The Patriot Report – January 6, 2022

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” G.K. Chesterton

As we start a new year and a new month here at St. Jude School, we also turn to a new virtue to guide our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Following the month of Generosity that was December, it is fitting that at the start of 2023, we focus on the virtue of Gratitude. Gratitude is a deep sense of thanksgiving and more than simply having good manners. To have gratitude is to examine one’s life and see the blessings that have been given. 

When you practice gratitude you will find your life transformed. With gratitude, we are more likely to see the goodness of others and to celebrate the joys of life. With gratitude comes humility and charity; a true willingness to acknowledge the works of God in one’s own life and to then share what gifts and treasures we have with others. 

You can support your child in developing a sense of gratitude by helping them to reflect on the ways in which they are blessed. This can be done through the questions you ask them at the end of the day. You can also model for them a sense of gratitude by sharing with them what you are grateful for and how your day was blessed by many small joys. There may be no better path to joy than that of a grateful heart. 

St. Jude School is a ministry of St. Jude Parish and in order to further strengthen our relationship we are dedicating the Sunday 5pm Mass on January 15th as a St. Jude School-Parish Mass. 

We invite all our students to come to this Mass. We ask that students wear their full uniform as show of pride for our school. While I know this may cause some moaning from the students, we really want to highlight them and build our community. 

If you are non-Catholic, Christian, or perhaps Catholic but you have not attended Mass in a long time, I invite you to attend the Sunday Mass as an observer. We welcome all to Mass. Come and see. 

For our January to June hot lunch period we have brought on a new vendor in Got 2 Eat Meals. After sampling their food, we feel that they have a quality product to offer. Because of different needs of our vendors we have had to restructure our cut off dates:

Got 2 Eat Meals – orders must be completed by Tuesday evening of the week prior.

All other vendors – orders must be completed by Friday evening of the week prior.

Due to an internal error in inputting too many menu items into Munchalunch, we have also had to change the menu offered for Caveman Cafe and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but we have worked hard to fix this issue. 

St. Jude Parish and School was informed by the Office of the Archbishop, that Archbishop Miller will be conducting a Parish and School visit on February 3, 4, and 5. Presently, February 3rd is scheduled to be a Pro-D day. We are going to move this Pro-D to March 3, 2023 in order to accommodate Archbishop Miller’s schedule. 

February 3rd – Regular Day of Instruction 

March 3rd – Pro-D Day – No School 

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.  

We were experiencing technical difficulties with our calendar earlier but these problems have since been solved. 

Please subscribe to our school calendar for a list of important dates. 

To subscribe to our calendar feed copy the link below and paste it into your calendar app:
https://stjude.ca/events/?ical=1&tribe_display=month

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.