Hello to all our FLVT students.  We just wanted to share some messages and a video to all of you sharing that we miss you, big time!

Also, here is a video from us (thank you to Miss Loman and Mrs. Martin-Wersink for creating it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ByuU2lznJOkJjCw7oojkJD2enH6xmhM4/view?usp=sharing

We miss you!

June 15, 2020 update:

As this is the last week of online classes we are asking ALL school owned resources, which includes

• text books,
• library books,
• laptops, and
• ALL Edwin devices with charging cords and carrying case

are be returned on either Monday June 22^nd or Tuesday June 23^rd.

A table will be set up outside the front doors of the school between 9:00-3:00 for students.

June 2, 2020 update:

June 2, 2020 Dear Parents/Guardians: With the end of the school year quickly approaching, I want to inform you that the final day of instruction for students will be Friday, June 19, 2020.  This will allow staff to complete all year-ending procedures, the most important of which is reporting on student learning. Back in early April when shifting completely to online instruction and learning from home, administrators and staff had made arrangements for some students to borrow technology devices from schools (Chromebooks, laptops, iPads).  These devices need to be returned to the school during the week of June 22-26 in order to be serviced and sanitized in preparation for learning in September. As you are aware, our teachers and staff have been working diligently since the cancellation of classes which began in the middle of March.  In this emergency mode, teaching and learning took on a whole new look.  However, we know that this current arrangement for student learning is not sustainable and some changes have to take place.  We are continuing to work closely with Alberta Health Services and Alberta Education to better understand the conditions under which we will be operating in September.  Our schools are examining a variety of options and we will keep you informed of what that will look like prior to the end of this school year.  There are so many variables that have to be taken into consideration (applicable health restrictions, class sizes, transportation, utilization and sanitization of learning spaces to name a few).  I also want you to understand that if circumstances change over the summer, we will have to pivot and change direction to be in line with the directives of Alberta Health Services, but again, we will certainly keep you informed as we learn of them. Report Cards will be distributed to students and families as follows: St. Teresa of Calcutta School – an email will be sent automatically to parents from FreshGrade with the report attached.  All other elementary schools:  an email will be sent home from the school with the report card attached.  If this is not viable, for whatever reason, parents/guardians are asked to phone the school to arrange for a different way of receiving report cards.  Junior and senior high schools: reports will be available through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. A notification will be sent when they become available. I wish to thank each and every family for supporting the continuation of student learning. Sincerely,  Ken Sampson, Superintendent

May 11, 2020 update:

Like many of our students and parents, some of us are getting a little annoyed or tired of all the Google Classroom emails and notifications.  Thanks to Mr. Leger, here is a simple video on how to turn off and turn on notifications in Google Classroom:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ndInjmWZ70zm3_vhNnYdnjvcLwYyn0-Z/view?usp=sharing

We hope this helps.

Also, here is an update about school fee refunds.

Elementary Field Trips fees (where applicable) have been refunded online.

We will now proceed with issuing refunds for the unused portion of 2019/20 Co-curricular and Junior High Option fees. Due to the high number of refunds required, we are experiencing delays in processing times.

Families that paid using School Cash Online will receive refunds to the original method of payment. Families that paid by cash or cheque will receive a refund cheque in the mail once all refunds have been completed. If you paid online, but have since had a change to your credit card information, you will also receive a cheque in the mail once refunds have all been processed.

Please note that refunds will first be applied to any fees that are outstanding in your family.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

May 6, 2020 update:

Please view this video and the below summary from our Minister of Education regarding the conclusion of this school year and the start of next school year:

With in-person classes cancelled, teachers continue to work from the at-home learning guidelines established on March 20, with subject matter and workload varying by grade level.

“I want to thank our teachers, school support staff, administrators, education partners and parents for quickly adapting to our current reality and helping ensure that their children continue to learn as best as possible under the circumstances. I know everyone is making the effort to connect students. I look forward to school returning when the time is right and health restrictions allow for it.”

Schools are using multiple approaches to deliver content to students. More than 90 per cent of school authorities are offering online learning, while about half are also emailing, telephoning and sending paper-based work to students.

School authorities and the government have provided about 60,000 devices, including laptops, Chromebooks, tablets and iPads, to students as they learn from home. School authorities have prioritized providing devices to students based on need, focusing on students who do not have access to devices, have complex needs, or are high school students. Additionally, the Métis Nation of Alberta, in partnership with Rupertsland Institute, has purchased more than 2,200 devices for self-identified Métis students across Alberta.

“We are proud to provide our Métis students with devices so they can continue to engage and succeed with online learning and the digital classroom in the months ahead. We believe that working in partnership with the College of Alberta School Superintendents and school authorities reflects a best practice where no child gets left behind in these unprecedented times.”

Supports for families and parents

Recognizing that many families have questions about at-home learning, a provincial education helpline is now available to parents through which Alberta Education staff will address their questions and direct them to their school authorities, where applicable. The intent is to provide advice to families, particularly to parents of children with disabilities, who have questions about their child’s program now that the traditional delivery process has changed. Parents can reach the helpline by calling 780-422-6548 (toll-free by dialing 310-0000, followed by the 10-digit phone number) or by emailing studentsupport@gov.ab.ca.

Additionally, more than 4,000 curriculum resources to support parents and students are available on the LearnAlberta.ca website. School authorities have also made various resources available on their own websites.

“The Alberta School Councils’ Association believes that parents and guardians should have access to an independent, formal source of support and guidance when barriers prevent optimum learner success, especially for children with disabilities. The parent helpline will offer relief for families struggling to navigate a new learning environment. We appreciate working with Alberta Education and partners on re-entry planning, given the complexity of a return-to-school plan that must consider the wide impact of COVID-19.”

Re-entry plan engagement

No decisions have been made on school operations for the 2020-21 school year starting in September. The province is working with school authorities and education system partners on developing a comprehensive re-entry plan that considers three scenarios, which could exist by September. They are:

• Normal school operations are able to resume.
• Schools are partially re-opened, with some level of restrictions.
• Teacher-directed at-home learning continues.

The re-entry plan will prioritize the safety and well-being of our teachers, staff and students. In addition to the feedback gathered from the education system, the plan will honour collective bargaining agreements, and will be informed by Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy and advice provided by Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.

“The challenge of reopening schools is very complex. We appreciate the efforts of the minister and department officials to meaningfully engage us on these important issues. The health and safety of students, teachers, staff, families and the broader community are paramount in these discussions. We are using input from provincial ATA teacher representatives and a recent COVID-19 related survey of over 2,000 teachers to share the views of the profession.”

“We appreciate government’s efforts to engage the Alberta School Boards Association and Alberta’s 61 locally elected school boards on the re-entry plan. As these are early days in the planning process, school boards will continue to work with government and provide input on a safe and appropriate re-entry plan and timeline. School boards are eager to welcome staff and students back into schools as soon as it is safe to do so.”

“The College of Alberta School Superintendents is pleased to be working with Alberta Education as together we develop a re-entry plan for the 2020-21 school year. We understand that students, teachers and staff are anxiously awaiting to return to class; however, any return to in-person schooling must prioritize a successful transition for our students while ensuring the health and wellness of everyone attending our schools.”

This initiative is one element of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy that must be in place before Alberta can begin to safely remove public health restrictions. For more information, visit alberta.ca/covid-19.

May 5, 2020 update:

We are currently working on issuing refunds for the unused portion of 2019/20 Elementary Field Trip fees. Due to the high number of refunds required, we are experiencing delays in processing times.

Families that paid using School Cash Online will receive refunds to the original method of payment. Families that paid by cash or cheque will receive a refund cheque in the mail once all refunds have been completed.

Please note that refunds will first be applied to any fees that are outstanding in your family.

We will send out another notification when we begin processing Junior High option refunds.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

Thank you.

April 24, 2020 update:

Please read this update regarding student assessment:

April 9, 2020 update:

On Monday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 21, we are asking our Jr. High students to return their Social Studies and Science textbooks to the school.  There will be some tables set out by the front doors.  Students may drop them off anytime between 9 am and 3 pm.  We are doing this as the teachers will be able to share these resources online.  Students may keep their textbooks if they want and there will be another drop off time schedule.

Have a blessed, and safe, Easter break

April 3, 2020 update:

Please click on this link for a press release from our Superintendent explaining the Impact of K-12 Funding Adjustment:

https://holyspirit.ab.ca/resources_publications/news/whats_new/government_funding_adjustment

After such a hectic past few weeks, after a relaxing weekend.  Be safe out there and please practice social/physical distancing.

March 31, 2020 update

Due to the government’s directive to provide temporary layoff notices, I’m unfortunately informing our FLVT community that the following staff members were notified today of their layoff:

• All Educational Assistants in our Early Learning Program and K to 9 programs and our Library Technician

Please click on this link for a statement from our Superintendent https://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/resources_publications/news/whats_new/government_funding_adjustment

Support staff affected by these temporary layoffs will be working until April 30, 2020.

I want to take this opportunity to thank our support staff for the excellent work they do, especially the last couple of weeks as we transitioned to virtual learning.  Our support staff are essential to student learning, especially for our most vulnerable students, and provide important services to our students and families.  They have been working extremely hard in these challenging times.  We look forward to having our laid off support staff back with us in the 2020-21 school year.

I ask everyone to say a prayer of support for all the people and families that have been affected by this government directive and by COVID-19.

March 28, 2020 update

Please see today’s announcement from Alberta Education K- 12 education funding temporarily adjusted to match cost.

Last week we were told that funding would be in place for the remainder of the year, therefore we are quite surprised by this announcement.  As FLVT has adapted to virtual teaching and student learning we can share with you that Educational Assistants and other support staff have worked very hard and they have been essential in this successful transition.

On Monday our school division leadership will be meeting to understand the impact of this announcement.  Once we have more information regarding this announcement we will share it with all our stakeholders.  The work of our support staff is very valuable.

I ask you to pray for all our staff that are affected by today’s announcement.

March 25, 2020 update

Happy first day of Virtual Schooling.  It is hard to believe just a week and a half ago we were in regular classes.  I am so proud of the staff of FLVT on how quickly they were able to adapt to the new normal.  One thing I have stressed with everyone is this is all new to us.  New to staff, new to parents, and especially new to students.  We want to start off slow and not overwhelm anyone.  AB Education guidelines are for 5 hours of work for Grade 1 to 6 and 10 hours of work for Grade 7 to 9.  I know today’s rollout may be overwhelming, especially our Jr. High students and parents.

Here is some information for our Jr. High students and parents that may help.  On Mondays, teachers will send out all the content for the week.  Students will have the flexibility to do different work on different days but must be aware of certain due dates.  Each day, students will have direct contact and feedback from a different subject teacher.  Here is the schedule:

• Monday: Social teachers
• Tuesday: English Language Arts teachers
• Wednesday: Math teachers
• Thursday: Science teachers
• Friday: Religion and Physical/Mental Wellness teachers (basically your Religion, PE, or Health teachers)

Thank you again for all your support, just as this is new to staff, parents, and students, it is all new to our Administrative Team.  I personally need to thank Ms. Pilsner and Mr. Magierowski for all their help, guidance, and work as we transition to a virtual school.

March 23, 2020 update

Our Grade 1 to 3 teachers have created print work packets for students.  We ask that all Grade 1 to 3 parents to please come to FLVT to pick-up the print material.  All the materials will be on tables outside the FLVT front doors.  Please follow social distancing practices.  Here is the schedule:

• Monday, March 23 from 12 pm to 3:30 pm
• Tuesday, March 24 from 9 am to 3 pm
• Wednesday, March 25 from 9 am to 3 pm

We are unable to offer any after school hours pick-up.  Please contact the school if you have any questions.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

March 20, 2020

Good afternoon everyone,

Today our Superintendant, Ken Sampson, has announced how we at Holy Spirit Catholic Schools Plan for Continued Learning During Cancellation of Classes.  Please see his announcement after some general comments.

An integral part of delivering learning will be the use of technology.

• All Elementary homeroom teachers will be connecting with a parent to see about access to a device and internet access for their students.
• Jr. High Parents/Students – Please contact your homeroom teacher by email to tell them if you have an at-home device and internet access.  All our Grade 7 students should have their Edwin Chromebook device.
• Those students that do not have access to any devices or internet, the school will be developing a process to arrange print pick-up.

FLVT will be sharing more specific information in the future.  This is all new to us and will be new to students.  One analogy is we are all going on a mandatory ski trip, some of us may be able to go right up to the top, but many of us will be starting on the bunny hill.

Here is Mr. Sampson’s Announcement:

Dear Parents and Families of Children and Students in Holy Spirit Catholic Schools:

 

Current Context

Since the cancellation of K-12 classes in Alberta schools looked like a possibility, our administrators, teachers and support staff have been working diligently to create platforms and plans that will ensure that all students are able to continue their learning under these challenging circumstances. Holy Spirit Catholic Schools is blessed to have innovative, creative and thoughtful educators. Through collaboration, innovation and creativity they will continue to serve the learning needs of our students during this time.  We are confident that we can serve our students and families well in what is a new and unique reality. This pandemic has certainly changed the course of how we live and interact with others. Each and every day, we continue to pray for the well-being of students and families in our school community, the staff in our schools and those who are working to eliminate this deadly illness. I want to thank each family for your patience as we navigate through this challenging time period.

 

Planning for Instruction

Our school administrators have been working with teachers, preparing materials for learning to continue in some format.  I think we can all agree that the learning moving forward will be very different than conventional learning that students would have been accustomed to having in our schools.  All of our teachers throughout our school division have been asked to provide learning activities in both a digital format as well as ‘hard copies’ or learning packages that will be available for distribution to families that do not have the capabilities to connect to digital/online resources.

 

We recognize that this will be a slow roll out to begin with, as not all of our teachers are accustomed to providing learning opportunities in an online method.  Inevitably, there will be some kinks or wrinkles that will have to be ironed out as we move forward. We ask your patience and prayers as we move forward.

 

Information from Alberta Education

The decision to move forward in this manner has been a result of gathering information from many sources (our schools and the availability of resources, working in partnership with neighbouring school divisions and the direction from a variety of ministries in the province – predominantly the Ministry of Education).  The public has heard directly from the Honourable Minister of Education, Adriana LaGrange, that all students will receive final grades this year and will progress to the next grade level, including graduation. Last week we learned that all Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) were cancelled for the 2019-20 school year , and we have just received confirmation from the Minister of Education this morning (March 20, 2020) that all Diploma Examinations will also be cancelled.  This alleviates a significant degree of stress placed upon our administrators and teachers, but most especially on our students now that the course grade will be determined exclusively by the school.  That said, course content will still be delivered to students in an effort to minimize gaps in learning.

Timeline

• Monday, March 23, 2020 – all high schools will begin providing online instruction for students
• Wednesday, March 25, 2020 – Kindergarten to grade 9 online instruction will begin NOTE: specific information about this process will be shared on a school-by-school basis

 

Learning Expectations (Time Commitment)

Teachers are crafting learning activities for students that are geared toward the following guidelines and will focus on key essential learner outcomes:

Kindergarten – play-based learning with a focus on Literacy, Numeracy and Social Emotional Learning

• Grades 1 to 3 – 5 hours of student learning time per week with a focus on Literacy, Numeracy, Religion and Physical / Mental Wellness
  
• Grades 4 to 6 – 5 hours of student learning time per week with a focus on Literacy, Numeracy (with possible inclusion of Science and Social), Religion and Physical / Mental Wellness
  
• Grades 7 to 9 – 10 hours of student learning time per week with a focus on core courses, including Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Religion Education and Physical / Mental Wellness
  
• High School: all courses, where applicable and whatever is deemed an appropriate time commitment

 

Please continue to be safe and adhere to the recommendations from Alberta Health Services as we collectively fight to end this terrible pandemic.  Know that you and your family will continue to be in my daily prayers.

 

Should you have any questions about this information please contact your school administration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ken Sampson, Superintendent

Also, here is a March 20, 2020 news release from Alberta Education:

https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=69874B5C32DE7-C7B9-FAFF-518A0FF91DCFD41D

Thank you for your patience and support.  We look forward to continuing our school and parent partnership as we educate our students.

Personal Belongings Pick-Up #2 on Friday, March 20, 2020

Thank you, everyone, that was able to pick up belonging today, it was great to see the students and parents if even for a brief moment.  Justifiably, there were some tears.  Approximately 70% of the belonging were picked up.  We are having a second pick-up on Friday, March 20, 2020, between 7am and 10 am.   We are following a similar process as of March 18 (see below) with some slight changes.  Here are the changes and some additional information:

• There will be no specific schedule, simply come between 7 am and 10 am;
• After today the gymnasium was sanitized and will be again after the second pick-up;
• Jr. High students – please check the gym change rooms for items, including gym lockers;
• Check the lost and found tables in the gym;
• Continue to bring in library books;
• There a still a lot of Early Learning Program and Kindergarten items to be picked up;
• For Kindergarten students Mrs. Chambers made a memory book.  It is with the student’s belongings;
• Elementary report cards are with the student’s belongings.

Thank you for all your support.  We sure miss everyone!

Personal Belongings Pick-Up on Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Dear Father Leonard Van Tighem Community,

Classes are indefinitely cancelled due to COVID-19 and students are prohibited from entering FLVT.  All Holy Spirit Catholic Schools are arranging a ‘pick-up’ day for students to pick up their belonging and empty their lockers.  We have arranged times for students or parents to come by the school WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 to pick up all their belongings including:

• all student belongings from lockers and classrooms will be bagged and placed in the gym.  They will be organized by grade level.  Please enter the school by the doors just west of the playground and exit the school via the west double gym exit doors.  We are limiting access to the school as we are currently doing an extensive cleaning and sanitizing of the school.
• elementary report cards will be placed with the student belonging.

We have arranged times alphabetically so families can come at the same time. The times are to ensure our numbers in the school stay low, so we ask you to please come during your allotted time. Also, we request that students remain in the school only as long as it takes to get their belongings, and not linger.  Please follow social distancing practices.

If you cannot be here Wednesday, the school will communicate alternate arrangements.  Please make every effort to come on Wednesday.  Also, please feel free to have someone else pick-up the belongings for you.  If you are ill or self-isolating, please do not come to school.

If the materials you need are medically necessary, please contact the office.

Schedule:

Thank you for your cooperation.

April 23, 2020 Update:

April 9, 2020 Update:

Although we secured a venue and planned on performing Aladdin Jr. in June, it has become clear that due to the COVID-19 pandemic are unable to have a performance this school year.  We have officially postponed Aladdin Jr. until next year.

At this point, we do not have any details for next year’s performance.  Once we have a better understanding of our 2020-21 school year we will share our plans, this will include the issue of our current Grade 9 student’s ability to be involved.

Miss Loman, or someone else of the school, will be announcing a day that students can come pick-up their Aladdin Jr. t-shirts and some posters.

Thank you to all the staff involved, especially Miss Loman, to all the parents for their support, and to all our talented students that were involved in the production.  I truly believe it would have been a terrific show and I look forward to the production of Aladdin Jr. next school year.

March 23, 2020:

Due to COVID-19, our school division has decided to cancel the April shows of Aladdin Jr. at the Yates.  Thank you to all the students and staff for their hard work in preparing for the performance.  On a positive note, I met with students and staff at the end of the school day to inform them Aladdin Jr. itself has not been cancelled, but it has been postponed.  We are looking at performing Aladdin Jr. in early June.  We are still looking at finalizing the details, once we have them we will share them with everyone.  Currently, all rehearsals are cancelled.  Students are encouraged to practice their roles at home.

Also, please note that the situation with COVID-19 is changing.  If COVID-19 continues to be an issue in the spring we will need to review the status of Aladdin Jr.

Thank you for your patience as we adjust our plans and thank you for supporting the Fine Arts at Father Leonard Van Tighem School.

March 17, 2020 update

Good morning everyone,

We want to share with you some brief updates:

• We are trying to process the issue, events, and the tasks ahead of us.  Thank you for your patience, we hope to send a more detailed update by the end of the week or early next week about how we will be supporting student learning while they are home;
• We ask you not to contact the school or individual teachers at this time;
• School Council meetings have been cancelled.  We will inform you when this has changed;
• Parent-Teacher interviews for March 26 are cancelled;
• Later this morning we will be sending a notice regarding the process to pick-up student belongings and emptying lockers.

Thank you for all your support.  We wish you a happy, quiet St. Patrick’s Day.  We ask you to continue to pray for all those affected by this crisis.

March 15, 2020 – 5:30 pm update

Please view the press conference from our government, including our Premier and Dr. Deen Hinshaw: https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx#statement

The following message was received by the Honourable Minister of Education, Adriana LaGrange, today at 5:00 p.m.

I want to thank the many boards and education partners that have provided their views over the weekend. It has become clear that it would be challenging to implement health recommendations like social distancing and proper cleaning protocols.

The safety of our students, teachers and staff is the number one priority for all of us – for me and my Cabinet colleagues, for Dr. Hinshaw and for school staff.

With that in mind, we will be indefinitely cancelling classes across the province. Students are expected to stay home.

We are all in this together. And I hope you all agree this is the right decision.

School authorities are expected to continue their regular day-to-day operations and ensure the safety of our school facilities. We expect maintenance, capital projects, cleaning of facilities, and administrative work to continue. 

Now I know that student progression will be on the minds of both parents and students. We expect every student to receive a final mark and that students will progress to their next grade level next year. However, provincial assessments, such as provincial achievement tests will be cancelled as of this time. Diploma exams essential for post-secondary acceptance will continue.

We are confident that every student who is eligible to graduate from Grade 12 this year will graduate.

The Government will also be working with post-secondary institutions to ensure that these extraordinary circumstances do not prevent our students from being eligible for admission to post-secondary studies for the upcoming school year.

Teachers and other school staff will still be expected to work, either from home or at their workplace, to ensure these expectations are met and to support student learning.

Decisions on how to do this are still to be made, and it may vary depending on the school jurisdiction. Given the unique situation, my department and I will work with school divisions throughout this process, and school authorities will still receive their full allotment of funding for the 2019-20 school year.

I know these are challenging times for everyone. I will be sending an open letter to parents in the coming days, and Alberta Education will be working directly with you to help navigate through these changes.

We all have a role to play to keep our students and the staff that work in our schools safe and healthy. This is – and will always be – our top priority. The most up-to-date information on the COVID-19 situation in Alberta can be found on alberta.ca.

I know this leaves you with many questions. Please stay tuned in the days to come for more details. 

Sincerely,

Adriana LaGrange
Minister of Education

Effective immediately, all K to 12 classes are cancelled until further notice.  Schools are not closed but are open to teachers and staff.  Students are expected to stay home.

We know there are many questions and we hope to be able to provide some answers as soon as possible.  We will provide an update as soon as we can.

May God bless all of us during this difficult time.

March 14, 2020 – 3:30 pm update

We plan on having schools open on Tuesday, March 17.  We encourage everyone to view the press conference from Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.  Here is a link: https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx#statement

Also, we encourage everyone to read the following document https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/covid19-alberta-guidance-for-schools-and-child-care-programs.pdf   On Monday, March 16, 2020, divisional and school staff will be meeting to plan to implement the recommendations in this document.

March 13, 2020 – 1:51 pm update

Our #hs4 schools remain open at this time.  However, there is planned PD on March 16, 2020 – so no students on Monday and staff will report to their respective schools.  In the meantime, all large gatherings have been cancelled (includes sports, fine arts shows, school-wide assemblies), and all field trips outside of the #hs4 boundary have been cancelled.  For the most recent info, check the division website at http://holyspirit.ab.ca 

As Albertans are NOT recommended to travel outside of the country at this time, staff or students returning from out-of-country are expected to self-isolate for 14 days.

March 13, 2020 – 11:37 am update

We wish to provide you with a timely update regarding planned activities within our schools and division, based on the new information provided on March 12, 2020, by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw. Dr. Hinshaw has outlined aggressive measures that should be adhered to in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

1. In keeping with the directive to restrict large events all events and activities that would be taking place in our schools are cancelled until further notice. This includes sports events, fine arts shows and school-wide assemblies.

2. Albertans are NOT recommended to travel outside of the country at this time.  Given the fluidity of the situation, we have made the following decisions, until further notice:

• All division field trips scheduled to take place outside of the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division will be cancelled. The Board Office will work closely with travel providers, schools, and parents to arrange for refunds where possible.

• All staff or students returning from travel outside the country are expected to self-isolate for 14 days after their return.

These measures have been put into place to ensure public safety and adhere to the recommendations put forward by Alberta Health Services.  For the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 in Alberta, visit: https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx#p22780s6

March 12, 2020 – 7:16 pm update

Good evening Holy Spirit Catholic School community,

Please know that schools remain open tomorrow, Friday, March 13, 2020.

In the meantime, we are carefully reviewing the new information provided by Alberta Health Services today, March 12, 2020, in a press conference with Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

We will be closely adhering to the recommendations set out by Alberta Health Services and Alberta Education.  We will be sure to update you as soon as more information is known.

For more information, please see Alberta Health Services’ Info for Albertans.

Also, here is a link to a recent announcement regarding Out of Division field trips.

March 12, 2020 – 12:00 pm

We understand our students, staff, and families may have questions about coronavirus. We encourage you to refer to official sources – such as Alberta Health Services (AHS) – for the most accurate information.

As in all health-related situations, Holy Spirit works closely with local and provincial health authorities to ensure the health of our students and families. We are in ongoing communication with the Medical Officer of Health to monitor the situation in our area. At this time, we are taking all recommended actions from AHS to prevent and mitigate the acquisition and transmission of the virus.

Still, it is important that schools and families work together to provide our students with safe spaces that are calm and supportive, as well as being clean and disinfected.

Prevention

There are two important ways to prevent and control respiratory viruses in school settings:

1. Stay home if you, or your child, is sick.

• Students and staff who are ill with respiratory illness symptoms (fever, cough, fatigue, and/or muscle aches) are asked to stay home from school. If your child is not feeling well, we ask that you keep them home so that they can rest and recover. As always, remember to inform the school of the absence.
• The AHS has the following recommendations for travellers returning to Canada:
  • If returning from Iran, Italy, Hubei Province in China, and Grand Princess Cruises, self-isolate for 14 days, even if feeling well.
  • For all other travellers, monitor for symptoms for 14 days after returning and, if you become ill, self-isolate.

2. Practice good respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene.

• Wash hands with soap and water often. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching the face with unwashed hands.
• Use a tissue when you cough/sneeze, and throw the tissue in a garbage bin lined with a plastic bag. Wash your hands immediately after that. If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

While, our caretaking staff remain vigilant in their regular cleaning and disinfecting of high-traffic, high-touch surfaces (e.g., door handles, water fountain push buttons), the school division has asked even further attention be given to these areas. The division has also provided for more hand sanitizers in our schools, and more handwashing signs have been placed in prominent locations as reminders for our students.
If you have a younger child, please support them at home by supervising and assisting in hand hygiene. In schools, instruction will be provided by staff. We are further enhancing our communication with students about hand-washing, sneeze/cough etiquette, and preventing illness.

Food Sharing

Students should not be sharing food, utensils, dishes, and water bottles or drink containers. Although this practice is important for preventing exposures to allergens, it is equally important in reducing virus transmission between children.

Calm Role Modeling

A new virus such as the COVID-19 can create anxiety and be difficult for students/children to understand, especially if someone they know is sick, or they see or hear troubling messages on the radio, internet or television. It is normal for children to feel worried and nervous and have questions.

Support your children by reassuring them about their personal safety and health:

• Limit their access to news and online stories about the issue.
• Maintain a normal routine unless otherwise advised by an authority.
• Encourage them to talk to you about their concerns.
• Reassure them they are safe.
• Advise them of steps they can take to stay healthy:
• Wash hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (sing the ABC’s to measure time), especially after coughing or sneezing.
• Cough and sneeze into arm or tissue.
• Stay home if they are not feeling well.
• Keep hands away from the face and mouth.
• Stay healthy by eating healthy foods, keeping physically active, and getting enough sleep.

Field Trips

Currently, the school division has cancelled all international trips and is working with our travel providers and families to provide refunds as much as possible.  All other local, provincial and national travel, field trips and tournaments are being reviewed as per the direction of AHS and other experts in health and travel. No other cancellations have been announced at this time, but should this change, those impacted will be contacted right away.

Health Information

Please ensure that you are accessing high-quality information from reliable medical sources. If you have any questions about your personal health situation, contact 8-1-1 (Health Link) or your health care provider directly.

March 13, 2020 update:

Due to COVID-19 all out of division field trips have been cancelled for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.  This includes our Grade 6 Outdoor Education Trip to the Crowsnest Pass in May.  Although this is very disappointing to students and staff, this was done for the well-being of everyone in our Holy Spirit community.

As a staff, we will be looking at alternative activities or trips for our students that are within our school division.

March 12, 2020

Good afternoon,

Earlier today I posted that our Quebec Trip 2020 was still proceeding.  Please see the below-updated message from our School Division regarding field trips.

Quebec Trip 2020

Presently, your child was scheduled to participate in a Holy Spirit School Division field trip within the next few weeks.

We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation both globally and locally. Therefore, due to quickly evolving circumstances and new information provided by the Government of Canada and Public Health Services, we have decided for the well- being of our Holy Spirit community as a whole, that your trip will be cancelled effective immediately.

Further details regarding questions about the possibility of refunds, if applicable, will follow at a later date.

Out of Division Field Trips

Effective immediately all field trips outside the Division have been cancelled due to the quickly evolving COVID-19 situation.  This will affect a variety of planned Jr. High field trips.

Further details will follow once they are available.

Sincerely,

Holy Spirit Catholic Schools

We are excited to announce that Alberta Education has approved Holy Spirit Catholic Schools’ request for additional space at Father Leonard Van Tighem School.  One modular class will be added to FLVT for the 2020-21 school year.  Thank you to our Board of Trustees and central office staff for advocating for our students.  Once we have more details we will share them with our school community.

Great news!

Greg Kostiuk

This year our school’s faith plan theme is Beginning the Journey: Be mindful…Be prayerful…  This theme is part of our three-year faith plan entitled Making Our Mark: Journey of an Intentional Disciple.  This school year, we have challenged each other to reflect on the purpose of our faith journey.  Lent provides us with a great opportunity to discover how our actions and thoughts are intentional as we travel on our Lenten journey.

On Ash Wednesday, we started this Lenten journey, a period of 40 days that we set aside for prayer, fasting, and doing good things for others.  In this way, we prepare for Easter, the greatest day in our faith, when we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead.  On Ash Wednesday, all over the world, Catholics received a cross of ashes on their foreheads.  Wearing ashes was a sign of sorrow for sin.  It was a public sign.  It told our friends and neighbours that we know we are not perfect.  We sometimes do what is wrong.  We break the law of God.  We hurt other people.  We act with selfishness.  During our Lenten journey, we tell God and each other that we are sorry for our sins.  We are going to try, with God’s help, to become better people.  The cross of ashes we received means all of these things.

This Lent I invite everyone to follow the three traditional practices during Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

• Prayer – Every morning, our staff meet for prayer at 8:25 am in our staffroom. Morning prayer is an excellent opportunity for our staff to grow on their Lenten journey.  Also, as a school community, we will be praying together in our weekly Lenten prayer services.
• Fasting – Like many, I will be giving something up for Lent. Lent can be more than a time of fasting; it can be a season of feasting. We can use Lent to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season in which we can:
• Fast from criticism, and feast on praise;
• Fast from anger, feast on joy;
• Fast from jealousy, and feast on love;
• Fast from selfishness, and feast on service;
• Fast from fear, and feast on faith;

What will you fast from, and feast on this Lent?

• Almsgiving – Individually and as a group, we will continue to help our needy.

Finally, our Lenten journey is an opportunity for us to reflect as a faith-based learning community.  One reflection tool is for us to measure up to Archbishop Miller’s five characteristics or marks that identify a school as authentically Catholic.  Please check out this link of the Five Marks of a Catholic School.

Lenten Blessing,

Greg Kostiuk