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Travelling statue of Our Lady at Bishop McNally The travelling statue of Mary was a joint venture between Sylvia Ta and Joseph Lawrence, two teachers at

Bishop McNally High School. Each week a new teacher was invited to display the statue of Mary in their

classrooms and commit to begin each of their classes with a prayer, asking the Mother Mary for intercession.

By dedicating ourselves to Mother Mary, we surrender ourselves to a mother who knows better then we do. So

far, the statue has also drawn several questions from students.

ELD students enjoy Thanksgiving dinner

On Thursday, Oct. 4, English Language Development (ELD)

students at St. Monica and St. Martha Junior High schools helped

to prepare and then to eat and enjoy a traditional Canadian

turkey dinner. For all students who are new to Canada, it was a

very positive experience as they learned about cooking

everything from turkey to cranberries. Special guest, Dr. Greg

Tweedie from the University of Calgary was present and is

working in collaboration with the CCSD ELL department on a

research project to see the impact of sheltered language

programming for our junior high Level 1 and 2 ELLs.

OCTOBER 24, 2018

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Orange Shirt Day commemorations

Calgary Catholic did a tremendous job of commemorating Orange Shirt Day this year. Many schools had

Indigenous singers, drummers, oral history storytellers, and artists taught students about Indigenous culture

and traditions. The tributes culminated in a municipal recognition of Orange Shirt Day on Oct.1 at City Hall. It

started with a more than 600 student orange shirt march around Olympic Plaza, then an indoor ceremony at

City Hall.

Elder Ruth Scalplock, a Residential School

survivor, spoke, along with Mayor Nenshi,

Minister Richard Feehan, and Residential

School survivor Steven Saddleback. Our own

Calgary Catholic student Sophie St. Cyr was

also awarded a gift for her winning T-shirt

logo from Safe and Caring Schools.

Chief Superintendent, Gary Strother,

Superintendent of Instructional Services,

Andrea Holowka, Trustees Pamela Rath,

Lory Iovinelli, and Trustee Chairwoman Cheryl Low also attended to bear witness to the importance of

recognizing Orange Shirt Day and the gravity of the effects of Residential Schools on Canadian society to this

day. Thank you to Calgary Catholic employees across the district for recognizing this important day and

teaching through your actions that #everychildmatters.

All Saints Chapel peek & pray

The All Saints community is anxiously waiting for their chapel to open. The care and detail put into the chapel is evident for how long it is taking to finish. It is in a central place in the school, not hidden away and has three walls that represent the Holy Trinity. The glass gives the most beautiful view of the whole school. Although the school cannot wait to use the chapel and are excited for its completion, they are also reminded that we can pray anywhere and anytime. While they wait for the official opening, the school has made prayer space in the theatre and in classrooms and are encouraged to take a second at the chapel door to “peek and pray.”

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Helping students search to know God

At Guardian Angel School, the students created Faith theme magnifying glasses for all of the classroom prayer tables. The school’s parish priest, Father John Nemanic was able to graciously bless them all at a school liturgy. Father John loved that they are a tangible way of helping kids to understand the district Faith theme. Teachers and students are encouraged to use them when they pray or when they look at their bibles at the prayer corner or during religion class.

Dual-credit SAIT graduates

Congratulations to our SAIT Dual Credit, Pre-Employment graduates from Carpentry (2), Welding (1) and the Pharmacy Assistant (6) programs who attended the SAIT convocation on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. The students represent five CCSD high schools. The carpentry and welding students completed their first period technical training certificate and the pharmacy students received certification as pharmacy assistants and can now enter the field for immediate employment.

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Blessed Cardinal Newman students featured on CBC

In September, CBC Books asked Grade 9 to 12 students from across Canada: What is the book that your entire generation should read? Two students from Blessed Cardinal Newman responded and have been recognized for the quality of their answers.

Elizabeth Kusmirski, Grade 9 student chose Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. She has been named one of the winners nationwide and the only one in Calgary. Elizabeth has also won thirty books on behalf of her school.

Adrina Klein, Grade 9 student chose The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.

St. Marguerite hosts school for professional development session

On Oct. 5, 2018 teachers, support staff and administrators gathered at St. Marguerite School to listen to an inspiring presentation by Mr. David Irvine, an author of seven books. David spoke to our Board priorities of student success and student wellness as he educated and entertained employees from 23 CCSD schools. His presentation challenged district staff to identify their core purpose, set priorities and to cultivate their passion for educating. It was a wonderful professional development opportunity allowing colleagues to gather, learn and bring back a positive outlook to their respective schools.

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Rugby Jamboree comes to junior high schools

On Friday, Sept. 28, four Calgary Catholic junior high schools took part in a seven vs. seven Rookie Rugby Jamboree event at the Calgary Rugby Park. Students and teachers from Blessed Cardinal Newman, Prince of Peace, St. Isabella and St. Margaret Schools took part in this Physical Education enrichment activity. Special thanks to teachers Vanessa Briere, Kendra Reeves, Andrew Woolnough, Chantelle Mooney and Kristina Siefert for their willingness to bring this activity to the students in their schools. The players showed great enthusiasm and the many parents on hand were very pleased with the event.

OCTOBER 24, 2018