Principal’s Update – May 2, 2025
A SEASON OF GROWTH AND PURPOSE
We continue to walk through the Easter season with a spirit of hope and renewal. Over the past week, we also took time to honour the passing of Pope Francis by observing the nine days of mourning. Each morning, students reflected on his leadership, humility, and commitment to caring for others – a meaningful way to connect faith with daily life.
With the arrival of beautiful spring weather, there’s a noticeable shift in energy throughout the school. Term 3 is in full swing, and students are demonstrating increased independence and engagement in their learning. We’re seeing students take greater ownership of daily routines—arriving prepared, managing their time effectively, and showing more focus during independent work. Teachers are emphasizing goals set, revision strategies, and accountability, helping students build the skills they’ll need as they approach the final months of the year.
Spring is also a time of change. As the end of the school year approaches, routines may shift and expectations rise. Students are completing unit assessments, preparing for challenges, participating in leadership opportunities, and in some cases, practicing for year-end events or performances. These next few weeks are an important time to reinforce positive habits, stay organized, and keep momentum.
Remember—progress looks different for every student. Whether it’s stronger self-management, improved communication, or increased confidence in their work, these are meaningful steps. We’ll continue to work together—staff and families—to support students in reaching their goals as we head into the final stretch of the school year.
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
— Philippians 4:13
TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK …
- Advisory Groups
- Badminton Tournament
- Wednesday Pizza Fundraising Lunch
- Band & Instrument Picture Day
- Early Dismissal
- Uniform Fitting Days
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK …
- School Musical “Dot & the Kangaroo Jr.” on Monday, May 5th
- Smores Contest and Fundraiser for the Grade 8 Farewell
- Enrichment
- Colour Day for Musical Cast on Tuesday, May 6th
- Badminton Tournament
- Wednesday Subway/Hot Dog Fundraising Lunch
- HCA Popcorn Day Friday, May 9th
- Kinder Mother’s Day Tea Friday, May 9th
LOOK WHAT’S COMING UP …
- School Mass Tuesday, May 13th, 1030am ALL ARE WELCOME!
- Wednesday Pizza Fundraising Lunch
- Grade 1 & 2 Star Dome Presentation Wednesday, May 14th
- Grade 5 & 6 Camp Manitou May 14th to 16th
- Victoria Day-No School/No BASC
- Golf Tournament at Breezy Bend
- Grades 4-8 Track Meet at John Taylor Collegiate
- K-8 Spring Concert at SPHS
More detailed information can be found on the school website, in the calendar section under Parent Zone!
BASC
A few updates and reminders for BASC:
Updates & Reminders
- Golf starts Tuesday
- Mother’s Day Craft is on Tuesday
- Tennis on Thursday
- May & June Programs are nearly full! There is room in Father’s Day Craft only.
- Monday, May 5 – No milk or hot lunch service available
- Thursday, June 6 – BASC Full Day Field Trip – Please register!
📞 Last-minute BASC? If you need BASC or need to cancel on the same day, please text me directly at 204-880-8245. I provide the attendance list to teachers daily, so there’s no need to contact the office.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
Ms. Furutani
SUMMER CAMP applications were due April 30th! Contact Ms. Furutani. 📧 kfurutani@stccs.ca📞 204-880-8245
PARKING INFORMATION
Thank you to everyone in our community for following parking protocols and signage to help keep our students safe! Reminder: DO NOT PARK in the Retreat Centre parking lot. this is private property.
- Volunteers Needed! We are always looking for extra hands to support this initiative. As a thank you, FREE BASC (Before and After School Care) is offered to our volunteers.
- Sign up for Loading Zone Patrol (Monday – Friday) on ParentZone!.
SCCS PRIVATE MUSIC LESSON (PML) program
PML is now open for the 2025–2026 school year! This year, registration and payment will be handled conveniently through Permission Click.
Lessons are offered during the school day on a variety of instruments, and students will be accepted until program capacity is reached. Once accepted, an invoice will be issued for payment.
Important:
- Continuing students are guaranteed their spot if registered by May 12th.
- New students are encouraged to register early, as spaces fill quickly.
If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Gingrich, PML Coordinator at mgingrich@stccs.ca.
Here is the link to sign up: Permission Click
EXPLORING INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES THROUGH ART
On Friday, April 25th, the Grade 3, 3-4, and 4 classes took part in an Indigenous craft activity inspired by Ojibwa artist Benjamin Chee Chee.
Students explored Chee Chee’s unique style, known for capturing animals using only a few simple lines and limited colours. After learning about his life and viewing some of his artwork, students created their own Blackline Drawings using his techniques as inspiration.
It was a meaningful and creative experience that connected art with Indigenous perspectives.
FUNDRAISING SURVEY UPDATE
Thank you to the 81 families who completed our fundraising survey in April. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and is helping us shape our fundraising plan for the upcoming school year. Based on the responses, the majority of families preferred to either keep the current mandatory fundraiser as is or opt out. As a result, there will be no changes to the mandatory fundraiser for next year. A Permission Click form will be sent out soon with further details.
SCCS GOLF TOURNAMENT
Save the Date! This year’s Golf Tournament is Thursday, May 22, 2025 @ Breezy Bend Golf Course, please mark it in your calendars! We need help from the entire St Charles community to make this a success.
Golfer Registration Form: GolferREGISTRATION2025PDF Document · 197 KB
Sponsorship Form: SCCSSponsorshipPACKAGE-2025PDF Document · 193 KB
ST. CHARLES GOLF TOURNAMENT – WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Volunteers:
We’re looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the tournament. It’s a great way to complete any remaining volunteer hours!
Prizes:
We’re in need of items for our silent auction and wine raffle. Gift cards, bottles of wine, or themed basket items are all appreciated. Every $25 spent counts as one volunteer hour! Need ideas? Email Andrea at andreasiwak@shaw.ca
Golfers:
We still need more teams to register! Don’t worry if you don’t have a full team — we can help pair you up. Without golfers, the tournament can’t happen, so please consider joining us for a fun day on the course.
Sponsorships:
Sponsor a hole and support our school! Tax receipts are available for most sponsorships.
For all inquiries or to get involved, please contact Andrea Siwak at andreasiwak@shaw.ca
LET’S MAKE THIS EVENT A HOLE-IN-ONE!
SCHOOL MUSICAL
The School Musical Is Here!
We’re thrilled to announce that Dot & the Kangaroo Jr. is finally hitting the stage!
Join us on Monday, May 5th at the Winnipeg Art Gallery for two performances:
🕜 1:30 PM and 6:30 PM (Doors open one hour before each show).
Tickets are available for purchase at the school.
In addition to an amazing performance, there will be gift baskets to win and exciting door prizes — you won’t want to miss it!
Come out and support our talented students and dedicated staff. What an incredible opportunity for our students to perform in such a beautiful venue — it’s sure to be an unforgettable experience!
BIG GYM RENOVATION UPDATE
We’re excited to share that more progress was made on our big gym renovation over the Easter weekend, bringing us one step closer to completing our full gym upgrade.
You may recall that back in December, we installed LED lighting, six ceiling fans, refinished the stage, and added new doors. Over the Easter break, we continued the transformation by:
- Removing all the radiators and exposed piping
- Taking down the two large ceiling-mounted heater fans
- Reconstructing the wall above the stage in preparation for the installation of glass basketball backboards—coming in just a few weeks!
But we’re not finished yet! Still more to come…
A big thank you to our Board of Directors and the entire school community—your support and contributions to the Building Fund have made this project possible.
Special thanks as well to Secure Construction Group Inc. for their excellent management and top-quality work. Amazing job!
SPRING CONCERT
K-8 SPRING CONCERT
Thursday, May 29 at 6:30 p.m.
St. Paul’s High School Multiplex 2200 Grant Ave
Students should arrive at 6:00 p.m. in colour clothes and are encouraged to wear their “Sunday Best.”
GRADE 6-8 SPRING BAND CONCERT
Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m.
St. Charles Catholic Parish 320 St. Charles Street
Students should arrive at 6:00 p.m. in their best school uniforms, with their instruments and music. Percussion instruments will be transported to the church for students.
SMORES THAN MEETS THE EYE – GRADE 8 FAREWELL FUNDRAISER
Get ready for a sweet challenge – all to support the Grade 8 Farewell!
Can you guess how many marshmallows are in the jar???
The contest starts on Tuesday! Grade 8 students will be selling tickets at lunch and outside after school.
The rules are simple:
- Guess the number of marshmallows in the jar.
- The person with the closest guess without going over wins.
Ticket costs: 1 guess for $2 or 5 guesses for $5
Every guess helps support our Grade 8 students as they prepare for their special farewell celebration.
Contest Challenge: The classroom with the highest number of tickets sales wins a box of Timbits.
Prize Alert: Win a 3-gallon drink dispenser filled to the top with a sweet mix of candy and marshmallows! This fun and eye-catching prize is perfect for sharing with friends, family, or your class — or keeping all to yourself (we won’t judge!). PLUS: You’ll get all the fixing’s for Smores and a $100 Canadian Tire gift certificate to fill in the blanks for a relaxing summer evening!
Get ready for a sugar rush and a whole lot of fun!
SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL BAND – Donate an Instrument!
Do you have a band instrument sitting in storage, unused and collecting dust? Put it to good use by donating it to our school! Our music program is always in need of instruments to ensure every student has the opportunity to learn and play.
If you have an instrument to donate, please bring it to the school office or contact Mrs. Gregorchuk. Thank you for your support!
BURSARY APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE
Bursary applications for the 2025-2026 school year are now available on Parent Zone under Forms & Documents. If you require a printed copy, please call the school directly.
The deadline for submission is May 16th at 4:00 PM. Applications should be placed in a sealed envelope addressed to Mrs. Prettie and submitted to the school office. All applications will remain confidential and will be reviewed by the bursary committee.
WORLD’S FINEST CHOCOLATE – FUNDRAISER
We have some chocolates left and are offering them at 50% off!
- Almond cases – $50 each
- Variety cases – $45 each
Plus, when you purchase a case, you’ll receive 1 VIP hour!
To get your cases, please visit the office – payment is required at pick-up.
Thank you for your support!
IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT SCHOOL ENTRY PROCEDURES
At St. Charles, our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students and staff. To help us maintain a secure and calm environment, we kindly ask all parents and visitors to follow these important guidelines:
- All visitors must enter through the main front doors.
- Please check in at the front office—even if you’re just dropping something off or need to grab something from your child’s cubby or locker.
- Parents should not be going upstairs, down the classroom hallways, or into the kindergarten area for drop-off, pick-up, or to help their child with something. These areas are for students and staff only during school hours.
- All student drop-offs and pick-ups must be done outside. Parents waiting in the hallways is disruptive and causes confusion for both reception and staff.
We recognize that most parents are doing their best to follow these expectations, and we sincerely thank you. However, there have been ongoing challenges with some individuals entering areas of the school without checking in or using alternate entry points. Even if the intentions are good, this puts added pressure on our staff and compromises the careful safety procedures we have in place.
We are asking for your support and cooperation to help reinforce these expectations. It takes a collective effort to keep our school safe, respectful, and focused on learning. Thank you for helping us protect the integrity of our learning environment and maintain the safety and security of our community.
HOCKEY ENRICHMENT SKILLS PROGRAM – PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR
We’re excited to begin planning next year’s Hockey Enrichment Skills Program for students in Grades 6–8!
To help us gauge interest, all current Grade 5–7 students have received a Permission Click survey. This is just a survey at this stage—not a registration form. We’d really appreciate it if you could take a few seconds to complete the survey. Knowing our numbers early helps us with planning and logistics.
Thanks for your support!
Click the link based on the class your child is in currently.
Grade 5: https://permission.click/QP2Wl/ca
Grade 6M: https://permission.click/n8yLv/ca
Grade 6C: https://permission.click/Xj2wb/ca
Grade 7: https://permission.click/2xeWX/ca
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART – STUDENT RECOGNITION & CELEBRATION
A big thank you to all our students and families who participated in the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada! We are so proud of the generosity and school spirit shown by our community.
We’d like to give special recognition to four students who went above and beyond with their fundraising efforts: Arya H., Oliver G., Ashlyn K., and Henry P. These students received a special certificate and prize in recognition of their incredible contributions.
To celebrate reaching our school-wide fundraising goal of $2000, students enjoyed a fun dance party in the gym — a well-earned celebration for a great cause!
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who helped make this event such a success!
SHOT PUT – GRADE 5 BOYS
Congratulations to our Grade 5 Boys’ Shot Put Relay Team who earned 3rd place at the Indoor Track Meet held in February at the University of Manitoba!
Well done to Johan, Lucas, Andy, and Grayson — they received their ribbons this week. Way to go, boys!
BADMINTON – GRADE 7 BOYS DOUBLES
Congratulations to Bronson and Bennett who earned a team 1st place medal at the Badminton tournament this week. Well done, we’re proud of you!
BADMINTON – GRADE 8 MIXED DOUBLES
Congratulations to Odhran and Kassidy who earned a team 2nd place medal at the Badminton tournament this week. Well done, we’re proud of you!
Congratulations to all our participants.
Badminton continues next week-good luck everyone!
TURF CAMPAIGN – FROM THE GROUND UP – HELP BUILD OUR PLAYGROUND
We are asking for your help! So far we have raised $83,095. You can track our progress on the school website.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Aneta Prettie PRINCIPAL
St. Charles Catholic School
Phone: 204-837-1520 ext. 222
Link to .pdf version of Principal’s Update.