Principal’s Message:

This week, I want to leave you with a painting and some thoughts from Mike Frost. Michael Frost is an Australian Baptist minister, missiologist, and theologian who is one of the leading voices in the missional church movement.

Seeing Shepherds by Daniel Bonnell

I’m pretty sure Daniel Bonnell wants your eye to be drawn to the astonishing sweep of the angelic host, but I love looking at those two shepherds. Their arms are outstretched, their heads have lolled back, they are lost in exultation and joy.

To be sure, the appearance of a sky-full of celestial beings would have been terrifying. And the first thing the angel has to say is, “Do not be afraid.”

But shepherds were tough guys. They slept rough, needing to stay beside their flocks on the hills well outside human society. They had to contend with thieves and wolves, wind and cold and baking heat. They were wild men, hardened, practical, not easily ruffled.

As a result, they were not usually trusted by the general population. In fact, their reputations as raconteurs and charlatans meant their testimony was often considered inadmissible in a court of law. How strange that God should choose so unworthy an audience to announce the birth of the Messiah.

But having allayed their fears, the angel continues, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

Wily shepherds, ready for anything, have never seen anything like this. Who would believe that they should receive so wonderful a message, so lavishly presented!  Great joy? Of course, a message of great joy would be received gleefully by outliers like shepherds. They have nothing, they are outcasts, despised and rejected by society. When they hear, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord,” they know they too are included in his kingdom.

On this, the third Sunday in Advent, we light a rose-colored candle rather than the usual purple one. The intention is to depict the delight, the sheer wonder of this moment.

Look again at those blissed-out shepherds in Bonnell’s painting. Can you sense their joy? Can we fully appreciate the excitement experienced by the excluded when a genuine offer of inclusion is presented to them?

Announcements:

Christmas Concert Presented by Grades 1-3 – TOMORROW!

We are excited about this year’s Christmas concert performance!

God gave us a baby as a gift for Christmas? That seems so random!  Or does it?  Follow Ms. Carol and her Sunday School class as they realize the true meaning of Christmas through random acts of kindness. In the end, they find out how it’s not so random after all! Join us for “Random Acts of Christmas”!

All rehearsals will take place during the school day on Wednesday. The concert performances will take place on Thursday, December 15 at 12:30 and then again in the evening at 6:30 pm. We are encouraging all those who are able, to please attend the afternoon performance. The evening performance will be at capacity and we only have a limited number of seats.

For the afternoon performance:

• Doors open at 11:55 am
• Please do not come into the school earlier, as classes are still in session.

For the evening performance:

• Auditorium doors open at 5:45 pm (doors will be locked until this time)
• Students should be at the school in their homeroom classrooms by 6:00 pm.

Stable Table – Question of the Week

A huge congratulations to theDurling family who were randomly selected as the winner of Mr. Simmons’, “traditions question” posted in last week’s Chronicle! A prize will go home today (check backpack)! This week, we are doing something a little differently!

We won’t have a question this week, however, the person who has walked the furthest in Mr. Drader’s Bethlehem Challenge will win the prize and will have it for the whole Christmas break!

Helping Hands

2W and 2GM would like to invite CCS to be part of their winter giving project! From now until Friday, December 16th please bring NEW socks and underwear and new or gently used toques and mittens to the bin in front of the office. Donations will be tallied and then delivered to the Leduc HUB. Thank you in advance for being Servant-Workers with us for the less fortunate in our community.

Food Bank Giving Tree

Our PR Committee is heading up the Giving Tree project again this year. We will be collecting donations for the Food Bank. Students/families can bring in dry good food items and/or cash donations. The food item donations can be brought directly to each students’ classroom. Any cash donations should be brought to the school office where there will be a collection jar set up. Donations will be collected until December 22, 2022. For each donation that is brought in, students can take an ornament from the tree near the gym. They can bring the ornament to the office and also get a candy cane reindeer if they would like. Check out our progress on the candy cane tracker in the alcove by the tree near the gym!

Feeding Los Cabos Kids Fundraiser – Grade 5/6LV

Hot Chocolate Fundraiser – Grade 5B

The grade 5B class is doing a hot chocolate fundraiser to hopefully be able to create a Christmas basket for a local Ukrainian refugee family with the proceeds. Items available to order include hot chocolate ($1) with add-on toppings ($0.25 each), apple cider, and cookies ($1) (gluten-free as well). Orders will be taken via the order form on student PowerSchool accounts from December 8 until December 19. The drinks will be delivered to classrooms on Wednesday, December 21 which coincides with PJ dress-up day!

12 Days of Christmas

To celebrate the Christmas season, CCS students and staff have been participating in different events over the past few weeks! To give you an easy breakdown of what is still to come, please see the infographic below!

Report Freeze

A reminder that we are now in our first “Report Freeze” of the year on PowerSchool. From December 7th until December 16th parents will not be able to access their children’s accounts on PowerSchool. Teachers will have this time to enter final grades, comments, and assignments for Term 1. Access to PowerSchool will be activated again for parents on December 16 at 4:00 pm. From December 16 until after the Christmas break, no new assignments or grades will be added. If you have any questions, please call the CCS office. If it is an assessment question, the subject teacher would be the person to ask via email. Their email can be found in the course section in PowerSchool.

School Council Meeting

In the month of December, there will not be a School Council meeting. We will resume in January and have our meeting on January 25th right after Celebration. Merry Christmas!

Celebration

We hold weekly assemblies, which we call Celebration. We alternate between Wednesday and Thursday mornings each month so our kindergarten students are each able to join us every other month. We will hold Celebration on Thursdaysfor the month of December. All parents are welcome to join us each week!

Hot Lunch

We are excited to once again offer a weekly Hot Lunch Day! This year, Hot Lunches will be on Wednesdays. 

We are noticing that a number of our families are unintentionally placing more than one order for hot lunch day/student. If you are unsure if you have ordered a hot lunch or not, you can always check your email for a confirmation receipt. You can also check under the Completed Forms tab on your student’s PowerSchool account. All of your completed forms will be listed there and you can view them each by clicking on the small eye icon.

Please see the photo below for where to find this.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Hot Lunch, you can reach our Hot Lunch Coordinator, Mrs. Hofstra, via email at: [email protected]

Lost & Found

We will post weekly pictures of our lost and found. If you see something that is your child’s, please have them stop by the table and pick it up or let the office know.

Athletics:

Basketball

Elementary Girls – will continue to practice at noon hours on selective days.

Elementary Boys – will continue to practice at noon hours on selective days.

Senior & Junior Boys – Practices will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays until 5:00 pm for the month of December. Games will begin in January and will be held on Thursdays. Practices may change in January, stay tuned for more information in the new year.

Senior Girls – Practices will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 5:00 pm for the month of December. Games will begin in January and will be held on Thursdays. Practices may change in January, stay tuned for further details. The girls will also participate in a tournament THIS weekend at Leduc Composite High School.

LSCE News:

LSCE Executive Update

The fourth Society Executive meeting for the 2022/2023 school year was held on Monday evening, December 12. Here are some highlights from our meeting:

• Addition update: Our addition continues to progress well. Our contractor will be hard at work over the Christmas break while the school is empty. We look forward to moving in early in the new year!
• Call for planning committee members – CCS 40^th Anniversary Homecoming Weekend: We are looking for people to help plan our 40^th anniversary scheduled for Saturday/Sunday, April 22/23. If this interests you, please contact our Fundraising Coordinator, Afton Goldsmith, at [email protected].
• Merry Christmas! We’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our CCS families a very Merry Christmas! We pray that you find rest, peace and joy as we celebrate the birth of our saviour!

Fundraising Opportunities

Although we do a few special fundraising campaigns throughout the year, don’t forget about our ongoing fundraisers that you can take advantage of all year long.

Drop any of your Boston pizza receipts at the office for the school to receive 5% back on the total of your bill.

Purchase CO-OP gift cards from the office in $50, $100, and $500 denominations.

Save the Date

The LSCE has some exciting events happening in the new year so mark your calendars!

Saturday/Sunday, April 22/23, 2023 – 40th Anniversary Homecoming Weekend 

Saturday, June 10, 2023 – 3rd Annual CCS Golf Tournament  

Social Media

We’re on Instagram! Come say hi and stay up-to-date on all the events and fundraising opportunities we have to offer. You can find us on Instagram with the username “fundraising.lsce”.

Calendar:

December:

• 15 – Christmas Concert at 12:30 pm & 6:30 pm
• 19 – Formal Day – Wear your Christmas best! Dress Up Day
• 20 – Cozy or Christmassy Socks Dress Up Day
• 21 – Christmas Jammies Dress Up Day
• 22 – ‘Twas the Day Before Christmas Break – Ugly Sweaters! Dress Up Day
• 23 – Last Day of School Before Christmas Break

January:

• 9 – School Resumes
• 25 – School Council Meeting (Immediately following Celebration)
• 30 – PD Day – No School

Community Events:

Please click on the image below to learn more about community events in our area! Also found under our Parents menu on the website.

Female Football Team Opportunity

The CDMFA (Central District Minor Football Association) has set up a girls-only league, and our Leduc & District Minor Football Association would like to have a team join for the 2023 season! We are looking for 13-17-year-old females who are interested in joining our team. Teams typically start indoor practice in January, with the season running from May-June.  Their season precedes the mixed-gender CDMFA league season. 

If you are interested please follow the link below:

2023 Girls Tackle Football Survey

If you have any questions please email Andrea Medcke at [email protected]. 

The Leduc Family Resource Network has numerous events, webinars and workshops coming up for families to join in on! Please click the link below for more information.

Leduc Family Resource Network

Odds & Ends:

Sign In/Out Form:

In an effort to reduce the amount of shared touched surfaces, we will be using a QR code that you will need to scan with your phone for signing in and out of the school. You can also use this link if you are in your vehicle and need to sign out a student but can’t scan the code. This means that students/parents/visitors can scan the QR code when entering or leaving the office/school to sign in or sign out on their own phone/device.

Parents will also be able to sign their kids out from their vehicle in the parking lot when they arrive to pick them up for appts. etc. please use the link above if you can’t scan the QR code. We do ask that parents pull into a spot (not bus lane) where you can contact the office to let them know you have arrived and we can make eye contact with you
from the staff/office door. Students must also stop by the office before leaving the school. At that point, once a connection is made, we are able to send students out to you.

Facebook Page:

Check out our Facebook page for more highlights of happenings at CCS by clicking here.