Lenten Activities

Dear Families,                                                                                                                                                 

                  It is now the season of Lent! Our students are working hard to make a difference. We are working to raise money for our school, the community, and world. We will be supporting the Friendship Inn by collecting bags of sugar.  In regards to raising money for “Our World” we will be donating funds to Development and Peace for their Share Lent 2013 program. Development and Peace is a Catholic organization that works to serve the poor and fight against injustice.  We have three initiatives that we will be participating in:

1. Basket Raffle: Each class will be collecting items to put into a basket. Each classroom has chosen a theme for their basket. The students will be selling tickets on the baskets two weeks before Easter break. Half of the money raised will support Development & Peace and the other half will go to St. Dominic’s Catholic School Community Council. The baskets will be drawn on Holy Thursday and will go home for Easter.

Kindergarten                            Easter

Grade One                                Spring Toys

Grade Two / Three                Bath & Beauty

Grade Three / Four               Candy

Grade Five                                Crafts

Grade Six                                   Hockey

Grade Seven                            Superheroes

Grade Eight                               Movie

If you have any questions about the baskets, please ask your child’s teacher.  Please bring your basket items by March 11.                

2. “Pool of Love”: Each class is collecting bags of sugar for the Friendship Inn. The Friendship Inn provides meals to thousands of people each week.  It is located right here in Saskatoon. Sugar is a staple that they use in baking, soups and for coffee.  We are hoping to collect a very large amount!
3. Each class is collecting money by some form of fundraiser. Each classroom will donate their funds to Development and Peace. Stay tuned for further details.

School-year Survey

February 26, 2013

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Our school division is in the process of setting the calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. Each year the school-year committee, made up of senior division staff, principals and teachers, works together to set the calendar for our school division. The calendar is then presented to the Board of Education for its final approval.

Recent changes to Saskatchewan’s Education Act are having a direct impact on the structure of next year’s calendar, specifically regarding the number of school breaks that can be scheduled during the year.

The school-year committee has discussed several options for next year’s calendar. On Feb. 7 some of those options were shared with Catholic School Community Council representatives who attended a liaison evening with school board trustees.

Since then, three separate school-year options have been developed. We would like to hear what you think of these options.

An online survey is now available for parents, caregivers, students and staff members to choose their most preferred calendar for the 2013-2014 school year.

The online school-year survey is available at www.gscs.sk.ca  There is a link on the page that will take you to the survey. It will be available until 12 midnight on Tuesday, March 5.

It takes only a few minutes to review the calendars and pick the one you prefer. You may also leave comments. For those who aren’t able to fill out the survey online, paper copies are available at your school.

Once the calendar is set, with the major holidays in place, our school will look at how to adjust the school day in order to meet the provincial government’s requirement that students receive 950 hours of instruction during the school year. This work will be completed over the next few months. More information will be forthcoming.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the school year or hours of instruction.

Mr. D. Johnson,

Principal, St. Dominic School

Video in Social Studies

On Friday, as part of our Social Studies investigation about the relationship between producer and consumer, we will be watching and discussing the documentary "Food, Inc."  As it deals with industrial food production, there are some scenes that may be a bit disturbing for some students.  It shouldn't be too bad...
A family-friendly rating can be found  here.

Persuasive Writing Assignment

We have been working on a persuasive writing assignment for the last two weeks.  The assignment is due Friday, and most students are in the final editing stages.  (If they aren't, they need to get some work done outside of school time!)

It would be very helpful to the students, as developing writers, if they could sit down and discuss their work with an editor.  We have done this with peers, but the advice of a more experienced writer would be great!

For further information (assignment outline, sample introductory paragraph, evaluation) please click here.