February is Heart Month!

There are several ways to think about your heart.  One as the muscle that keeps our blood pumping and us alive and two as an outward expression of our goodness and intentions to others.  We at Monsignor William Irwin try to stay alert to both of those definitions.  On February 1st the teachers of Edmonton Catholic Schools took part in a district wide faith development day at the Shaw Conference Centre.  It has been our goal since September to create a student faith day on the same theme as our teachers, The Beauty of Life; Awaken your senses and stir your heart.   We compiled seven sessions for students to take part in that would physically engage them to be aware of the beauty of God's presence in their lives.

We started with an assembly where Father Mike connected what the beauty of life might mean to us with the bible.  We sang a couple of songs and we watched an inspirational video by the group Third Day, God of Wonders. 

During the first session the grade fours and some of the grade sixes worked as a prep crew making sandwiches and compiling a brown bag lunch to be donated to an inner city school today.  The Lunch Brigade led by Mr. Clericuzio our principal and Mrs. Brilz made 137 bag lunches for students in our city who might of otherwise have gone hungry today at lunch.

The assembly line.

The entire student body collected friut for a friend for the same school.

Completed lunches ready to go.

The delivery crew.



While feverish sandwich making was taking place in the staff room, reflective painting was going on in the art room with Ms. Stang.  She had the students reflect on the beauty and awe of a sunset and paint a gorgeous water colour of it.

Mrs. D'Agostini our Vice Principal was engaging her group of young students in cartooning a response to "What things bright and beautiful do you see in your life?"

By the look of Elisha's picture in Gr. 1C, she sees many of God's wonders in her life!





Mrs. Motoska had her session thinking about the lyrics to popular Christian Music and what they mean in "Movin Music."



Father Mike, our District Chaplain came to spend some time with us.  He brought his faithful companion Nemo the long hair daschund along with him to the delight of our students.  He told bible stories to the grade ones and discussed the complexities of becoming an adolescent with the older students and how faith can give us confidence to overcome any obstacles we may face.

Our Kindergarten students were exposed to an activity many of them have witnessed their parents doing - Yoga!  Some of them even borrowed their mother's mats.

 Cheryl Shinkaruk, our Phys. Ed. and Wellness Consultant for the district, taught these junior yogis about the breath of life in her yoga session.

Finally, Madame Brassard our very own grade two french immersion teacher led a relaxing and reflective guided meditation taking the students on a personal journey to meet Jesus.

Teaching children to visualize and to relax their minds and bodies can be of great benefit to their health.

Here's a heart health question for you to answer.  What is the sum of these two acitivities?

That's correct!  The sum of healthy eating plus 30 minutes of regular exercise a day equals...

A strong heart!

Here are a few heart healthy facts to get you motivated :

For the month of February remember to love yourself by eating right, exercising and being good to others!

Grade 1B Winners of the Rainbow Lunch Club Challenge

Congratulations to Madame Irvine's Grade 1B french immersion class for having 100% participation in the last two weeks Rainbow Lunch Club Challenge.  They all brought a healthy well balanced lunch for the two week blitz that inspired many in our school to see how delicious and easy a noon time meal could be when following Canada's Food Guide.  Our hope is that these and many other students will continue this healthy practice for the rest of the year to come. 

Madame Irvine's 1B's will enjoy an afternoon at our new Terwilliger Recreation Complex that just opened up last weekend.   You deserve it!

Rainbow Lunch Club

What's in your lunch bag?  The new year brings a new theme and challenge to our community raising healthy children.  The theme for January is "Rainbow Lunches".  As a part of the wellness initiative at Ecole Monsignor William Irwin we are launching a Rainbow Lunch Club Challenge for Grades 1 to 6. 



January 17 - 28th inclusive, students will be given a Rainbow lunch Club card and will be encouraged to bring a lunch that contains one item from each of the four food groups from Canada's Food Guide.

Each time a student brings a healthy lunch to school they will receive a mark on their Rainbow Lunch Club card.  At the end of the challenge, the class with the most marks combined, will win free time at the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre opening in late January for the whole class.  Help your child promote and exercise healthy and active living by working with them to create winning combinations of whole foods to eat in their lunch during this nutrition blitz and every day.

By now you will have received a letter stapled to Healthy Eating and Active Living for your 6-12 year old guide.  Inside you will find many web resources to help you create healthy meal and snack choices for you and your children.

SOME FAST FACTS TO CONVINCE YOU TO REFLECT ON WHAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR CHILD'S LUNCH :

• eating healthy, whole (unprocessed foods) helps your child's memory, ability to concentrate, academic performance
• children who eat supper with their families three or more times per week have a decreased risk of being overweight
• you can prevent mealtime struggles by allowing you child to decide whether or not to eat and how much to eat ( the parent decides what, when and where to offer the food)
• healthy homemade lunches are not expensive (see page 12 & 13 of the guide for lunch ideas)
• The best thirst quencher is water
• It can take a child between 10 - 15 separate tastings of a food before accepting it

Good luck to the students, and may the classes with the most healthy lunches win!

Skiing, Celebrating and Santa!

What a busy week it has been!  Fun, but very busy.


First, Skiing... 

Monsignor William Irwin students from grades 3 - 6 went skiing to Rabbit Hill all day Tuesday, December 14th. 

We rode to the hill in a festively decorated bus!

The Weather was perfect for our students to enjoy a day on the slopes.  Beginner, intermediate and advanced skiiers all took a lesson in the morning and then had some free ski time after lunch. 

Many students experienced their first time skiing under the expert guidance of the Rabbit Hill instructors.

 Here are some students beginning a snowboard lesson.

Some beginning snowboarders and skiiers riding the magic carpet up the Bunny Hill.

The next lift to master is the dreaded rope tow! 

If you can walk, you can ski!

This student makes it look easy.

When you get real good, they let you on the chair lift!

The success of the day is measured in how many students try to hang out in the lodge after lunch.  The fewer the students inside the better.  Not one of Monsignor William Irwin's students stayed in after they devoured their nutritious bag lunches.  I am sure a few beginning skiiers and snowboarders put lessons on their Christmas list!

The Fourth Advent Celebration...

As our last week of school came to a close we celebrated the fourth Advent Celebration with the entire school.  The grade one students were the main celebrants with some assistance from several students in other grades.  Father Andrew from St. Thomas More Parish was in attendance and gave the homily for the beautiful celebration.  The students sat in a circle to signify the never ending cycle of our liturgical season and our belief in life eternal.

Two grade one students played the parts of Mary and Joseph in the manger.

Students listened, prayed and sang respectfully throughout the Celebration and truly understood the reason for the season.

Santa's Breakfast...
On Friday Decemember 17th we had our first Annual Monsignor William Irwin Santa's Breakfast.  The morning was a huge success.  As many staff members rolled into school about 7:45 their nostrils were filled with the heavenly scent of pancakes.  Students, staff and parents alike were all wearing their P.J.'s to school to mark the end of a great first term and the beginning of a restful vacation.

Did you know that monks in Mexico in the 17th Century began to include the Poinsettia in their Christmas celebrations?

I looked into the gym the night before just to see what preparations had been made for Santas arrival.  This is what I saw: 

Serving tables.

Tables for students to sit and enjoy their breakfast.

A corner to have a little visit with Santa in!

The next morning the gym was a buzz with volunteers cooking and serving the healthful breakfast.

Ms. Stang's grade two students dug into their wholegrain pancakes, fruit and whipped cream.  Mmmhh!

Mrs. Flanagan's grade threes didn't mind taking a break from eating to talk with Jolly Old St. Nick.

 This is Madame Brassard's grade two class.

Each class posed for a group photo with Santa after asking him for their Christmas wish. 

Reflecting on the empty gym photos and those with the volunteers and children in them it is clear that we are Church.  It is not the building, but the people who are filling it with their love and faith that are making our community grow.

Once again, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our Wellness Journey in a "Wordle"!

I found an interesting site that creates "Wordles" or Word Clouds out of words to summarize a concept.  I have linked our blog to this site to create a Wordle to illustrate our journey to date. 

Father Bill's Kitchen in a "Wordle" to Dec. 2010.

Activity and Advent

December's Wellness Theme is "Activity" and for Catholics it is Advent and Christmas!  What better way to wait than being active!

How do we fit in activity with our faith traditions of celebratory meals and family gatherings surrounded by traditional foods?  It is a question most of us ask our selves each year at this time.  I have heard conversations at the kitchen table that go something like this..."Food in December has no calories!" or " I couldn't possibly hurt my host's feelings so I always eat what I am given."   Well it isn't quite as difficult as one would think.   I am not saying go overboard, please try to stick to the Canada Food Guide and if you do (and you will) have a little something extra just be a bit more active to offset the extra calories.  The activity need not be of the variety that takes place in the gym.  Grab a child and try some of these!

I am sure you can think of a few more activities that you and yours would like to try or do together.  And afterwards make sure to toast our winter season with a delicious hot chocolate.  Here's a Father Bill's "healthy" version:

OLD FASHIONED HOT CHOCOLATE

For 2 cups of Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

2 cups of milk

2 tbsp. of cocoa powder

4 tbsp. of sugar

Directions:

On stove top heat milk to steaming but not boiling.  Add cocoa powder and sugar, whisking until combined.  Poor into mugs to enjoy :)

Just as an added incentive have a look at the official definition from Health Canada for "Healthy Living":

Definition of healthy living:

At a population level, healthy living refers to the practices of population groups that are consistent with supporting, improving, maintaining and/or enhancing health. As it applies to individuals, healthy living is the practice of health enhancing behaviours, or put simply, living in healthy ways. It implies the physical, mental and spiritual capacity to make healthy choices. The Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy focuses on healthy eating, physical activity and their relationship to healthy weights.


Now to Advent.  This is a very special time for Christian's as we wait in anticipation of the birth of our Messiah. 

Notice the intentional absence of Baby Jesus?  He will be placed in the creche on Dec. 25.

 There are many ways to wait and reflect on this miraculous event.  One way is to use the Advent Wreath to celebrate the weeks before Christmas. Students at Ecole Monsignor William Irwin School are using a wreath to celebrate Advent while at school.  Each week before Christmas we light a new candle and reflect on a different part of the Christmas story until all the candles are lit.  A fifth candle is often included in the middle of the wreath on Christmas Day to symbolize Christ, the Light of our Life. 

The following link will help you to continue this tradition at home with your children:

Advent Wreath, prayers and scripture readings.

 Some classes have made a Jesse Tree to celebrate the family history of Christ our King.  It is a simple procedure that only requires a branch from a deciduous tree, something to put the branch in, a bible and some paper to make leaves.  If you would like the instructions on how to make a Jesse Tree and what scripture passages are to be read with each symbol please follow this link:   Jesse Tree Instructions.   The time you spend with your children sharing these timeless bible stories might just be your best gift this season!

From Father Bill's Kitchen to you and your family,

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!  And remember...

...he's making a list and checking it twice...!  And don't forget to embrace the flakes!