The Patriot Report – May 13, 2022

“We all need resistance training.” – Fr. Bruce-John Hamilton

For those who have watched the Pixar film, Wall-E, the humans shown in the film are grossly overweight relying entirely on technology to do everything for them as they float through outer space. The movie shows what happens to humans when they encounter no resistance. This past week I had the opportunity to listen to Fr. Bruce-John Hamilton, a recent inductee into the BC Sports Hall of Fame, speak to CISVA coaches. His message to coaches was to “never give up” and that resistance makes us stronger and better. 

Sports is one of the best avenues I know of to teach children how to develop resilience so that they can overcome challenges and obstacles in their life. Competition teaches us to strive for excellence. One of the messages I would often relay to my players is that no team simply hands you a victory; you have to earn it. The role of coaches and parents is to draw out these lessons for our children. 

If we emphasize only the result with our children then we lose out on teaching them about the importance of the journey. The message of Fr. Hamilton to the coaches was that we need to remind our players that success is measured by how close they came to doing their best. When this becomes the focus then the results will come. 

It is a message I have written about before but it is worth revisiting from time to time. Our children need to experience failure in order to learn and grow. Our role in all of this is to be there for them when they fall and to help them get back up. It is also our role to ensure that they do not fall too hard or too far. We need to accept that our children will make mistakes, they will fail to live up to our expectations sometimes because life is hard. When this happens we need to help them to see where and how they failed and to work with them so that they are less likely to fail again. In doing that, our children will grow into strong leaders able to shape our world in positive directions. 

We have done an amazing job raising funds for our school! We do not yet have a final total but I can confirm that we are close to $30 000!

Thank you to all who have sponsored our event.

Thank you to the many parent volunteers who helped to supervise crosswalks and to help us walk with students.

Thank you to the Fundraising Committee who planned the event and organized parents. 

Thank you to the staff at St. Jude School for helping to promote the Walkathon and for walking with your class. 

The success of the Walkathon belongs to us all and all of the funds will go to making our school better for your children. Our new scoreboard has already been installed and I know it will get plenty of use!

We are now in the process of collecting all pledge money. Cheques can be made out to St. Jude Parish with School Walkathon in the memo line so that you can receive a Charitable Tax Receipt. If you are sending in cash, please make sure that your full address or the address of the sponsor is clearly indicated on the pledge sheet. If we are unable to determine who donated the cash then we will not be able to send a Charitable Tax Receipt. Only donations greater than $25 will be eligible for a Charitable Tax Receipt. 

For those that donated through Charitable Impact, our online donation platform, you will automatically receive a Charitable Tax Receipt from them. 

We ask that all Walkathon Money be submitted by May 25th, 2022. 

Please support the Grade 7 class as they are holding a Krispy Kreme Doughnut Fundraiser.  Buy a box of 12 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnuts for $10.  Please complete the online order form via the link below. To limit contact, we encourage parents to pay via e-transfer to Lucy (Shih-Yun) Liang at lucyliang0202@gmail.com. Please indicate student’s name and grade. For those who prefer to pay cash, please contact Desiree Suganob at desiree_suganob@yahoo.com or 778-891-3770 to make payment.

Order deadline is Thursday, May 19

Doughnut orders will be distributed to the students on Friday, May 27 at noon dismissal.

Order link:  https://forms.gle/MzU8N5tA8CSKRbU76

Thank you for your support!

Cambridge Uniforms is offering a 5% discount on online sales from May 01 – May 21.  If you wait until June or later to order your uniform, you will not get it in time for September. 

Please click here to be directed to their website.  

Please note the following change for 2022-23:

St. Jude School has partnered with Cambridge Uniforms to offer a Girls Pant option as part of our regular student uniform. Boys and Girls Pants must come from Cambridge Uniforms (no substitutes allowed – i.e. Old Navy, WalMart, etc). Wearing a uniform is a symbol of school community and school pride. If you are in need of financial support due to the cost of the uniform please reach out to Mr. van der Pauw at cvanderpauw@stjude.ca

St. Jude School is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Pui Ying Schools (http://www.puiyingcentre.org) to offer after school Beginners Mandarin Language instruction to students. Only students who are registered with St. Jude School will be able to register for programming at our school. 

Cost: $300 (tax and course material included) per term

Starts: September (Mondays 3:15 – 5:15) – starting September 12, 2022 – 15 week term

Location: In person at St. Jude School – classroom TBD

Requirements:  This is open to all St. Jude School students regardless of age. We have more than 8 students signed up so these classes will start come September.

How to register: 

Email: edu@puiying.org

Attention: Ms. Nellie Chan

Send the following information to edu@puiying.org:

Ref.: SJES
Name of Student:
Date of Birth:
Course to register: Cantonese / Mandarin
Level to register: Beginners Level 1
Name of Parent / Guardian:
Day time Contact number:
Email:

We would like to thank Famous Foods for sponsoring our snacks for the students. 

For over 80 years, Famous Foods has been serving generations of families with wholesome, organic, natural foods in Vancouver! Famous Foods is humbly known as the original natural health food store in Vancouver for nearly 90 years.

First established in 1930, the store was located in the heart of Vancouver on Hastings Street. Since then, the store has moved from Hastings to Commercial Drive, and finally to Kingsway, which has been our home for the past 35 years.

Looking for a local health foods store in Vancouver? Famous Foods has always East Vancouver’s go to grocery store for everyday essentials including Canadian raised meat, fresh local produce and dairy, as well as gluten-free and dairy-free products. Wait, we don’t stop there! We carry over 1000 bulk, natural and organic foods such as flours, grains, beans, spices, herbs and much, much more! We are a specialty store, which means you will also find a diverse selection of hard to find ethnic foods & spices!

You can read more about them at their website: famousfoods.ca

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. 

We currently have spots available in Kindergarten, Gr. 1, Gr. 2, Gr. 3, Gr. 4, and Gr. 6. 

To learn more about the referral program, please click here. 

Volunteer Policy

Under the Criminal Records Review Act, anyone who works with children or who has unsupervised access to children must submit to a Criminal Record Check (CRC).  The act helps protect children from individuals whose criminal record indicates they pose a risk of physical or sexual abuse.  

Based on the current programs offered at St. Jude School, this policy is applicable to the following volunteer opportunities and parent participation categories:

• Library
• Parent Supervisors for Field Trips
• Coaching Assistance / Refereeing / Extra-Curricular
• Playground / Parking Lot Supervision
• Hot Lunch helper
• Classroom / Office helper

If you plan to volunteer for the school in the capacities outlined above or your parent participation involves any of the above, you will need to complete a Criminal Record Check as soon as possible.  This check is free and can be completed online. Simply click on the link below and follow the on-screen instructions. You will need to enter the Access Code to be identified as a volunteer at St. Jude School.

Online Link: https://justice.gov.bc.ca/criminalrecordcheck

Access Code: KVLB9GCYEW

If you are not able to complete the form online, please email the school office for an appointment, bring your picture ID and we will assist you at the office.

St. Jude School acknowledges that there will be no disclosure of personal information to unauthorized personnel or third parties who are not directly involved in school management or the care, supervision and instruction of your child(ren) at this school, unless written authorization from a parent or legal guardian is provided to the school.  The school will securely store all electronic and hard copy parent and student personal information.

We currently have several items available for sale in our Consignment (please email if you would like to purchase – first to respond will be given the option to buy):

School Kilt – Size 8 – $20

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 or Ms. Goh at the Office if you would like an item to be sold or to purchase an item. 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