Principal’s Message
The following is a brief devotion that was posted on our PCCE page this week as a reflection during this time of Advent:
I used to think that life was a series of choices. The college I picked. The person I chose to marry. The number of kids I wanted. The job I worked so hard to get. Check. Check. Check. I curated my own life until, one day, I couldn’t. Until one day, tumors spread across my colon without my consent. Perhaps a death or disease or diagnosis or tragedy undid your well-made plans and took away your ability to choose the life you want, too. So often life happens to us. Without asking our permission (how dare it!).
When we discover we are living in the in-between of what is possible and what is not possible, we have recognized our limited agency. That small square footage where we can no longer assume EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Instead, we must ask, What is possible today? I find that question far easier to wonder when I recognize there is no choice that escapes the promised presence of God.
During Advent, we are reminded that hope is found in an unexpected place—a tiny infant who came to face real life with us, to teach us how to live and how to hope, and, ultimately, to die for us. And he shall be called Immanuel, which means God With Us (Matthew 1:23). God with us on the beautiful days and the impossible ones. God with us as we celebrate and as we mourn. God with us as we make infinite choices or have very little choice at all. God with us when we have no other choice but to keep going. There is no place we can go that God has not already been—from the manger to the banquet table to the tomb, God is with us.
– Kate Bowler
Announcements
Winter Reminder
As winter has finally arrived, please dress your child(ren) appropriately. We have been very spoiled this year with such a mild and warm start to winter! We have noticed that as the weather starts to cool down and become more “wintery”, our students do not always have the appropriate attire for participating in recess outdoors. Students are required to go outside for each of our 3 recesses throughout the day. Please make sure your child has a warm jacket and other winter attire so they can enjoy participating in recess.
Cell Phone Reminder
We would like to take a minute to remind our students/parents about our personal electronic devices policy. To help the office in making sure all students are safe and accounted for we would appreciate that parents ensure all communication to their child(ren) goes through the office. Thank you for your cooperation.
CCS Christmas Food Drive
Help support the CCS Christmas Food Drive by donating December 5-15! Donations can be brought to the foyer and don’t forget to grab a candy cane off the tree when you donate! If we meet our school-wide goal of 400 pounds of donations, someone from each class will get the pleasure of silly stringing Mr. Simmons at Celebration! Thanks for your support for our local Food Bank!
Hot Chocolate Sale!
The Grade 6 class is embarking on an adventure this June, with our very own overnight retreat! We are fundraising to offset the costs of our trip.
For our first fundraiser, we are bringing back “Hot Chocolate in your Jammies” for Christmas PJ Day on Wednesday, December 20th. Students can order a cup of hot chocolate for $1, add-ons for 25 cents each. In addition, Bon Ton Bakery has agreed to help us out, and students can also order a Gingerbread cookie! Orders need to be placed on PowerSchool before December 13. Please note, that we are limiting orders to one hot chocolate and one cookie per person.
Christmas Concert Presented by Grades 1-3
We are excited about this year’s Christmas concert performance!
The Really Really Really Good News takes the audience on a journey through the real Christmas Story- the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, as told through the eyes of today’s youth. The play always points back to Christ, who is the very reason we celebrate Christmas!
All rehearsals will take place during the school day. The concert performances will take place on Friday, December 15 at 1:30 and then again in the evening at 6:30 pm.
This year, our grade 3 classes will also be in charge of a small concession during the matinee and evening performances! Items will be available to purchase for $1 and $2, cash only.
Report Freeze
A reminder that on December 8 we will enter our first “Report Freeze” of the year on PowerSchool. From December 8th until December 18th 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 18 at 4:00 pm. From December 18 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.
Grade 4-9 Ski Day at Rabbit Hill
We are excited to be able to participate in our annual Grade 4-9 Ski Trip! Students in grades 4-9 will be going to Rabbit Hill on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, to go skiing for the day! All the information is in the form on PowerSchool to be completed by Wednesday, January 10, 2024. Payment MUST be made at the time of form completion for submission to be processed.
To avoid missing out, please log in to PowerSchool and complete your form before the Christmas break! The more students we can have signed up, the better we can inform Rabbit Hill of our numbers! *** Please note, as the ski day is on a hot lunch day, there are NO hot lunch forms listed for grades 4-9 on January 24.***
Board Highlights
The Board Highlights are a summary of Black Gold Board of Trustee meetings to communicate pertinent information to staff, school councils, parents, students and stakeholders. To be environmentally friendly, paper copies are not provided to the schools and School Council Chairs. The minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees are also posted to our Division website.
The October-November, 2023 Board Highlights are attached and have been posted to the Black Gold website at: News. They are also posted to the Board Highlights website section.
Matching Donation
As mentioned in previous Chronicles, we have been blessed with an opportunity to match $250,000 towards our school. Please share this information with your family and friends who may consider giving so we can make the most of this generous opportunity. If successful, we will be using these donations for things to ensure our students are able to have greater advantages in their learning. These include but are not limited to:
- Air conditioning in the portables
- musical instruments
- 3D Printers
- Robotics
- Sporting Equipment
- 1:1 Chromebooks
If after praying and thinking about it, you want to donate money to the school and take advantage of this matching offer, the easiest way to do this is by EFT or cheque to the LSCE. The LSCE email for EFT transfer is: [email protected]. Coming down to the school and writing a cheque is also always a possibility. Donations of $20 or more come with a charitable donation receipt.
I want to thank all of you for your prayerful consideration of this opportunity.
Hot Lunch
Hot Lunches are on Wednesdays.
You can find the forms for Hot Lunch in your student’s PowerSchool account under the Student Fees and Forms heading on the left-hand side. Orders will close on the Tuesday prior to the following week’s hot lunch at 11:59 pm. All orders must be placed online, and payment must be made with form submission to be processed. (No cash or cheques are accepted). Please check your email for a confirmation receipt to ensure that your order went through.
Upcoming Hot Lunches:
December:
- 6 – Booster Juice/Hog Dog Day
- 13 – Boston Pizza (Pasta)
- 20 – Panda Hut
January:
- 10 – Hot Dogs/Booster Juice
- 17 – Subway
- 24 – Dominos Pizza
If you would like to see which hot lunches are coming up in future months, you can find out on our school events calendar found here.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Hot Lunch, you can reach our Hot Lunch Coordinator, Mrs. Hofstra, via email at: [email protected]
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.
Celebration will be held on Wednesdays for the month of December.
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. As you can see, our lost and found collection has now grown to three tables worth of items! Please take a quick look and let the office know if any items are your families, or ask your child(ren) to stop by and collect anything that may belong to them…
All unclaimed items will be donated to a second-hand store at the end of the month.
Athletics:
For a calendar of events including home and away games etc. please click HERE.
Basketball
Junior High Boys basketball team has been formed. Next practice will be Tuesday, December 12 from 3:15 – 5:00 pm.
Junior High Girls basketball tryouts will take place on the following dates:
- Thursday, December 7: tryout from 3:15-5:00 pm
- Friday, December 8: open gym from 3:15-5:00 pm (optional)
- Monday, December 11: tryout from 3:15-5:00 pm
LSCE News:
Social Media
To keep up to date on all fundraising opportunities, please follow us on social media.
https://www.facebook.com/covenantchristianschoolfundraisingpage
https://www.instagram.com/fundraising.lsce/
Fundraising – Purdy’s Pick up
Just a reminder that this FRIDAY, December 8, is the pick up day for your Purdy’s Chocolate orders. Pick up times are from 2:30-3:00 pm and then again from 3:30-4:00 pm.
Calendar:
December:
- 8 – Purdy’s Order Pick Up
- 15 – CCS Christmas Concert at 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm
- 15 – Storytime and Cookies
- 18 – Dress Up Day – Formal Wear – Come in your Christmas best!
- 19 – Dress Up Day – Wear your Chrismasy or Cozy Socks!
- 20 – Dress Up Day – Christmas Jammies!
- 21 – Dress Up Day – Ugly Christmas Sweaters
- 22 – Carol Sing in the Auditorium @ 10:45
- 22 – Last Day of Classes Before Christmas Break
January:
- 8 – School Resumes
- 18 – Grade 1 Telus World of Science Field Trip
- 19-20 – Elementary Boys Basketball Finals
- 24 – Grade 4-9 Ski Trip to Rabbit Hill
- 26-27 – Elementary Girls Basketball Finals
- 26-27 – Junior High Boys Basketball Tap 15 Tourney
- 31 – PD Day
Community Events:
Odds & Ends:
Sign In/Out Form:
Scan Me
Please use the above QR code, orthis link, to sign your child in or out from the building. You can also come into the school and use the Chromebook provided in the office. Please make sure to let the office know you have collected your child before leaving the parking lot (phone call/eye contact) and ask your child to check in at the office when they enter or leave. This ensures everyone is accounted for appropriately in the case of an emergency.
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