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At the Bandstand!

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Well done ICS! What a great matinee and evening performance of At the Bandstand! – we were all smiling from ear to ear last Wednesday!

When Rockin’ Robin, host of the hit TV show At the Bandstand!, announces an on-air dance-off to join the popular Bandstand Kids, Cindy and her gaggle of girlfriends jump at the chance! But in order to succeed, Cindy will need to out-shine the spoiled daughter of the show’s corporate sponsor…

All grades, from K to 7, participated in this fun musical with familiar ’50s songs, great characters and funny punch lines.   They danced and sang their way through the ’50s hits At the Bandstand!,  Rockin’ Robin, Save the Last Dance for Me, Johnny Angel, Sh-Boom, Splish Splash,  Shake, Rattle and Roll and Great Balls of Fire!  

A big THANK YOU to all who made this production such a success; the cast members, all the students, the staff members and the parents

Track and field season off to a great start

Every child in Grades Three through Seven has the opportunity to participate in Track and Field at ICS.  There are early morning practices twice a week (rain or shine!) for runners and long-jumpers. Those involved in shotput and discus also practice twice a week after school.  Having completed many weeks of practice, the participants go on to compete in a number of events against other CISVA schools at various track meets.

The first “friendly” track meet was held last Thursday on a beautiful sunny day, hosted by St. Joseph’s School at Swangard Stadium.  We competed against six other schools and did really well in many events.  Next week, we have another friendly meet at Vancouver College and then it’s onto the CISVA competitions which are also held at Swangard Stadium.

Good luck to all our sprinters, long distance runners, long-jumpers and throwers!

Honoring Mary ~ Living Rosary

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Roman Catholics traditionally give special honor to Mary during the month of May. With that in mind this past Wednesday morning, our whole school prayed the Living Rosary. A Living Rosary is made of students, each representing a bead.  The Grade Seven students lead the scho0l through one decade of the Rosary. It was a truly holy and peaceful way to begin the day.

“The word rosary comes from Latin and means a garland of roses, the rose being one of the flowers used to symbolize the Virgin Mary. If you were to ask what object is most emblematic of Catholics, people would probably say, ‘The rosary, of course.’ . . . The rosary is a devotion in honor of the Virgin Mary. It consists of a set number of specific prayers. First are the introductory prayers: one Apostles’ Creed (Credo), one Our Father (the Pater Noster or the Lord’s Prayer), three Hail Mary’s (Ave’s), one Glory Be (Gloria Patri).” – excerpt from http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-rosary

For more information about praying the Rosary see http://rcav.org/prayer-and-spirituality-pray-the-rosary/

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Grade Four Garden Buddies

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The Grade Four students have taken on the great responsibility of planting and tending to the ICS gardens over the course of this school year. Several times a month they meet with a group of Master Gardeners and gardening enthusiasts to learn about the fine art of planning, planting, tending to, and harvesting vegetables and flowers.  It has been a wonderful experience in which they have involved the rest of the school community in the areas of composting and taste testing. They have harvested and tasted many micro-greens and the most recent and deliciously crunchy harvest was radish. Thank you Grade Four for your dedication and hard work with our gardens!

The following excerpts were written by two Grade Four students:

Garden buddies are people that come to work with us when we garden.  They help us plant seeds in the garden.  The garden is in the back of the school.  Our buddies come every other Tuesday.  I feel happy and excited to work with our Garden Buddies.

This picture is about a group of students building a trellis to support the peas they’re about to plant. They’re going to plant Arugula. I chose this because they used teamwork to build the trellis. Each student is trying to do his or her best. I really like my garden buddy because she’s really nice and she tries to help when we need help.

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Gold performance at the Chancellor Music Festival

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On Monday, May 4th, the ICS choir participated in the 34th Annual Chancellor Music Festival at Our Lady of Mercy School in Burnaby. They performed two songs: Shout with Joy! by Mark Patterson and The Beginning of Love by Greg Gilpin.

We are very proud to share the news that our students were awarded a gold! Gold standing is awarded for receiving a mark of 88% or higher. This means that the choir sang to almost technical perfection!

During our time at the Festival, the choir had a chance to work with a trained professional who gave them a 15 minute clinic on choral technique to enhance their already successful learning of these songs. She commented favourably on their singing in two-part harmony, their wonderful energy, and strong voices. What an opportunity for our choir members!

At our assembly next Monday, May 11th, (10:45 in the gymnasium) the choir will be reprising the songs they performed at the Festival.  All are welcome to join us!

First Holy Communion

After many months of preparation, the Grade Two class received their First Holy Communion on Sunday May 3rd. First Holy Communion is considered one of the holiest and most important occasions in our lives – it is a significant milestone in the life of a Catholic. It is the first time that we receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is the eating of consecrated bread and drinking of consecrated wine. Everyone was excited about receiving this special gift from Jesus. Here’s what a few students had to say about their Holy day.

“My First Communion was great. I felt full of Joy after receiving Jesus”

“I felt reunited with God. My favourite part was receiving the Body of Christ for the first time. I enjoyed being with my family.”

“I will always remember receiving the host for the first time.”

“I felt excited. I enjoyed bringing up the wine. I will always remember Jesus.”

Family and friends joined us in celebrating – even from as far a field as Germany.   Thank you to all the wonderful Grade One and Three families who planned and hosted the lovely, delicious reception in the gym afterwards.

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Speech Arts at our Little Blue School

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UPDATE:  Congratulations to the ten students who represented ICS at the Archbishop Carney Speech Arts Festival in April. Gold and silver medals were achieved by all ten of our participants – we are so proud of you!

Originally posted April 15, 2015

On Friday, April 10th, we held our Speech Arts Competition to determine which students will be attending the Archbishop Carney Speech Arts Festival later this month at St. Joseph’s School. What a talented group of orators we have at ICS! There were two categories for the intermediate students: prepared Bible reading and poetry recitation. The poems ranged from the engaging verse of Shel Silverstein and Roald Dahl to the pensive and contemplative verse of Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, and Matthew Arnold. Bravo to all of our competitors! The decision was not arrived at easily; one Grade Four student and one Grade Five student will be advancing in this category. In addition, we have two students representing ICS in the prepared Bible reading category. Best of luck to you all!     

The primary students shared equally fun poems with the audience and also included some Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky gems. One student from Grade Two and one student from Grade Three will be advancing in this category. Theprepared Bible reading is always challenging, as our students must prepare three of the readings but do not know which one they will read on the day of the competition . . . congratulations to our Grade One and Grade Two winners! Finally, the primary students also take part in Prose Recitation and the selections this year were most challenging, ranging from Mercy Watson by Kate diCamillo to Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.  Kudos to our Grade Two and Grade Three students who have advanced to the Archbishop Carney Speech Arts Festival in this category. 

We wish all of our contestants the best of luck and we will be thinking of you on April 22nd!