The Patriot Report – February 10, 2023

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, your God.” – Ex. 20.8-9

I think many of us fail to understand the importance of rest and why the scripture places such an emphasis on it. Our modern society has lost many things but one of the most important losses is an understanding of keeping holy the sabbath day. Perhaps having a better understanding of the sabbath might just help us develop better personal wellness.

The sabbath begins on sunset on the Saturday and proceeds until sundown on the Sunday. This is why the Catholic church has mass times from Saturday evening until Sunday evening. The important understanding for us however, is how to enter the sabbath day. Rabbi Heschel, reflecting on Exodus 20.9 asks us, “Is it possible for a human being to do all his [or her] work in six days? Does not our work always remain incomplete?” These questions resonate with me because, there is always an email to read or write, meetings to prepare for, research to be done, and more. The work never stops. Rabbi Heschel provides an interpretation of Exodus 20.9 that is helpful: “Rest on the Sabbath as if all your work were done.”

That does take mental effort, but what a wonderful gift it is to us to enter the day with the freedom to spend a day as if all our work were done. The sabbath was not meant to keep people down as some restrictive law; it was always meant to liberate. If we can honor the sabbath we might just find that we will be given the strength needed to continue the work the following six days. 

The Income Tax Receipt is being emailed out to families today, February 10, 2023. Please check your inbox. We have taken this route as you will have an electronic copy that is not susceptible to getting lost in backpacks or getting lost in the home. Having a digital copy may also make it easier for tax purposes and lastly it was more efficient for the school office to send out Income Tax Receipts this way. 

Please see the click here to read a letter from Fr. Jun explaining the Income Tax Receipt.  

On rainy days I have observed that many of our students, especially girls, are not wearing appropriate footwear for the weather. The slip-on girls shoes should not be worn outside as it offers very little protection to the students. Students are allowed to leave their uniform shoes on their desk chair or in their sports/gym bag and then change shoes when they arrive. This allows them them the opportunity to wear rain boots outside. 

Another option is to consider an all black waterproof shoe that can be worn all day. The Vessi shoe, black on black, is a product I would recommend. I have a pair and my own children also have their own to wear their school as well. An all black shoe, waterproof, dry socks, and no need to change shoes!

We have partnered with Vessi (a Vancouver based company) for a special offer for our St. Jude School families–a 20% discount. However, if purchasing as a school shoe, you need to purchase the black on black option (see link below). Vessi is online only and they ship to your house. If the shoe does not fit, you can ship it back and exchange. 

You can visit Vessi here: https://ca.vessi.com/products/kids-weekend-asphalt-black-on-black

The promo code for our school is being sent home with your child today. 

As St. Jude School continues to prioritize in-person learning, we wanted to remind you of our policy regarding family vacations.

While we believe that the best learning environment is in the classroom, we understand that families may need to take time off for valid reasons. As such, we kindly request that vacations be taken during the natural breaks in the year (Spring Break, Summer Break, and Christmas Break).

For those students who will be away, we want to remind parents that we do not provide work in advance. However, our online subscription to Mathletics, daily reading and journal writing can help keep your child engaged in their studies.

Please do not ask your child’s teacher for homework. Rest assured that your child will catch up on any missed units/assignments upon their return to school.

The Grade 6 Girls Basketball Team, comprised of Grade 6s and members from our Gr. 5 team saw the season come to a close at yesterday’s St. Catherine’s Tournament in Langley. The girls battled hard in their first game against Sacred Heart School from Ladner. It was a close game and tied with less than two minutes to go but we came up short losing by 4 points. We then played against Our Lady of the Assumption from Port Coquitlam and outplayed them from start to finish. In the 3rd and 4th place match we came up against a strong Queen of All Saints team from Coquitlam. 

I am proud of our players and how they represented our school. They competed hard and they improved in each outing. The members from the Gr. 5 team that played up with the Gr. 6 girls showed grit and skill in their play. The girls are to be congratulated on a good season. 

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.  

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. 

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.