The Patriot Report – November 26

“The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.” ~ Henri Nouwen

The words of Henri Nouwen would serve us well as a daily reflection for the entire Advent season. Let us try and break open this teaching with the hope that we will grow in faith. 

The first thing Nouwen draws our attention to is having ears to hear. In my own life God has typically revealed his plans to me through the words of others. Sometimes it was a story shared by a friend, a family member, a colleague, or a student that would cause me to reflect inward or to suddenly have a clear picture of what I should do. In my life I am most grateful to those who nudged me with their words. Who spoke words of encouragement and support. Who spoke words to challenge my thinking. Now, I see that as God speaking through them so that I could grow. But God speaks to us in many ways.  Many spiritual traditions and teachers tell us that it is through silence that God speaks. It is in the silence that we allow ourselves to really dive deeper into our inner selves. But finding these moments of silence is no easy feat. You have to plan for silence and it cannot just be a once in a while occasion. Find the silence and you may hear what God is calling you towards. 

God communicates through many forms if we are trained to recognize it. Humans are blessed with amazing eyesight, yet we can be blind to the teachings of God all around us. This past weekend, my son was competing in a Drive Basketball tournament. As a father and a basketball coach myself, I really have to work hard to not coach from the sidelines. I know that my job is to be supportive but knowing that and doing that are two totally different things. It is something I am still working on. In the championship game, there was a moment in which I felt compelled to bellow out to my son that he had to get back on defence. Here is what I saw: his teammate had drove to the hoop but in so doing crashed hard to the floor. The other team gained the rebound and started to head down the court. Eric though stopped and went to his teammate. I wanted to tell him to get back on defense. But I watched. I observed him and noted something that struck me as profound. Instead of being focused on the game, he was focused on his teammate. He stayed with him until the refs blew the whistle and then he walked with him to the sideline. Once he was certain his friend was going to be fine, Eric turned his attention back to the game. Sometimes we get so caught up in the game that we forget about what is most important. I see that moment now as God using my son to teach me an important lesson about what matters most.

If we afford ourselves time to reflect on what we see and what we hear, we will learn to recognize God in our lives. 

We thank Miss Stevenson for her time with our school. Miss Stevenson was with us for the months of September and October in the position of Educational Assistant and After School Club leader. Unfortunately, she has left this position due to personal reasons and we wish her good health and well being. 

For the past few weeks we have been doing our best to cover the absence of Miss Stevenson in the classroom and in After School Club. We will continue to offer After School Club to our parents but its schedule may be impacted due to the availability of staff. Luckily, Miss Vanessa has agreed to help us out, as have some EAs and for that we are extremely grateful. We are looking for a more permanent solution but please understand that this may take some time. Here is the schedule for next week:

Our Gr. 6 Boys battled hard in their volleyball games and came so close to our first ever championship. I was really impressed with their determination and their abilities. The championship game went to a third set and unfortunately it did not go our way. But the boys showed excellent sportsmanship despite being upset at their defeat. I would like to thank Mr. Campanile and Mr. Velasquez for coaching the team and for offering such positive messaging. To our Gr. 6 Boys Volleyball Team, the challenge now is to get back to the finals and bring home the championship. To do that though will require lots of hard work and lots of practice. Congrats once again to our Gr. 6 Boys Volleyball Team!

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.  

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