St. Mary’s School will be holding its annual Christmas concert on Wednesday, December 21st at 7:00 pm in the school gym. All band students from grades 6 to 12 as, well as the Jazz band will be performing. Tickets are not required, but there will be a silver collection at the door. Students need to be at the school no later than 6:20 that evening and need to be in full uniform (grade 6 to 8 - white dress shirt or sweater and black pants or skirt, grades 9 to 12, black pants and uniform with tie). Please come out and support our young musicians. Th ere will also be a bake sale aft er the concert to help support the St. Mary’s Junior and Senior Band Trip to Vancouver Island this May.

Parents of students renting instruments from the school are reminded that the $70 fee for the instrument rental is now due. If you have not already paid the fee, please see Mr. Makarchuk or Mrs. Sinclair in the offi ce ASAP

Th e St. Mary’s Band Booster Club will be holding its next executive meeting on Tuesday, December 6th at 7:00 pm in the band room. All interested parents are invited to attend.

Th e Band Booster Club would like to thank everyone who supported us in the magazine sales. Magazine subscriptions should start arriving in December (some magazines that publish less frequently may not arrive until January. If you have any questions about your subscription, please call QSP at 1-888-667-2536. We would also like to thank everyone who purchased items from the Dielemans fundraiser. If there is still anything that you are missing, please contact Mr. Makarchuk right away so we can arrange the delivery of the items or a refund.

Parents are also reminded that Home Performance Assignment are due every month. Th e next HPA is due right aft er we get back from Christmas on January 9th. Please make sure your son/daughter has played for you and handed in their evaluation prior to this date.

Grade 6-8 students are reminded that they need to hand in a practice sheet EVERY week. To receive full marks, students need to practice 70 minutes, and can receive bonus marks if they practice more than 70. Extra sheets are available in the band room.

BAND NEWS - DECEMBER 2016

Congratulations to Alyssa Pavka who is extremely deserving of Athlete of the Week. Alyssa has been an excellent leader, teammate and dominant force on the court this entire season for the SV Storm. Th is season Alyssa has contributed to being undefeated in league play, two tournament silvers and one championship, served 8 points in a third set to defeat Chinook High School 15-3, and played outstanding in the league championship tournament to bring home SMS fi rst banner of the year. Alyssa truly demonstrates leadership, sportsmanship, hard work and passion for volleyball. She has contributed to creating excellent team chemistry, has pushed her teammates to be better players, and has been an absolute pleasure to coach - not to forget that she has played every possible position on the court and has excelled in them all. Alyssa and the Storm are off the Zones this weekend and are excited to play some more amazing volleyball.

Congratulations Alyssa - we are so proud of you!

Carter Hendricks is our St. Mary’s Athlete of the week! Carter was a member of both the JV and SV boys Storm teams and he was a huge asset to both. Carter worked hard throughout the season and was a great leader both on and off the court for his teammates. He is a coachable athlete and was willing to try and work on many new skills throughout the season. Carter helped lead both teams in successful seasons and at zones last weekend was the most consistent player on the SV boys team. Carter was also a huge help in the gym throughout the season, helping score keep and lines at various games and tournaments. Carter’s smile, energy, humour, and fun loving attitude have helped make this volleyball season a great one for his teammates and coaches. Way to go Carter! We are so proud of your great season!

Our Athlete of the Week is Kaitlyn Untereiner! Kaitlyn played on the girls’ grade 6 volleyball team and was a stand out as an all-around team player. She showed up to every practice and game with a positive attitude; ready to learn and play. By the end of the season she was able to serve over the net consistently. As Kaitlyn’s confi dence grew so did her skills, even diving for the ball!! Kaitlyn was a pleasure to coach and we are excited to see what next season will bring for her. Way to go Kaitlyn we are so proud of you!!

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY :

HARLEY PHILLIPS,

STATE FARM INSURANCE

Pope Francis@Pontifex Nov 17, 2016

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts to receive Christ,

our Saviour and hope.

Clayton Bueckert has been chosen as one of our St. Mary’s Athletes of the week. Clayton picked the Provincial weekend to play his best volleyball yet. Clayton's passing and defense were clutch for his team in the many tight games that they played. Clayton's positive attitude, work ethic and never give up attitude made him a leader on and off the court. Clayton has been a proud member of our boys’ volleyball program throughout his years at St. Mary’s, we have watched him grow and develop his many talents on the court. Th e team looked to their grade 12 players for leadership, and Clayton stepped up to the plate, and helped lead the team throughout the weekend as they battled hard at the Provincial tournament.

Way to go Clayton you had a great season and your SMS family is so proud of your accomplishments!

Mason Muller is our St. Mary’s athlete of the week, he had a fantastic weekend at 2A Provincials in Black Diamond. Due to injuries early on in the tournament Mason has to be adaptable, he stepped into the role of a middle player as well as his setter position and played outstanding. He recorded many stuff blocks, played outstanding defense, and excelled at his setter dumps. Mason’s high energy and enthusiasm helped uplift the team as they dealt with injuries to key players, and helped lead the team in a very successful Provincials tournament. Mason was a team leader throughout the season and his energy is contagious.

Mason not only shines on the court but also a leader and cheermister for our school community. Th roughout the volleyball season Mason could be seen in the gym in his many costumes leading his school mates in loud and proud cheering. His

school spirit, pride and energy are a gift to our community. Mason also spent time giving back to the junior high programs by refereeing games and tournaments. Way to go Mason we are so proud of you and your season of volleyball!!!

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK SPONSORED BY :

HARLEY PHILLIPS, STATE FARM INSURANCE

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat1 Day 1

Parish Mass-9:00 Gr. 6,9,12

2 Odd

U of C Presentation 10-11 (Gr. 11/12) SRO Pres (6-8) BLK 1 BLK 4-Fr. Eli-Grade 11

3

4 5 Day 1 6 Day 2 SRO Presentation Period 5

7 Day 1 Youth Group 6:15 Jazz Band to Clearview Per 2-4 SMS @ Foremost

8 Day 2 Headstrong Youth Summit Gr.9—Taber New Life Church Parish Mass-9:00-Gr. 7 and 11

9 Even

BLK4-Fr. Eli– Gr. 12

10

11 12 Day 1 13 Day 2 14 Day 1 15 Day 2

Parish Mass-9a.m. Gr. 8,10

16 Odd

Chalice Cup 9:30-11am Little Storm BB

17 Little Storm BB

18 19 Day 2 PJ DAY Parent Council 6:30

20 Day 1

UGLY SWEATER

21 Day 2 Christmas Mass 10:30 FANCY DRESS Band Concert 7:00

22 Day 1 CHRISTMAS TWIN

23 Even

SANTAS WORKSHOP

24

25 26 Christmas

Break

27 Christmas

Break

28 Christmas

Break

29 Christmas

Break

30 Christmas

Break

31

December 2016

Junior High Students at St. Mary's School are starting the winter season with big hearts and bellies full of healthy foods. In hopes of raising awareness for healthy eating, fundraising for school programs AND donating to the Taber food bank, teacher Cassie Mucciarone enrolled her Junior High Religion classes in a fast and

furious FARM TO SCHOOL fundraising program. Without knowing how massive of an eff ort would come forward from her students, a truck full of 5000 pounds of vegetables with brightly coloured bags showed up on St. Mary's doorsteps ready to be assembled into two types of bundles - Bundle A containing onions, potatoes and carrots, while Bundle B had carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onions, and cabbage. All of the produce was grown on farms in and around the Calgary area. With the order forms

having options for families to purchase and options to make a food bank donation the total sales resulted in close to 400 bags of veggies going home to local families and over 60 bags being delivered to the Taber Food Bank. Various students in grades 6 through 9 took turns in a veggie-bagging assembly line, organizing Bundle A bags and Bundle B bags, loading up families trucks at the end of the day, and delivering bags to the Food Bank.

According to Global news this year, Food Banks are in desperate need of donations. Usage in Alberta is up 136% from last year, while the National average has also increased. St. Mary's has decided to use a number of chalice projects this year to support local services like the Taber Food Bank. Our next chalice push will be the annual "Chalice Cup" - a staff vs. students hockey game on December 16. Th e fundraising eff orts from this challenge will provide cash donations for the Taber Food Bank to purchase any items needed

during the Christmas season.

St. Mary's School would like to express a sincere and heart felt thank you to all of the families and community who supported this wonderful fundraiser. We are blessed to have such a wonderful community who believes so wholly in service, giving and support local services. If you wish to contribute to our Chalice Cup Food Bank Donations please contact St. Mary's School, or join us for the Chalice Cup on December 16 at the Taber Area.

FARM TO SCHOOL FUNDRAISING PROGRAM

CHALICE CUP IS BACK!

SANTA'S GONE LOONIE is a new event to the 12 days of Christmas. Here's how it works...

Next Friday Dec. 16th from 6pm to 9pm, ALL kids are welcome to come down to the Legion. For a Loonie they can pick out a present for their mom, dad, grandpa, grandma etc. Parents will not know what that gift is as their gift will be wrapped for them to put under their Christmas tree. Proceeds will be donated to the Safe Haven Women's Shelter.

If you have any items you would like to donate to this event, please drop them off at Bonnie's Vision. Th e loonies add up so if you can donate a little gift AND let your kidlets come spend a Loonie on you, it would surely help to make this event a success. It will be so much fun to see what they pick out!

Some ideas for donations could include: gently used or new mugs, tape for wrapping, the fancy Christmas ties dad's have a ton of, candles, jewelry (no earrings however), Christmas ornaments, etc. Be creative! I bet you have stuff at home!