The Patriot Report – December 17

MY FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS MOMENT

When I was a child I could tell you with precision my favourite moment of Christmas. The first thing me and my siblings did in the morning was to check the foot of our bed for our filled Christmas stocking. There were certain items to be found inside without fail. A candy cane. A pair of socks. A toothbrush. A Mandarin orange. The essentials really I suppose. There may be other things in the stocking to entertain us, but really we all rushed out to the living room to see presents under the tree. We would hunt and look for the ones with our names on it. We would get so excited but the rule in our home growing up was that we were not allowed to open any presents until after breakfast. And for breakfast to happen we had to wait for our parents to be up and ready. As kids we always thought that my dad purposely was slow on that particular morning. After all, during the school year as a principal he was often up early and out of the house. So how is it that on Christmas morning he suddenly could not get up and ready. So my brother and I would pressure our two sisters to go into our parents room and wake them up. Let’s get this going! I can see it all so clearly in my mind as I sit and reflect on it now. 

I find myself now wondering what memories my own children will have of Christmas and all the traditions we have. As a parent, what I look forward to about Christmas is not the presents (well maybe a little if I am completely honest). My favourite Christmas moment is on Christmas Eve. We will have just got home after going to Mass and then to my in-laws for dinner. It will be late and the kids will be asleep in their beds. The house will fall silent and the lights of the Christmas tree will be aglow. And I will sit on the couch, my wife beside me and we will just sit in the silence. That is my favourite moment. The peace and the calm. It is a short lived moment, but a moment that allows me to just enter into a sense of deep gratitude. The next day, Christmas day, will be full of absolute activity and a fervor unlike anything else all year and this year will be even more so as last year was a virtual Christmas. And to be sure it will be full of joy. I do enjoy watching my kids get so excited for Christmas. I love watching their faces as they open presents. But of all the moments that Christmas brings, I find that Christmas Eve moment in the silence and stillness of the night to be something I cherish. 

On behalf of the staff and students of St. Jude School, I would like to wish each of you a joyous and peaceful Christmas. 

It is my pleasure to invite you to watch our Christmas video. We would have loved to have an in person event, however the circumstances of Covid19 meant that once again we did a video instead.

For anyone that has done video editing, you are aware of the time it takes. I want to express my thanks to Mrs. Collins and Miss Smillie who oversaw the recording, direction, and editing of videos. We hope you enjoy it. We sincerely hope that next Christmas we will be able to have an in person Christmas concert. 

To watch the video please click the link below:

’Tis the Season: A Christmas Celebration – https://youtu.be/Vo7jWnHXKKI

We have not yet had any success in filling this position as of today. We will keep our community posted. After School Club parents should plan on making arrangements for picking up their children should we not be successful in finding a candidate. 

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.  

A child who is not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to attend school until after 14 days even if the trip is under 72 hours in length. 

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

As part of our Christmas Extravaganza we collected socks for the Women’s Center on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. I am pleased to report that we donated 559 pairs of new womens socks. They were delivered yesterday and they were received with much gratitude. Thank you so much for contributing to a worthwhile cause and for helping us teach children about the importance of giving to others that are in need. 

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.

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

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