Principal’s Message:
Today’s message is one that has been incredibly difficult to formulate my thoughts on. As I mentioned earlier, last week I was in Winnipeg for the Christian Schools Canada conference. Rather than a keynote speaker, our keynote was the National Museum for Human Rights. The experience walking through was formative and memorable, yet the most impressionable takeaway from the conference was what occurred after our day-long tour of the museum.
For those who do not know, the museum is not a typical museum. Rather than being loaded with artifacts, it is loaded with stories and experiences from a variety of human rights issues from Canada and the world. The building itself is designed specifically to journey the participant from darkness to light as you walk up through the building; beginning with the darkness of genocides, and ethnic cleansings in Canada and worldwide. From there (four floors worth), it slowly moves through the evolution, celebration, and future of human rights. It ends in the tower of hope, where I spent about 20 minutes simply praying while looking down over the city of Winnipeg. As you can imagine, this was deeply difficult and reflective for many of us as Christian leaders.
Once we finished our tour, we were invited outside, where our hosts asked us to get into two large (about 80 people) circles. In these circles, we were asked to give either a “Praise, Lament, or Hope” about our day in the museum. Little did we know that in the circles, we would all end up sharing a big lament.
You see, soon after we broke into circles and were given our task, a young indigenous man noticed our very large group break into the circles. For some reason, this irked him, and he came over. He broke into the first circle that I was a part of and did a lap, sizing up the people within the circle. He asked some expletive-coated questions of us, basically amounting to why we were there, and what we were doing. As educational leaders, who have dealt with students who have become agitated, we simply paused and waited. This strategy seemed to work for us, as after one lap of the circle, he left, moving to the other. In this circle, the educators tried the same tactic, some even welcomed him in, asking his name and if he would join us. This did not go to plan. He became more agitated, and the anger, resentment, and rage began to come out even more so. He increased his speed, and rounded over and over, getting into people’s faces and challenging them in different ways. His mouth began to froth as his vitriol grew greater. For minutes that seemed much longer, he screamed, challenged, and accosted those gathered. His words were filled with loathing and hate, and it would have been easy to be angry at him, and normally I would have been, yet for some reason (not in my control), I was saddened by the event.
Once we realized that the situation wasn’t going to resolve itself, we decided that we should dissipate rather quickly, and many began moving to our next scheduled location. The man, feeling victorious, took this opportunity to bang his chest and verbally accost those leaving. I stuck around, giving a wide enough berth to this person, and ended up walking back with the last few who were left, who either arrived late and were not aware or were too tired and taken aback by the events to move quickly.
A quick aside, it is interesting to see how people react to such a situation. As I mentioned, some welcomed him and asked him questions, while others became quite afraid. Still, some others were in fight mode, ensuring that he knew what he was doing was not okay. I always seem to go into some sort of protector mode and was looking around for those in vulnerable positions. I have said quite often that I for some reason seem to think I am 6’4 and 250lbs because I think I can control those situations and stand up if needed. I’m not, but have dealt with my illusions.
Now, I tell you this story not to gossip, or for it to become some sort of cautionary tale, but specifically for the learning that happened after the fact. You see, I, like many others, did not feel great about how this finished, and spent many hours in thought and prayer that evening trying to figure out if we could have done anything differently. What we came up with over evening discussions, was that we couldn’t have handled it any different and that what we witnessed was brokenness caused by what we earlier had seen in the museum. We got to experience firsthand how things that happened decades ago affect God’s people today. As we discussed it again the next morning as a larger group, the theme that came from this experience was one of lament.
Just as we at CCS explore “The Stable Table” this year as a school community, this one experience, this one lament, rang through from my conference. The thought is that when we welcome people to our table, we also welcome the hurt, anger, brokenness, and experiences of lifetimes of our collective histories. We cannot fix something quickly (although we like to try), but as we gather together, as we fellowship together, and as we work together to build God’s Kingdom, it can be messy. Things often do not go as planned. The table is not just a place for fun and happiness. It is a place of brokenness. The young gentleman’s name was Billy, and God brought him to us, not to scare us, but to teach us about every person in His Kingdom.
I felt honoured that I could learn this in a way that books, papers, or museum tours could not.
Announcements:
Terry Fox Run Update
We had a great Terry Fox Run last week! The weather was fantastic and it was great to see all the families who came out to cheer on our students as they ran. Thank you to all those who donated to this amazing cause. In total, we were able to raise $864.15!!
CV34! Food Drive Update
CV34 has been exploring the story of the widow who gave what she had to God. As a class, we have been discussing how God will use even the smallest gift to further His Kingdom. The students have also been unpacking the idea of the Stable Table and looking for ways to give of themselves to bring others to the Table in our community. Together we settled on the Food Bank as a worthy cause for our class to support. The students then discussed how they could support the Food Bank and researched the things the Food Bank needed to serve the community of Leduc. They decided to do a Food Drive and also a bake sale to fulfill the needs of the Food Bank. They worked hard to spread the word about the food drive and raised 222lbs of food. They also spent time preparing for the bake sale and as a class, they raised $799.75. The students learned that when each of us gives what we have, God can do amazing things in our community.
Thank You!
Mrs. C. Clark would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the families of 6CM and 4HM. The contributions to the Ukraine project were thoughtful and generous. We pray that the family will feel the care and welcome extended to them when they arrive on October 8th! We are grateful to Mrs. Siderius, who has translated the messages of encouragement so this family can read them in both languages. Please pray for the family during this time of transition.
School Council News
School Council News
We had our Annual General Meeting on September 21st. We are thrilled that all of our council positions have been filled for the 2022/23 School year.
Chair – Shauna Balehowsky
Vice Chair – Leanne Simmons
Secretary – Candace Dreger
We celebrated the auditorium’s fresh new look and how great the first day of school photos turned out! We were happy to see a few new faces and talk about what’s happening around CCS. Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, October 27th right after Celebration. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please email Shauna Balehowsky at [email protected]
A Note from our School Health Nurse
Hello Parents!
It is with great joy that I am able to re-introduce our Leduc School Health team. After being a bit distanced (as most people were with the pandemic), we are eager and excited to get back to the job we love. We are known for our immunization program, but we also assist our schools with health presentations and connecting them with other resources within our community. We typically immunize in the schools across Leduc and Leduc County, in grade 6, and grade 9, but also try to catch some kids up if we note they are delayed. As some of you may have noticed we have sent home, for some grades, the vaccine consent forms for your child. While we love vaccines, and the immunity they provide us, we realize not everyone feels this way which is OK – a consent form will need to be signed in order to participate in this program, it is completely optional and no vaccines will be administered without your expressed written consent. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to our office at 780-980-5026 and we are happy to chat with all of you and answer any questions you have. I will also provide you with a great and creditable vaccine information website: www.immunizealberta.ca. Happy school year everyone!
– Reece, RN from Leduc Healthy Schools Team
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 Thursdays for the month of October. 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.
Athletics:
Volleyball
Junior Girls had a game yesterday at Parkdale School in Wetaskiwin. They played hard and have improved a lot. The team was able to win the first three sets! In the second set, they had an epic win after being down 17-24 and winning 28-26. Their next game will be on Tuesday, Oct 11 – (this is a PD Day) at 4:00 pm at Griffiths-Scott in Wetaskiwin.
Junior Boys played in Devon at Riverview Middle School yesterday and won all 5 of their games! Their next game will be on Tuesday, Oct 11 (which is a PD Day) at home at CCS at 4:00 pm. Feel free to come out and cheer on our team!
Senior Girls had a game in New Sarepta last Thursday. The girls had a great time bonding as a team and were able to win all 5 sets they played.
Senior Boys had a game last Thursday in New Sarepta. They played well and are learning to play as a team and develop their skills. They won 2 out of 5 games.
Elementary Catch Ball will be happening for all those students in grades 5 and 6 who would like to play. Catch ball is an introductory game to volleyball. The teams will hold practices at lunch recesses and participate in one tournament for the boys and one tournament for the girls. For those students who have signed up to participate, more information will be sent out shortly by the coaches for the teams as well as the permission forms and fees will be available on PowerSchool soon as well.
LSCE News:
Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Opportunity
For those of you who may have missed out on purchasing from our Little Caesars fundraiser, we have ordered a few extra kits that are available on a first come first served basis. Please see below for what is available and contact Afton at [email protected] if you are interested.
3 – Pepperoni Pizza kit $31/ea
2 – Cheese Pizza kit $30/ea
2 – Pepperoni Cheese bread kit – $31/ea
2 – Italian Cheese Bread kit – $30/ea
For those of you who have placed an order, please keep your eye on the chronicle for the pick-up date and time.
Calendar:
October:
- 10 – Thanksgiving Day – No School
- 11 – PD Day – No School
- 10-14 – Fire Prevention Week
- 12 – Individual School Pics – Kindergarten Vande Kraats, 1G, 1K, 2GM, 2W, 3J, 3/4CV, 4HM, 5B, 5/6LV, 6CM
- 13 – Individual School Pics – Preschool Students, Kindergarten Luchak, 7C, 7/8H, 8W, 9S, 9V
- 17-21 – Read in Week for Grades 1-3
- 20-21 – Christian Teacher’s Convention – No School
November:
- 1 – PD Day – No School
- 7-10 – Midterm Break – No School
- 11 – Remembrance Day – No School
- 15 – Individual School Picture Retakes
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.
Cadets, for boys Gr 2-9:
Another year of Cadets is starting up! We meet at Ebenezer Church every other Saturday, from 9:30 am – 11:30 am.
Our start date is Saturday, October 15th. Fees are $100 per boy for the year, which includes Central Alberta events.
Our theme this year is “Amazing”, and we will study Joshua 3:5.
Come on out, have fun, hear about the amazing things God has done, and learn some new skills!!
Check out www.ebenezercrc.com/ministries/cadets for more information and a registration form.
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.
As is tradition, while Mr. Simmons is away for a conference, the staff enjoys pranking his office so he feels well-loved when he returns!! This year the staff decided to incorporate our school theme of “Stable Table” for our prank.