The Patriot Report – April 12th, 2019

This Sunday we enter into Holy Week marked by Palm Sunday. It is the most important liturgical week of the year for Christians. In previous reflections I commented on the importance of sacrifice and indeed that is a critical lesson of our faith and it is a theme that is very apparent in the Gospel readings we will encounter this Sunday and throughout the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter). But the most important lesson of Easter is that we learn that redemption and renewal, as expressed in the Resurrection of Christ, is the fruit of our sacrifice. This week Christ will show us that by sacrificing his life he redeems the world. Without the resurrection, without redemption, the story of Christ would be dark and depressing. Instead, we receive a powerful message of love, hope, and goodness. We are shown that our willingness to sacrifice for others has meaning and worth. And that is a story worth hearing again.  

Please ensure you get your Patriots Spirit Wear orders in before the deadline of April 17. Patriots Spirit Wear is available to all students. Sample sizes are available to try on at the office. Order forms are available at the office as well.  

Grade 4 to 7 parents are expected to attend the Sexuality and Your Child talks on April 25th, 2019. The talks will occur in your child’s classroom. This is an important part of the curriculum and we need parents to attend these talks. A letter went home previously from Archbishop Miller explaining how important these talks are. We have hired Signal Hill to lead the talks. All parents are expected to attend. Please contact Mr. van der Pauw directly at cvanderpauw@stjude.ca if you have questions or are unable to attend. 

All families should now have their Spring Raffle tickets. The Spring Raffle is our second major fundraiser for the year. We thank you for your support and effort in raising funds that will directly benefit your child’s school. 

We are still accepting applications for Kindergarten and we do have space in some of our other primary classes. If you know of families considering a top rated Catholic education, please direct them to our school. 

When the school has a power outage, we will determine whether or not it is safe to remain in session. There are many factors we consider. We will use the Remind messaging app to communicate to parents. We use this as a form of communication as it is easier to use on our mobile devices as wifi will not work during power outages. If you are not part of Remind please contact Mr. van der Pauw at cvanderpauw@stjude.ca