Principal’s Message:
Greetings from the East Coast,
I come to you today from PEI, where I am currently attending the Canadian Association of Principals conference. I am lucky enough to attend with a contingent of other principals in Black Gold, and we have, so far, had a great time learning and exploring.
As I am sure you remember, PEI was struck by Hurricane Fiona in September of this past year and many of the speakers have alluded to how it has affected their leadership. Touring around the island, the power of the storm has also been very evident. Downed trees, shingles, cliffs, and houses are still feeling the power of the storm. Interestingly enough, on Tuesday we spent the day at Holland College, whose athletic name is the Hurricanes. I truly took this as a message that this analogy is an important one, and with the idea of a hurricane on my mind, I write to you all today.
Hurricanes can be both destructive and bring renewal; and as Mr. Luchak and I toured around the PEI coast on Monday afternoon, we saw both of these at play. We stopped at a church where the entire steeple had been blown off. It was incredibly sad as we pulled over to take in the damage. The steeple, along with the siding, and shingles were among the carnage. As we continued we noted how all of the trees were down everywhere. But then we started noticing the cut-up firewood around, and I began thinking back to Grade 6 science, specifically the “Trees and Forests” unit. The clearing of the forest floor brings growth. The trees decompose to bring new life to the forest. It will rebuild stronger and fuller. It becomes a more diverse ecosystem. The impact of the hurricane is long-lasting and widespread.
Just like the hurricane, when done well, Christian Education is also long-lasting and widespread. We challenge students to critically examine their beliefs, opinions, and faith, strengthening the roots of God’s truth, and applying that to the world they live in. We ask our students to reflect and grow, hopefully leading to renewal and transformational spiritual development.
Mitigating the impact of a hurricane requires the collaborative efforts of various entities. The wood on the side of the road was from city workers, homeowners, and volunteers. It wasn’t simply the work of an individual. Similarly, Christian education is a shared responsibility. It involves the partnership between parents, teachers, church leaders, and the wider Christian community. Together, we create an educational ecosystem that supports students’ spiritual development, academic excellence, and character formation.
Announcements
LDAA Track Meet – Volunteers Needed
A big thank-you to all of the people who came out last week to volunteer at our track meet! God blessed us with a beautiful day and the events were all able to run smoothly and successfully thanks to you, our awesome CCS community members with Servant-Working hearts!
Speaking of Servant-Working and track meets…the LDAA is holding its track meet at LCHS on Tuesday, May 23. We will have approximately 30 students in attendance and we are required to have one adult there to help run one of the events (we’re usually at discus). If you would be able to help us out, please email Mr. Drader at [email protected] by the end of the school day TOMORROW.
Stable Table – Question of the Week
Congratulations to the BaynesFamily for their winning entry to last week’s question: Where do you see math hidden in the things you enjoy doing?” Their response was “In fire fighting. We have to calculate friction loss for the length of hose and size to ensure proper pressure for fire suppression.”
Please fill in the form below with your answer to this week’s question for a chance to win a prize!
This week’s question, What was your rose (good), bud (new), and thorn (tough) today?
Stable Table Question of the Week
Mini Mall is Coming! – TOMORROW
We hope you will join us for Covenant Christian’s Grade 9 Mini-Mall! Our Mini-Mall has been an annual school-wide community event. It combines the Grade 9s learning in Social Studies on Economics with a fund-raising opportunity for their graduation by creating a mini-business to sell products to other students.
The Mini Mall will be open tomorrow from 10:45 to 11:45 am. Homeroom teachers will be escorting children through the mini-mall at that time. Parents are also welcome to join us at the school for this event. The deadline to purchase tickets has now passed.No cash will be accepted or tickets refunded.
Tom’s Walk Fundraiser – Friday, May 26
Our school is going to take part in the Tom’s Walk this year as part of an initiative to increase awareness about the importance of taking care of our mental health. We will be walking from the school to the dinosaur playground near the entrance of Meadowview and Robinson on Friday, May 26 starting at 2:00 pm. Part of the reason for the walk is to raise funds for SILA Skills. If you would like, please bring a toonie (or more) to donate.
Here is some information from Kelly Maxwell who started this initiative:
Tom went to school from Kindergarten to Grade 7 at a Black Gold school and then returned for Grades 10-12. During that time he drove me crazy as a teacher, as I taught him to Grade 1 for a while, and as a parent, as we received many phone messages saying he was late or did not attend classes in high school. The number of times we heard the word ‘potential’ in parent-teacher interviews is innumerable. And yet, so many of his teachers came to his funeral. He was uniquely special and I miss him every day.
As a substitute teacher now, I visit a lot of different schools and a lot of different classes and as I look over those kids I see a lot of ‘Toms’ in each group.
My hope from this walk is twofold. One that those who are struggling realize they’re not alone and that those of us who love them are part of a bigger family. And the other hope is that through SILASkills.org, more educators will have tools to know how to communicate effectively with and for the ‘Toms’ in their classroom.
If you have any questions regarding this fundraiser walk, please contact Mr. Drader at [email protected].
Pastries with the Principal
On Wednesday, May 31st from 10:25 am – 11:55 am, we will be welcoming a Mental Health Therapist and Occupational Therapist to CCS to talk to us about the topic of “Tempers, Tantrums, and Tears.”
The presentation will go over 4 specific goals:
1) What is Emotional Regulation?
2) What are Contributing factors to tantrums?
3) Building introductory skills in setting limits.
4) Strategies to help regulation.
Field Trips, Field Trips, Field Trips!
Tis the season for field trips! We are so excited to be able to go on educational field trips again this year! Please check your PowerSchool account often to make sure you have completed any and all field trip forms for your child to participate!
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 Wednesdaysfor the month ofMay. All parents are welcome to join us each week!
Hot Lunch
Hot Lunches are on Wednesdays.
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:
NFL Flag Football
The Football team suffered a loss last week but are geared up and ready to go for finals coming up, once the weather clears up!
Grade 5/6 Indoor Soccer
The Grade 5/6 Soccer team had a great weekend of competition at the LRC. Lots of learning was had as well as team building and exercise! Thank you to Ms. Moody for volunteering her time to coach!
LSCE News:
AGM – May 24, 2023
Our AGM is coming up on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 7:00 pm. In order to prepare for this evening, we have sent an email with the AGM documents for your perusal.
CCS Golf Tournament
Our 3rd annual CCS Golf tournament is now open for registration. Come and join us Saturday (yes that’s right, we got a Saturday!) June 10th at the Leduc Golf and Country Club. It is a Texas scramble-style tournament with a shotgun start at 1:30 pm. Register a team for $500 or $150/Golfer.
We are also looking for companies to sponsor our tournament. We have different levels of sponsorship available.
All funds raised from this year’s tournament will be put towards upgrading the school parking lot.
Visit the website below to register your team or to sign up as a sponsor. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
Registration and Tournament Information
Not a golfer? No problem. We are in need of volunteers to help the event run smoothly. Volunteers will be provided with a steak dinner, t-shirt, and snacks. Click here to sign up!
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.
Social Media
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.”
https://www.facebook.com/covenantchristianschoolfundraisingpage
Calendar:
May:
- 18 – Mini Mall
- 19 – PD Day – No School
- 22 – Victoria Day – No School
- 23 – LDAA Track Meet
- 24 – SCA Band Performance @ 1:30 pm
- 25 – Grade 8 Birch Bay Trip
- 26 – Class Photos
- 29 – Class Photos for KV class ONLY
- 31 – Pastries with the Principal “Tempers, Tantrums, and Tears”
June:
- 5 – PD Day
- 6-9 – Grade 9 Jasper Field Trip
- 10 – CCS Golf Tournament
- 12 – Dress like a Teacher/Student Dress up Day
- 13-16 – Grade 7 Jasper Field Trip
- 27 – Last Day of School
- 28-29 – Teacher Workdays
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.
Pembina Bible Camp
Pembina Bible Camp (near Westlock) is a not for profit camp (pay by donation)
- We still have room for campers this summer!
- Camp will be happening July 9-15 & July 16-22
Check out the camp website here.
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 they 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.