Sir John Thompson Weekly Updates - May 2021 Friday May 28th, 2021 - NET

Sir John Thompson Weekly Updates – May 2021

Friday May 28th, 2021
Hello everyone and Happy positive Friday to you! It certainly has been a busy week seeing all
our in-school students return to classes. There has been a very positive energy amongst our
students and staff as we continue together for these last weeks in the school year. As I walk
around the school, I can hear groups of students excited to be together again and talking about
things that define them as junior high students. I see our online students connecting with their
teachers and express my thoughts that they truly are missed here at school and look forward to
seeing them in September. They all have been very positive in their interactions with our staff
and each other. The resilience everyone has shown throughout all the turns that this year has
thrown at us certainly is on display. Our staff are busy getting students caught up on their work
and finishing their courses as well as planning for next year. Our staff truly have been amazing
in their support for each other and all their students. We sincerely thank all our families for
their thoughts and prayers throughout the school year.

On Wednesday, a group of principals and I had our final meeting with Father Mark and Monica
Murphy from St. Edmunds Parish where we plan all the events for next year. Father Mark gave
a heartfelt thank you to everyone for keeping Catholic education alive and well. He gave a truly
inspiring prayer for all of us and the families in our community for your health and well being.

The reading we shared over the announcements this morning was from the Letter of Paul to
the Galatians.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we live by the Spirit, let us also
be guided for the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, competing against one another, envying one
another.’ This week I truly have felt the Spirit guiding all of us!

God Bless you all.
Kelly L. Kaup – Principal, Sir John Thompson

Important dates in June
June 11th – Grade 9 Farewell Carnival
June 15th – 25th – Final exams see schedule below.

June final exam schedule and General Information for final exams
 *final amended version
We realize that for our grade 7’s and grade 8’s students that the June final exams will be a new
experience. Our Grade 9 students will be familiar with the expectation of writing a final exam
in the morning and being able to go home to study after their exam is complete. Our teachers
will be explaining the details to your child in the coming weeks.

Our last full day of classes will be on June 15th - All students.
*Please note that the dismissal time for students writing their final exams has changed to
11:00am as we have traditionally done in the past.
*Note: Our at-home (online) students will be writing their final exams online at the
scheduled times below. Our in-school students will be writing in person at Sir John Thompson
following the schedule below.

*Upon completion of the final exam at 11:00 am students (in-school) will be dismissed to go
home or to stay in study hall for the remainder of the day.
*Students will arrive at school at their regular time in preparation for a 9:00am exam start.

For in-school students only - Students may go home after the exam by arranging their own
transportation or stay in study hall for the remainder of the day. Parent permission is required
to go home. Letters will be sent home soon with your child outlining the details. Students will
return their course textbook in their homerooms after each exam. The last day for textbook
returns will be on June 23rd.

Final Exam dates
All final exams for all grades are scheduled to run in the morning (9 – 11am)
June 15th – last day of classes – full day for all students
June 16th – Math Part A Final – 9:00 - 11:00 am Dismissal.
June 17th – Social Studies Final - 9:00 – 11:00 am Dismissal
June 18th – Math Part B Final - 9:00 – 11:00 am Dismissal
June 21st – National Indigenous People’s Day - no exams scheduled. Awards presentation on Broadcast
 – Mass – Dress to impress grade 9’s. - 9:00 – 11:00 am Dismissal
June 22nd – Language Arts Part B Final - 9:00 – 11:00 am Dismissal
June 23rd – Science Final AM - 11:00 am Dismissal
June 23rd - 25th – Online student’s textbook return
June 24th – Exam Makeup Day – no school for students unless prior arrangements have been made to
 write a final exam.
June 25 – Conflict Resolution Day – Final Report Cards released at Noon. Please contact your child’s
 th

 teacher in the afternoon if there are any concerns.

PAC fundraiser – Freezie Friday!
Thank you to Charmaine Dy from the
SJT Parent Council for organizing the
year end fundraiser ‘Freezie Friday’!
Volunteer Parents with the help of
Mrs. Corbett and our student
leadership team will be selling Freezies
after school on May 28th, June 4th, and
June 11th to raise money for the Parent Council. Our Parent Council normally is very active with
fundraising throughout the year but have been hampered by this abnormal COVID year. The
money raised will go to the PAC General account which supports, Father Mike Day,
Transportation to our Triton Day events, Awards evening to name a few. The Freezies are $2
each and we encourage everyone to support this fun and worthwhile activity. Students will be
able to purchase Freezies within their grade level cohort area and outdoor COVID protocols will
be maintained.

Language Arts PART A FINAL
In a normal year, our Language Arts students write a practice Part A PAT early in May to
prepare them for their June PAT exams. Due to the remaining compressed timeline leading into
June we have decided we will not be having our students write this component of their final
exam. Students will write the reading comprehension component of their final exam according
to the regular final exam schedule.

Covid isolation guidance from the Division
Our school division has recently issued some further COVID isolation guidelines for the return
to in-person learning as of May 25th. I have included the information below to provide clarity
for families.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health recently amended guidance involving quarantine requirements for fully
and partially immunized asymptomatic individuals when exposed to a COVID positive individual. This new
quarantine guidance takes immunization status into consideration when determining isolation /
quarantine duration and is similar to what is being used in other Canadian jurisdictions. The quarantine
policy change announced by Alberta Health will now need to be reflected in AHS guidance documents,
algorithms, FAQs, screening questionnaires, and other documentation. This includes screening tools for
designated support persons. AHS is directing to use all existing guidance and tools in place until updates
are made in the coming days.

While AHS has made these guidelines the standard, school authorities have always been afforded the right
to apply additional guidance to support operational consistencies in schools which we have employed at
various times throughout the pandemic. In this instance, ECSD will continue with our existing practice
which requires students or staff to be away from work/school for 14 days from the last date of exposure
to a positive individual, returning on the 15th day, and 10 days away if you are the covid positive

individual, returning on the 11th. All of these are with the understanding that any COVID symptoms have
fully resolved. This aligns with the direction of all 4 major metro school boards as determined by their
Superintendents.

The actual period of isolation directed by AHS, according to their amended guidelines, is the
responsibility of the individual to follow. However, the time-period for the individual’s overall community
isolation may differ from the school metric applied as noted above. (AHS isolation guidelines in separate
attachment).
I have attached the PDF titled, ‘Quarantine Exemptions for Immunized Individuals’ from AHS for
you to have a look at. This is hopeful news indeed as the whole province moves in the direction
of reopening as more people receive their immunization.

Pride Week 2021 - May 31st – June 4th
Next week all throughout Edmonton is Pride Week. We are
looking forward to Pride Week at Sir John Thompson. “Triton
Pride” is a LIFE group/GSA at Sir John Thompson
where all students can fully and authentically express who
they are in a safe space. This group works to create a more
accepting environment that is safe from judgment, rejection,
and discrimination. Triton Pride provides a positive
opportunity for students to support others through caring,
respectful, and understanding interactions. We are very
excited to have this group become more active in our school
once we return to normal operations post-COVID next year.

National Indigenous Heritage Month
June is National Indigenous History Month, a time for all Canadians to reflect upon and learn
the history, sacrifices, cultures, contributions, and strength of First Nations, Inuit and Metis
people. In our curriculum Indigenous perspectives and world views are woven throughout our
classes to increase learning and understanding about Indigenous culture in our society.

AHS Caregiver Education Team Newsletter
Please see the attached CYF Caregiver Education Newsletter sent to us each month from AHS.
Included in the newsletter is a variety of ways the AHS supports families and their children.
There are a number of online resources and webinars included which are designed to help us all
during these difficult times.

June Newsletters from the Division
Attached you will find the June Chief Superintendent’s message as well as the ECSD June
Newsletter.

Pictures from around the school

Friday May 21st, 2021
Happy positive Friday everyone! I want to wish everyone a great Labour Day long weekend
hopefully filled with sunshine and quality time with your families.

This May long weekend began as a celebration to honor Queen Victoria, who ruled Great
Britain and Ireland for most of the 19th century. Victoria Day has been observed since 1845,
and it was officially declared a Canadian federal holiday in 1901 -- the year of
Queen Victoria's death. Speaking of long weekends, did you know that the first major holiday
in our school season, Labour Day, was created by Canada’s first Catholic Prime Minister Sir John
Thompson? In the late 1800’s many workers were being displaced by industrialized machines
and many Canadians were losing their jobs. The ‘Nine-Hour-Movement’ was an international
workers attempt to standardize the working day from 12+ hours per day to 9. The Nine-Hour-
Movement’ as it became known formed the basis for workers rights moving forward into the
future. Parades were held in support of striking workers during this time and carried over into
an annual celebration of workers rights. In 1894 then Prime Minister Sir John Thompson
declared Labour Day a national holiday in recognition of workers throughout Canada.

On Wednesday, our School Division sent out a letter to all families letting everyone know that
in-school learning will resume on Tuesday, May 25th. We are looking forward to seeing all our
in-school students return to classes hopefully until the end of the year! Please keep in mind
that if your child or anyone in your family is experiencing any of the well established COVID
symptoms that you please keep them home from school and get tested. If your child is
currently isolating, please call the school and let us know. We will continue to follow the AHS
guidelines in terms of having to isolate any close contacts of an infected individual the
remainder of the school year. Please continue your much appreciated prayers for the safety of
all our community.

Sincere thanks,
Kelly L. Kaup – Principal, Sir John Thompson
AHS school immunization program
In normal years AHS routinely comes out to our school and does immunizations for our
students. Due to COVID, at home learning changes, and the limited time available in the school
year AHS will not be immunizing our students at school this year. AHS through the Woodcroft
Public Health Centre will be contacting parents of children requiring routine vaccinations to
arrange booking an appointment at their facility for regularly scheduled program vaccines.
Please review the attached letter for more information. The letter also answers some
frequently asked questions about vaccines and COVID vaccines. I encourage you to read the
attachment.

Thank you to Mr. Ramsankar - Mr. McCullough returns

We wish to sincerely thank Mr. Ramsankar for covering Mr. McCullough’s classes while he was
away these past few weeks. Mr. McCullough has returned to his classes beginning last
Wednesday May 19th for the remainder of the year. Thank you to Mr. Engebretson and Mr.
Pisani for all their excellent work in helping with the transition.

Important dates in May
May 24th – Victoria Day – No School
May 25th – In School Learning resumes
T.B.A – Due to the change in at home learning: Grade 8 Language Arts Part A Written Final AM
T.B.A. - Due to the change in at home learning: Grade 9 Language Arts Part A Written Final AM

Final exams weightings – all students (repeat from last week)
We have received direction from our Division regarding a change in final exam weightings. At
SJT our Final Exams currently are weighted at 20% of the final course mark. This will be
changed to 10% as directed by the division. This is due to the constant disruption of our
students learning and the uncertainty surrounding the last part of the year. This will alleviate
some pressure for our students while still giving them the experience of preparing for final
exams. Our teachers will be updating their gradebooks next week to reflect this change as well
as communicating this to their students.

June final exam schedule (addendum added to clarify for our at-home students)
*Note: Our at-home (online) students will be writing their final exams online at the
scheduled times below. Our in-school students will be writing in person at Sir John
Thompson following the same schedule.

Our last full day of classes will be on June 15th - All students.
All final exams are scheduled to run in the morning (9 – 11am).

For in-school students only - Students may go home after the exam or stay in study hall for the
remainder of the day. Parent permission is required to go home. Letters will be sent home
with your child once they have returned to school.

May 5th T.B.D. – Grade 8 LA PART A Final Blocks 1-3
May 12th T.B.D. – Grade 9 LA PART A Final Blocks 1-3
June 15th – last day of classes – full day for all students
June 16th – Math Part A Final Blocks 1-2 Blocks 3-4 classroom cleanup (in school only) – Noon
 Dismissal
June 17 – Social Studies Final AM – Noon Dismissal
 th

June 18th – Math Part B Final AM - Noon Dismissal
June 21st – National Indigenous People’s Day - no exams scheduled. Awards – Mass – Dress to
 impress – Textbook returns (In school only).

June 22nd – ELA Part B Final AM - Noon Dismissal
June 23rd – Science Final AM - Noon Dismissal
June 23rd - 25th – Online student’s textbook return
June 24th – Exam Makeup Day
June 25th – Conflict Resolution Day – Final Report Cards released at Noon.

SJT Awards timeline
June 15th – In class final marks due (Last day of classes)
June 16th to June 18th – Awards report run, and list determined.
June 18th – Swift letter sent to award recipients congratulating recipients and directing them to
pick up their award at the office the following week. Final presentation available virtually with
Google Slides similar to last year.
June 21st or 22nd – Creation of a special broadcast to recognize recipients in a general way.
June 22nd – 24th - Awards pick up in the office for at-home and in-school students.

May/ June Yellow School Bus Pass, Yearbook and Parent PowerSchool
The May Yellow bus passes have been sent back to transportation and the fee has been
removed from your parent PowerSchool account. Your child will still be able to ride the yellow
bus to and from school for the rest of May. Once we receive the June Yellow bus passes,
provided they are paid for, your child will be able to use it for the remainder of May. If the May
Yellow bus pass was paid for before we were shut down, that was transferred over to June
Yellow bus pass. If you have any further questions, please call Ms. Anita Riva 780-454-9202 or
email at anita.riva@ecsd.net.

The 2020 2021 yearbook (that will be delivered in September 2021) is an optional purchase.
This will be your last chance to purchase the yearbook should you wish to. On May 25, 2021,
the yearbook fee will be removed from your parent account. If you have any questions,
please call Ms. Anita Riva 780-454-9202 or email at anita.riva@ecsd.net.
The parent PowerSchool is an excellent resource for parents to check attendance, grades and
pay fees. PowerSchool works much better from a laptop, desktop, or iPad rather than a cell
phone. Please make every effort to check your parent account regularly. If you are having
difficulty accessing your parent account, please call the school and we can assist you with any
problems you may have.

Pictures from around the school
This week’s pictures are our eyeball dissection and our PE prize Patrol!
Thank you to our Science and PE team for making this happen for our students!

Friday May 14th, 2021

Hello everyone and Happy Friday to you all. I am very encouraged to hear that so many of our
families have been booking their COVID vaccine appointments for themselves and their
children. This truly is the best way to move forward and hasten our return to a more normal
way of life. If you are unsure how to go about booking an appointment the information is
provided for you under the May 7th update under the heading, All Albertans 12+ eligible for the
COVID-19 vaccine!!!. I wanted to offer each of you this prayer for protection and guidance that
came to me recently.

Father, I am thirsty, and I look to You to give me emotional strength, spiritual insight, and physical
stamina when things around me seem to be drying up. Thank You, Father, that Your gentle care
covers all of me. Help me to depend on that care today and to thank You for it! Thank You, that You
are my anchor. Father, help me to praise You with awe and wonder as I trust in Your love for me. I
pray this in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Wishing you all the very best.

Sincerely,
Kelly L. Kaup – Principal, Sir John Thompson

Important dates in May
May 24th – Victoria Day – No School
May 25th – In School Learning resumes

T.B.A – Due to the change in at home learning: Grade 8 Language Arts Part A Written Final AM
T.B.A. - Due to the change in at home learning: Grade 9 Language Arts Part A Written Final AM

Final Parent Council meeting – 2020-2021
Last Tuesday evening we met as a Parent Council for our final meeting of the year. I want to let
all our school community know that they were very well represented throughout the year by
this wonderful group of parents. Their ideas and input have been invaluable in making this a
great place to send your children to school.

The Teams video meeting ended with all of us saying goodbye to two of our finest SJT
supporters, Erin Plume and Jennifer Harvey. They have held many positions on our executive
and have served as Chair in the past. They are moving on as their children are in their final year
at our school. We all would have liked to give them a huge hug for all their support over the
years but will save that for when we see them again. We were able to say goodbye and give
them our well wishes in our Teams video meeting. We sent them flowers on behalf of our
entire school community as a token of our thanks.

Thank you to this year’s Parent Council. You truly were a fun group to get to know. Thank you
to the other parents who came out to show their support as well. You all are truly appreciated!
Chair – Jennifer Harvey, Vice Chair – Anita Petrovic, Secretary – Lisa Savill, Treasurer – Elaina Babij
Casino – Sandra Symbaluk, Members at Large – Erin Plume, Deb Dixon, Cheryl Williams, Stephanie
Liew

Stay tuned for information in early September for our Annual General Meeting that we hold
on our meet the staff night on September 9th!
Next year’s PAC dates – Tuesday evenings.
September 9th, 2021 – Meet the staff and PAC AGM
October 19, 2021, December 7, 2021, January 11, 2022, March 15, 2022, May 10, 2022

Grade 9 Farewell
 We had some tentative COVID plans in
 place for our grade 9 Farewell, but they are
 currently on hold as the new restrictions
 are in place throughout the province. The
 snip below is from the ‘Guidance for
 schools’ document that our Division follows
 from the Provincial Government – updated
 April 15th. Please note that this was issued
 prior to the stricter measures being put in

place recently. Our tentative plans had included a Grade 9 Farewell outdoor carnival in the
afternoon on Friday June 11th and a ‘Dress to impress’, mass, and pictures on June 21st. These
plans are on hold as we wait and see when our students will return to in school learning. Our
Online students will be included in any mass or presentation we are able to do.

Final exams – all students
We have received direction from our Division regarding a change in final exam weightings. At
SJT our Final Exams currently are weighted at 20% of the final course mark. This will be
changed to 10% as directed by the division. This is due to the constant disruption of our
students learning and the uncertainty surrounding the last part of the year. This will alleviate
some pressure for our students while still giving them the experience of preparing for final
exams. Our teachers will be updating their gradebooks next week to reflect this change as well
as communicating this to their students.

June final exam schedule – all students
Our last full day of classes will be on June 15th.
All final exams are scheduled to run in the morning (9 – 11am). Students may go home after
the exam or stay in study hall for the remainder of the day. Parent permission is required to go
home. Letters will be sent home with your child once they have returned to school.

May 5th T.B.D. – Grade 8 LA PART A Final Blocks 1-3
May 12th T.B.D. – Grade 9 LA PART A Final Blocks 1-3

June 15th – last day of classes – full day for all students
June 16th – Math Part A Final Blocks 1-2 Blocks 3-4 classroom cleanup – Noon Dismissal
June 17th – Social Studies Final AM – Noon Dismissal
June 18th – Math Part B Final AM - Noon Dismissal
June 21st – Awards – Mass – Dress to impress – Textbook returns – National Indigenous
People’s Day
June 22nd – ELA Part B Final AM - Noon Dismissal
June 23rd – Science Final AM - Noon Dismissal
June 24th – Exam Makeup Day
June 25th – Conflict Resolution Day – Final Report Cards released at Noon.

SJT Awards timeline
June 15th – In class final marks due (Last day of classes)
June 16th to June 18th – Awards report run, and list determined.
June 18th – Swift letter sent to award recipients congratulating recipients and directing them to
pick up their award at the office the following week. Final presentation available virtually with
Google Slides similar to last year.
June 21st or 22nd – Creation of a special broadcast to recognize recipients in a general way.

June 22nd – 24th - Awards pick up in the office.

SJT Awards List
Highest Academic Award for Core Subject classes (online and in class) – including French, PE,
and Music
 Award the top student in each class /per grade/ per subject (including ONLINE) –
certificates given.
Highest Overall Academic Average per grade level – Omit once again for this COVID Year.
No Sports (or Athlete of the Year) of Music band awards – Omit once again for this COVID year.
Broadcast and Yearbook
Citizenship awards to a Homeroom student
Christopher Award and Superintendent’s Award.
Honors medals – awarded to those students who meet the criteria.

Honour Roll eligibility criteria
Due to cumulative marking, grade completion with Honours will be determined by the final
reporting period. Final exams are not included in the calculation for Honours. A student will be
deemed as attaining an Honours standing when he/she has achieved an 80% average or higher
within the regular program. This includes the core subjects of Math, Science, Social Studies and
Language Arts with no mark below 70% or final level of achievement below a proficient level in
these four subjects. In order to receive Honours at year-end, students must achieve these
standards on the average of the final reporting period.

Camp Nakamun
We are moving ahead with planning for our annual Camp Nakamun overnight trip for our grade
8’s. We have about half of the parent volunteers we need so for. This trip is entirely
dependent on what the startup looks like for next year. If you are interested in being a parent
volunteer, please contact our admin support Kim Funnell in our office and she will provide you
with the necessary paperwork to complete.

Alberta Health Services New Website
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent significant changes to the teaching and learning
environment, changes to grade calculations have been made, as follows: All final assessment
weightings will be adjusted from 20% to 10% of the final course grade.
Life of a Student During a Pandemic
Here is the link to the website with all the data for this research, of which ECSD students in
Grade 7 – 12 were involved in. https://www.covidstudentwellbeing.com/

Yearbook and Parent PowerSchool
The 2020 2021 yearbook (that will be delivered in September 2021) is an optional purchase.
This will be your last chance to purchase the yearbook should you wish to. On May 25, 2021,
the yearbook fee will be removed from your parent account. If you have any questions, please
call Ms. Anita Riva 780-454-9202 or email at anita.riva@ecsd.net.
The parent PowerSchool is an excellent resource for parents to check attendance, grades and
pay fees. PowerSchool works much better from a laptop, desktop, or iPad rather than a cell
phone. Please make every effort to check your parent account regularly. If you are having
difficulty accessing your parent account, please call the school and we can assist you with any
problems you may have.

Yearbook Photos – Request for fun photos
Hello SJT!
We are working on the yearbook and need your help!! We are looking for the following types of
photos:
What's cooking SJT? Send in any photos of you (safely and with parental
permission ) cooking breakfast or lunch during a busy day of home learning!
Arts and CTF of SJT! Send in photos of your getting creative while in quarantine or
at home learning!
SJT gets active! Send in photos of you taking on a bit of daily physical activity during the school
day
Day in the life of a pandemic - send in photos that do a good job of summing up exactly how
you spend your time at home, while trying to learn and juggle the responsibilities of being a kid
In a nutshell, your homes will play a starring role in our yearbook this year! Send in your
photos so that we can capture this unusual time!
Special thanks to our amazing Assistant Principal Karen Molyneux for working so hard at putting
together this unique yearbook! Please email your photos to karen.molyneux@ecsd.net

Friday May 7th, 2021
Hello everyone and a happy positive Friday to you all. I would like to wish all mother’s a very
Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. May your children spoil you beyond measure. This week our
teachers have been continuing with online learning and working through the technical issues
that are inevitable with the large numbers of people now going online in Alberta. Our teachers
are true problem solvers and highly technically proficient. If you or your child are having
difficulties, please have your child reach out and let the teacher know.

Enjoy todays Gospel reading from John - 15:12-17

Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if
you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what
his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard
from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go
and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give
you. This I command you: love one another.”

Have a great weekend everyone and get vaccinated!
Sincerely, Kelly L. Kaup – Principal Sir John Thompson

Important dates in May
May 11th – Parent Council meeting via Teams 7:00pm
May 11th – Library Day for Online learners – Cancelled due to online learning
May 17th – Students return for in person instruction at Sir John Thompson
May 24th – Victoria Day – No School
May 25th – In School Learning resumes
T.B.A – Due to the change in at home learning: Grade 8 Language Arts Part A Written Final AM
T.B.A. - Due to the change in at home learning: Grade 9 Language Arts Part A Written Final AM

Online Learning
I want to express my sincere thanks to all parents, guardians, and caregivers for supporting your
children during this extension to online learning. With our elementary schools moving to online
learning today this can be quite an added burden for all our families and our junior high
students who may be caring for their younger siblings during this time. Please reach out to
your teachers if you are having any difficulties and let them know your circumstances. We
understand that these are difficult times, and we are here to support one another. I have
included an excerpt from the Division letter that was sent out earlier in the week below. At this
time, we are unsure if the return to school will go ahead as planned but will sort out the last
part of the year when we receive more direction towards the end of the month.

The Government of Alberta announced today that all schools in Alberta, including Edmonton Catholic Schools,
will move to online learning starting on Friday, May 7. At this time, in-person classes are expected to
resume on Tuesday, May 25. The decision is in response to a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, the increasing
risks posed to Albertans by COVID-19 variants, and the spike in hospital and ICU admissions.

All Albertans 12+ eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine!!!
The following News release was issued by the province of Alberta last Wednesday. As you know
vaccines are a key component in stopping this COVID Pandemic. I strongly encourage you to book an
appointment and get your child vaccinated. Thank you for helping our community out in this way!

Please let us know if your Sir John Thompson student tests positive for COVID-19 as our
division still reports this to AHS.

Alberta Education News release - May 05, 2021
All Albertans over the age of 12 will soon be eligible for COVID-19
vaccine to protect themselves and stop the spike.
After offering vaccine to Albertans most at risk for severe outcomes, Alberta has now progressed to
Phase 3, where everyone over the age of 12 can make an appointment to receive their first dose.
With this expansion, 3.8 million Albertans will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
To avoid overwhelming booking systems, appointments will be staggered in two age groups.
Starting on May 6, every Albertan 30 or older (born in 1991 or earlier), can book an appointment
through Alberta Health Services or a participating pharmacy.
On May 10, appointment bookings will expand to include Albertans ages 12 to 29 (born in 2009 to
1992).
More than 1.66 million doses of vaccine have now been administered across the province. All vaccine
appointments will continue to rely on the incoming supply to Alberta.
“This is a very exciting day for Alberta and it arrives right when we need it the most. We are battling an
extremely aggressive third wave of COVID-19 and we know that vaccines are our best weapon against it.
By opening bookings to everybody over 12 years of age, we are taking a huge step towards stopping the
spike and hopefully putting this pandemic behind us for good.”
Jason Kenney, Premier
“We vowed to protect those who were most at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 first. We’ve
done just that, and now, happily, we can move to protect the general population, starting with those
age 30 and older. We are ahead of schedule and delivering on our promise to provide at least one dose
to every adult Albertan who wants one by June 30. Now that we have gotten to this point, every
Albertan can help drive cases down by getting vaccinated.”
Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health
“We need every Albertan who is eligible to book their appointment and get immunized. It may take time
at first, but please be patient and book your appointment in the coming weeks. This is the most
important thing you can do to protect yourselves, your loved ones, and your communities.”
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health
All eligible Albertans will be able to book appointments to receive a mRNA vaccine with AHS online or
through 811.
Albertans can also book an appointment for these vaccines through participating pharmacies. To find
the closest location to you with an earliest available booking date, check the list on Alberta Blue
Cross.
Alberta’s government is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting lives and livelihoods with
precise measures to bend the curve, sustain small businesses and protect Alberta’s health-care system.
Related information
Book your COVID-19 vaccine appointment

Mental Health week - May 3 – 9th
I am sure that many of you have heard that this week is Mental Health Week in Canada.

Mental Health Week is a Canadian tradition, with communities, schools and workplaces rallying
to celebrate, protect and promote mental health. The core objective of Mental Health Week is
to promote mental health because mental health is something we can promote and protect,
not just something we can lose. I have included some excellent information for you from the
Canadian Mental Health Association. Please select the link below to access these great
resources.
Here are all-new tools and images to help you #GetReal about how you feel. Check out our School
Toolkit for in-class and virtual activities. Use our ready-to-go posts and images to share how you’re
feeling and support #MentalHealthWeek on social media! When we name how we feel, it helps us
understand and process our emotions—which is all a part of good mental health.

https://mentalhealthweek.ca/2021-toolkits/

AHS Caregiver Education Team May Newsletter
Attached you will find the monthly newsletter from AHS. I encourage you to take a look as there are a
number of excellent resources and sessions to attend.

Parent Council – 2020-2021 - Tuesday – May 11th – 7:00pm – Microsoft Teams
Next week is our final Meeting of our Parent Council. Any parent is welcome to attend our
meetings and does not have to hold a position. If you are interested, please give Mr. Kaup a call
at the school for more information and he will send you a link to the Microsoft Teams meeting.

On behalf of our entire school community, we wanted to thank all the parents who have served
on our Parent Council this year. Their commitment, time, and valuable input are very much
appreciated. Our entire school has been the benefit of your unconditional support.

Chair – Jennifer Harvey
Vice Chair – Anita Petrovic
Secretary – Lisa Savill
Treasurer – Elaina Babij
Casino – Sandra Symbaluk

Member at Large – Erin Plume
Member at Large – Deb Dixon
Member at Large – Cheryl Williams
Member at Large – Stephanie Liew

ECSD Division School Council Engagement
In Mid-March, our school Council participated in a School Council Engagement process as a part
of Alberta Education’s new Assurance model going forward for the upcoming school year. The
process involves getting stakeholder input for the goals, priorities, and direction for our school
Division to focus on in the upcoming year. Each School council made a submission across the

division. Our SJT School Council executive members contributed with a lot of great ideas
centered around the four guiding questions. I have included the document in the attachments
for you to view (ECSD Community of School Councils (COSC) Meeting SJT PAC submission).

Last week our School Division released the report which combines all the submissions from our
schools. This has been included for you as well as an attachment (ECSD Community of School
Councils - Engagement Sessions Results - March 30, 2021).

From here our staff will be setting goals and strategies prior to the end of the year which
connect with the priorities of our school Division.

Yearbook and Parent PowerSchool
The 2020 2021 yearbook (that will be delivered in September 2021) is an optional purchase.
This will be your last chance to purchase the yearbook should you wish to. On May 25, 2021,
the yearbook fee will be removed from your parent account. If you have any questions, please
call Ms. Anita Riva 780-454-9202 or email at anita.riva@ecsd.net.
The parent PowerSchool is an excellent resource for parents to check attendance, grades and
pay fees. PowerSchool works much better from a laptop, desktop, or iPad rather than a cell
phone. Please make every effort to check your parent account regularly. If you are having
difficulty accessing your parent account, please call the school and we can assist you with any
problems you may have.

Grade 8 eye dissection
Grade 8’s - Are you ready for an Eye-opening experience? �
The Light and Optical Systems unit allows students to explore the various parts and functions of
the human eye. Under normal circumstances Science 8 students would participate in a
dissection of the sheep eye to discover and observe these structures in person; however, due to
online learning this is not an option. To ensure all students have the opportunity to complete
this dissection, the Science 8 Team has provided the following solution: During the week of May
10th, students and/or parents, may choose to pick up an eye care-package (containing 1 sheep
eye and medical gloves) to complete the dissection at home. No medical blades, scalpels or
scissors will be distributed. Please ensure you have access to something of this nature at home
before picking up your eye dissection package from the school. Students will also be given
detailed instructions through TEAMS as to how to complete the dissection. We ask that parents
supervise the student during the dissection. As to adhere to provincial gathering limits please
arrive individually and pick up will be in the front entryway.

This is NOT mandatory, as all students will still participate in the associated assignment online
by viewing a video if you are not able to pick up the eye-care package as described above. If
there are any questions or concerns, please email tricia.shapka@ecsd.net.

Where: When:
Sir John Thompson Monday May 10th - Wednesday May 12th
Front Entrance 12:00pm - 4:00 pm

Yearbook Photos – Request for fun photos
Hello SJT!
We are working on the yearbook and need your help!! We are looking for the following types of
photos:
What's cooking SJT? Send in any photos of you (safely and with parental
permission ) cooking breakfast or lunch during a busy day of home learning!
Arts and CTF of SJT! Send in photos of your getting creative while in quarantine or
at home learning!
SJT gets active! Send in photos of you taking on a bit of daily physical activity during the school
day
Day in the life of a pandemic - send in photos that do a good job of summing up exactly how
you spend your time at home, while trying to learn and juggle the responsibilities of being a kid
In a nutshell, your homes will play a starring role in our yearbook this year! Send in your
photos so that we can capture this unusual time!
Special thanks to our amazing Assistant Principal Karen Molyneux for working so hard at putting
together this unique yearbook! Please email your photos to karen.molyneux@ecsd.net