The Patriot Report – April 1, 2022

“Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.'” – John 8.11

This Sunday’s Gospel reading is a familiar one to many. It is the story of a woman caught in adultery and according to the custom of the day she was to be stoned to death for such a sin. So they bring her to Jesus for judgment and Jesus famously tells the crowd that whoever is without sin may cast the first stone. One by one, beginning with the elders, they all leave. Now Jesus, who is without sin, also refuses to condemn her and instead tells her to go and sin no more. The Gospel story is as applicable today as it was then.

We are all guilty of judging and condemning others. But Jesus rightly reminds us that we are all imperfect beings and that we must not cast stones of judgement towards others. Instead we are to practice forgiveness. This does not mean we let people off the hook or that people can do whatever they want without consequence. The woman caught in adultery is told to reform her life. Go and sin no more is a challenge to her to change her lifestyle and to live a life pleasing to God. 

But it is not just the woman caught in adultery that is told to go and sin no more. Each of the self-righteous individuals that brought the woman to Jesus in the first place were sent away to reflect on how they themselves are sinful. In this story we are reminded that we must not condemn others, we must reform our lives, and lastly Jesus, who is love, does not condemn us either.  

The 2022 Walkathon is just over one month away. On May 13, students will be walking to raise money for our school. Last year our walkathon raised over $30, 000! We used this money to help complete the washroom renovations. This year we are looking to replace our gym scoreboard and to replace the gravel in the playground with playground wood chips. 

Today your child was given a pledge sheet. They are to record all pledges on this sheet and bring it to school each Friday so that we can track how we are doing. Like last year, people can donate by cash, cheque, or online through Charitable Impact. 

If you or a family member wishes to donate with cash or cheque it is very important that we have an address on the pledge sheet so that a Charitable Tax Receipt can be issued. Only donations of $25 or more will be eligible for a Charitable Tax Receipt. All cheques are to be made out to St. Jude Parish with Walkathon written in the memo line because it is St. Jude Parish that will issue the Charitable Tax Receipt. 

If you or a family member wishes to donate online, please be sure to record the name and grade of the student you are sponsoring so that proper records can be maintained. Charitable Impact issues tax receipts to all online donors. You can access Charitable Impact by clicking here or by following the link on our school website. 

I look forward to another successful walkathon campaign and on behalf of the students of St. Jude School I want to thank all of our donors!

Over the next few weeks I will highlight the businesses that have sponsored our walkathon shirts for 2022. 

Above and Beyond Concepts is a home and commercial remodeling company located in Burnaby, BC. They have overseen all of our washroom renovations at St. Jude School. I can say that the company was friendly and professional at all times. They added extra touches to make the renovations that much better. They were on time and hassle free and their prices were fair and reasonable. It is with confidence that I recommend Above and Beyond Concepts. 

You can read more about them at their website: abconcepts.ca

To make our Walkathon day a success requires the help and support of many parents. This is a great way to get some parent participation hours. We need supervisors at various checkpoints throughout the day. We will also need parents to walk with our classes. For class walking parents a form will be sent home closer to the Walkathon date. However, without supervisors at checkpoints this day cannot happen. On behalf of St. Jude School I thank you for helping us make this day possible.

If you are able to help with our Walkathon on May 13, 2022 please email Andrea at andreahannos@yahoo.com or email Monique at eparticipation@stjude.ca

This past year we handed out $1200 in rewards to parents that referred students to our school. Every student that is referred and enrolls in our school for the year results in a reward of $200 for the the referring family. 

We currently have spots available in Kindergarten, Gr. 1, Gr. 2, Gr. 3, Gr. 4, and Gr. 6. 

To learn more about the referral program, please click here. 

We currently have no stock available for sale in our Consignment.

If you would like uniform items to be sold in consignment, they must be in good to excellent condition. They need to be the current uniform and not the old one. You will need to set a price and fill out a form. Please contact Mr. van der Pauw if you would like an item to be sold. From time to time we will post what is available for sale in consignment. 

Reminder of Uniform Schedule:

Monday to Thursday – Uniform

Fridays – Patriot Spirit Wear