Serving Grade K – 8 Students in Devon, Alberta

Principal
Audrey MacDonald
[email protected]

Assistant Principal
Jocelyn Lamothe
[email protected]

School Address
100 Michigan Street
Devon, AB
T9G 2H6

School Phone:
(780) 987-5730

School Fax
(780) 987-5834

School Web Site:
www.hscs.ca
HOLY SPIRIT
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Evergreen serves
Catholic families in
Devon, Hinton,
Spruce Grove,
Stony Plain and
Westlock. For more information call the board office at
1-800-825-7152. The next
school board meeting is October 14, 2014 in Spruce
Grove.
Holy Spirit celebrates 10th anniversary
Pictures: Left—
representatives of
our first kindergarten class, who
finished grade 8
at the school last
spring, presented
a legacy project
to the school.
They created a
tile mosaic in the
form of a cross to
be displayed
prominently in
the school.
We celebrated the beginning of our 10th year of Catholic education in Devon
on September 4, 2014 as current and former students, staff members, trustees, and parents gathered for our barbecue and program. Despite cold
weather, a large crowd joined us in the gym as we marked this significant
milestone.
See additional pictures, p. 6
Pictures: below left — former school administrators Mr. Dempsey and Mrs. Glebe entertain the crowd with memories of the early years; below right — current and former trustees cut the anniversary cake: Mr. Yaceyko, Mr. MacLellan, Mrs. Cargill.
Holy Spirit Prayer
Our next School Council
meeting will be held Tues.,
Oct. 28th at 6:30 p.m. All
Holy Spirit Catholic School
parents are welcome. This is
a great way to get involved!
Evergreen CSRD #2 Schools:
St. Joseph - K-4; St. Marguerite
- K-4; St. Thomas Aquinas - Gr.
5-8; St. Peter the Apostle - Gr. 912, Outreach & Distance
Learning, Spruce Grove; St.
John Paul II - K- 8, Stony Plain;
St. Mary - K-12, Westlock;
Holy Spirit - K-8, Devon; St.
Gregory- K-4; Gerard Redmond Gr. 5-12, Hinton
October 2014
The Holy Spirit guides us.
The Holy Spirit lives in our
hearts.
Holy Spirit of love,
we ask your blessing on us.
Holy Spirit Vision: “Holy Spirit Catholic School exists as the result of the
expressed need of our Christian community for a Catholic school to serve
students in a setting where they can celebrate their common bond of faith
in God. The staff and parents working in the name of Jesus and in the
Spirit of His challenge are committed to providing a quality Catholic education that prepares students to live compassionately and morally where
change is the only constant within an atmosphere of Faith, Hope, Love
and Prayer.”
Be with us in all that we do.
Guide our hearts and our
lives
to walk always in your way
of love.
Amen
Nicole Kearley will continue in her role as school
counselor for the 2014-2015 school year for day-to-day
concerns. Students can request to see her by dropping
her a note in her silver mailbox at the school’s main
office. Our mentorship program will continue again
this year at Holy Spirit. Older students gain valuable
leadership skills by helping younger students. This
program is coordinated by Ms. Kearley. In addition,
Rainbows Grief Support Groups will run again this
year.
The sacramental programs at St. Maria Goretti are
designed to accommodate the needs of our faith
community. Please contact the parish office if you
are interested in learning more about this valuable
program:
Parish Office : 780-987-2858

So far, Ms. Kearley’s counselling time has been occupied as follows:

Visiting classes to inform students of her role in
the school

Meeting individually with our new students to
assist with their transition

Individual counselling has begun.
Completed Rainbows coordinator and facilitator

training. Rainbows forms are in, groups will be
made and the program will begin in October.
Assisted our new FSL worker, Sara Berg, in her

transition to Holy Spirit. Sara will work with
students individually and in small groups on
Wednesday mornings.
In conjunction with the town of Devon, Ms.

Kearley and Ms. Abesamis have started learning
about the Virtues project, a character-education
project we will be introducing at Holy Spirit this
year.
Any parent who has a desire to have their child see a
counsellor is invited to contact Ms. Kearley to determine whether is it a matter for a school counsellor or if
your child might be better served with a referral for out
-of-school supports. Ms. Kearley will help coordinate
these referrals, as required.
For more information about
busing to Evergreen Catholic
schools, contact:
Parkland Student
Transportation
1-780-963-8452
MASS TIMES AT
ST. MARIA GORETTI CHURCH
(and surrounding parishes)
Saturday at 5 p.m. (St. Maria Goretti, Devon)

Sunday at 9 a.m. (Our Lady of Victory,
Thorsby)

Sunday at 10:15 a.m. (St. Margaret Mary,
Calmar)

Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (St. Maria Goretti,
Devon)
Holy Spirit Choir is Growing!
This year we welcome a growing number of singers
from grades 3-8.
Thanks to Mr. Bolkowy and grade six student,
Kiera Cargill – along with Mrs. Kudel, a member of
our parish who volunteers her time – and our newly
formed junior high choral option, our instrumental
accompaniment is also growing!
A note of appreciation is extended to Ms. Lamothe
and Mr. Bolkowy for their efforts with these students.
We will be leading the music ministry at the October 4th mass at St. Maria Goretti and on the first Saturday of most months throughout the school year.
Join us at mass on Saturday, October 4th and check
out the great music ministry continuing on at Holy
Spirit.
Check us out on Twitter @HolySpiritDevon
Page 2
Athletics
VOLLEYBALL
The junior boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams have been selected
and practices have been underway since the second week of
September. The squads will be
looking to continue their successful league play this season,
as the boys finished 1st out of ten
teams and the girls 2nd out of
thirteen teams in the regular season last year. The boys capped off their season with a
bronze medal and the girls finished 4th in last year’s
round-robin season-end tournament and both sides are
hoping to have another successful year.
the boys and girls will be looking forward to a packed
gym and some home court advantage! Come out and
support our volleyball program!
Developmental volleyball also is underway under the
direction of Mr. Purcell and Mr. Drebit. Grade 4 to 6
students have started their Friday after-school practices. They will practice occasionally on Tuesdays, as
well, if junior teams are away at games. Practice information will be communicated to students involved.
The main focus in developmental volleyball is skill
development and having fun.
RUNNING CLUB
The girls are primed and ready as Mrs. Fraser has a
Under the direction of Mr. Allan and Ms. Teasdale,
deep roster returning from last season. They have alour running club members have demonstrated commitready impressed this campaign, winning the Leduc
ment to their Tuesday and Thursday runs. They have
Junior High tournament two weekends ago. Their first
been working hard to be ready for the Evergreen Cross
game was at home Tuesday, September 30th.
Country Run scheduled for Thursday, October 2nd
(grades 3-6).
It will be a rebuilding year for the boys’ volleyball
program this season as veterans from last year have
graduated to their respective grade nine schools. Mr.
Drebit and the boys will face an uphill battle as the
squad consists of many rookies from grade five to
eight—but still they have their sights set on a successful season this year. The boys’ first game also was at
home this season on Tuesday, September 30th.
The schedule has been posted on the school’s website
and with 5 out 6 games being played at home this year,
Kindergarten students
celebrated together last
week at their Teddy
Bear Picnic.
Page 3
Scenes from our Terry
Fox Walk held on a
rainy September 26th.
Great job, students!
Thank you to our volunteers who helped us out,
the Devon Lions for the snacks, and RBE for
hosting us.
Grade 4 students creating pendants
The Grade 4 class made pendants out of bread dough as part of their Religion
program. They will decorate them with symbols of themselves and wear the
pendant to the Bible Celebration later this year. All Grade 4 students will
receive a Bible provided by the Knights of Columbus. Thank you to all the
parent volunteers that showed up to help out!
PARENT—STUDENT—TEACHER CONFERENCES
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
&
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Elementary conferences will be scheduled (additional information regarding scheduling will be
sent home with your child).
Grade 7 and 8 conferences will be held in the gym on a first-come-first served basis.
Page 4
Student Council Activities
The Holy Spirit Student Council, composed of leadership students, has been active since almost the beginning of the school year. They have organized a
very successful “Colour Day” recently — see pictures below.
assembly. Students whose tickets are drawn will
have the opportunity to throw the pies.
Student Council members have started planning the
Halloween dance for grade 6-8 students (and are
inviting grade 7 and 8 students from St. JPII school
in Stony Plain). It is scheduled for the afternoon of
They are in the process of planning our October
school assembly where students from all grades will October 31st.
have an opportunity to “pie” a pre-determined
teacher (willing teachers have already put forth their We look forward to the ongoing efforts of our Stunames). Prior to the assembly, interested students
dent Council as they continue to build positive
will purchase tickets. Tickets will be drawn at the
school spirit.
Page 5
10th Anniversary Celebration… more pictures
Page 6
October 2014
SUN
5
12
19
MON
TUE
WED
THU
1
2
Early dismissal
(1:45 p.m.)
Running Club
Meet in Spruce
Grove
8
9
10
School Bus Safe- Steve Angrisano
ty (K-gr. 6)
(liturgical musician) Presentation @ 1:30 p.m.
Gr. 7 & 8 Drug
Presentations at
Community Centre (a.m.)
No School for
Students — Staff
Faith Development Day in
Spruce Grove
13
14
15
16
17
No School —
Thanksgiving
Mike Landry
Visits
School Assembly
@ 1:30 p.m.
21
22
6
20
7
27
28
School Council
Mtg. @ 6:30
p.m.
29
3
SAT
4
Holy Spirit Choir
Sings at 5:00
p.m. Mass at St.
Maria Goretti
11
18
Teddy Anderson
(Hoop Dancer)
Presentation and
Workshops
23
Gr. 1 Instruction- School Pictures
al Mass @
(ECS1 & ReChurch (9:15
takes)
a.m.)
Parent-Student-Teacher
Conferences
26
FRI
30
24
25
School Mass at
St. Maria Goretti
@ 9:15 a.m.
31
Halloween
Page 7
November 2014
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
1
Holy Spirit Choir
Sings at 5:00
p.m. Mass at St.
Maria Goretti
2
3
4
5
6
Early Dismissal
@ 1:45 p.m.
9
16
10
11
12
No School
No School —
Remembrance
Day
No School —
“In Lieu” Day
18
19
17
7
8
Remembrance
Day Celebration
@ 10:40 a.m.
Celebrate Catholic Ed. Sunday at
5:00 p.m. Mass
at St. Maria
Gr. 4 Bible Cele- Goretti
bration (1:00
p.m.)
13
14
15
20
21
22
27
28
29
Report Cards
Issued
No School for
Students — PD
Day
Gr. 2 Instructional Mass @
Church (9:15
a.m.)
23/30
24
25
School Mass at
Church @ 9:15
a.m.
School Council
Mtg. @ 6:30
p.m.
26
Gr. 7 Boys and
Girls Retreats
Page 8