The Patriot Report – December 10

“We exist on one Sacred Breath. We are Sacred. We are all one energy. We are all one soul – and the degree to which we forget this is the precise degree of separation that divides us.”  – Richard Wagamese, One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet

I can recall with vivid memory the cold days of winter when I was child playing outside. As kids, we loved to see our breath in the cold air. We would try to send out our breath in different ways and we were entranced by our hot exhalation mixing with the cold. 

We often neglect to think about our breathing. After all it is instinctual and requires no thought. While there are many powerful spiritual images in various religious traditions, I find that there may be no more powerful imagery than that of the breath. In our own faith tradition we read in the book of Genesis that God breathed life into man (Genesis 2:7). In the Gospels, the finality of the death of Jesus is marked by Jesus breathing his last breath (Luke 23: 46). In the resurrection accounts, Jesus is not seen as a ghost but as a human and one of the marks of our humanity is our breath. In the resurrection, breath is restored.

Breath is what unites us as it is a common and shared experience. We all breathe. We all know what it means to sigh. We have all experienced being out of breath. We know that breathing and focussing on breathing can help us to feel calm and secure. This is why focussing on breathing is often used in prayer and meditation. It brings you closer to your origin of being, to your creator, to God because God gave us all our first breath (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It is the foundation of life. 

Being united in the simple yet profound act of breathing might help us to see that we are all one human family. One of the great myths of our time is that we are separate and individual. But the spiritual teachers of the past, regardless of faith tradition, all teach that we are united. If we can remind ourselves of our commonality, of what unites us, then perhaps we can build communities that are more harmonious and supportive. 

This term we are using MyEdBC as our progress report writing tool. We have made this decision because MyEdBC is also our student information system and so our progress reports will now be stored with the student’s digital file within MyEdBC. As with any change there are pros and cons. 

Some of the changes you will notice:

• you will receive a printed copy of the progress report (at this time we are not using the parent portal for MyEdBC)
• the report will have one overall proficiency rating for a subject area – the proficiency scale of Emerging-Developing-Proficient-Extending is the same
• comments for subjects will be found directly under the subject as opposed to being located at the start of the report
• formatting differences such as headers, font, style, etc.

Despite the changes to the progress report, it is important to know that your child’s teacher is still providing an assessment of your child’s abilities that is rooted in data and their professional judgment. As always, parents are encouraged to make appointments to further discuss progress reports if they would like greater clarity. 

We are trying to fill the position of After School Club facilitator. If we are unable to fill the position we will not be able to offer After School Club services until the position is filled. We will keep our school community informed, but as of today, we will not be able to offer After School Club services in January. If this chances, we will send out a communication to all of our parents. 

Here is the schedule for next week December 13 to December 17:

Some families maybe contemplating traveling down to the United States or other out of country destinations for the winter break. There has been some confusion around children attending school after such trips. While fully vaccinated travelers qualify for Health Canada’s exemption, anyone who is not fully vaccinated does not. A child or adult who is not fully vaccinated must quarantine for the full 14 days and may not come to school. Please keep all this in mind as you plan your trips over the winter vacation. Please continue to monitor the international travel requirements from the Government of Canada’s website.  

For further details, please read this Rtn to School after travel letter.  

As part of our Christmas Extravaganza week starting on Monday, December 13, we are collecting new pairs of women’s socks for the Women’s Center in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. In order to teach our students about the true spirit of Christmas, we feel that there needs to be an opportunity to give to those in need. All students are encouraged to bring in a new pair of women’s socks. Students can bring in more than one pair of socks. Please use this as an opportunity to talk to your child about giving to others. I would encourage parents to have their children do a couple of chores or help around the house or neighborhood to earn some money that can be used to purchase or reimburse the money for the socks. In this way, the students also learn the value of sacrifice. 

Socks can be brought to your child’s classroom. The deadline is Wednesday, December 15th, 2021. 

Inclement Weather Decision Making Process

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 PEC and 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, Coquitlam, 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 risk of car accidents greatly increases in such conditions and commute times become exceptionally long with many arriving very late. 

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 Facebook and Twitter first, then the school website by 7am at the latest. Lastly an email will be sent out through mailchimp. It is the responsibility of the parents to check our Facebook or Twitter feed, the website and their email when snow is in the forecast. 

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!

The safety of our students is everyone’s responsibility. When you enter our parking lot you must drive with extra caution. If you are late and in a rush this does not allow you to drive fast in our parking lot. We all know that their are peak drop off times and if you plan to drop off during these times then you must be prepare that drop off will take longer; please be patient. Below is a reminder of some important rules:

1. Parents are not to get out of the car when using the drop off lane. If your child cannot open the car door on their own and exit the car independently, then do not use the drop off lane.
2. Pull all the way up to the front of the drop off lane. Do not stop in the middle if there is room to pull up. This causes a back up. 
3. Listen to the Parent Supervisors. Parents are out their to help with the flow of the parking lot and they deserve your respect.
4. Do not let young children navigate the parking lot on their own. We would never let our young children walk unescorted in a busy mall parking lot so let’s not do it in our school parking lot. If your child is under 10, then you need to escort them. In the morning this means you walk them into the coned off area and in the afternoon you meet them there. 
5. Drive slowly and cautiously. Be on the lookout for students. 
6. Walk cautiously and watch for cars backing up and pulling out. 
7. Be Courteous. Parking lots can sometimes bring out the worst in us. Please be patient and kind and treat all with respect.

I am happy to report that student behavior has improved since we started going outside daily, rain or shine. Only once in the past few weeks did we have an indoor recess as the heavy rains and windy weather was of such force that not even umbrellas would have helped. 

With atmospheric rivers seemingly behind us, we now prepare for colder weather. We do not ever get extremely cold weather (-25 below) and if students are equipped with proper attire (gloves, toques, winter coats, winter boots) then they will be more than fine playing outside. Students get cold when they are not properly dressed for the weather. The fresh cold air is good for them and playing outside allows them to have greater focus in the afternoon. 

Please ensure you equip your child with proper clothing for the colder weather. 

Great news! Our group just started a fundraising page for St Jude School’s Grade 7 Class on Indigo FUNdraising. Every time we shop online through our group’s fundraising page, St Jude’s Grade 7 Class earns cash back! It’s that easy. Here’s an opportunity to do all your Christmas shopping in your pajamas, even purchasing gift cards will help support our class! 

Join our fundraiser now using our invite code FMYFG9 at https://indigofundraising.flipgive.com/teams/join?fundraiser_name=Lisa&joincode=FMYFG9

If we work together, we’ll meet our $1,000 goal in no time.  

The fundraising opens only until December 31, 2021.

Thank you everyone!

Grade 7 Class

Classes at St. Jude School participate in Advent assemblies as a way of growing in faith during this important liturgical season. 

We are excited to welcome kindergarten registration for children born in 2017, turning 5 in 2022. These children will begin kindergarten in September, 2022.  Please click on our Admissions Top Tab to access the New Family Application.  

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