Hello parents!
It has been such a busy time lately – but a joyful busyness. Just over a week ago, the staffs from CISVA schools from around the province attended the Catholic Educators’ Conference in Vancouver. Fantastic speakers and insightful presentations made the experience quite fruitful.
And last night, I returned home from Anaheim, California where I spent four days at the North American Religious Educators’ Conference wherein teachers, ministers, clergy and volunteers from all over the world came to this event to deepen their understanding and broaden their skills involved in their particular area of work. Attending Mass with large orchestra/band, incredible cantors, and 15,000 fellow Catholics was truly a highlight.
Also, I was incredibly fortunate to see fantastic speakers/presenters on topics ranging from theologians who enlightened us about the letters of St. Paul, to a priest who is also a doctor of astrophysics explaining the science of miracles, to implementing new approaches to Christian Education from a variety of perspectives. I feel enriched and revitalized in learning and facilitating exploration of our faith with the class!
Here are some details for important upcoming school and class events:
Pink Shirt Day – Tuesday February 25th 2020
Students are encouraged to wear a pink shirt tomorrow as part of Pink Shirt Day in solidarity with the anti-bullying campaign (see attached link for more info). Obviously, the shirt is only a symbol of this issue – on February 25, 2020, we encourage everyone to practice kindness and wear pink to symbolize that you do not tolerate bullying.
While the rest of the province will do this on Wednesday, we will do our Pink Shirt Day tomorrow, because Wednesday is Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday – February 26th
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday – so hopefully you will have a nice Shrove (Fat) Tuesday with a hearty pancake dinner feast before we enter into the fasting, prayer and almsgiving that Lent asks of us.
We will have a school Mass at 11am this day – you are invited to join us!
Persuasive Speeches
Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the students will be presenting their persuasive speeches to the class. Four students will be selected to compete in the Tri-City Speech Arts competition with students from St. Joseph the Worker and Sacred Heart.
Lenten Masses – Thursday February 27th – Wednesday April 8th
With the beginning of Lent this Wednesday, this marks the start of our school Lenten Masses. Every one of these morning Masses begins at 8:15am. Please note below the days where Grade 7 will either not be able to attend, Spring Break negates expected attendance and where Grade 7’s will lead the Masses.
The schedule is as follows:
Thursday February 27th – Friday February 28th.
Monday March 2nd (No Grade 7 attendance – we will be at a field trip)
Tuesday March 3rd – Thursday March 5th
Friday March 6th (No Grade 7 attendance – We will be at Whistler)
Monday March 9th – Friday March 13th (Grade 7’s to lead readings & gifts at these)
Monday March 16 – Friday 27th (Spring Break)
Monday March 30th – Friday April 3rd
Monday April 6th – Wednesday April 8th
Thursday April 9th – No 8:15am Mass, Easter Triduum begins!
Friday April 10th – Good Friday – No School
Vancouver Art Gallery Visit – Monday March 2nd
We will be visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery on Monday March 2nd. Thank you to those of you who volunteered to supervise. The following parents will be joining us: Frederick Villasenor, Maria Maddatu and Latoya Barrington.
As we are travelling by public transit, and it is forecast to rain, appropriate boots and rain-jackets are strongly recommended. There are storage bins for jackets and bags when we arrive.
Whistler Ski Trip – Friday March 6th
In just under two weeks, we will be heading to the world class ski resort at Whistler Blackcomb mountains for some fun in the snow! Please note that students are expected to arrive at 6am. We aim to be back at the school by 5:30pm, depending on traffic. We will send out an email when we are 15 minutes away from the school.
Please ensure your child is picked up on time. Again, as we will be in a winter environment, proper ski attire (gloves, thick socks, toque, ski pants, ski jacket, sweater, etc.) are all strongly encouraged. As well, students should pack a lunch to eat on the mountain.
We look forward to a great day!
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Mr. Kirkham