The Patriot Report – December 1, 2023

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.'” – Mark 13:33

This coming Sunday marks the season of Advent. In this passage from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples of the need to be ready. Advent is a season of preparing oneself for the coming of Jesus. This may seem perplexing to some. Didn’t Jesus already come? If it already happened, what is there to prepare for? 

We learn in the Acts of the Apostles 1:11, following the Ascension of Jesus, that “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” There was an understanding, from the very beginning of the Catholic church, that Jesus would return and therefore one must prepare their hearts and minds to receive Jesus. Throughout scripture, Jesus reminds his followers to prepare themselves. 

And so we too, as followers of Christ, must prepare our hearts and minds. We do this through prayer, through acts of charity, through sacrificing for others, through giving gifts and being generous, and through reading scripture and reflecting on its meaning. May this season of Advent be a time for all of us to grow closer to Jesus. 

The decision making process for closing the school due to snow includes:

– assessment of sidewalks & stairways

– assessment of parking lots

– assessment of staff driving routes

– assessment of general driving conditions

– assessment of weather, current & projections

– consultation with neighbouring schools and principals

– consultation with staff that live in the area

– prayer

Some of the factors which make St. Jude School unique when considering these decisions include the following:

– we’re not a neighbourhood school, but nearly exclusively a commuter school

– students travel from different parts of Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Richmond

– staff travel from Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, North Van, and Maple Ridge

– we live in a region that does not get much snow and many drivers are ill prepared (no snow tires) to drive in snow yet do so anyway. The Government of BC has not mandated that winter tires must be used on lower mainland roads during the winter season. As such, the risk of car accidents greatly increases in such conditions and commute times become exceptionally long with many arriving very late or not at all, which reduces our ability to properly staff the school.

Other factors all schools must consider:

– are we able to provide a quality learning experience if we have 1/3? or 1/2 of our students in the building?

– if some teachers aren’t able to make it to school, do we have the support from our Teacher On Call pool to handle the sudden demand? Are we able to provide adequate supervision if staff cannot make it to work?

– can we confidently say that we made the best decision to open if an injury or fatality occurs?

When the school is closed due to inclement weather, communication will be through the Remind App first, Facebook, and the school website by 7am at the latest. It is the responsibility of the parents to sign up for Remind, to check our website, or our Facebook feed, when snow is in the forecast.

If the school is closed due to Snow, there will be no clubs, sports, or after school clubs running that day. 

In difficult weather, our hope is to open our schools as soon as it is possible while considering all educational and safety perspectives. We thank you for your prayers and support!

Today we had our first Advent Assembly marking the beginning of our journey to Christmas. Our delightful Primary students did a great job kick-starting our Advent reflections. Thank you to the Primary team for preparing their students to celebrate this special time of year. Our Advent Assemblies are every Friday in December, beginning at 11:20am. Parents are welcome to join.

Our Christmas Concert: “The Little Drummer Dude” will take place on Thursday, December 14, 2023.

Matinee: 1:30PM Evening Show: 7pm

Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime. 

We are now accepting new applications for the 2024-25 school year.  Please get an application form from here or email the school office for one.  

Our Gr. 7 Student Ambassadors are available to provide tours of our school to prospective families. If you know of someone who might be interested in attending St. Jude School, I encourage you to tell them to sign up for a tour. Any interested family can email registrar@stjude.ca to schedule a tour.

A reminder to our families that our referral program is operational. Every student that is referred and enrolls in our school for the year results in a reward of $200 for the the referring family. 

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

St. Jude’s parish needs students to participate in the St. Jude Christmas Pageant on December 24th!   Your child would be assigned a part (Mary, Joseph, Gabriel, angels, shepherds, 3 kings, etc.) and given a copy of the play so they can learn their lines (1-3 short lines typically).  Costumes will be provided.    Please bring your child at 4pm on the 24th so that they can get into costume and do a practice.  The pageant is approximately 15mins in length, followed  by Mass at 6pm.   Contact Carolyn Sussey at cglsussey@yahoo.com to have your child be part of the play by December 13th.  As well, if you are interested in shadowing her this year to take on this initiative for next year, please let her know. Thank you!

Please note that the After School Club will close early due to two school events in December.

December 20, 2023–closes at 4:30pm

December 22, 2023–closes at 3:00pm

Cold and flu season is upon us and more and more students and teachers are being exposed to the numerous viruses that are traveling around. You can help stop the spread by helping your child follow good hygiene practices at home by washing their hands regularly and also by getting plenty of rest.   We will not be sending home work for sick children, their priority is to recover so that the school can remain a happy and healthy place. Anything your child misses can be made up when they are well enough to do so. If your child is sick please send an absence form into the office as soon as possible. This can be done online through our school website: https://stjude.ca/absentee-note/

Thank you and stay safe and healthy! 

St. Jude Parish Mass Times

Monday – Saturday: 9 am morning Masses
Novena Mass on Wednesdays: 7:30 pm.
Saturday anticipated Mass: 5 pm
Sunday Mass: 9 am, 11 am, 5 pm