Principal Weekly Update
November 22-26, 2021
Dear John Paul I Families
Pope Francis reminds young people that Jesus looks to them and invites them to journey with him. They are urged to be open to God’s plan in becoming joyful disciples. Catholic schools put Christ, the witness of faith, and the teachings of the Catholic Church at the centre of the educational enterprise. By placing Christ at the centre of all they are and all they do, Catholic schools make sure that a student’s journey into adulthood is also a journey of faith. The journey recognizes that true knowledge, learning, justice, peace and human freedom are a response of love to the God who is Love. ‘I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.’ Jeremiah 30:17
On Wednesday December 1, 2021, from 4:00 to 7:30, our Parent Teacher Conferences/Celebration of Learning will be held virtually. You will receive an email from your child's teacher giving you the opportunity to book some time to discuss your child's learning journey over MS Teams. Detailed information will be emailed out to parents directly by their child’s teacher with pertinent links to access all that they need for the evening. We look forward to a high level of participation and all the rich discussion that we know the day will bring! We encourage parents to be sure to access the parent portal and view the assessment and reporting on their child’s progress in advance of this day. Due to popular demand, we are happy to say that we will once again be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair. For details of the event, please refer to the specific section within this newsletter. We look forward to celebrating with you all, your children’s learning and develop during this first term!
Bishop David Motiuk: December Message
Bishop David Motiuk
Eparchy of Edmonton
EDIAR Survey – November 16 – 30th
The voices of our Edmonton Catholic community are critical to the building of our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Strategic Plan. The survey went live for parents, staff and students in Grade 4 to 12 on November 16th and will be open until November 30th. Thank you for your support to encourage completion of this important survey by our students, staff and parents!
Indigenous Family Candlelight Gathering for Grief & Loss Healing.
On behalf of Braided Journeys, I would like to invite Indigenous families across the district to our second Braided Journeys Family Wellness Session: Indigenous Family Candlelight Gathering for Grief & Loss Healing. This session will take place on Microsoft Teams on December 13, 2021 at 6pm.
To easily access the meeting link, click here.
Session highlights: Within our Indigenous communities we have our own practices of honouring those who have passed on. The pandemic has made it harder for us to gather and for some this has impacted our ability to grieve for loved ones. Also, within our Indigenous communities, we often face compound grief, when we experience multiple deaths in a short amount of time. Whatever your personal family experience is, we would like to take the time to gather online and honour our loved ones who have passed on. The candlelight ceremony will include elements of traditional Cree teachings and Catholic faith. All beliefs are respected in our gathering.
Participants: Please have a candle with matches/lighter for the evening. A picture of your loved one(s) is welcomed (you will be able to show it on screen if you choose to share). Please see the attached poster for more details!
Please email donita.large@ecsd.net if you have any questions!
SCHOOL PLAN FOR CONTINUOUS GROWTH
In this framework, all education stakeholders accept responsibility for building capacity of the education system — in classrooms, schools, school authorities and in government. Ensuring continuous improvement throughout the system necessitates a collective approach that recognizes diversity within Alberta, relies on evidence to make decisions, and is responsive to the needs of students in their local contexts. (Funding Manual 2021-22, p.18)
As part of our commitment to assuring our stakeholders that Escuela John Paul I School is providing a quality Catholic educational experience for our students, we have developed a plan for continuous growth which can be found on our website as part of the assurance dashboard.
This dashboard provides you with a comprehensive tool to explore the ways in which we measure the success of our work in the goals and priorities that have been established in our School Plan for Continuous Growth.
The John Paul I School Plan for Continuous Growth is developed with the Alberta Education Ministerial Order in mind and aligns closely with our ECSD Plan for Continuous Growth. As part of our plan for continuous growth, we seek to create a working document that reflects the fluid nature of our work towards achieving optimal learning in our students within Christ Centered and inclusive environment that embraces and celebrates diversity.
The document is responsive to feedback provided through various surveys completed by parents and students during the course of the past year as well as a variety of data collected related to student’s academic performance. Furthermore, the document outlines our targeted goals and the specific strategies and actions we are incorporating to reach the goals established based on both feedback and data retrieved from various sources. Our School Plan for Continuous Growth was reviewed at our November School Council meeting and can be accessed using the following link, School Plan for Continuous Growth ; it has also been posted to the school’s website assurance dashboard. Please take a few minutes to review the plan for the year by clicking on the link.
ONGOING REPORTING AND ASSESSMENT
We have an ongoing assessment and reporting system, whereby parents can access and see their child’s progress at any time. There will no longer be a summary report in January for families. This change was made to encourage families to focus on the specific and timely assessment information that is present in the PowerSchool parent portal through ongoing outcomes based assessment.
Teachers enter assignments, grades and comments for each outcome directly into the PowerSchool gradebook. For parents, this means having access to a child’s report card at any point in time. Teachers will follow up via email with parents who do not attend student led conferences, as this communication is very important for student success.
Assessment and Reporting Family Support Resources
• For Parents | Tracking Your Child's Learning [UPDATED VERSION] This video will walk families through the process of how to track their child's progress
• How to View Report Cards in the Parent Portal
• A Parent Guide To Assessment & Reporting is now posted on the Edmonton Catholic Schools public website.
Report Cards T
The student’s progress is reported on an ongoing basis. Student progress will be formally reported to parents in June, where the next grade level placement recommendation is made at that time.
Online Parent-Teacher Conferences (Adapted due to COVID)
Due to COVID 19 protocols, Parent Teacher Conferences/Celebration of Learning, as done in the past will not take place. Alternatively, we will have Parent-Teacher conferences and learning demonstrations by students at home, which will take place in November and March, where discussion and work sent home for students to demonstrate their learning will take place.
Detailed Information regarding our Demonstration of Learning and the Booking link will be forthcoming.
Assessment and Reporting Schedule for the 2021-22 School Year:
Parent Teacher Interviews: December 1, 2021
Celebration of Learning: March 23, 2022
Final Report Card: June 28, 2022
Ongoing reporting is available online to parents/guardians via the PowerSchool parent portal. However, if you wish to discuss your child’s progress or marks at any time, please feel free to call or email the school. Parents who are new to ECSD are provided with their own PowerSchool passcode which will allow them to view their child’s ongoing progress and summary report cards online. PowerSchool accounts remain in effect from year to year, so parents only need to create an account once. To log in to the Parent Portal and view your child’s ongoing reporting and assessments click here.
JPI Society
JPI Parent Council Fundraiser
Upcoming Dates
November 22
- 2B & 3A Clay for Kids in-school field trip
November 23
- 1A & 1B Clay for Kids in-school field trip
November 26
- 2/3C & 1/2C Clay for Kids in-school field trip
November 29
- Advent Celebration #1