The Patriot Report – January 12, 2024

“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” -Helen Keller

The virtue of the month of January at our school is fidelity. Fidelity is the virtue of keeping promises. Too often, people of all ages make and break promises. We want our children to know the value of a promise and the importance of keeping it. 

January is often filled with new promises of self improvement. I would like to encourage parents to try to set an example for their children about the value of keeping a promise. But start small because breaking promises creates mistrust. When your child says that they will promise to do something, hold them to account. Create a reasonable consequence of self-sacrifice (i.e. giving up screen time) if they fail to keep their promise. 

Raising children that know the value of a promise and how to keep it, will equip them with a habit that will empower them to greater success in their life. 

The commute yesterday afternoon showed that the City of Vancouver and the neighbouring cities do not handle snowy conditions very well. I have heard of people being on the road in excess of 3 hrs and what normally takes 10-20 minutes to drive was taking over 2 hours. 

If it starts snowing during the day, as it did yesterday, be advised that all clubs including the After School Club, will shut down early or be cancelled entirely. 

For closures due to snow, please remember that we make the decision the morning of, by 7am at the latest but typically earlier than that. 

When snow is in the forecast, be sure to check the website, your email, and our Facebook feed.  The best way is to sign up for Remind so that you can get a text message notification instantly. 

To sign up for Remind send a text to 514-613-2161 with the message: @8hdh4ga 

Munchalunch is now open for the January to June ordering period. Please remember to place your order by Wednesday, 7am, the week before.   Please click here to access Munchalunch. 

This month, existing families will receive a re-registration package. We have tried to streamline the amount of paperwork but please understand that there are some mandatory documents we need completed on an annual basis. 

St. Jude School has seen a record number of applicants for kindergarten and for our international students as well. We have also seen a large uptick in applications for other grades. It is imperative that families complete and return the registration package right away to guarantee their spot for 2024-25. Failure to submit a package on time may result in your spot being taken by someone on the waitlist. If you know that you are not planning on returning please let us know as soon as possible and the reason why. 

Rising costs and a new compensation package for staff across the Catholic School System has led to an increase in tuition. All categories (excluding International Education) will see an 8% increase in the monthly tuition amount. 

Here is a breakdown of the tuition costs. 

Category 1 Families will be verified through the St. Jude Parish Office.

Category 2 Families will need their Parish to verify (Pastor to sign) and if a subsidy is to be paid how much the parish will pay. 

Families that pay in full will receive a 1.5% discount on tuition.

Non Parent Participation fees for 2024-25 remain unchanged at $800 for the year.

A reminder to parents that if you change your email, phone number, or address, you need to update our school office. It is imperative that we have accurate contact information. We need to have at least two contacts for children for emergency situations. 

We are now accepting new applications for the 2024-25 school year.  Please get an application form from here or email the school office for one.  

Our Gr. 7 Student Ambassadors are 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.

A reminder to our families that our referral program is operational. 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. 

St. Jude Parish Mass Times
Monday – Saturday: 9 am morning Masses
Novena Mass on Wednesdays: 7:30 pm
Saturday anticipated Mass: 5 pm
Sunday Mass: 9 am, 11 am, 5 pm