The Patriot Report – June 18

“Don’t be afraid. Change is such a beautiful thing”, said the Butterfly.”– Sabrina Newby

It is an exciting time these days in Kindergarten for the butterflies are hatching. Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of having children in Kindergarten bring me over to their butterflies to show me that they are hatching. The excitement was real and their enthusiasm brought joy to my heart. 

One of the perks of my job is that I get to spend some time reflecting on these moments. The students are five/six years old and they know that the butterfly emerging from its cocoon is something to be excited about. It seems to me that the lesson of the butterfly and its transformation from a caterpillar is a universal one that speaks to the core of humanity. 

As a community, Covid-19 transformed us from social creatures into our own individual or family cocoons. Terms like personal bubble and social distancing are part of our normal lexicon. Some of us have perhaps grown comfortable with our cocoons and others may be counting the days until they can break free. Like the butterflies in the Kindergarten classroom, they do not all hatch at once. Each butterfly hatches when it is ready to do so. 

Being ready to break free from the Covid-19 cocoon will happen at different times for us as well. While public health may give us certain dates for things opening up, it is important to remember that not everyone will be comfortable right away with a return to greater social interactions. But like the Kindergarten students, I am excited for the summer and for being able to hopefully break free from the Covid19 cocoon (in safe ways of course). 

There is so much wisdom in Kindergarten students that we end up forgetting or not appreciating. They celebrate the right things. They appreciate the beauty of nature. They play with reckless abandon swinging themselves from bar to bar. They comfort each other when they’re down. They have their spats in one moment and in the next they are best friends having forgiven and forgotten the injustice. They welcome and they invite. They teach us much. 

Every class surpassed their goal and so each class will receive the reward of a pizza lunch with an ice cream sandwich. The movie to be shown in the gym on our giant screen is Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. Due to Covid-19 we will only watch the movie in cohorts and the pizza provided will be the personalized pizza hut pizzas. Each child receives one free pizza and ice cream sandwich. If your child does not like pizza or finds that one pizza is not sufficient please send an alternative option for your child. 

The following dates are when your child’s class will watch the movie and have lunch provided:

Summer Reading Club is back at Vancouver Public Library! This fun and free program for school-aged children launches on June 14 and registration details will be added to our VPL Kid’s Website very soon.  In the meantime, check out our SRC Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLZIshAvzh4 This year’s theme is Crack the Case!  To participate, all you need to do is set a goal and try out multiple library challenges that will take you through the whole summer – like listen to a story, attend a virtual library program, or, of course… read something! Once your challenges are complete, visit your local library to pick up a medal.

Please read the Cambridge Uniform Letter here. 

It is recommended that your uniform orders are placed by: 
June 30th – New Students
July 10th – Returning Students. 

There is a 5% discount on all orders placed online from June 21st to July 5th, 2021.

For Parents who want to learn more about the Archdiocese of Vancouver response to First Nations and the Residential Schools please explore the following resources:

Archbishop Miller on CBC’s The Current 

James Borkowski on On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko

rcav.org/first-nations

Article with Deacon Rennie (a First Nations Elder) 

The following payment schedule is in effect.

• July 01 – First month’s tuition or Full year’s lump sum tuition for 2021-2022

The school supplies list for next year is available to purchase at School Start now.  Please select your child(ren)’s grade for 2021-2022 to purchase the supplies directly from them.  It will be delivered to our school late August. 

To view the list, please click on the desired grade below: 

Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3 
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7

To learn about the differences between Covid-19 symptoms and allergies please click here.  

Please read the BCCDC guideline for when to get tested for Covid-19. Click here.  

This is a reminder that parents need to take the time to do the Daily Check every day. It is important that we remain committed to taking our COVID-19 procedures seriously. Click here to access the form. You will no longer need to provide the child or parent’s name on the form.