On November 11, 1918, at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month the First World War came to an end.  Much of the war had been fought in dug-out trenches across Belgium and France.  It is thought that about 9 million soldiers lost their lives, and about 27 million were wounded.  During the First World War, the soldiers in their dug-outs could see red poppies growing in the fields of Flanders.

As you wear your poppy this year, please remember the countless soldiers that have given their lives for us, whether in the First World War, Second World War, Korean Conflict, Afghanistan, and the many peacekeeping missions.  We must honour and thank them for our safe and peaceful country.

Please also remember the horrors of war. The horrible destruction it brings to soldiers and civilians.  It may sound simple, but if we could only follow Jesus Christ and his model of love and forgiveness, war would not exist.  Please remember and thank all those who gave so much for us to live in the best country in the world.  More importantly, please pray for peace.  Peace in our own learning community of Father Leonard Van Tighem School, peace in our country, and yes, world peace.

Finally, thank you to Miss Groten’s 5G class and Mr. Craddock 9C for creating our virtual Remembrance Day Service that was shared with our students last Friday.

On November 11^th wear your poppy, honour our fallen, but please pray for peace.

Greg Kostiuk

We recently submitted our Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP).  Our two main goals are to develop and spread ‘a horizon of hope’ in our community and improve students’ numeracy/literacy and develop learning competencies within ‘Inspiring Education’.  The foundation of our CIP is numeracy/literacy and to support the goals of Inspiring Education.  Inspiring Education can be summed up by the statement “Engaged thinkers and ethical citizens with an entrepreneurial spirit.”

Here is a graphic to help summarize our CIP:

This past School Council I shared our Alberta Education Accountability Report Card with parents.   Our school continues to be a very positive learning environment for our students.  We received an excellent rating in the following categories:

• Safe and Caring
• Program of Studies
• Education Quality
• Citizenship
• Parental Involvement
• School Improvement

This table summarizes our results:

With regard to our Provincial Achievement Test Results, our results are following a trend.  This trend can be explained by the increasing number of students being excused by parents.  I respect parent’s right to excuse students.  Any excused student is assessed a zero mark and is included in our results.  You can click on this link Our Lady of the Assumption School Accountability Report Card for detailed results.

Even though Our Lady of the Assumption School is a terrific place, we will continue to strive to improve our school.

Greg Kostiuk

Today we celebrate Catholic Education Sunday in Alberta.  We are very blessed to have Catholic Education.  Currently, Alberta is one of only three provinces that still has fully funded Catholic Education (Saskatchewan and Ontario are the other two provinces.  This year the theme of Catholic Education Sunday is ‘Our Schools as Islands of Mercy’.  Here is excerpt from the letter from the Bishops of Alberta and NWT:

• 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)

Pope Francis reminds us of our call to be merciful.  “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”  (Matthew 5:7).  Let us work together in the spirit of Catholic Education to make Our Lady of the Assumption School an ‘Island of Mercy’ for all members of our learning community.

Respectfully yours,

Greg Kostiuk