The Patriot Report – Feb 26

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe.” – Muhammad Ali

From experience, small pebbles in the shoe, if not dealt with immediately, can lead to bigger problems. Walking the Camino, there would be the occasional time that the smallest of pebbles would enter into the walking shoes. Sometimes, I would say to myself that it wasn’t worth the hassle to stop, remove my backpack, undo the shoelaces, take off the shoe, remove the pebble, and then put everything back on. So I would try to ignore the pebble. As it turns out, leaving a pebble in the shoe can produce nasty blisters and those blisters can dramatically slow you down and create pain with every step. Sometimes we learn these lessons the hard way. It was a lesson that you only had to learn once. Stop and remove the pebble was always a very good idea even though it was a hassle. The alternative was far worse! 

In life, we all have various pebbles that if not addressed can lead to bigger problems. Perhaps its a minor annoyance with a spouse or child. We do not say anything because we tell ourselves that it’s not worth it. But if left alone, the annoyance will grow and soon we find ourselves resenting what the other person says or does. Resentment in a relationship is like a blister on the Camino. It can cause all sorts of pain and prevents you from enjoying the journey. From time to time, pebbles will enter our shoe just like problems will enter into our life. There is no stopping it. The question we all face is whether or not we will choose to remove the pebbles or continue to walk with them suffering the consequences. 

Our one and only fundraiser for the year is happening on May 14, 2021. The funds raised for the Walkathon will go to support making our school environment better by renovating the remaining washrooms in the school. Many parents and students have commented on how much they appreciated the newly renovated upstairs washrooms and we would love to be able to renovate the remaining washrooms!

Work is already underway to ensure that this event can be done safely within the Covid-19 guidelines. We are in need of parents to help with the planning and execution of this event. There are many jobs to be done and we need your help! I know we have many parents who can help to make this event a success! Any parent who is able to assist is please email eparticipation@stjude.ca

This year we will once again use Charitable Impact to collect online donations. Charitable Impact will issue tax receipts for all donations. After Easter, information will be provided to all families about pledges and how to donate online. 

A new twist for this year is that each child will receive a Walkathon Shirt for participating in our one and only fundraiser. So far, we have 6 company sponsors for our Walkathon. If your business is interested in sponsoring our walkathon at $250 please email cvanderpauw@stjude.ca 

2020 Income tax receipts were sent home with the oldest siblings earlier this week.  Please look out for those in your child’s bag.  

Please read the BCCDC guideline for when to get tested for Covid-19. Click here.  

Last week, a separate letter communicating uniform changes was sent out to all families via mailchimp. You can read the letter by clicking here. Below is just a brief summary. Starting MONDAY March 1, 2021, the school will be making the following changes to its School Uniform schedule:

Monday – Uniform

Tuesday – Patriots Spirit Wear or Uniform. Students may only wear official Patriots Spirit wear. Sweatpants that are not Patriots wear are not permitted. Leggings are also not permitted. If your child only has the Patriots Spirit hoodie, then they can wear that with the uniform pants or kilt or PE shorts. 

Wednesday – Uniform

Thursday – Patriots Spirit Wear or Uniform

Friday – Uniform

Starting March 29, 2020, school administration and teachers will be conducting uniform checks. Infractions will be communicated to families in writing and the expectation is that changes will be made by the family in order to comply with the uniform. 

To order the Light Grey Patriots Spirit Wear, please click here: https://stjudepatriotsgear.square.site/

Items available in the Light Grey Patriots Spirit Wear are a hoodie, sweatpants, sweatshirt, sleeveless hoodie, mask, and drawstring bag. The proceeds from the masks go to the Gr. 7 Farewell. 

Cambridge Uniforms will have Patriots Spirit Wear available for order from March 3 to March 12 for ordering from their website. Our school code is TPA859. Cambridge Uniforms has informed us that they have a limited supply of black sweatpants. I have asked them to notify me of any family that is unable to successfully order a black sweatpant for their child so that we can work out a solution. 

In light of recent changes to the Ministry of Education Covid-19 guidelines for schools, we have decided that our March 12 Conferences involving the student, the teacher, and the parent, will be conducted virtually. 

The purpose of this conference is for teachers, parents, and students, to identify strengths and to set goals for improvement for the remaining 3 months of school. It is expected that students will wear their uniform during the virtual conference. All meetings will happen via Zoom.  Please click here to schedule your appointment times. 

The conferences will take place from 9am to 4pm. If you are unable to make a time on that day, you can schedule a zoom interview with your child’s teacher for a date and time that works well.  

On Sunday at 9:00 am, the parish of St. Jude will be having a mass for parishioners in the parking lot. The mass will be available via radio transmission on 87.9 FM while parked in parking lot. The parish can accommodate a maximum of 50 cars and therefore parishioners are asked to call to reserve their spot. Communion will be available for those attending. There are still spots available so call today to reserve your spot! Call 604-434-6700

Virtual Mass will be streamed at 11:00 am through the St. Jude Parish YouTube channel, followed by drive-thru communion at 12:15 pm.

Virtual Stations of the Cross starts today at 5:30 pm via the St. Jude Parish YouTube channel and will continue each Friday throughout Lent. 

I would like to encourage all of our parents, grandparents, and those connected to our school community to follow our social media feeds. It is through these feeds that you will be able to see what is happening in our school as we begin to post more and more pictures showing student learning. It is also a quick and free way for the school to post instant messages about school safety. If we were in a lockdown, I can easily post to our Twitter and Facebook feeds the situation and relevant updates. I cannot easily do that through mailchimp or the website. By following us, you can be well informed. Simply click the links below to follow us. 

Facebook – @stjudevan

Twitter – @stjudevan

This is a reminder that parents need to take the time to do the Daily Check every day. It is important that we remain committed to taking our COVID-19 procedures seriously. Click here to access the form. You will no longer need to provide the child or parent’s name on the form.