The Patriot Report – January 28, 2022

“God does not see with his eyes, God sees with his heart.” – Pope Francis

I cannot speak for every parent but perhaps many will identify with watching kids animated movies over and over again. I can recall Eric watching Finding Nemo countless times. Evan liked the Toy Story movies. Nadia has watched Frozen, Moana, and now Encanto multiple times and it seems that even adults cannot seem to shake the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” For a period in our house, it was the Prince of Egypt, which follows the story of Moses. During one of the scenes, when Moses is being particularly hard on himself for his past transgressions, a wise priest of the nomadic, herding Hebrews breaks out into a song in which Moses is reminded to “look at himself through heaven’s eyes.”

To look at ourselves, to look at others, to look at the whole of creation through God’s eyes requires us to first understand that “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). Love wills the good of the other. To look at creation with God’s eyes is to will the good of creation. It means to look with love and not with harsh judgment or criticism. Love is not merely an idea though. Love is a verb. It is an act.  To act with love for creation, to act with love for another, is no easy task and never has been. 

If you read the Gospels, it does not take much effort to see that the world Jesus lived in was full of discord. There were various groups divided against each other. There were all sorts of institutional ills and there were those who obsessed with power and wealth. There were those who were cast aside and those who were lost in sin. There were also those who were earnestly trying to do good. The reason why the Gospel message continues to be read today is that its lessons are universal. 

At the heart of the Gospel message is the idea that if you love another you sacrifice for another. It is there that we find the remedy. If you want to show your love for another, if you want to show your love for creation, then you need to sacrifice your time, your talents, your treasures, your lifestyle and in doing that you will transform the world that you inhabit. 

To all of our school families who celebrate the Lunar New Year, we wish you peace and blessing. 

Please be on the look out for the re-registration package.  It will be emailed to all returning families from our registrar@stjude.ca account on Monday, Jan 31st before noon.  Please also check your junk folder in case it doesn’t land in your inbox.  

As a school we follow the guidance provided to us by the BCCDC, the Ministry of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, the Ministry of Education, FISA, and CISVA. Needless to say, there are a lot of different voices and at times, things may prove confusing for parents. 

One such recent example is that the PHO announced that tournaments are allowed. In the community you might begin to see tournaments again. However, schools continue to operate under the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education. Those guidelines have not changed. So it is quite possible that your son or daughter may participate in a community based sporting tournament that allows spectators and then find that our school is not participating in tournaments and not allowing spectators. This apparent contradiction is due to different governing bodies and institutions. 

While I realize this can cause confusion or frustration, we ask for your continued patience and support as we navigate our way through Covid19. 

Parents who choose to take vacations during school instructional days do so knowing that we will not be providing homework packages. While I understand that vacation travel is often cheaper during non peak times (believe me when I say that educators know full well the costs of traveling in peak seasons), teachers continue to teach the students that are present during the instructional days. 

Students who miss school for family vacations or family travel can participate in some online learning activities such as Mathletics or RAZ Kids. However, teachers are not going to prepare individualized homework packages and students can catch up on missed work upon their return. 

We all know how congested our parking lot can become for dismissal. There are a couple of things that have been brought to my attention that are worth communicating to the entire school community. 

1. Do not park in laneways blocking already parked cars. Imagine trying to get out of your parking spot but you cannot because a car is double parked blocking several cars. We understand there may be no parking spots available but this is not allowed. 
2. Do not linger and allow kids to play. If parents can leave once they have their children this will free up more spaces. 
3. Supervision goes until 3:15pm. Most of our parking lot is empty by 3:10pm at the latest. If you would like a less stressful experience, aim to get to the school by 3:10pm and you will find a spot with ease. 
4. Exercise caution at all times. Parking lots are always very busy and susceptible to accidents. Please ensure that you are always mindful of your surroundings and drive slowly and cautiously. 

Another option is to park further away from the school and look to get some steps in. Trust me, your son or daughter can handle the steps and this might be a nice, less stressful, way to transition from school to the car. When my dad picks up our kids from St. Pat’s in Maple Ridge he parks at least 3 to 5 minutes away and walks. 

Crowded parking lots and schools go together like peanut butter and jelly. Go to any one of our CISVA schools or high schools at dismissal and you will see that all parking lots are busy. In fact, if you go to many of the Vancouver Catholic schools, I think you will be grateful for how big our parking lot actually is. 

Be calm. Be kind. 

We are excited to welcome kindergarten registration for children born in 2017, turning 5 in 2022. These children will begin kindergarten in September, 2022.  Please click on our Admissions Top Tab to access the New Family Application.  

As of today, we only have space in Gr. 2 and Kindergarten for 2022-23. All other classes are full at this time and several have waitlists. 

We currently have no stock available for sale in our Consignment.

If you would like uniform items to be sold in consignment, they must be in good to excellent condition. They need to be the current uniform and not the old one. You will need to set a price and fill out a form. Please contact Mr. van der Pauw if you would like an item to be sold. From time to time we will post what is available for sale in consignment. 

Reminder of Uniform Schedule:

Monday to Thursday – Uniform

Fridays – Patriot Spirit Wear