The Patriot Report – January 10, 2020

“There are two ways to look at a blank sheet of paper. It can be the most frightening thing in the world, because you have to make the first mark on it. Or it can be the greatest opportunity in the world, because you get to make the first mark — you can let your imagination fly in any direction, and create whole new worlds!” – Marty Sklar

When I came across this quote from Marty Sklar, a Disney Executive at Imagineering, I was struck by its relevance to education and life in general. Students are often daunted by the task of writing, staring endlessly at the blank page before them. Some students are paralyzed with fear about the school day in general. Teachers may even experience anxiety at the start of a new unit wondering how it may be received by the students. For me, I like how Sklar draws our attention to the importance of how we approach new opportunities. We can either be crippled with fear or we can be enlivened by the possibilities. 

As parents and educators, we need to support our children by teaching them to courageously enter each new opportunity with excitement. For children to be freed from the paralysis of fear, we need to remove the harsh criticisms and judgments and instead we need to show our children love and support. We need to help our children to see each day as a blank page and what an awesome gift that is. For with each day, we can create. We can create moments of joy, laughter, friendship, beauty, and hope. 

St. Jude School is in the process of starting a Learn to Speak Mandarin program. The program will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:15pm. The cost will be $50 per student per month. The class size will be limited to 15 participants and will only be open to students registered at St. Jude School. In order for the pilot program to proceed, we need to know if there is sufficient interest in our school community for such a program. If we receive a lot of interest we will consider having more classes, however, we will require a minimum of 12 participants for the program to move forward. 

If you are interested please complete the following survey by clicking here

Today, your child received a color printout of the instructions for Munchalunch. All hot lunch orders will now be completed online. I have included the instructions below for your convenience:

HOW TO REGISTER:

1. Go to: https://munchalunch.com/schools/StJude   
2. Click the “Register Here” button (as shown below). The system will guide you through.
3. After adding your children, click the green “Order Lunch!” button to order.
4. Next time, just click the “Login Here” button to access your account.

ORDERING DETAILS:

• • Online ordering will be OPEN from January 10, 2020. 
  • All orders for February must be completed by January 27, 2020. 
  • If you need assistance with ordering, or do not have access to the internet,
    please contact August Ma at hotlunch@stjude.ca or the Office at  office@stjude.ca 

Please note if your child is ill on a lunch date, you are welcome to come and pick up their lunch by 11:45am; otherwise please consider it a donation for a child who does not have a lunch. Consistent with previous years, there are NO REFUNDS.  

Last year was the first year we introduced a Re-registration night in which we accept and process re-registration forms. Each year we are required to collect information from our families as set out by the Auditors. The Re-registration packages will be going out next week so please expect these to come home with your oldest child. We will have PEC members as well as school staff on site that evening to process Re-registration Packages. Please make sure that you have all documents completed accurately and correctly. Similar to last year, families who hand in Re-registration packages late will be charged a $20 late fee. 

New this year is the ability to authorize the school to accept payments through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). This means that you can opt out of having to pay by cheque or cash and instead the school can withdraw the specified funds similar to the existing Pre-Authorized Debit system we use for monthly tuition. For example, instead of paying the Student Activity Fee of $75 by cheque or cash, you can opt to have the funds automatically withdrawn on the specified date in the Re-registration package. In this case, you would not have to write cheques or bring cash with you that evening. 

In the Re-registration package there is an important FAQ about EFT and a permission form for you to fill out. EFT is safe and efficient. It will greatly reduce the amount of work required in our bookkeeping office to process cheques and cash and you will have the peace of mind in knowing exactly when money will be debited and you will be better able to track and record payments. Therefore I am encouraging everyone to sign up for the EFT. 

This year, Cambridge Uniforms is donating two $50 gift certificates to their store for our AGM night. Parents who arrive on time (between 6:15 and 6:30pm) will have the opportunity to enter their names into a draw for the certificates. Only one entry per family. You must be in attendance to claim the prize. 

I look forward to seeing all of our parents at our AGM and Re-registration Night. 

Re-Registration Night Details:

When: February 5th, 2020 at 6:30pm

Where: St. Jude School Gym 

St. Jude School is now receiving applications for Kindergarten and other grades that have spaces for 2020-21. If you know of families that are considering St. Jude School please encourage them to apply right away so that spots can be guaranteed. New families are encouraged to email office@stjude.ca to set up a tour and to pick up an application package. 

I would like to remind parents that in the event of a school closure we will announce it through email using MailChimp and through our school website. We will also post it on Facebook. When snow is in the forecast, please check the website and your email. Do not call the office or email checking to see if school is open. If we have not emailed you or posted it on our website and Facebook, then school is open as usual. 

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, 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 the MailChimp, Facebook, and the school website by 7am at the latest. It is the responsibility of the parents to check the website, our Facebook feed, 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!

Students at St. Jude School were showing off their Patriots School Spirit by wearing school issued Patriots Gear!