The Fort McMurray Catholic Board of Education

Curriculum Handbook
Curriculum Handbooks for Parents, Curriculum Summaries and Curriculum Express contain information for parents on subjects, programs and courses available in Alberta schools. They are updated every year as changes are made to the curriculum. See what students are expected to learn in each grade, including overviews of subjects and topics. Curriculum Handbooks are available in general and Catholic versions, and in French. Users are encouraged to provide feedback to Alberta Education via the Curriculum Handbooks Feedback Form.

http://www.education.alberta.ca/parents/resources/handbook.aspx

H1N1 Influenza Pandemic Virus- School Plan
School Plans to reduce the risk for students and staff of contacting the H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Virus were developed in consultation with Alberta Health Services. The plan includes additional sanitation in schools and the isolation of students and staff showing signs of the H1N1virus.

Alberta Health Services is also planning to start the administration of the H1N1 Influenza Vaccine in early November. Details on the times and locations will be published when they become available.

Officials from the School Districts and Alberta Health Services are communicating on a regular basis to assess any development in the spread of the virus and will take appropriate action when and if required.

Parents are encouraged to consult the following documents and Web Sites to learn more on the H1N1 Influenza Virus:

Alberta Health Services Web Site

H1N1 School Response

Holy Trinity Catholic Junior/Senior High School
Construction of the new Holy Trinity High Catholic School along with the Suncor Centre for Performing Arts started in June 2009.

Holy Trinity Jr/Sr High School will serve students in grades 7 through 12. The school includes a community Performing Arts Theatre complete with a dance studio and black box theatre with a capacity for 350 spectators. The Performing Arts Theatre will be funded through a partnership with the the Catholic Board of Education, Suncor Energy and the Regional Municipality of Wood Bufallo. More corporate sponsorship will be added to complete this project.

Holy Trinity High School is located on Paquette Drive in the Timberlea area of Fort McMurray (behind the new RCMP Building). The school is schedule to open for September 2011.

Fort McMurray Catholic Schools Give Back to Community
The Fort McMurray Catholic School Board are hosting a "Community Lunches" on various days during the winter at Father Turcotte School. The meal will consist of hot dogs, Kraft Dinner, water and fresh fruit. Superintendent, Kim Jenkins will be on hand to help prepare the meal. The dinner will be distributed free of charge to those less fortunate in our city. Warm winter wear will also be distributed to those in need. Anyone wishing to give a donation or to volunteer his or her time should contact Father Mercredi High School at 780-799-5725. The dates of the meals will be advertized in the community.

2009/10 School Calendar
The school calendar for 2009/10 was approved at the April 20th Regular Board Meeting.

Key dates include:

August 26th: First day for Teachers
August 31st: First day of School for student
September 7th: Labour Day (No School)
October 2nd: Spiritual Dev Day (No School)
October 12th: Thanksgiving Day (No School)
October 28th: ATA Institute Day (No School)
November 11th: Remembrance Day (No School)
December 19th - January 3rd: Christmas Break
January 29th: PD Day (No School)
February 15th: Family Day (No School)
February 22nd-26th: ATA Convention Week (No school)
April 1st -11th: Spring Break: (No School on Thursday April 1st)
May 24th: Victoria Day (No School)
Last Day for Students: June 28th

Sister Mary Phillips School - Top 25 in Canada
Sister Mary Phillips School has been named a top 25 school in Canada by Today's Parent Magazine. Today's Parent's fifth annual Top 25 Schools in Canada can be seen in their September issue or by clicking here.

Schools were choosen for a variety of reasons, including Programs with a Punch, Serving Special Needs and Community Committment.

Sister Mary Phillips was recognized for its F&ST (Families and Schools Together) program. The program brings together the families of grades 5 and 6 students for weekly meetings and dinner.

Premiers Pas Program Registration Information
The Premiers Pas Program is designed for pre-kindergarten aged children. A language-focused approach and age appropriate activities are provided. The focus of this program is to expose students to the French language and culture through designed play activities.
It is an educational morning program to develop children’s cognitive, language, fine/gross motor and social skills.

Qualifying children must be 3 ½ years old by March 1, 2009. Younger children may be accepted after September 17 at the discretion of the program coordinators. However, students who have been identified as a special need, Program Unit Funded (PUF), will be redirected towards the Early Entry Preschool English Program.
Children should be toilet trained upon entry into the program. Special considerations may be provided if needed.

The Premiers Pas Program is a 4 day morning program following the regular school calendar. All school holidays, such as Christmas and Spring breaks, apply to the Premiers Pas program as they do for the other children in the school system. Notices will be sent out to parents in advance where there are no classes.

Costs associated with the program are covered by the School Jurisdiction and Mild/Moderate Disability Program Funding through Alberta Education.
There is a nominal materials fee ($60.00 per year) for the program. Parents of all Premiers Pas children should provide their child with:
•    a backpack;
•    a daily healthy snack;
•    indoor running shoes;
•    various materials from the teacher supply list.

To register you child, please contact Lois Potvin-Gibson or Nicole Hudon at Ecole St. Paul School. 780.799.5760

Two Father Mercredi Students Accepted to Prestigious Summer Programs
Emily Zielke was selected and attended the the Shad Valley Summer Program. Shad Valley is one of the country's most significant summer enrichment programs for the sciences in Canada. This program specializes in bringing together the ideas shared between science, technology, entrepreneurship, engineering and mathematics.

Emily was accepted because of her excellence in diverse areas. While Emily is an excellent science student she also excels in music, art, athletics and volunteers at the school and community level.

She will take part in a four-week summer program that has been helping top students in senior high school find an edge in the competitive, knowledge-based world of tomorrow. The Shad Valley program combines entrepreneurship with science and technology, and offers academic and work experience to its students. Emily will be joining 50 other Canadian students at McMaster University.

Sean Graham was selected and attended the International Summer School for Young Physicists at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Sean is one of only 20 Canadian and 20 international students that were accepted into the program, which is held in Waterloo, Ontario.

The International Summer School for Young Physicists at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an exciting and challenging two-week program for high school students with a keen interest in theoretical physics and who intend to pursue a degree in physics at the university level.

Sean was recommended to the program because of his ability to see beyond what is taught, to see connections between topics and to ask the probing questions that actual scientist ask each other.

Room Still Available in our EEP Programs
Fort McMurray Catholic Schools are currently accepting registrations for our Early Entry Program (EPP), with the exception of St. Martha and St. Anne schools, as their programs are full. Morning and afternoon programs are available at all schools except St. Paul’s School which offers one half day English program and one half day French program.

The EEP Program is designed for pre-kindergarten aged children. A language-focused curriculum and age-appropriate activities are provided in either a morning or afternoon program to develop the child’s cognitive, language, fine/gross motor and social skills.
The focus of this program is to enhance expressive and receptive language skills for the children through carefully designed play activities.

Qualifying students must be 31⁄2 years old by September 1st. Students of 21⁄2 years of age by September 1st with severe language delays or other severe disabilities are also eligible.

To register your child, contact your neighbourhood school.

Administrative Appointments
The District and School administrators for school year 2009/2010 were recently approved by the Board. The list of all appointments are provided here.

2009/10 Administrative Appointments

Fort McMurray Catholic Schools Expands Out of School Care Program - Spaces Available
Fort McMurray Catholic Schools and Mammoet Canada Western Ltd. have worked in partnership with Northeast Alberta Child & Family Services to provide additional support for children when parents are at work. Easy access and affordable day care are the primary focus.

The Out of School Care Programs are designed to provide a safe and caring environment for families who require before and after school care.

Children registered in grades 1 – 6 are eligible for the Out of School Care Program. Priority will be given to Catholic School students and to full time registrants. The program is available for students attending public schools.

Programs are offered at:

Father Beauregard School
Father J.A. Turcotte School
St. Gabriel School
Sister Mary Phillips School

For additional information on the Out of School Care Program please click here to view the flyer and brochure, or email our coordinator, Janet Huffman at jhuffman@fmcsd.ab.ca .