A Message from Administration

Dear St. Albert Families,

The month of February and Valentine’s Day focus on relationships with others, but it is also important to learn how to foster a relationship with yourself. Our focus in Friendzy lessons this month is how God uniquely created all of us with purpose and intention. In addition to this unit theme, we are learning about the virtue of honesty. Teaching children about honesty and self-love is essential to their emotional development and helps build a strong foundation for mental well-being. When kids are honest with themselves about their thoughts, feelings, and actions, it can help build trust with themselves and others. Honesty with themselves can help them accept the way things are instead of living in a world of excuses and untruths. Being honest with yourself can help you accept your flaws without criticizing yourself, accept the consequences of your actions, and share your thoughts and emotions sincerely.

Self-love is about being kind and patient with yourself and accepting your true value.

How can we teach our children self-love? 

• Be mindful of how you speak about and to yourself. It may not come easy to some of us, but when adults model self-love and don’t speak negatively about themselves, it can help shape how kids view themselves.

• Remind your child that they are enough and provide them with consistent love and support no matter what. When your child knows they can come to you with the truth, they feel a greater sense of safety and support.

• Encourage positive affirmations and have kids repeat them to help support them feeling loved. When a child says “I’m not good at this”, reframe it by having them say “I’m still learning”.

• Be open to all emotions, even negative ones, and encourage your child to express them.

• Praise truthfulness by letting your child know how proud you are when they have told the truth, they learn to be honest even when faced with consequences.

• Promote self-care including emotional well-being, getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, and spending time doing things they enjoy

• Limit and supervise the use of social media. It’s easy to compare ourselves to people on the other side of a screen but it can have a negative impact on our mental health.

• Teach boundaries and that it’s ok to say no when something doesn’t feel right. Setting boundaries is a powerful form of self-love.

• Celebrate them and their achievements. 

Self-love can be challenging and take time. Let’s make February a month of promoting self-love. Help your children define what it means to love themselves honestly through the practice of self-love. And encourage them to have gratitude and to praise God for all the special gifts that make them unique and unconditionally loved by God.

Julie Kane

School Counselor

SCHOOL NEWS 🍎

Winter Parent Teacher Conference Signups ENDS tomorrow- Friday, 7th at 3pm

We are using Sycamore for Parent/Teacher/Student conferences again this trimester.  Conferences are on Tuesday, February 11 from 3:00 pm to 8 pm, and Wednesday, February 12, from 1:00 to 8:00 pm.  Each conference appointment is for 15 minutes.  The last appointment slot ends at 8:00 pm.  Conferences are with Homeroom teachers only.  Please arrive at the appropriate classroom a few minutes early so we can keep all appointments on schedule.  There is a post on the Parent/Student Tech Help Site that explains how to sign up for a conference.  Unfortunately, conference signups must be done on a web browser such as Chrome, Edge or Safari, not the Sycamore phone or iPad app.  If you are using an iPad or iPhone, you should be able to complete the signup process by using Safari and then forcing Safari to display the Desktop version of the website. There are detailed steps on the Tech Help Site post.

Conference signups will close on Friday, February 7, 2025 at approximately 3 pm.

Book Fair is Coming!

The Scholastic Book Fair will be here February 5-11 for students and parents to enjoy!  This is a great opportunity to connect with your child over the thrill of bringing home new books to dive into again and again!  

Here are a few things to remember:

     * Students may bring money to shop during their regular library class during this week or 

        wait for their scheduled conference.  If your child doesn't shop during class, 

        we can provide a wish list to write down choices

     * If JK-3rd grade bring in money to shop during class time, please put it in a

        labeled baggie with the student's name

     * If you are interested in ewallet (digital payment account that allows your child(ren) to 

       shop for books instead of using cash), please refer to the Scholastic Book Fair flyer that 

       will be coming home in Tuesday folder

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Author Visit for Grades JK-K-1-2

St Albert will have children’s author Alex Willan visit on Thursday, March 13th, at 1:00 for grades K-1-2.  Alex is the author-illustrator of the Worst! picture book series and the Jasper & Ollie series, as well as the illustrator of Got Your Nose, written by Alan Katz.  You can visit him online at AlexWillan.com.  During his visit he will be discussing life as an author and an illustrator, as well as reading his newest book, Mermaids are the Worst!  In this book, Gilbert the Goblin’s beachside vacation gets ruined by mermaids and their games in the side-splitting latest installment in The Worst! picture book series, where even the strangest of creatures can become the best of friends.

If your child would like a signed copy of this new book or some of his other books, please click this link.  In order to receive a signed copy, the order must be completed by March 3rd. 

Neighborhood Forest - Giving Trees to Kids: 6th-grade Stewardship Project

The 6th-grade class is working with Neighborhood Forest to provide free trees to each of our students. We are excited to help our school celebrate Earth Day 2025 by planting trees throughout our community. Parents will follow the link to place an order for a free tree for your child/children. The trees will be delivered to school and the 6th grade will send them home with your child before Earth Day. Neighborhood Forest has all the answers to your questions including what type of tree will be sent and how best to plant your tree. The deadline to order your tree is March 15, 2025. 

NASA Astro Summer Camp 

Click here for more information.

School Board News 

Thank you to all the parents and faculty who completed our school climate survey. Congratulations to Lindsay Finley and Betsy deGolian who won the faculty and family $100 gift cards for filling out the survey.

We received 363 responses, which is approximately a 65% response rate. Thanks to the time you took to complete the survey, we were able to collect very valuable input on what is working well and areas we can look at to continue to enhance the St. Albert the Great experience. We will use the information we collected to set project goals for the School Board in the coming years.

You can see a summary of the family responses here. 

Please mark your calendars to attend our last two meetings of the year from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on March 3 and May 5. They will be held in the cafeteria.

Visit the St. Albert School Board webpage for the minutes from our November meeting. 

Order Your Yearbook 

Due to publication costs, we have made the tough decision for families to purchase their own yearbook(s). You may have received an email from Inter-State asking if you would like to purchase a yearbook for the 2024-2025 school year. If you would like a St. Albert yearbook for this school year, you will need to place your order through Inter-State. You will have a choice between a hardcover ($26.00) or a softcover ($21.00). You will also have the choice of purchasing a yearbook for each child, or one for your family. 

You have until March 14th to place your order. Yearbooks will be delivered in May. Click here to order.

*Eighth graders do NOT need to place an order as the school will provide a yearbook 

for each eighth-grade student. 

PTO NEWS❤️

Click, HERE, to visit our PTO webpage.

2024-2025 PTO Executive Committee:

President - Jennifer Boyle, ptopresident@stalbert.org

Vice President - Sarah Stahl, ptovicepresident@stalbert.org

Secretary - Lauren Biagi, ptosecretary@stalbert.org

Treasurer - Emily Rives, ptotresurer@stalbert.org

Past President - Christine Newman, pto-past-president@stalbert.org

2024-2025 PTO Meeting Dates:

January 23rd, 7:00pm-8:30pm, Visitation Hall (Cafeteria)

April 24th, 7:00pm-8:30pm, PLC

Teacher Conference Dinners

It's conference time again, and we need volunteers to bring it items to cover dinner for our wonderful teachers.  Here is the SignUp Genius.  Please sign up and make sure items are clearly labeled and dropped to the office Tuesday, February 11th.

SAAM NEWS (Sports Ministry)🏆

Saint Albert Athletic Ministry website link

Athletic Ministry Positions Available | We Need You!

• Vice Chair (This is a 3 year term: Vice Chair-Chair-Past Chair. Prior experience as a sports coordinator or committee member required)

• Girls Volleyball Coordinator

• Girls 3-8 Basketball Coordinator

• Swim Coordinator

• Tennis Coordinator 

• Trivia Night Coordinators (Shadow current coordinators in 2025; ownership 2026-27) 

• Awards Coordinator (Shadow current coordinator in 2025; ownership 2026-2027) 

Volunteers enable us to offer a vast variety of sports for our student-athletes. Please consider volunteering for one of our many vacant, or soon-to-be vacant, roles! 

Email Ashley Taylor Ashley.Taylor623@yahoo.com with questions.

PARISH NEWS⛪

Please read the Parish Post to stay up to date with events and opportunities. 

2025 Parish Picture Directory

Feb. 13-15; Feb. 17-19; Feb. 27 - March 1, 2025 

2:30-8:30pm weekdays, 10:30am-3:00pm on Saturday

In the Parish Life Center

Have you talked with a fellow parishioner and then wondered what their name is? Want to help our new Pastor and Associate get acquainted with our parishioners?

A pictorial directory is a great way to help us get to know each other better!

Our last directory is now out-dated and it is time for a new one. We encourage everyone to get a new picture made so that our new directory will be complete. Each family photographed will receive a free copy of the directory and an 8x10 portrait at no cost.

Sign ups for the photography sessions are open now! You will have a professional photography session, see your proofs, and have the opportunity to purchase extra portraits for family and friends. It's super easy! Make your appointment today using this link.

Need to add something to the Viking Voice? 

Click HERE to enter your submission. 

*Entries need to be submitted on the Tuesday BEFORE the Thursday print date .