your support. Find more information about the Sgt. George Mio...k Scholarships here: https://jacekchocolate.com/a-canadian-hero-sgt-george-miok/ We are preparing for the launch of the Remembrance Day fundraiser in honour of local hero, Sgt. George Miok. Launching tomorrow (Thursday, Nov 5th), and as always, newsletter subscribers will be the first to know when orders go live. 100% of the proceeds raised from this collection will be gifted to the scholarships created in his name. Please visit our blog for more information.

Elk Island Catholic Schools will be honoring our veterans and military community in services in schools beginning on Thursday, November 5, and Friday, November 6th. To read more, please click on https://bit.ly/3l1MqKP

Catholic Education Sunday is celebrated on Sunday, November 8th. This year we may celebrate differently but the call to action and the celebration of hope and renewal is incredibly strong. https://bit.ly/3epInFu

Don’t forget. Tomorrow is Early Dismissal (swipe left), and CRAZY HAT DAY! #toquesarecool

PARENT COUNCIL FUNDRAISER Oh Covid.... so normally Holy Spirit’s Parent Council raises its largest of portion of money from our Hot Lunch program as well as eve...nts such as Silverbells or the Waterpark. This year we still wanted to find a way to raise funds which are used to support our school. We have decided to partner with Tickled Floral to fundraise selling the ever so popular Whoville Trees for this upcoming holiday season! We ask that you reach out to family and friends and submit your orders on the hot lunch website through your child’s account (details on how to do this are in the school newsletter). Please submit your order before the deadline of November 15th. Orders will be ready for pick up on Nov 30th. Please note that YOU are responsible for picking up your orders from Tickled Floral directlymore information will be sent out later regarding pick up times.