SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWSLETTER ST. ANTHONY SCHOOL

4811 – 6 STREET SW CALGARY AB PHONE: 403-500-2013 FAX: 403-500-2213

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Welcome to September at St. Anthony School!

We are so pleased that August transitions into our school routines went well! Thank you to all parents for supporting the early morning rides to school – having four sons of my own, I greatly appreciate the effort it often takes in getting everything ready to send to school in the morning! As all schools opened this week, there are higher traffic volumes. Please keep in touch with your driver or transportation contact if you note concerns with your child’s route to and from school. As a final note on transportation, I would like to accolade our St. Anthony staff as they provide such a positive welcome and warm greeting to all students each day. It is evident that the staff absolutely love working in our school community and hold each student’s heart dearly.

I would like to welcome new staff to St. Anthony! Most recently we welcome In-Class Support Worker Ms. Laura Tougas to Class 3, Teacher Ms. Sarah Ansari and Mr. Tim Barager as our full time site based School Psychologist. Mr. Barager will be sending home a letter of introduction within the next week. We also welcome new Complex Needs Educational Assistants: Mr. Tony to Class 5, Ms. Breanna to Class 1, Mr. Ray to Class 3. We are blessed to have such as wealth of expertise and experience to support our school program! Please know the staff is very excited to be working in our community and look forward to meeting with parents during our Parent Teacher Conversations on September 20 and 21. Parent Teacher Conversations focus around LSP goal setting for the year. Thank you for completing the input forms the teachers sent home earlier in August. Information on booking your ParentTeacher meeting is included in this newsletter.

Most importantly, we are excited to welcome three new students and families to our school this September. These students have joined Classes 3, 4 and 5 . We further look forward to a few new students and staff starting with us soon!

September offers many activities for our students including JB Music Therapy! The students are always eager to participate in playing the variety of instruments provided for their exploration. September 27th our students and their staff champions will join in the school’s Terry Fox Run in the afternoon. We hope the weather will cooperate! We also ask parents to Save the Date for our November 7 Parent Night offering two sessions: one with Lorna from Children’s Link, who will be discussing “Transition into Adulthood” and a second session on supporting augmented communication using Touch Chat presented by Ms. Konchalski and Mr. Barager.

Our school parking lot remains under construction with delays due to rain. We appreciate everyone’s patience during this time. We also remain dedicated to student and staff safety in walking to and from the playground.

In closing, there is a letter regarding the interim Ministerial Order on selcusion and calming rooms also coming home today. Parents will review all stafet plans during our Parent Teacher Conferences in two weeks. Please feel welcome to contact me with any questions. Blessings for a joyous September! Mrs. Gruending & Mr. Green

Principal, St. Anthony School Vice Principal

Please Save these September Dates! * Sept 2 – Labour Day –

No Classes for Students

* Sept. 11 – Picture

Retake Day ! * Sept. 19 – Parent/

Teacher Interviews 4:30 – 7:30 pm

* Sept. 20 – Parent/ Teacher Interviews 8:30 am – 2:30 pm – No Classes for Students

* Sept. 23: Professional Development Day – No Classes for Students

* September 27: Terry Fox Run

Upcoming Important October Dates:

* October 9 – Thanksgiving Liturgy

* Oct. 11 – PD Day – No Classes for Students

* Oct. 14 – 25 – Year

round Fall Break – No Classes for Students

* Oct. 28 – School reopens – Classes Resume

* Oct. 31 – PD Day – No Classes for Students

* Nov. 1 – Faith Day – No

Classes for Students

Safety at St. Anthony School Student Drop off and Pick Up

Student Drop Off and Pick Up will be in front of the school on 6 Street. Thank-you for your diligence and cooperation to ensure safety for all as many busses and taxis as well as parents pick up and drop off our precious students.

Transportation Routines and Questions Each morning students arrive by Checker Cabs or by a “4 Seasons” bus/van. Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s transportation provider if you require a change in plans or if your child is ill and not coming to school in the morning. Please note these phone numbers for your calling convenience: 4 Seasons: 587-585-5766 (Julie is the contact) Checker Cab: 403 299-4934 (Jim, Mary or Ann are the contacts) Students remain in the care of transportation until the school staff come out to collect your child for the start of school. School staff also escort all students on to the bus or taxi at the end of the day.

Dressing for the Ever-Changing Weather! Calgary weather can change dramatically over the day so please send your child with a warmer jacket for the cooler mornings and watch the forecast for a chance of precipitation. Students do go outside to play during light showers / rainy days. We do keep students in during thunder storms and when the temperature falls below -20 Celsius with wind-chill factor. Also, please review our student dress code in your child’s agenda to ensure your child is dressed comfortably and appropriately for a learning environment.

School Visitor Sign In All school visitors, contractors and parents are required to sign in and wear a visitor tag upon arrival. This procedure identifies visitors as safe in the building to all staff, students and other visitors. Visitors are asked to identify themselves as the office after entering the building.

School Safety Drills: Evacuation & Lockdown To ensure students are comfortable and familiar with emergency procedures, we will practice several evacuation (fire) drills as well as participate in two school lockdowns over the school year. Your child’s teacher will review our safety protocols and procedures before each drill as well to ensure students feel safe and secure with these practices. This month we practice room clearing for safety reasons. We always strive to practice school evacuations on a fair weather day! We will practice our first lockdown before Thanksgiving.

Wednesday Noon Dismissals Please be mindful that students are dismissed at noon each Wednesday. The staff participates in professional development and planning for student learning and assessment. The Wednesday afternoon break also permits students to return to school with strong energy and focus for the remainder of the week.

Our Catholic Community of Caring at St. Anthony St. Anthony School is excited to be a “Catholic

Community of Caring”. This means that our students and staff make intentional efforts to raise awareness of and demonstrate actions of respect, trust, faith, caring, responsibility and a sense of community. This year, our faith theme is from Matthew 7:7 “Search and You Will Find”. This year the district continues to focus on ensuring each student has a trusted adult or champion at school. Each month, our newsletter will feature information on how St. Anthony champions students!

Opening School Liturgy Hosted by Class 4! A shout out to Class 4 for hosting an exceptional liturgy presided by Father Edmond. We are very blessed to have the opportunity to pray together as a school community! Parents are always welcome to attend as well! Our Thanksgiving Liturgy is on October 9 at 9:15 am.

September 19 and 20 are Parent Teacher Conferences and Learner

Support Plan (LSP) Goal Signing Meetings

We are excited to meet with parents for our September conferences on the evening of September 19 and during the day on Friday, September 20. Please note that school is a full day on Thursday. There are no student classes for students on Friday to enable parents and teachers to meet. Starting on Monday, September 16, parents are welcome to call the office at 403.500.2013 to book appointment times. Conference times are booked at 30 minute intervals from 4:00 pm and ending at 7:00 pm on Thursday evening and from 8:30am to 2:30pm on Friday. Learner Support Plan parent input forms should have been sent home for parents to complete and return to the school. Our September meeting is an excellent time to discuss Learner Support Plans goals for this school year. Alberta Education requires that all Learner Support Plans be reviewed with parents before October 31 each year. Parents will be provided with a signed LSP copy.

St. Patrick’s Special Needs Mass Schedule St. Patrick’s Parish is offering families with special needs children to come join

them for mass every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. They recognize that coming to mass can be a challenge for families so their mission is to create a compassionate church community for families to come and enjoy a place of understanding, acceptance and welcome.

St. Patrick’s Special Needs 5 p.m. Mass Schedule September 8 and 15

If you have questions or would like to be part of the leadership team, please contact Brenda-Lee Kearney at 403-

835-2749 or Special Needs Mass Info Click Here

St. Anthony Parish Mass Schedule340 - 4

For full mass times and information, please visit their website by clicking here St. Anthony Parish SUNDAY EUCHARIST Saturday 5 PM Sunday 9 AM & 10:30 AM WEEKDAY EUCHARIST Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9 AM Wednesday 7 PM RECONCILIATION Saturday 4:00 - 4:45 PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:30 AM Wednesday 6:30 PM

Updates from Miss Konchalski, the St. Anthony

Diverse Learning Support Teacher (DLCT)

Hello St. Anthony Families! We are excited to begin a new school year and create individualized learning goals for each student based on recommendations from their past school experiences. Providing our students with goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely are some of the attributes that aid in our process of creating goals around communication and behavior. In the next few weeks we continue to work towards establishing routines and setting our students up for success by providing them with a structured and consistent environment with many different supports in place to help students understand expectations throughout their day. Using visual schedules as well as visuals to support expressive communication continue to be a main focus in our program to help our students find success in this environment and prepare them for flexibility in their schedules in the future. Please feel free to contact me for any supports related to accessing visual supports or to discuss the learner support plan. Looking forward to another great school year and to watching each student continue to grow and progress toward their goals! julianne.konchalski@cssd.ab.ca.

Learning Commons Librarian Update The students have had a very successful start to the school year in the Learning Commons. We have been ensuring to check schedules on the ipad at the beginning and end of each class. The students have also been taking turns switching the physical schedule that is located on one of the library walls. Nearly every student has also decorated a paper cactus that has been put up in the Learning commons as a display. It has come together quite nicely! For the first few weeks of school we have read stories about bugs, colours and sea creatures. A favorite among students was Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See? By Bill Martin Jr. Since our resource center (IMC) has not opened yet, we have not been able to order any new makerspace items. But as soon as September starts we will have some new resources to work with!

Family Support Worker –Miss Urquhart

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Hello St. Anthony Families! I hope you had an amazing summer, filled with quality family time and rest. I am excited for another year, and to continue learning more about each member of the St. Anthony community. Family support is an essential part of fostering a strong school community, meeting the diverse needs of all families and aiding in navigating the challenges and celebrating the successes of each student's journey. Please feel free to contact me regarding any family support questions, concerns, or requests. I look forward to continuing to create a strong relationship with the great families behind the resilient students at St. Anthony School.

Mackenzie Urquhart, cell phone 403.607.2404 School Phone: 403 500 2013 mackenzie.urquhart@cssd.ab.ca

Awesome August Days of Learning At St. Anthony School!

Elementary Class 1 This month we welcomed our Class One kids back from their summer break. The students are adjusting well to our daily routines, teachers, and having a new classmate, Jason! Our kids are enjoying the sunshine and good weather, and love being outside on the playground! We enjoy seeing the students play chase and climb on the playground during their movement break. At the end of month, we joined the families of St. Anthony’s School at a Welcome Back BBQ to celebrate the new school year and the new goals that the students will be working on! We are looking forward to a fabulous year !

Middle Years Class 2 In Class 2 we have a fun and exciting year ahead. While welcoming our students new and returning, we can’t wait to see the progress that lies in the coming school year. The children are settling into the classroom with enthusiasm, and the staff in the class are thrilled to begin working with these amazing little people and seeing them grow as our time together progresses. We have begun work on the academic basics with math and writing skills taking priority, while a physical education remains of paramount importance as well. As always, our big tricycles are a huge hit in the gym! We are trying to “soak up the sun” and use our park as much as possible until the waning days of summer are over. We have a good feeling about this year in class 2!

High School Class 3

We welcome new students and new staff to St. Anthony School and Class 3, as well as a couple of returning students and staff! We have been blessed with amazing staff who know specific students to help support their transition into their new environment. Our students have had a very successful start to this school year, as they have been becoming familiar with new routines and expectations. In addition to engaging in Smartboard and deskwork activities, they’ve also been participating in gym, Bingo

games, crafts, and dancing with Just Dance. The students have been using their iPads for receptive and expressive communication, along with verbalizations, while engaging in classroom activities. We will continue to increase our expectations next month as our students and staff become more familiar with each other.

High School Class 4 The staff and students of Class 4 welcomed our return from July break with the anticipation of a successful and rewarding year. The business of preparing a new classroom while involving time and energy contributes to the success of our students in a myriad of ways. A variety of activities, such as working on our academic skills tailored to individual student needs and ability, daily physical education and library time enable students to maximize their potential and we look forward to their continued success. We welcome our new Class 4 Teacher, Ms. Sarah Ansari, and EA, Ms. Noor. Welcome back to Ms. Kelsey, Mr. C, Ms. Nancy and Ms. Kassandra. Our team is excited for what this school year will bring for the staff and students!

High School Class 5 Welcome to Class 5! We welcome the new Class 5 teacher, Ms. Anna Dabrowska, along with Mr. Adam Alexander, Ms. Caroline, Mr. Tony and Ms. Leslie. We are a Junior high / High School classroom that works as a team to support our students individual learning. We participate in adaptable Life Skills daily, starting with a healthy breakfast routine. We are excited to continue to grow and learn together throughout this school year!

Staff Welcome and Contact Info This year we are changing our classroom names to Class 1 to Class 5. We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Ashieze and Miss Del Nin to Class 1; Mr. Daniel Weild and Ms. Adams to Class 2, Mrs. Kelly and Ms. Tougas to Class 3; Mrs. Kelsey Hykawy and Ms. Sara Ansari to Class 4 and Miss Anna Dabrowska and Mr. Adam Alexander to Class 5! We welcome back Ms. Julianne Konchalski to our DLCT role and Miss Mackenzie Urquhart as our Family Support Worker. We are blessed to have our school staffed with so many talented and exceptional people! Our returning staff members always appreciate a warm hello from parents of the students they have previously taught. Included below is our staff list.

Teacher Class 1 Evelyn Ashieze evelyn.ashieze@cssd.ab.ca Teacher Class 2 Daniel Weild daniel.weild@cssd.ab.ca

Teacher Class 3 Claire Kelly claire.kelly@cssd.ab.ca Teacher Class 4 Sara Ansari sarah.ansari@cssd.ab.ca

Teacher Class 5 Anna Dabrowska anna.dabrowska@cssd.ab.ca Classroom Support Worker Class 1 Brittany Del Nin brittany.delnin@cssd.ab.ca Classroom Support Worker Class 2 Michelle Adams michelle.adams@cssd.ab.ca Classroom Support Worker Class 3 Laura Tougas laura.tougas@cssd.ab.ca Classroom Support Worker Class 4 Kelsey Hykawy kelsey.hykawy@cssd.ab.ca Classroom Support Worker Class 5 Adam Alexander adam.alexander@cssd.ab.ca Family Support Worker Mackenzie Urquhart mackenzie.urquhart@cssd.ab.ca Psychologist Tim Barager tim.barager@cssd.ab.ca Secretary Debbie Rice debbie.rice@cssd.ab.ca School Assistant / Librarian Alyssa Brown alyssa.brown@cssd.ab.ca Diverse Learning Coordinating Teacher Julianne Konchalski julianne.konchalski@cssd.ab.ca Vice Principal Justin Green justin.green@cssd.ab.ca Principal Kimberly Gruending kimberly.gruending@cssd.ab.ca

Save the Date: November 7 from 6-8 pm Parent Information Night – 2 Sessions! St. Anthony is pleased to host 2 sessions for our families! Session one is Lorna from Children’s Link. Lorna will be providing information on transitioning students into adulthood. Topics include PDD, AISH and Guardianship / Trusteeship. Lorna has a wealth of understanding and is available to answer your questions! Session Two: Using Touch-Chat to support communication. DLCT Ms. Konchalski and Psychologist Mr. Barager will host a session outlining how this application supports communication. We hope this information helps parents in determining if Touch Chat would be a fit for use at home for your family. In past years, Touch Chat goes on sale for half price in October. Touch Chat lite is also available for a greatly reduced cost on the App Store. Please RSVP to the school at 403. 500. 2013 or to Ms. Urquhart at 403.607.2404. Snacks will be provided!

SEPTEMBER 2019 St. Anthony School

SUN MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SAT 1

2 Labour Day

Enjoy your Long Weekend!

4 Noon Dismissal Year Opening Liturgy 9:30

5

6 Ukrainian Heritage Day – Special Perogy & Sausage Hot Lunch!

7

8

9

10 11 Noon Dismissal Picture Retakes

12 13 14

15 16

17

18 Noon Dismissal

19 Parent Teacher Conversations 4:00-7:00 pm

20 Parent Teacher Conversations 8:30 – 2:30 No Classes

21

22 23 Professional Development Day No Classes for Students

24

25 Noon Dismissal

26

27 Terry Fox Community / Gym walk

28

29

30 Orange Shirt Day

Dear God, Please bless my new school year with wonder,

much learning and joyous friendships. Please help me be kind to all I meet

and that others will be kind to me in return. Bless my school, my teachers and

all those who want to learn. I pray this in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

OCTOBER 2019 St. Anthony School

SUN MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SAT

1

2 Noon Dismissal

3

4

5

6 7

8

9 Noon Dismissal Thanksgiving Liturgy 9:15

10

11 Professional Development Day No Classes for Students

12

13 14 Thanksgiving Blessings!

15

16

Fall Break

17

18

19

20

21

22

23 Fall Break

24

25

26

27 28 School Re-

Opens Classes Resume

29

30 Dress Up as Your Favorite Story Book Character

31 Professional Development Day No Classes for Students

November 1 Faith Day No Classes

for Students

IN GRATITUDE

Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each

other in the human family.

Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for

your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our

loneliness.

Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the whole of

our lives. Thank you for friends, for health and for grace.

May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been

given to us. Amen

Sacramental Recognition We Celebrate Your Journey with Jesus!

Please let us know if your child is or has participated in sacramental preparation in the 2019-2020 school year to receive a sacrament this year by completing this form and sending it to the office with your child! Sacraments between June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2020 will be recognized at the school during our Feast Day Liturgy in June. Child’s Name: ________________________________________________________ Grade / Homeroom Teacher: _____________________________________________ Circle the Sacrament(s) Received: Baptism First Holy Communion Reconciliation Confirmation Name of Parish your Child Received this Sacrament at: _____________________________ The Date the Sacrament was Received: ________________________________________

Parent Name: ___________________________________________________________

“WE’RE LISTENING” Feedback from Parents

We are always interested in feedback from parents. This feedback helps us to create a successful learning environment. We invite you to use this feedback box to provide us with your comments on our newsletters, activities, website and more! Your voice is a valued tool in helping us continually improve St. Anthony. We look forward to hearing from you!

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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(Student’s Name & Class) (Parent’s Signature)

1000 Fifth Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 4T9 403-500-2000 www.cssd.ab.ca

CALGARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT MONTHLY NEWS

ConnectionsSEPTEMBER 2019

Board Chair’s welcome back messageWelcome back! The beginning of the year always holds excitement and promise and is an annual rite of passage where we open our doors and share our hopes and dreams for the coming year. Our Board of Trustees is excited to welcome more than 57,000 students to 116 schools across Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere and Rocky View County. We are so proud of our growing school communities, each providing welcoming, caring, respectful, safe and faith-filled environments in which both students and staff can learn, grow and achieve their dreams. Visit our website to read the full message.

Chief Superintendent’s welcome back messageWelcome to the 2019-2020 school year! We hope everyone enjoyed a fun-filled summer and are excited to begin a brand-new school year. Our trustees, administrators, teachers, caretakers and sup-port staff are excited to welcome each of you – more than 57,000 students – to 116 schools across our district. At Calgary Catholic we always put our students first. We want to make sure that everyone feels supported and that everyone has access to the tools and resources they need to succeed. We strive to create school communities that care about everyone’s physical, mental and spiritual well-ness. Visit our website to read the full message.

Introducing the 2019–2020 Faith ThemeWe are disciples on a journey of faith and each day we try to grow in our relationship with Jesus so that we can spread God’s love in the world. One of the ways we do this is by focusing on a faith theme or a piece of scripture each year. Over the past two years, we have examined how our faith with God grows and is strengthened through prayer by reflecting on Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”This year, we will turn our attention to the third verse: “knock, and the door will be opened for you.” What we will find as we explore this part of the verse is that Jesus’ message is the same as it was before: keep on praying. Don’t stop turning to God with your needs. Keep on asking, searching and knocking if you want to grow in faith.

Updated bus routesUpdated bus schedules and route information has been posted to our transportation webpage. We are committed to provid-ing a safe, efficient and economical method of transporting students to school.

Did you know?

More than 100 photos were shared to the CCSD Summer Holiday Album. Check them out!