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ST.

MICHAEL SCHOOL
4511 8th Avenue SW, Calgary AB, T3C 0G9
Phone: 403-500-2021
Fax: 403-500-2221

NOVEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER


The most up to date information about our school is
always available at: http://www.cssd.ab.ca/stmichael
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Where did October go? St. Michael has been very busy with
activities inside and outside the classroom with more coming up
in November. This month kicks off with Catholic Education
Sunday, celebrated on Sunday, November 1st. This Sunday is a
day for rejoicing in the gifts of our Catholic Schools. This year's
theme is Our Schools as Islands of Mercy, which goes hand in
hand with our focus on Walk Humbly with God this year. Pope
Francis describes the mercy of God as his loving concern for
each of us. He desires our well-being and he wants to see us
happy full of joy, and peaceful. This is the path which the
merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves,
so do his children. Just as he is merciful, so we are called to be
merciful to each other. (MV 9) He encourages us to make our
schools islands of mercy in which we encounter and share the
mercy of our Lord. Our Catholic schools exist to help us know,
love and follow Jesus. Thank you to Mrs. Silvaniuk who will be
representing our school as she speaks to Catholic Education at
Saturday mass at St. Michael Parish.
FAITH DAY is on Monday, November 2nd. There are no
classes for students as more than 5000 district staff members
come together as a community at the TELUS Convention Centre
to participate in an inspirational, faith-based professional
development day. Faith Day provides district employees a rare
opportunity to gather in one place at the same time to reflect on
our beliefs and values, and to deepen our understanding of our
shared mission in education.

then continue to bring this theme to light with our students.


Please join us as we celebrate peace at our Remembrance Day
Celebration on Monday, November 9th at 10:00 a.m. There
will be no classes on Wednesday, November 11 th. Classes
will resume on Thursday, November 12th.
Thank you to St. Michael Families that attended the IB Public
Participation meeting last month. The Presentation from the IB
Public Participation meeting and the summary of the Table talk
can be found at this link: http://www.cssd.ab.ca/parents/helpplan-our-future/2015-2016-meetings/
Parents will have the opportunity to provide further feedback to
the Area Superintendent, Andrea Holowka and our School
Trustee, Peter Teppler, up until November 4 th. At that time all
the data will be compiled and presented at the Board meeting on
November 25th. At that time, Trustees will make a final decision
regarding the IB Programme at St. Michael School.
Our Provincial Achievement Test results were excellent this
year, with several of our students reaching the standard of
Excellence. The results are posted in further detail in the pages
following in this newsletter.
November brings prayer that we may be open to each other, to
the children and continue to bring peace to all we meet.
Mrs. Nadia Verna
Principal

Mr. Gilbert Dreyfuss


Vice Principal

Peace begins with each of us. May we be open to each other, to


the children and continue to bring peace to all we meet. We will

Remembrance Day Liturgy


The classes of Mme Trapp and Mrs. Jenkins invite you to our Remembrance Day Civil
Celebration followed by our Remembrance Day Liturgy on November 9, at 10:00 AM in the
gym. It is always nice to see parents/guardians and members of the St. Michael School
Community at our celebrations. We look forward to seeing you during this prayerful time in
remembrance of those who have fought, and who continue to fight for the freedom we are so
lucky to have. Students are encouraged to wear uniforms (ie. Cadets, Scouts etc) for
organizations they belong to.

PARENT REMINDERS

DRESS WARMLY!!

A couple of reminders that would VERY much help out


our staff
When students have an appointment, please
provide them with a note rather than having the
front office staff phone into the classroom and
interrupt teaching. Students can then come and
meet parents at the office to be signed out.

With winter making its


debut this month, we
realize it can be difficult to
ensure your child is ready
for the weather. If you
need assistance providing
winter clothing for your
family or if you are new to
Canada and would like some help knowing what to
expect from your first winter, please contact Mrs.
Dean at the school.

There is NO supervision prior to 8:15 a.m. in the


morning. It is a concern to have students outside
or wandering around the school with no adults
around. Front Doors will be LOCKED until 8:15
am. Please avoid the parking lot when
dropping off children. VERY DANGEROUS
and we have had near collisions.
NOTE: There is NO after-school supervision after
3:30 p.m., unless a student is part of a planned
activity

Thank you for your assistance in helping the school run


smoothly and keeping students safe.

Volunteer Orientation Available Online!!


Thank you to all the
parents that attended the
Volunteer Orientation and
have already volunteered
during the month of
September. If you too are looking to get involved, you are
still able to complete the Volunteer Orientation. This is
mandatory to complete prior to working with children, as
directed by the Calgary Catholic School District. This brief
overview of information about the school, safety
procedures and guidelines prepares parents for successful
visits to their childs classroom, as well as necessary
documentation to be filled out. Your email address will be
added to our database to keep you informed of all
opportunities that will present throughout the year.
The Orientation is available under School InformationVolunteers on the website at www.cssd.ab.ca/stmichael.
Please view the presentation, print off all documents and
complete, then bring them into the school prior to
volunteering. We appreciate your assistance and so do the
children!

Bottle Drive
From November 26-28th, we will be having our first of
two Bottle Drives for the Grade 9 French Immersion Trip
to Qubec City. We will be collecting bottles during our
Parent / Teacher Conferences on Thursday November 26
from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm as well
as on Friday November 27 from
9:00 am to 3:00 p.m.
On
Saturday November 28, we will
be circulating in the schools
surrounding communities to
collect bottles as well. If you have
bottles and cannot get them to
the school, please phone or email us and we will have
your bottles picked up for you. Save your bottles to
support this activity! Merci!

The Good Start Cart


We are pleased to be
providing a breakfast cart
in our Junior High
Hallway every morning
from 8:15-8:40. Items are
reasonably priced at
under $1.00 and the cart
also has items from our
Breakfast program if
students have come
without their money. Elementary classrooms are also
stocked with snacks if students are hungry and have not
come to school with enough to eat.

PICTURE RETAKE DAY:


NOVEMBER 20th, 2015
The envelope your child will bring home from school approximately 10 days after
photo day will contain your childs proofs and important order information.
Your completed photo order must be returned to the school your child attends by
the IMPORTANT ORDER DUE DATE stamped in red on the order portion of the
form.
Mail LATE ORDERS directly to Lifetouch Canada Inc. or call 1.866.443.9648 to place
the order over the phone.
Steps for Booking P/T
Interviews

If you forgot your password: Go to


https://stmichael.schoolsoft.ca. and click on Forgot
your password?

You will be able to book an


individual
interview
on
th
Thursday November 26 4-7
p.m. or Friday November
27th from 9-11:30 p.m. or 1-3
p.m. We are once again
pleased to be using the St.
Michael Conference Manager
to schedule Parent-Teacher Interviews online.
Please follow these steps:

Step 2 Book your Parent-Teacher interviews


Select the teachers with whom you want to book
interviews. You will see each teachers schedule.
After booking your appointments, you can print off
your schedule. You will also receive an email
containing the teacher name, time and location of the
conference. You can log into the system at any time
to view your bookings, print, cancel or re-schedule
appointments. You have the option of submitting
comments or questions to the teacher as part of the
booking process.

If you have never registered in the Conference


Manager:
You can pre-register anytime by going to
https://stmichael.schoolsoft.ca and clicking the
Register Now button. You can access the Parent
Login Page using the link in the Confirmation Email.
Step 1 - Conference Manager Opens to Parents
Saturday, November 21st at 8 a.m.
If you used the Conference Manager to schedule
previous interviews, your email and password are
still in the system. You can simply access the Parent
Login
Page
by
going
directly
to
https://stmichael.schoolsoft.ca. (DO NOT include
www)

Step 3 Attend Parent-Teacher Interviews! If you


are unable to attend interviews, please phone the
school or email your childs teacher to set up another
time is mutually agreeable.
Important Dates:
Saturday, November 21st Start scheduling your
interviews at 8 a.m.
Thursday, November 26th Conference Manager
closes at NOON
If you have any questions or need assistance, please
feel free to contact the school at 403-500-2021. We
look forward to seeing you!

Staff Spotlight
We have lots of new staff joining our St. Michael
Team this year. Each month, wed like to
introduce some of the staff to you.
Mrs. Hepton!
Mrs. Hepton is a new staff member at St. Michael
School. She is originally from Fort St. James
B.C. and has taught at
several Calgary Catholic
Schools including St. John
XXIII, St. Benedict and
Msgr. JJ OBrien and even
taught in Seoul South
Korea! She is now sharing
her teaching talents with
one of our morning Kindergarten classes and has
created a beautiful teaching and learning
environment.
Mrs. Hepton loves to travel and take photos. She
has been to more than 20 countries and hopes to
go to South America soon! She scrapbooks all
her photos and enjoys snowboarding and reading.
Mrs. Hepton has been a great addition to our staff
and she has embraced the St. Michael
community. She says that she loves the smiling
faces that greet me each day. I love kindergarten
and all that we will explore this year! Every day
is an adventure that we navigate together.
Mrs. Hepton has easily become part of our St.
Michael Family and she likes the great sense of
community that exists within the walls of St.
Michaels. She says I love the energy and the
warmth in this school! You feel it when you walk
in the door! Thank you for sharing with us Mrs.
Hepton and we welcome you to St. Michaels
Community of Caring!!

Audition Call!
Auditions will be held this month and next for our Spring
Musical Annie Jr. Students in Grade 6-9 are encouraged
to pick up an audition package and read through the
information
to
see if being part
of the school
musical
is
something they
would like to
commit to this
year. There will also be opportunities for students to be
involved in non-acting areas such as lighting, make-up,
stage hands and concession help. These opportunities
will be posted in January.

TELL THEM FROM MESTUDENT ENGAGEMNENT SURVEY

Once again
this year, we
will
be
conducting
our
Tell
Them From
Me Survey
on the week
of November 23, 2015. The students from
Grades 4 to 9 will be answering questions about
our school. This survey takes approximately 3040 minutes. The Tell Them From Me Student
Survey is a dynamic web based evaluation
system designed to provide accurate data on
student engagement to meet the ongoing
planning needs of teachers and school
administrators.

WATER WARRIORS
St. Michael Water Warriors make a big splash at
CAWST's Wavemaker Youth Summit
October 21, 2015
This years participants: Leah, Rory, Mackenzie, Dominic, Sagine,
Georgia, Jac, and our parent volunteer Mrs. Christine Marayag

Warrior Athletics
X-COUNTRY
A big congrats goes out to
our cross-country team as
St. Michael took the Tier 3
banner for 2015! We had
seven members that placed
top ten at Optimist Park on
October 1st and were able to
compete at the city finals
meet at Ascension School on
October 8th: Rewina Asefa,
Alizee
Duthoit,
Marina
McClare, Bronson Gregor, Jefferson Chukwuezi, Olivia
Rymkiewicz and Lauren Su. Way to go, Warriors!

WARRIORS BASKETBALL
Basketball starts early this year! Monday December 7th
will be the first day of the season. Try-outs will go all
week for all interested gr.7/8/9 students. We are
planning an ice-breaker tournament
this year which will happen on the
week before we go away for the
holidays. A schedule for the season
will be available on our website as
we approach the end of wrestling.
Basketball season goes until the end
of February.
If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to
contact Mr. Dreyfuss (sr. girls coach) or Mr. Heffernan
and Mr. Amour (sr. boys coaches).
CLASSROOM LACROSSE
We had a great couple of weeks learning the
fundamentals of lacrosse from a member of the
Calgary Roughnecks. Students were challenged to
learn how to scoop, pass, receive and shoot with
lacrosse sticks. A big thank you to Curtis for making
this a fun an interesting experience for all St.
Michael students.

WARRIORS VOLLEYBALL
The Sr. Boys Volleyball season has
come to an end. The Boys team,
composed primarily of new
players,
showed
incredible
improvement with every play. The
final two league games of the
regular season ended in nail-biting
three-set matches before the Boys put up another good
showing in a playoff game against St. Isabella. The
coaches would like to congratulate all the players for
their great attitudes and dedication to improvement.
Remember that quality serves are the backbone of every
successful team. We hope you will all continue to make
volleyball part of your athletic activities in future years.
Mr. Csikos & Ms. Matos
The members of the 2015-2016 Senior Girls Volleyball
Team represented St. Michael School with poise and
pride. The season saw the team enter the playoffs with
a four wins and two losses record (both losses to the
same team), and a second place finish at the St. Joan of
Arc Invitational Tournament. The girls successfully
accomplished their goals of maintaining a positive
attitude throughout each game and practice, resiliency
and team work. They were incredibly hard working and
very skilled. The year saw them gain momentum in the
areas of floor coverage, communication during play,
three strong hits, consistent serving, and player support
in times of error. Mrs. Bass and Ms. Dunne were thrilled
to work with such a wonderful group of young athletes.
We will miss the athletes moving on to high school and
are greatly appreciative of your leadership and
dedication to the program at St. Michael School. Thank
you for all you have contributed to our school
community. We are also very excited as we look to next
year and eager to work with the returning athletes
during the 2016-2017 season. Please find below a
contribution to this newsletter by our team captain,
Catriona McFadden.
Since grade seven Ive been part of the St. Michael
Senior Girls Volleyball Team. This season was by far the
best. As a team we made loads of memories and had so
much fun. We may not have won, but in my eyes it was
a successful season. The girls bonded and we enjoyed
ourselves, that to me was a success. Catriona
McFadden grade 9 student and Senior Girls Captain.

Warrior Athletics
continued
WRESTLING
Wrestling for grade 7 to 9 is currently running on Mondays,
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:15 to 4:30. We urge
parents that are picking up wrestlers to arrive at 4:30 so that
wrestlers can leave promptly after practice. There may be times
practice will run late for those who wish to stay, but we want any
students who do stay past the 4:30 time to be able to leave
immediately as the coaches have a very tight time schedule and
very often must leave for other commitments promptly after
practice. Everyone is welcome to join our wrestling team whether
they want to compete or not. All wrestlers who do wish to compete
MUST have at least five practices to go to a Tri-Meet and MUST have
attended a Tri-Meet to attend the City finals.

St. Michael Catholic Church News


800 85 Street SW, Calgary
www.saintmichael.ca

Registration for First Confession/Reconciliation ends


on Friday, October 30.
Check online here
http://www.saintmichael.ca/main/index.php?page
_id=46 to register. The first parent night is on
Monday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m.
For
more
information,
contact Maureen at St.
Michael Catholic Community,
mross@saintmichael.ca or
403 249 0423 x 126.

Holy Land items for sale on the


Weekend of November 1415. Many items are hand-crafted
and very beautiful. Sales of these
items to help Christians in Israel.
Womens Ministry is hosting an evening Retreat with
Elaine Lee as the guest speaker on Tuesday
November 17th beginning at 6:30 PM. Please register
at womensministry@saintmichael.ca
During Advent there will be additional
Reconciliation Services on Wednesdays beginning
at 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm.

Can-struction
St. Michael School is participating in Can-struction, an event
where schools and engineering firms compete by building
structures out of
cans, which are
then donated to the
Calgary Interfaith
Food Bank. The
need for food is
higher than ever
and this initiative
helps to replenish
the food stocks
depleted during the
Christmas Season.
Some families at
our school access
the food bank, and
this opportunity to give back to the community is important to
our students.
We are asking for a monetary donation to help with
purchasing nutritious canned food or an item that can be used in
a school raffle. The theme this year is Nature, and our goal is
to be able to donate at least 2500 food items. To complete our
project we need raise a minimum of $2000 in order to buy the
cans and supplies that we will need to build our structure to
support the Food Bank.
To show our appreciation of your contribution, we can
offer signage on our banner during Can-Struction (which will be
on public display for a week) and a thank you in our school
newsletter, website and Twitter feed.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not
hesitate to contact us; we would welcome the opportunity to
discuss ways we can work
together to assist this worthy
cause.
Please
call
either
Alexandria Matos or Madeleine
Carrier at St. Michael School at:
403.500.2021
or
email:
alexandria.matos@cssd.ab.ca,
madeleine.carrier@cssd.ab.ca .

French News
In FLA, the Grade 7 Early Immersion class just
finished a short story unit with an exploration of
Fables and Comic Strips. In November, the
attention will turn to Informative Writing and
Newspaper articles. The Grade 7 Late Immersion students are
finishing their unit on constructing their ideal school. In Grade
8, the Early French immersion
students are doing a novel
study looking on family
secrets and the Late French
immersion
students
are
working on the elements of
communication. The Grade 9
students are reading a novel
by Stanley Pan, set in Montral and they will be writing a
business letter to the author, and hopefully Skyping with him
later in the month.
In Math, the Grade 7 students are working on decimals and the
Grade 9 students are working on symmetry and surface area.
In Science, Grade 7 French Immersion students have been
looking at the interactions and components of ecosystems and
will continue with this unit until November in order to explore
it in further dept to understand the complex web of relationships
and interrelationships that exist.
In Math, Grade 8 French Immersion students have been working
with fractions which will conclude shortly and this knowledge
will be applied to the study of ratios, rates as they engage in
proportional reasoning to solve problems from daily life and the
world around us.
In Social Studies, the Grade 7 Late French Immersion students
are studying the culture for the First Nations as well as the
culture of the French and English settlers. The Grade 9 students
are in a Model Parliament unit.
In science, the Grade 8 students are learning about the cells and
its structure and function. In Grade 9, the students will focus on
Space Exploration.
Also, to enhance the French culture in our program, we will
present French movies to our French Immersion students this
month. Titles, dates and times have yet to be determine, we will
keep you posted!

Confirmation News
This Wednesday the grade 8
and
grade
7
classes
participated in a confirmation
retreat at Saint Michael's church. The retreat was aimed to
encourage us, the students, to continue our faith journey
through the last sacrament of initiation- Confirmation.
Throughout the day we watched some Alpha Youth videos
(that were actually pretty cool and surprisingly good quality)
that showed us more about what it is to believe and to have
faith in God, but also what Confirmation will do in our lives.
After each video, we talked, in groups, about each other, our
faith journey, how we can advance in our faith and what
Confirmation means to us.
Although most of the parents probably only heard about the
donuts they gave us after lunch, we wanted to tell you what
this retreats message was and how it affects us. When we
talked to Mrs. Maureen Ross (the sacrament director at Saint
Michael's Church) about the
main messages during the
retreat, she told us about how
we need to be proud of our
faith community and truly
understand why it's important
to partake in Confirmation and
the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit (this was one of the big focuses
at the retreat) we get after being confirmed. She talked about
how to receive confirmation and how the retreat was an
amazing way to prepare for being confirmed.
We encourage the students of St. Michaels to continue
practicing their faith especially after this retreat and take the
next step- whether that is joining a church or getting
confirmed, we hope their parents can support them through
this journey. Mrs. Ross left us with some very important
words we live in a pretty hard world and we need all the
strength and gifts we can get, I know that the other students
were inspired by this retreat and the many words of wisdom
we got on Wednesday.
By: Grace Whitely & Aidan Laudersmith
Grade 8 Amour

World of Science
On Tuesday, January 26th, 2016, St.
Michael will host its 4th annual
Science Fair for MYP students.

Participating in Science Fair has many benefits:


-Reinforcement and/or enrichment of grade level
science, math and literacy skills
-Increased scientific knowledge
-Learning research and experimental techniques
-Growth in ability of independent work
-Increased communication skills
-Developing critical thinking and problem-solving
skills
Students who wish to participate in this years fair will do
so as an extra-curricular activity. In order to participate
in the Science Fair, students (Gr. 6 9) need to see Ms.
Robertson to receive their project selection form.
Students will then meet with Ms. Robertson weekly at
lunch to work on designing, creating and analyzing their
projects.
Students may choose from 2 categories for their project;
Experimental or Non-experimental/Research.
The
division, topic and question is chosen by the students and
must be approved by Ms. Robertson prior to beginning
the project.
Project selection forms are due to Ms. Robertson by
Friday, November 6, 2015.
The winning projects in (up to 4 from Gr. 6 and up to 11
from Gr. 7 9) will be invited to attend the Calgary Youth
Science Fair April 13th 16th, 2016.
Please
contact
Ms.
Robertson
at
laura.robertson@cssd.ab.ca for information regarding the
Science Fair.

International Baccalaureate (IB)


November IB Profile - Knowledgeable
Middle Years Programme (MYP) NEWS:

International mindedness from Inquirers to Knowledge-Able!


October has been a wonderfully busy month with our students involved many exciting initiatives that
celebrate International mindedness.
Being internationally minded means being inquisitive,
knowledgeable and open-minded to other perspectives on all global issues and understanding that
there is not only one way to view the world or solve problems. International mindedness is a form of
cultural sophistication, and a 21st century skill and attitude that we want all our students to develop so
they can become successful problem solvers and critical thinkers. If we foster International mindedness,
our students not only become knowledgeable but also Knowledge-Able. In essence, they will be able to use their
knowledge and attitudes to make the world a better place for all. Here are some internationally minded initiatives that
our students took part in this past month.
On October 19, our very knowledgeable and
enthusiastic MYP Grade 6 students organized
and ran the Student Vote for the
entire school.
Overall, 140
students voted and predicted a
Liberal majority with an NDP
Opposition. The Student Vote, a
non-governmental
CIVIX
initiative
intended
to
introduce students to the
democratic process of
voting has proven to engage
students in politics and in voting
when they reach the age of 18. More
than half of our CSSD schools and 6000 thousand
schools Canada wide participated in the Student
vote during this federal election.
In early October, 22
Grade nine students
attended the Women
for
Women
in
Afghanistan
Global
Summit in beautiful
Banff. Students took
part in discussions regarding the recently
adopted UN sustainable development goals and
participated in interactive workshops which
highlighted the differences between charity and

justice. As a parting gift, W4W in Afghanistan


presented all students with Barbara Ellis
Breadwinner book trilogy.
On October 24 MYP Grade 9 Leadership students
attended WE Day hosted by the charismatic
activist Craig Keilburger. 20,000 students across

the province celebrated local and global activism


with the band Perry and speakers Joseph
Boyden, Marlee Maitlin and Henry Winkler.
8 Grade 8 MYP students attended the Center for
Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology
Conference at the UofC. Our Water Warrior goal
is year is to purchase rain barrels for the school!
A special visit from Leonardo daVinci
enlightened our grade 8s on the everlasting
understandings of the intersection between,
science, art and nature across all cultures.

Stay tuned for upcoming events and ways in which our school intends to participate in local and global initiatives.
~Giovanna Longhi
MYP Coordinator

International Baccalaureate (IB)


November IB Profile - Knowledgeable
continued
Primary Years Programme (PYP) NEWS:
Fall has been a busy time for our PYP
students and teachers as classes are
completing their first IB unit and
heading into another! Thank you to
Ms. Waddell, Mrs. Lalonde and the Gr.
3 students, for accepting the challenge
of producing our first IBam
Celebration! Their presentation will
be on Thursday, November 26th from 10:45 am to 11:45 am in
their grade 3 classrooms.
In the Classrooms:
The grade 2s have started their second IB unit titled, Our
Country is Beautiful. The students will learn that people
express and appreciate the geographical beauty of the world in
different ways. The students will bring in a picture of a place
that they find beautiful and then create a poem, letter, or
pastel drawing to demonstrate what they find beautiful. They
will be sharing their pictures with the class and learning what
their classmates find esthetically pleasing.
The grade 3s have been working on the IB unit, How We
Organize Ourselves. This is a unit that investigates how the
Animal Kingdom is organized with classifications and structure.
Students have made inquiries into such structures as:
Invertebrate Animals, Vertebrate Animals, Warm-Blooded
Animals, Cold-Blooded Animals, Domestic and Wild Animals,
Mammals, Birds, Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, Animal Habitats,
and more. Youre invited to see how they have used their
knowledge to create a Backyard Habitat that will support the
needs of local wildlife!
The grade 5s will be beginning their new unit, How We
Organize Ourselves. The main focus of this unit is on health,
organization and positive ways to study. This unit will be
intertwined into all subject areas.
Each month students are encouraged to focus on a specific
learner profile attribute at St. Michael School. For the month
of November, they will be focusing on being thinkers. A
student demonstrates they are a thinker when they apply
critical thinking skills and creativity to solve complex problems
and make well thought-out, ethical decisions.
~Shannon Bass
PYP Coordinator

The Gavaliers Present: MYP versus PYP in the


Ultimate Lunchroom Challenge!
The Gavaliers public speaking group meets
every Day 5 at noon in the Learning
Commons. New members are warmly
welcome to join!
We have started the Be the Energy!
campaign a campaign designed by
students for students to raise awareness about tapping into
their own creative energy to improve the world.
The Gavaliers have been crafting announcements to encourage
students to use their own energy while repurposing, reducing,
reusing and recycling in more creative ways than ever.
During the last full week of November (November 23-27), we
will have the ultimate challenge when MYP will compete with
PYP. The challenge is to see which group can keep the
lunchroom garbage cans empty. Which group will produce the
least amount of waste?
Through announcements leading up to the contest, The
Gavaliers will try to increase the amount of litterless lunches at
St. Michael School. We will encourage students to use reusable
fabric lunch kits, reusable plastic containers and water
canteens. We are trying to keep our ecological imprint small.
The prize will be announced when the contest begins later in
November.
We will also be striving to cut back on food waste. Did you know
that Canadians waste 31 billion pounds of food each year? Half
eaten apples, rejected lunch food, crusts on sandwiches lets
finish our lunches and keep the amount of garbage down!
~Ms. A. McInnis
The Gavaliers' coach & Grade One Teacher

Counsellors Corner
Happy November from the counselling
office. With the days getting shorter and the
weather getting colder, I know that getting
your child up and at em in the morning is
not getting easier. Often I ask students about
their sleep patterns when they are struggling
at school and I am surprised to see how many
students are unaware of their own sleep
patterns and routines. Sleep is something we
struggle with even as adults, so starting to implement sleep routines in
children is really a lifelong skill that can prove to be very beneficial.
Much focus with children is spent on meeting important basic needs,
such as nutrition, exercise, social and emotional development, however
it can be just as important to check in and make changes to sleep
patterns in childhood and through the teen years. Below are some easy
tips from the national sleep foundation that may help discussing the
importance of sleep with your child.
FACTS:

Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you


breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even
help you to eat better and manage the stress of being a teen.

Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both


sleeping
and
waking
during
adolescence
-meaning it is
natural to not be
able to fall asleep
before 11:00 pm.

Teens
need
about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best. Most
teens do not get enough sleep one study found that only
15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights.

Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week


they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the
weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt
the quality of their sleep.

CONSEQUENCES:
Not getting enough sleep or having sleep difficulties can:

Limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve


problems. You may even forget important information like
names, numbers, your homework or a date with a special
person in your life;

Make you more prone to pimples. Lack of sleep can


contribute to acne and other skin problems;

Lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior such as yelling


at your friends or being impatient with your teachers or
family members;

Cause you to eat too much or eat unhealthy foods like sweets
and fried foods that lead to weight gain.

SOLUTIONS:

Make sleep a priority. Keep a sleep diary. Decide what you


need to change to get enough sleep to stay healthy, happy,
and smart!

Naps can help pick you up and make you work more
efficiently, if you plan them right. Naps that are too long or
too close to bedtime can interfere with your regular sleep.

Make your room a sleep haven. Keep it cool, quiet and dark.
If you need to, get eyeshades or blackout curtains. Let in
bright light in the morning to signal your body to wake up.

No pills, vitamins or drinks can replace good sleep.


Consuming caffeine close to bedtime can hurt your sleep, so
avoid coffee, tea, soda/pop and chocolate late in the day so
you can get to sleep at night. Nicotine and alcohol will also
interfere with your sleep.

Establish a bed and wake-time and stick to it, coming as close


as you can on the weekends. A consistent sleep schedule will
help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync
with its natural patterns. You will find that its easier to fall
asleep at bedtime with this type of routine.

Dont eat, drink, or exercise within a few hours of your


bedtime. Dont leave your homework for the last minute. Try
to avoid the TV, computer and telephone in the hour before
you go to bed. Stick to quiet, calm activities, and youll fall
asleep much more easily!

If you do the same things every night before you go to sleep,


you teach your body the signals that its time for bed. Try
taking a bath or shower (this will leave you extra time in the
morning), or reading a book.

Try keeping a diary or to-do lists. If you jot notes down


before you go to sleep, youll be less likely to stay awake
worrying or stressing.

Most teens experience changes in their sleep schedules. Their


internal body clocks can cause them to fall asleep and wake
up later. You cant change this, but you can participate in
interactive activities and classes to help counteract your
sleepiness. Make sure your activities at night are calming to
counteract your already heightened alertness.

"If parents and teens know what good sleep entails and the benefits of
making and sticking to a plan that supports good sleep, then they might
re-examine their choices about what truly are their essential
activities," says Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., Director of
Chronobiology/Sleep Research at the E.P. Bradley Hospital and
Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School
in Providence, R.I. "The earlier parents can start helping their children
with good sleep habits, the easier it will be to sustain them through the
teen years."

Gr. 9 Leadership: WE DayBe the Change!

Dear St. Michael families,


In October, Leadership kids had a fantastic time! In
the past month weve participated many special
events:
1) Saint Stephen's Catholic Ukrainian Church
sponsored a clothing giveaway, also known
as Pass It On. On Friday, October 4th, our
tasks were to sort through hundreds of bags
filled with clothing, put them on hangars and
then put them on racks to be displayed for the
clients. Special thanks to Mrs. Dean, Mr.
Dixon, Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Weins for being
our taxis and supervisors.
2) Second, Mr. Strickers class started off the
fundraising for our CAN-struction project.
Instead of a food collection at Thanksgiving,
Grade 5 sponsored a bake sale and raised a
total of $104.70. Thank-you Grade 5
students.
3) On October 16, all MYP students attended
the schools first pep rally located at the gym.
We all watched a student vs. teacher
competition filled with great music, a great
game and hosted by Bk, Gabby and Raquel.
4) Fourth, 22 leadership students attended the
Me to We Day at the Saddledom. We, plus
16,000 other students were treated to
spectacular presentations by Henry Winkler,
The Band Perry, Francisco Yates, Spencer
West, Marlee Matlin and Mackenzie
Murphy!
Description of Joy Roveras experience at We Day
**We
Day
is
a
celebration of youth
making a difference in
their local community
and global communities.
My We Day experience gives me great ideas
on how to help/serve our community by

doing simple things that can create a big


impact in our society. We day was
empowering young people to change the
world, it means that all of us can create a
better future. We day helps us to understand
and i nspire everyone to take social action,
empower others and transform every
persons life. We Day was
a good opportunity for us
to learn how to become
great leaders in our
community by simply
volunteering.
We
Day was a fun event
for me because I
enjoyed and I learned so many
things, youth can make a difference
in their community through simple actions
we can change our world. The lasting
memory that I had in We Day were the
celebrity ambassadors who lend their voices
and talents to help empower young people
like us. The band Perry had great music that
it related to the event. My favorite presenter
was Marlee Matlin, even though she is deaf
she still express her feelings, telling us that
there are no limitation to helping others and
each of us has a purpose and role in our
community.
5) Last thing on October 30, the Halloween
Howl will occur. We are thankful for Parent
Council who has made room for us to have a
little fundraising for the CAN-struction
activity in the New Year. Leadership will be
hosting a canteen. That evening, will also be
helping with the Haunted House, the GOOP
making and DJ-ing for the dance.
** Please note that Poppies will be
distributed to all the students in the school.
Homeroom teachers will be collecting money
that will be sent to the Poppy fund. **
Matthew and Russell

High School Registration


FOOTPRINTS TO OUR FUTURE
In November students in grade nine will be
working in health class with Mrs. Dean on
a resource called Footprints to our Future.
Working through this resource will assist
students in discerning a path that is right
for them next year as they transition to
high school. Throughout the next few
months, Mrs. Dean will be providing
information to students pertaining to high
schools and programs that are available to
them within Calgary Catholic as well as
assisting them with registration in their
courses for next year. We work very
collaboratively with the high schools in our
district to ensure a smooth transition both
academically and socially. Any parents
with questions regarding high school are
encouraged to email or call Mrs. Dean, the
Guidance Counsellor here at St. Michael.

St. Marys High School


Information and Open House
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

St. Michael School 2014-2015 Provincial Achievement Test Results


Teachers and administration will analyze the test results below and develop school targets for improvement in our
school plan for this school year. The results of the Achievement Tests for Grades 6 and 9 students are carefully
monitored and analyzed by the District and school to identify high performance and improvement areas. This analysis
is considered in the development of individual school growth plans. Congratulations to Teachers and students for their
hard work and great results.

Results for Writers

2015
Acceptable %
Excellence %

Previous 3 year average


Acceptable %
Excellence %

Grade 6:
English Language Arts 6

Mathematics 6

Science 6

Social Studies 6

School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province

91.7
95.2
91.3
81.1
87.4
80.4
86.1
90.8
84.8
81.2
85.9
78

13.9
23.9
21.5
5.4
17.0
15.3
16.7
31.2
28.8
6.1
22.1
21

97.6
95.2
90.6
83.3
91.4
90.1
95.2
89.7
84.2
97.6
85.6
78.7

45.2
22.5
19.5
21.4
18.6
17.0
57.1
30.1
27.6
51.2
20.8
18.6

School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province
School
CSSD
Province

92.7
91.0
85.5
91.3
87.8
89.3
83
78.2
73
88.3
87.4
82.4
84.5
79.4
73.4

34.5
17.6
16.3
30.4
10.0
10.5
33.9
21.7
20
45
30.3
25.4
39.7
24.9
26.6

93.0
91.9
86.4
94.7
91.1
89.3
91.3
79.5
75.2
93.1
86.5
81.8
91.2
78.4
73.9

22.8
19.8
17.0
5.3
13.1
11.5
19.0
21.1
19.4
27.6
27.5
24.7
15.8
23.0
22.4

Grade 9:
English Language Arts 9

French Language Arts 9

Mathematics 9

Science 9

Social Studies 9

Band Activities 2015-2016


MUSIC NOTES
Upcoming Events:
Panago Pizza Band Fundraiser:
Starting October 13 and running until November
6 pizza coupons are available for purchase for $10
each. Order forms are available on the school website.
This will give customers a free coupon for any
medium sized pizza. Pizzas start at $11.75 on
Panagos menu, so this coupon will offer customers
savings!
For every coupon sold, Panago will give us $4 to go
towards our fundraising goals for upcoming band
events.
Each band student has been asked to sell 2 coupons
each.
Orders must be submitted with payment before
coupons will be sent home to give to customers.
Coupons must be paid for with cash or cheque
only. Cheques should be written out to St. Michael
Band Parents.
Peace Liturgy: Monday, November 9 at 10:00 am
Carols for Christmas:
The choir students have
been invited to sing
Christmas carols with
several other schools in
Calgary at the December 3
Hitmen hockey game!
More details will come
home with choir students
next rehearsal!!
Advent Concert: Wednesday, December 9 at 7:00 pm | St.
Michael Parish
Upcoming Rehearsals:
Band Classes:
Its report card assessment time! Students have been working
steadily on playing tests and written assignments all
assignments are available on the school website and/or D2L.
Please keep on top of your work!
Mass Band Rehearsals:
Grade 6 and 7 November 24, Period 5
Grade 8 and 9 November 24, Period 6 and 7
Choir: Tuesdays at lunch

Patrol News!!
We were having a little
difficulty getting everyone
out in the morning, but
after a tweak of the
schedule, we rearranged it
to suit everyone better and things have been
going well. It is getting cold so I am asking
patrollers to dress for the worst weather and
hope for the best. I ask our parents to keep in
mind that students are crossing the street as
they come to and leave from school and
sometimes it gets icyplease leave more
time to stop. J-Walking continues to be a
problem, with students zipping out across the
street usually from between parked cars. If
the police do show up and ticket, it is a
$250.00 fine for anyone caught J-Walking.
Thats a lot of video game money!

NOVEMBER 2015
Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

2
FAITH DAY NO
CLASSES

3 Day 6
Special Lunch:

4 Day 1

5 Day 2
EARLY
DISMISSAL

6 Day 3
Special Lunch:

9
Remembrance day
liturgy 10 a.m. gym

10 Day 4
HOJA Follow your
dreams Concert! 2
p.m.
Special Lunch:

11 Day 5

12 Day 6

13 Day 1

14

REMEMBRANCE
DAY- NO CLASSES

EARLY
DISMISSAL

Special Lunch:

17 Day 3
-Gr. 4 Reconciliation
Retreat at the Parish
-Dental Screening K-1
-Special Lunch:

18 Day 4

19 Day 5

SCHOOL COUNCIL
MTG 6:00 PM IN
WORK RM

EARLY
DISMISSAL

23 Day 1

24 Day 2

25 Day 3

MYP Evaluation from


the IBO

Special Lunch:

15

22

16 Day 2

26 Day 4
BOTTLE DRIVE
EARLY DISMISSAL

P/T CONFERENCES
4-7 P.M.
29

30
PROFESSIONAL
DAY- NO CLASSES

20 Day 6
PHOTO RETAKES
PROGRESS REPORTS
GO HOME
Special Lunch:

21
CONFERENCE
MANAGER OPENS
FOR P/T
INTERVIEWS

27

28

P/T CONFERENCESNO CLASSES

CRAFT FAIR 10
A.M.-3 P.M

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