Principal’s Message:
I started coaching my son’s hockey team this year. This probably doesn’t surprise many of you, as I have often coached throughout my life. Between baseball in the summer, and school sports while a teacher, I couldn’t begin to count the number of student-athletes that I have gotten to meet, teach, and learn from. Some of my fondest memories are from coaching. But I will be very honest, it isn’t easy. And this hockey season, I didn’t step up to be a coach right away. But I soon realized that if I didn’t step up, my little guy might not have a chance to play. I think that is a big difference for parents who end up coaching: I want my child to play a sport he (and I) loves and I am going to be there anyway, so why not just be on the ice (or field etc). This is a difference from when I coached as a teacher, and I think it is unique in that difference, this is something many do not think about. From these past experiences, I want to share a few thoughts today.
First and foremost, coaching takes up a lot of time. I stopped coaching (aside from beginning our golf team this year) when I began my principalship. While I enjoy coaching, between the hours I put in during the evening as an admin, and coaching duties on top of that wouldn’t be fair to my family, the team I’d be coaching, or my school. It would have stretched me far too thin, and I made a specific choice that I couldn’t do all of them well. Although, coaching my son is different. He is there, I already have to get up early and drive him, I am already financially invested in the team, and I love to see him and his friends make new relationships and learn new skills.
Coaching as a teacher is an interesting one, very different from a parent coach. Teachers are not required to coach, it is not part of their job description, nothing gets taken off of their plate for coaching, and finally, they (usually) don’t have a child on the team. Now, this is sometimes nice, as they do not have the potential bias of having to justify their own child’s playing time, but this also comes with its own challenges. My biggest reminder for our parents is that our kids are learning more than just the sport; character, resilience, and discipline are also incredibly important, and learned throughout a season.
The reason they (we/I) coach is because of the love of the sport and the desire to give back to it and impart some of the great experiences they’ve had in the sport to others. They take students on their teams to develop their skills, not only their physical but also their spiritual and emotional skills as well. This development comes in many different ways, through a season, but it is there. Knowing the coaches we have at our school, I truly understand this is the reason they are all there. But as I said before, it definitely takes a ton of time.
If I think about the hours our coaches have put in this year already (I will use volleyball as the season is almost done, with basketball up next!), the volunteer hours get pretty astronomical fairly quickly. They are currently 11 weeks into their seasons, with 8 league games, and about 3 tournaments so far. They prep for their practices (drills, strategy, practice plans, and kids’ development are always top of mind), and with the cost of fuel, let’s not forget travel time. This is on top of their teaching duties and prep (lesson plans/marking/extras), which obviously takes substantial extra hours as well (a post for another day, I am sure). If I do a rough calculation of 2 hours for practice, 90 minutes for a game, and 10 hours for a tournament, they are well over 65 additional hours of time put into coaching in the evenings and on weekends. As I am sure you’ll agree, that’s a lot of volunteer time – so far (Good luck as you enter playoffs, teams!)
Now, I don’t say all of this to scare any potential coaches away from coaching (we do have two Jr. High Basketball teams that currently need coaches – wink, wink, nudge nudge), I say it to say thank you. Thank you to my coaches who have spent countless (okay, okay – I literally counted them) hours in the gym away from your own families. Thank you for teaching, coaching, and shepherding these student-athletes as they learn new skills and learn more about themselves. To our volleyball coaches, Mr. Drader, Mr. Ward, Mrs. Andres, Mrs. Van de Kraats, Mrs. M. Clark – THANK YOU! To our Catchball coaches, Mrs. Luchak and Mrs. McDonald, THANK YOU! To our upcoming basketball coaches – Mr. Van Huis, and Mrs. Hennink, THANK YOU! To those teams still coming, THANK YOU! I know that sometimes the season can feel long, but the reward can be great.
Announcements:
Stable Table – Question of the Week
A huge congratulations to theGiesinger family who were randomly selected as the winner of Mr. Simmons, “traditions question” posted in last week’s Principal Message! A prize will go home today (check Agenda)! This week’s question is posted below. Please talk amongst your family, and fill in this form for your chance to win next week!!
What do your names mean, and/or why was it given to each person in your family?
For example (from Mr. Simmons) – My name is Donavin, and I was named after my mom, Donna. It is one reason for the unique spelling of my name. My middle name is Chester, and it was my paternal Grandfather’s name.
Remembrance Day Ceremony
Just prior to the break, we hosted a Remembrance Day ceremony for our students and community. While it did not exactly go to plan, as we had a medical emergency that came up during the ceremony, it was a great opportunity for our school community to come together and pray for past and current events. A big thank you to the Drama CTF class, who showcased a skit, entitled “A Pittance in Time,” and to Mr. Ward who directed it.
Mr. Simmons would also like to thank the staff, students, and parents who followed directions and protocols so swiftly and efficiently as we cleared the auditorium for the EMS services during the medical emergency. The student is 100% okay, and went home with their parent.
Parents As Partners
One thing I have always appreciated about our community is that for the most part, we follow our Christian principles of communication. Speaking for good, listening before we speak, weighing our words, and speaking to the correct individuals is something that as the body of Christ we are called to do, and thus take it seriously. If you remember back to your new family meeting, you would have heard me say that if something is bothering you, I would like you to wait 24 hours to cool down, and then speak directly to the correct person in a way that edifies, not hurts (as we know, social media doesn’t typically edify).
Unfortunately, the rest of our BGSD community doesn’t necessarily have these principles to fall back on, and thus have created this document to help it along. As I was on the committee to help create this, I will ask you to take a good look at it as well, but please remember that when we are dealing with and speaking about difficult issues, we always want to do so in a way that is God-pleasing and to allow the person you are in conversation with to deal with it.
Coaches NEEDED!!
We are in need of some coaches for our senior boy’s and girls’ basketball teams this year! If you, or someone you know, would be interested in helping out with these teams, please contact the school office at 780-986-8353 or [email protected]. Commitment would be one practice and one game per week as well as a few tournaments. (Maybe don’t read Mr. Simmons’s PM before you volunteer – JUST KIDDING!)
Congratulations & Thank You
We want to extend a big congratulations to Mrs. Horvath, who after seven years serving as our librarian, has accepted a position in a different career path. While this is incredibly sad for CCS, we are very excited for Mrs. Horvath as she pursues this new journey in life! Thank you for the passion and organization you have brought to our kiddos during your time!
Spring Program – Preparations
The year’s Spring Program has been announced, and we are so excited about our choice of Beauty and the Beast. The incredible reminder of love’s power to overcome selfishness, pride, and arrogance will certainly remind us all of the power of Christ’s sacrifice made for us all.
We are so excited to begin the preparation work we are asking for some help in the area of production. We have a number of people who have assisted in past years with costume and set design and we’d like to invite you to our BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ‘WARD’ROBE BEE, (pun intended) TOMORROW, November 17th at 4:00 PM.
If you’d like any more information about the meeting, please email Mr. Ward at [email protected]
School Clothing
Please log in to your child’s PowerSchool account to place an order. Orders are due by Friday, November 25 and delivery will be before we go on Christmas break. If you would like to order clothing as part of a Christmas gift for your child(ren), please indicate so on the order form.
Payment MUST be made at the time of placing your order, or the form will NOT be processed.
Scholastic Book Fair UPDATE
Thank you to everyone who supported our Scholastic Bookfair in person and online!!
You helped to earn over $1900 in new books and resources for our school!!!
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 Wednesdays for the month of November. 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.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Hot Lunch, you can reach our Hot Lunch Coordinator, Mrs. Horvath, 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. We have an ABUNDANCE of lost clothing currently.
Athletics:
Volleyball
Junior Girls – are finished league play for the season. Our wrap-up will happen later this month. More details to follow.
Junior Boys will have a weekend tournament at North East Christian school to finish off the tournament season this weekend. They will be playing their league finals on Tuesday, November 22.
Senior Girls‘ team finished in third place at their most recent tournament last weekend at Edmonton Christian West. We finished first in our pool for league play and will have the semi-finals at CCS on Thursday, November 24th. Come out and watch some great volleyball starting at 4 pm. Thank you to all parents and fans who have made the season a great one.
Senior Boys will participate in the semi-final playoffs next week on Thursday, November 24 at 4:00 pm in Devon at Holy Spirit School.
Basketball
Elementary Girls – tryouts were held yesterday and a team will be selected shortly. If your daughter has been selected for the team, please log in to PowerSchool to complete the permission form and pay the season fees. They will participate in a tournament next weekend.
Elementary Boys – held tryouts before the break and formed their team. Please check your son’s PowerSchool account to complete the permission form and pay the season’s fees as soon as possible. They will participate in a tournament next weekend.
LSCE News:
Save the Date
The LSCE has some exciting events happening in the new year so mark your calendars!
Saturday/Sunday, April 29/30, 2023 – 40th Anniversary Homecoming Weekend
Saturday, June 10, 2023 – 3rd Annual CCS Golf Tournament
Fundraising Opportunities
We are offering 2 more fundraisers just in time for the holiday season. Please see below for all the information
Stock up for the holidays with our Stawnichy’s fundraiser. Click here to view products and place your order. Payments can be made by credit card to the office or by e-transfer to [email protected]. STAWNICHY’S ORDERS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18th.
Get all our Christmas sweets and treats in one place this year. Click here to view the online catalogue. Orders can be placed and directly paid for on the Purdys website. PURDY’S ORDERS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25th.
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:
November:
- 18 – Stawnichy’s Orders Due
- 21 – Grade 6 & 9 Immunizations
- 25 – Purdy’s Orders Due
- 30 – School Council Meeting – directly following Celebration
December:
- 5 – PD Day – No School
- 15 – Christmas Concert at 12:30 & 6:30 pm
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.
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.