The Patriot Report – December 9, 2022

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” ― John Holmes

In high school I used to get annoyed with my mom who would offer to drive other kids from our neighborhood home from school. I just wanted to get home and driving them meant that I would not be getting home right away. However, I always remember my mom admonishing me and always telling me to never turn down the opportunity to help someone out. It is a lesson worth learning and passing on to our children.

This week is our final push for collecting socks for shelters on the downtown eastside of Vancouver. Let us be grateful to give out of our abundance. 

For our Christmas Concert on Tuesday December 13, we will be accepting canned goods for the local food bank as a donation for entrance into the concert. Donations are to be freely given and there is no judgment for those who are not able to donate. 

Thank you for supporting our efforts at the school in trying to teach our children about the value of generosity. 

Please be advised that the school will not be opening its doors for the Christmas Concerts until stated below:

1:30 pm for the 1:45 pm show

6:00 pm for the 6:30 pm show

Coffee and tea will be served from 6pm onwards and the Gr. 7 parents will be selling Breka cookies. 

Parents are not to be trying to “sneak” in early and reserve seats. Parents are not to expect the school to open the doors until the time specified. If parents arrive at 5:30pm to line up, please dress warmly and do so outside the main doors facing East 15th. 

We also ask that parents do not try to reserve entire rows for people who are not present. It is understandable that you may reserve a seat or two for immediate family but it is unreasonable to reserve entire rows especially when others have arrived at the school early. 

Lastly, while I know you are there to see your child, we expect all audience members to stay for the entire show. It is disrespectful to leave immediately after your child performs. Furthermore, there is a finale involving all students so trying to leave early with your child takes away from the performance. 

After the Christmas Concert, all students will head back to their classrooms and they will be dismissed from the classrooms directly to their parents. Parents will need to wait at the end of the concert and then make their way to their child’s classroom to collect their child. While this may take a bit more time, it is the safest way we have for ensuring students go home safely with their parents. 

We are practicing generosity this month from our heads (Grade 6 toque making) to our feet with a sock drive! 

Please bring your new, unused socks to the school from December 5-14. They will be donated to a local shelter. 

This week, the primary teachers and their students led our school in our third Advent assembly.  The third advent candle is pink and represents joy. Joy springs forth from gratitude. During this Advent season we are called to reflect on all that we have and to show that gratitude by being generous to others. In doing this, we will have more joy in our life.

This year we are dreaming of a tropical Christmas for our Christmas Concert, “Away in a Mango.” We would like students to come to school on the 13th with summer/vacation/tropical wear. Break out your bright colours and fun patterns. Don’t forget to wear a warm jacket overtop and pants are recommended since it will be chilly. Beach hats, sunglasses, flip flops, etc. are encouraged! (You can leave these accessories at school and change into them right before the performance.) We’re bringing a bit of summertime fun to this chilly and drab winter. 

Looking forward to seeing everyone! 

~Mrs. de Sousa and Ms. Smillie

There will be no After School Club operating on December 15 & 16, 2022. Please make the necessary arrangements for your child.

Vancouver Elite Basketball had an amazing first two months of training. If you signed up, we thank you for being a part of it! We are already looking into the new year and training sessions are live on the website now. Please give it a look as we have redesigned our schedule for this upcoming term.

St. Jude Parish is looking for 10-12 children to participate in the performance of a Christmas Nativity scene prior to the Christmas Eve mass at 6pm on December 24. Please email cglsussey@yahoo.com if you are interested. There are many different roles and speaking parts are typically 1-3 short lines. Costumes are provided. On December 24, the participating children will gather at 4pm at St. Jude Parish to get into costume and do a short rehearsal. The play is only about 15 minutes in length. This is a great way to be involved with parish at this time of year.  

Christmas door decorating is in full swing, adding to a vibrant and festive spirit at the school. See the pictures below. Next week is our Christmas Extravaganza Week.

Monday – Christmas Shirt or Sweater Day

Tuesday – Students to wear Christmas Concert Costume/Attire – vacation wear

Wednesday – Full Uniform with Christmas Socks Day – Mass at St. Jude School at 9am

Thursday – Christmas Character Day – come dressed as one of your favorite Christmas characters

Friday – Comfy Christmas Clothes Day (Christmas PJs)

In an effort to live the corporal works of mercy, students in Grade 6 and 7 used their knitting skills taught in ADST to make 83 toques. These toques will be given to Covenant House and from there they will be distributed to those in need. What a wonderful show of Christmas Spirit and the virtue of generosity.

We are now accepting new applications for the 2023-24 school year.  Please get an application form from here or email the school office for one.  

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 – especially Notre Dame Secondary School
• 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!

Our Gr. 7 Student Ambassadors will be 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. 

Please subscribe to our school calendar for a list of important dates. 

To subscribe to our calendar feed copy the link below and paste it into your calendar app:
https://stjude.ca/events/?ical=1&tribe_display=month

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. 

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