Volume 7, Issue 8

École Monsignor William Irwin School

2629 Taylor Green, Edmonton AB T6R 3N8

Phone: 780-430-1121 Fax: 780-430-7742

An Easter Prayer

Lord,

the resurrection of Your Son has given us new life and renewed hope.

Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the Christian ideal.

Grant us wisdom to know what we must do, the will to want to do it,

the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it,

and the strength to complete it.

Amen.

http://www.drcm.org/prayer-manual/212-catholic-prayer-for-the-easter-virtues

APRIL 2017 NEWSLETTER

ADMINISTRATORS MESSAGE We have greatly reduced the content of our monthly newsletter. Our principal, Mme Christine, maintains more frequent communication with families through the school blog. She updates the blog for parents several times a month. Here is a direct link: THE BLOG

Enjoy your month!

Fill in the information below for your child’s chance to win lunch with

Mme Christine!

Lunch with the Principal! (Please detach and return to school office by Friday, April 7.)

I give my child permission to have lunch with the principal.

____________________________________

(Child’s name and class – please print)

____________________________________

(Parent Signature)

Here is a comment from our family that we’d like to share about our school:

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ALBERTA OPERA PRESENTS APRIL 4

Hansel and Gretel by Farren Timoteo On Tuesday, April 4, Alberta Opera will be performing a very famous fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel! We are very excited to welcome four professional actors (and many of our own students who will be recruited to perform) on “stage” in the gym for two performances. Students in English classes will be entertained at 9:30 a.m. and French classes in the afternoon at 1:00 p.m. I wonder what’s in the forest…

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COBS BREADS HOT CROSS BUNS APRIL 11

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GALA D’ART ORATOIRE APRIL 18 For the last 10 years, CPF-ECS Chapter has organized a Gala D’art Oratoire held in April. This year Gala 2017 is scheduled for:

When: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 6:30 pm Where: Ecole JH Picard

The Gala is a showcase and a celebration of student achievement in French public speaking. The only competition part of the process is the school’s selection process to determine which presentation at various grade levels will represent the school. Some schools have had the classroom teachers make the selection, some have had a “speak off” in front of independent judges. Each school has an idea of what will work best for it and its students. The Gala itself has been about 2 hours in duration. In the past 10 years, the Gala has grown from 18 students participating representing 4 schools to about 60 students representing 12 schools. The evening is hosted by an MC and the students give their presentations on the stage before the audience. All the Gala participants are presented with certificates and participant gifts at the end of the evening. The evening also has refreshments and door prizes which have been donated by local businesses. The Gala is organized by the Canadian Parents for French ECS Chapter. However, in keeping with the “many hands make light work” motto, each school provides one parent volunteer to serve on the Gala Organizing Committee as a condition of each school’s participation in the Gala. There are six students from MWI who will be presenting in two groups of three. Dolce, Madeline, and Ava in Grade 6 and Evangeline, Ava, and Rowan in Grade 5. Enjoy the evening!

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ST. THOMAS MORE PARISH NEWS

Home – School – Parish

ST. THOMAS MORE PARISH SACRAMENT NEWS Following is a link to the St. Thomas More Parish website with Parish news and the weekly Parish bulletin: stmparish.com

EASTER LITURGICAL CELEBRATION APRIL 18 You are welcome to join staff and students on their walk to St. Thomas More Church for our Easter Liturgical celebration on Tuesday, April 18 in the morning. Through scripture, prayer, and reflection, we celebrate as a Catholic community, the Risen Lord! Come and help us to wonder at new life!

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NINJA DASH TRAINING After Easter, students in all grades will start a weekly training program during physical education and daily physical ed times in preparation for the Ninja Dash on May 31. “Training” means that students will enjoy a series of physical activities that will strengthen them for the Ninja Dash event. Some of the activities are running, crawling, walking on a balance beam, hula hooping, and throwing noodles through a hula hoop. The Ninja Dash is a major fund raiser for the School Advisory Council!

PARENT EVENING SERIES Please use this link to find out more! https://www.ecsd.net/news/pages/supporting-our-diverse-learners---parent-evening-series.aspx

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KIWANIS FESTIVAL APRIL 21

Kiwanis Music Festival Schedule April 21, MWI Gym

9:00 am: 4/5B Orchestra 9:30 am: 5A Orchestra 10:00 am: 5C orchestra 10:30 am: Break 11:00 am: 5D Orchestra 11:30 am: 6A Orchestra 12:00 pm: Lunch Break for 1 Hour 1:00 pm: 6B Orchestra 1:30 pm: 6C Orchestra This is a competition, so even though it is in our school, it is open to the public. Parents, family and friends are welcome to attend. Students are to wear concert black, just as they will during the Spring Concerts. Plain black top (a t-shirt is fine, but no logos please.), plain black bottoms, skirt, or dress. I do not expect parents to buy black shoes. They are expensive and children’s feet grow quickly. Please feel free to wear black shoes if you already have some. Students can bring a change of clothing to wear after their performance.

EARTH DAY APRIL 22 ATTENTION ALL EARTHLINGS! Earth Day is Friday, April 22, 2017! Earth Day raises awareness about the importance of protecting our environment. The students and staff at MWI are encouraged to think of what we can do to keep our planet healthy. How can we protect the earth for future generations? To that end, all students and staff are encouraged to participate in an Earth Day activity. On Friday, April 21, students are challenged to bring a garbage-less lunch to school. Are you able to make a lunch without having to throw any part of it in the garbage can?

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SPRING ORCHESTRA CONCERTS APRIL 24 AND 25 Spring Orchestra Concerts will be held at 6:30 PM on each of the following days: Monday - with 4A 4C 6A 6B 6C Tuesday – with 4D 4/5B 5A 5C 5D Students are to arrive no later than 6:00 PM. The concert begins promptly at 6:30 PM. Students are to dress in black top and bottoms. Dresses or skirts are fine for the girls.

FAMILY DANCE APRIL 27 Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 27! Grade 6 parents are organizing a family dance for families at MWI. The dance will be from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., $20.00/FAMILY and $5.00 for an individual ticket. Tickets will be limited so stay tuned for information coming to the parent blog in a few weeks!

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SAC MAY 9

PARENTS! You are invited to join staff and members of the School Advisory Council on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 6:30 for a great discussion and meeting on what’s happening at school. Fundraising is also a topic. This art piece was raffled on March 16. Nice work by the Grade 4A class!

BIG REMINDER ABOUT ATTENDANCE PARENTS, please phone the school and leave a message when your children are ill, at appointments, dance recitals, or choosing puppies, etc. Students are not encouraged to phone the school themselves regarding any of the aforementioned reasons, e.g. appointments or excused. We are obligated to phone parents to make sure the excuse is legitimate.

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SCHOOL NEWS FOR MARCH March 4 Science Olympics The Edmonton Science Olympics is an inter-school event for students in Grades 1 to 12 who take learning beyond the classroom. All challenges are based on current curricula and have been developed by the Edmonton Science Olympics committee and scientists from around the world. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) devote themselves to finding new ways to test boundaries of science as well as look for innovative and creative solutions to problems. The APEGA is proud to sponsor this event for the 23rd consecutive year, an event that inspires students by showing them how engineering and geoscience is fun and touches every aspect of our lives while challenging their creativity and critical-thinking abilities.

Division 1 students who represented MWI were: Obinna, Selena, Katie, Mirabelle, and Ethan. The 28 teams from schools throughout the city were challenged by building a ‘Wake the teacher’ alarm clock. This alarm was built using a Rube Goldberg machine, which is a device that performs a simple task in a complicated manner, and which involves a series of five steps set in motion by one action. Division 1 students happily earned a silver standing overall! Pretty impressive!

Division 2 students who represented us on March 4th were: Rowan, Elle, Isabelle, Jan, and Jordan. Division 2 students were asked to design and build a machine that harnesses the power of flowing water or sand to lift a weight. Hydropower has been in use since ancient times and has developed into a renewable and reliable natural source of energy. These students achieved and created beyond expectation and proudly earned a bronze standing overall. Students participated in the MWI Science Fair for a chance to win a spot at the Science Olympics 2017.

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Pictures of the Science Fair, which was held in late February and early March, are below. March 13-17 Numeracy Week

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March 13-17 Numeracy Week

Where does numeracy show up in your day?

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March 16 Book Fair Another successful Book Fair! The second annual Scholastic Book Fair is now over. Thank you to everybody for making it a success. A huge thank you to volunteers for all their hard work in setting up, selling, and tearing down. Another big thank you to those students who promoted the Book Fair on Father Bill TV. Congratulations to the student in Grade 5C who won the $25.00 draw and to her teacher, Ms. Deans, who luckily chose $25.00 worth of books as well. The Book Fair earned the school over $7,000.00. You’ve all made a contribution to our libraries by making a purchase! Thank you! March 18 Art Show and Raffle The third annual Ecole Monsignor William Irwin School Art Show and Raffle was held during the Demonstration of Learning March 16th. There were SO MANY beautiful pieces of art made by each of our MWI classes, with a stroke and/or contribution by each of our students. $1200.00 was raised for the School Advisory Council. The piece below is from the Grade 3A class. Quite inspired! Orders for packages of greeting cards were sold at the raffle and until the end of March. Funds from these cards will also go to the SAC.

Thank you everyone for your talented children and raffle ticket contributions!

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CALENDAR – ACCESS THE FULL CALENDAR AND UPDATES TO EVENTS THROUGH THE WEB SITE

A P R I L Monday, April 3 Classes resume

Tuesday, April 4 Alberta Opera presents Hansel and Gretel Wednesday, April 5 NO KINDERGARTEN – PD day for Kinder teachers

Thursday, April 6 Deadline to order HOT CROSS BUNS No school in the afternoon Yes, Karate!

Tuesday, April 11 HOT CROSS BUNS will be sent home Thursday, April 13 No school in the afternoon

Yes, Karate!

Friday, April 14 Good Friday – no school Sunday, April 16 Easter Sunday Monday, April 17 Easter Monday – no school

Tuesday, April 18 Easter Celebration – Walk to St. Thomas More Church in the morning Gr 2 Kid Safety PM Gala d’Art Oratoire at JH Picard 6:30 PM

Wednesday, April 19 Parent Evening Series (See info in this newsletter) Thursday, April 20 Gr 2 Kid Safety AM

No school in the afternoon Yes, Karate!

Friday, April 21 Kiwanis Music Festival – all day in the gym Grade 5 and 6 Earth Day Garbage-less LUNCH! Bring one! Art In-school Field Trips Kindergarten

Monday, April 24 Spring Concert Grades with 4A 4C 6A 6B 6C Tuesday, April 25 Gr 2 Safety Presentations

Spring Concert Grades with 4D 4/5B 5A 5C 5D Wednesday, April 26 Safety Presentations Grades 3-6 – Enbridge Volunteers AM

Gr 6A Field Trip

Thursday, April 27 No school in the afternoon Yes, Karate! Family Dance 6:00-8:00 PM Tickets $20.00/family, $5.00/individual

Friday, April 28 Immunizations Gr 5 Round 3 Monday, May 1 Gr 1 to Winspear Music Concert Tuesday, May 2 Gr 2 to Winspear Music Concert

Tuesday, May 9 SAC 6:30 PM

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