Superintendent's Message
December, 2011

Letter to Parents - Distribution of Restored Government Funding in Edmonton Catholic Schools

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13)

Sunday, November 27th is the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year in the Church, and for English-speaking Roman Catholics, there are some changes and revisions to prayers and responses given during Mass.  Thank you to Fr. Mike Mireau, District Chaplain, for his leadership in assisting our staff by providing sessions regarding these changes and to Fr. Paul Kavanagh and Jean Sault for their session on the newly approved music for liturgies.

In his Advent 2010 message, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us:

“Expectation or waiting is a dimension that flows through our whole personal, family and social existence.…One could say that man is alive as long as he waits, as long as hope is alive in his heart. Every one of us, therefore, especially in this Season which prepares us for Christmas, can ask himself: What am I waiting for? What, at this moment of my life, does my heart long for?... no one would ever have imagined that the Messiah could be born of a humble girl like Mary, the betrothed of a righteous man, Joseph…Let us learn from her, the Woman of Advent, how to live our daily actions with a new spirit, with the feeling of profound expectation that only the coming of God can fulfill.”

The Board of Trustees along with District administrators is preparing to submit Edmonton Catholic Schools’ final Budget for 2011-2012 to the Minister of Education for approval.  It has been a challenging year, and along with the restored government funding announced in October, the needs of our students have continued to be at the forefront of our decisions.  A letter detailing our restored funding allocations is included in this newsletter.

We would like to thank all students and their families for the support of various activities in your schools to support the Sign of Hope/ Kids Care Challenge fundraising campaign.  Many of our students benefit directly from various services funded by the Sign of Hope.

On the afternoon of December 8, all teachers within the District will be attending sessions with their colleagues from other sites around the topic of “Permeation: Finding Grace within Curriculum.” The aim of the afternoon is to have teachers delve into the Eight Characters of Catholic Education in order to enable them to discover ways in which these traits can be intentionally permeated into the content area in which they teach.

Please check out Edmonton Catholic Schools’ Annual Health & Safety Fact Sheet at: http://www.ecsd.net/pdf/ECSH_Health_safety/ECSHS11.pdf for tips on how to keep your family healthy and safe this school year.

May the Spirit of the Christ Child live in your hearts during this holy season,
and guide you throughout the year ahead!

Sincerely,

Joan Carr
Superintendent