Winter Carnival Proceeds to Support Covenant House

In December, the Grade 7 class went to Covenant House to help sort out donations. Covenant House is an organization that helps youth aged 16-24 who don’t have a home or family to take care of them. All the money collected from the carnival will help Covenant House with their expenses and what they need in order to support the youth they help.

If you weren't able to attend our carnival, or if you want to relive the fun-filled day, keep reading . . .

As I walk through the gym doors, I see a million different colours. Basketballs are flying crazily through the  air and then being chased. Kids are playing games, their pockets stuffed with candy and a cookie in their hands. Everybody is excited and can’t wait to try every activity. The photo booth has Christmas lights strung from a piano bench, the ice fishing station has a green screen and a fishing pole to take pictures with.

People are singing along to the Disney music. Everything looks like a lot of fun and the money that is being brought in is all going towards Covenant Houses’ new building. Right when you walk in, you see a beautifully decorated booth with bowls of multi-coloured icing and rainbow sprinkles. The vibrant reds and greens of the toppings look perfect when layered on top of a tasty sugar cookie. When I look the other way, I see people throwing basketballs and a  line a mile long with kids waiting patiently for a chance to shoot the balls and get a candy cane reward. Behind that, there is another station with kids standing in front of it. They are holding poles with strings and a magnet on the end. As I look closer, I see a kid pull up his pole and triumphantly take a little fish off the end; the ice fishing booth looks exciting.

Across from that, the snowflake booth has little white pieces of paper strewn all over their table and kids are laughing while they cut out different kinds of snowflakes. At the back of the gym, there are tennis balls and soccer balls, tunnels and tables all set up into an obstacle course. Kids are throwing, running, and jumping with others cheering them on. Finally, in the back corner, there are camera flashes and people holding silly props against their faces to give them a moustache or a funny pair of glasses. There is a black background and Christmas decorations around the bench. All of the booths have a fun and exciting look to them and every little detail makes it look like the perfect Winter Carnival.

“Sometimes, it’s good to be picky”

Last December 6th, 2017, our Grade 7 class had the opportunity to visit Covenant House’s donation room on Drake St. in downtown Vancouver. There we helped sort through the many donations that Covenant House received for the holiday season. There were so many donations to go through, that we were told to be very picky and only keep the items that we would use ourselves.

Before going to Covenant House, we all had some ideas about what Covenant House was. We thought of it as a place to accommodate homeless youth and help get them off the streets. We thought of it as an outreach program that gives youth aged 16-24 food, clothes, and education and job opportunities.

After about one and a half hours of sorting through donations, we had some new thoughts about Covenant House and the donations that they received. Here are some of the things we learned and thought:

“Right now, Covenant House has 58 beds and they aren’t at max capacity!”

“People donate many things that are of no use or are bad quality.”

“A lot of people are in need and we need to help them.”

“So. Many. Donations.”

“They are very picky when it comes to keeping clothes.”

“Covenant House helps other charities by giving those charities the things that they do not need.”

“I know after visiting Covenant House that they treat homeless people to the best of their ability.”

“Sometimes, it’s good to be picky.”

“Donations affect everyone.”

As we begin the year 2018, let us remember to be generous and think of those in our communities that need our help.
 

Grade Seven visits the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra!

When we walked into the lobby of the Orpheum, we saw numerous classes from other schools, all there to see and hear the symphony!  The show started off in the setting of a living room and kitchen with a man snoring on the couch. The phone rang, and he discovered he was “late” to perform at the Orpheum. Trying to cover this up, he invited the orchestra over to his house. He began to talk about how you can make instruments out of everything and he makes a shaker out of a soda can, some tape and rice. The symphony played songs like Sabre Dance, Xylophonia, Mission Impossible’s Theme song, a bass solo and a cello and piano duet. There were also some kids who came up on the stage to play some of the handmade instruments. All in all, it was a really cool and interesting show, which I would recommend to everyone!

Written By a Grade Seven Student

Spirit Day 2016

On November 5th, 2016,  many members of the Grade 7 class attended Spirit Day, an event organized and hosted by the CISVA to get participants excited about receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, and awaken the Holy Spirit in young and old alike.

This year, the event was held at Pacific Academy in Surrey.  We sat in a huge auditorium and got to listen to some music from WAL, a Catholic pop/rock band. We also got to follow the story of 6 people who ran the Amazing Race. We listened to them teach us how to pray and to love God, and to remember that we have strength in Him, hope in Him, and that we are alive in Him. That was the theme for Spirit Day 2016. During our general sessions, a Catholic comedy duo, Apex Ministries, performed for us.

Their performances were hilarious and taught us about God and how He loves us. We were lucky enough to have Archbishop Michael Miller lead Mass which was attended by a total of 1400 people (Communion took a long time!). After Mass, the participants shared a delicious dinner together and then we had one more general session filled with singing, praising, and jokes. In my opinion, the best part of the day, was Apex Ministries. They had me laughing non-stop, and they taught me that whenever I pray, God is listening.

Written by a Grade Seven Student

Cross Country Stars!

Many of the students of ICS participated in a Cross Country meet on Wednesday, October 5.  Grades Two through Seven took part in a fun run or a race for their grade.  Everyone did a fantastic job and finished the race strong. ICS placed 15th out of 34 schools and we received two gold medals and one silver medal. In addition, our Grade Seven team members came 3rd in the overall aggregate. Bravo Team ICS!

Cross country is a a challenging sport. Competitors are crammed in at the start line,  and once the staring gun sounds, each runner finds his/her place. After what feels like far longer than it is, many runners start thinking “When will this be over?  When will we see the finish line?” Finally, you hear the cheering crowds as you approach the finish line.

It was so much fun, cheering our schoolmates on, watching the Grade Twos take part in their first Cross Country meet, and feeling the satisfaction of crossing the finish line. We had a great meet and everybody should be proud of themselves for completing this challenge!

Written by a Grade Seven Student

Class of 2016 Graduation

On June 28th, the Grade Seven class of 2016 graduated from ICS. At 10:30 am, the school held a graduation assembly for them. The graduating class included 22 students, most of whom have been at ICS since Kindergarten. All of their families were in attendance and had the chance to view a slideshow of the years this class spent at ICS, to hear a bit about the accomplishments of each student from their Grade Seven teacher, and to listen to some speeches from the graduates about their experiences at our little blue school. One of the graduating families had been at ICS for 22 consecutive years, talk about dedication!

A special moment of  the graduation ceremony was when one of our Musqueam families bestowed a blessing upon the graduates and shared words of wisdom as they leave our little blue school. All of the Musqueam students were invited to participate, lending extra voices to the already beautiful chanting and drumming.

Although the graduates have gone to many different schools, their hearts will always be at ICS. Good luck to all of you as you go out into the world! Don’t forget to come back and visit.

Written by a Grade Six Student

Grade 7 vocations pilgrimage

In April, the Grade 7 class went on a pilgrimage, which is a journey with spiritual significance, to Westminster Abbey and the Monastery of the Poor Clare’s in Mission. This pilgrimage helped students learn more about vocations and how to dedicate their lives to God in preparation for their upcoming Confirmation on May 11th. The highlight of our trip, however, was meeting and speaking with Juan Lucca. Juan Lucca is a seminarian at Christ the King and our Grade 7 class has been praying for him since the Fourth Grade. He reminded us to pray and be joyful. He told us that joy helps keep evil away, and that it is a path to heaven.

Here are some of their realizations about vocations following this pilgrimage:

Peaceful . . . because it is very quiet and reverent in the abbey, and they are surrounded by nature
Joyful . . . because you can feel the joy and see the joy on the faces of the monks and seminarians that live there
Prayerful . . . because they dedicate their lives to praying to God and prayer at all times

Here are some of their realizations about vocations following this pilgrimage:

“I learned that to become a monk, it takes a lot of commitment and you can go through all the years of training and then decide it is not for you. The vocation you choose is what God has called you to do, not what you do just because.”

“Vocations can be a great source of learning important things.”

“Vocations are important so that you can follow God on the right path.”

“Vocations can play a big part in your life and could change your life forever.”

Racquets + shuttlecocks + fun = badminton

Badminton season is now over – but oh what fun was had by all!  For the last few months during P.E. classes Grades 4 to 7 learnt the terminology, the rules and the moves!  The Grade 6s and 7s also had extra practices before and after school and participated in the CISVA Badminton competition.  This competition was a wonderful opportunity for students to represent our school in three separate divisions of Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.  Well done to all the boys and girls who participated.  Congratulations to the students who went through to the Zone finals last week.

Now its time to lace up those running shoes – track and field starts this week!

Confirmation – becoming adults in the faith

On Monday evening most of our Grade Sevens and some members from our Parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation.  This sacrament builds on the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, and Holy Communion, completing the process of initiation into the Catholic community. Confirmation establishes young adults as full-fledged members of the faith, and bestows special graces of the Holy Spirit upon the person being confirmed (wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and reverence of the Lord).  This sacrament is called Confirmation because the faith given in Baptism is now confirmed and made strong.

Archbishop Miller, wearing the traditional red vestments to symbolize the Holy Spirit, presided over the ceremony and administered the sacrament.  The Confirmation ceremony was then followed by a lovely reception (graciously hosted by the Grade Five parents) in the school gym.

May God’s love be in our young men and women’s hearts to strengthen them along life’s path.