The Patriot Report – October 14, 2022

“It’s not joy that makes us grateful; it’s gratitude that makes us joyful.”  – Brother David Steindl-Rast

While Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is important to take time to reflect on the theme of thankfulness. It is a theme that I have reflected on many times throughout these past years at St. Jude School and for good reason. The human heart desires to be satisfied with an everlasting joy. The path to that, I believe, is through cultivating a practice of gratitude. 

The Haudenosaunee Greeting: Giving Thanks for Our Relationships is an important navigational tool that helps the individual to reflect on the many blessings to be grateful for. The relationships we have to each other and to the natural world around us is indeed something to be thankful for. You can learn more about it by clicking here.

But it is not enough to simply be thankful, we need to allow the gratitude to transform us. 

To be grateful for something or someone requires that we really attempt to see the good. We need to really examine and remind ourselves just how blessed we are to have this or that. All around us there is much to be grateful for. The Haudenosaunee really take a holistic approach to practicing gratitude for people, for the land, for the waters, for those that live upon the earth, and for all that we need to be grateful for. 

The spirit of gratitude is also very much a part of our Catholic faith. Part of the reason why I enjoy our faith and practice it by going to mass is because at mass we also give thanks. We acknowledge that we have much to be grateful for. We give peace to one another. The Eucharistic celebration is one of gratitude and thanksgiving. This is why it too has the power to be transformative.

All the great teachers seem to point to the importance of practicing gratitude. First Nations Elders speak of being grateful for the blessings of Creator.  In Buddhism, gratitude is seen as an antidote to greed and suffering. In Islam, gratitude will increase one’s favor with Allah. In our own Catholic faith, St. Paul instructs us, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

So let us give thanks for the many blessings we have each and every day. 

On Thursday, October 20, 2022, we will have our annual Parent Teacher Interviews. 

The length of the interview is 10 minutes. The purpose is to give parents a snapshot of how your child has started off the year and to provide one or two suggestions to support learning at home. Parents are also encouraged to ask questions or to bring forward any needs. This is not a space for lengthy discussions. If you feel that 10 minutes is insufficient, we ask that you make arrangements to speak at another time. Furthermore, if you do meet with your child’s teacher between now and October 20, you do not need to sign up for an interview time. 

To sign up for an interview time slot please click here. 

In light of the unusually warm weather we have been experiencing, students are allowed to continue to wear the summer uniform. Once the weather gets colder and the rains come, the summer uniform is not to be worn.

While the weather has allowed for kids to play in sunshine and warm weather, we do anticipate that eventually rain will come. Please be sure that your child has a proper raincoat, umbrella, and rubber boots or waterproof shoes so that they are prepared for the weather. 

Remember there is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing. Only in extreme conditions will we keep kids inside. 

The essential part of any quality communicable disease plan is that those who are sick stay home. If your child is coughing frequently or is complaining of stomach pains or nausea, please keep them home. If children present symptoms at school, we will need to call you to pick them up. 

As we are approaching the flu season, please be proactive and get yourself and your children a flu shot. Covid19 Booster shots and vaccinations are also part of ensuring that our student body and staff are kept healthy. 

Visit your family doctor or your local pharmacy to learn more about how to protect your children and yourself this cold and flu season. 

I want to provide further guidelines for this day with respect to Halloween Costumes.

• Costumes may be worn providing that:
  • no violent costumes – no weapons of any kind (swords, guns, knifes, etc) are permitted
  • no grotesque or gruesome costumes – this means no fake blood, no ghoulish masks, no horror costumes
  • no devils or anti-Catholic costumes or images
  • no sexually suggestive costumes – many costumes online are now sexually suggestive and parents must exercise caution here

We want to encourage our students to wear costumes that are age appropriate and school appropriate. Students do not have to wear a costume. Students who do not want to wear costumes are encouraged to wear halloween colors (orange, black, white, purple, lime green) or halloween themed shirts that are appropriate. It is a non-uniform day so jeans and a halloween shirt or halloween colored shirt is more than acceptable.

Any student that is found wearing something deemed by school administration to be inappropriate will be asked to either change or will be sent home. 

We have been answering parent requests to bring in treats for classmates on the day of their child’s birthday. There are a couple of rules to follow for such occasions:

1. Always check in with the classroom teacher. 
2. Food must be store bought and must be from a vendor that practices food safety.
3. Avoid things with high sugar content. 
4. We encourage doing non food treats such as a pencil for each child or a bookmark. 
5. If you are bringing food please ensure it is nut free. Check with your child’s teacher for other food allergies. 

We want to celebrate our children, but please keep things reasonable. 

Last year we collected close to $3000 for charity. We sent $2500 to the Archbishop’s Charities in RCAV and the rest went to Covenant House.  This year we kindly ask that you once again support our Charity initiatives as we will be supporting the Archbishop’s Charities and Covenant House. On October 17, 2022, we will do an EFT withdrawal for $20 per family for all of our Care Days throughout the school year. If you wish to opt out of the donation, please email Kim Pham at bookkeeper@stjude.ca

Thank you for once again supporting local and important charities!

Please be mindful of the following rules:

1. After School Club is from the hours of 3-6pm, please respect Miss Daly’s time and pick up your child within these hours. 
2. Help us keep track of students and remember to sign up for the After School Club through our website: https://stjude.ca/after-school-club/ . Even a last minute registration can make organization easier. 
3. Once you have picked up your child from After School Club, please leave the school grounds. It makes it challenging for children whose parents are not there to see a classmate playing with their parent or to see children not being picked up when their parent is on the property. Please help us prioritize our students mental health and well being.  
4. Once you have picked up your child, you are not allowed to drop them off again. Once a child is signed out, they are remained signed out for the day. There is no back and forth as this makes keeping a clear roster challenging for Miss Daly and our volunteers. 
5. If you have more than one child and you need to pick up one child and not the other, please explain in advance to Miss Daly the reason why. Only legitimate reasons will be accepted. For example, perhaps a sibling may have a school sports game or event that you need to take them to and the other sibling needs to stay at After School Club. 
6. If your child is away absent from school then they do not have access to the After School Club. If a child is too ill to attend school, then they are also too ill to attend After School Club. 
7. When you arrive to pick your child, it is helpful if you always check in with Miss Daly and sign your child out. This helps us maintain logs and it is also very important for the safety of the club.  

Parents are reminded to sign up for the After School Club through our website: https://stjude.ca/after-school-club/ 

Please note that there has been a very small price increase. You can read more below. 

Description of Club: Will run daily Monday-Friday 3:00-6:00 p.m. It will also be in operation from 12 noon to 6 PM on Curriculum Planning (early dismissal) days. It will not operate on professional or conference days or holidays. Students will engage in games, arts and crafts, reading/homework, and outdoor play.

Cost per child is $13.00/day or $55.00/week on regular school days. If the child is picked up before 4:00 pm it will be $6.50. On early dismissal (12 Noon) days the cost will be $25 to 6:00 pm or $13 if the child is picked up before 3 pm. (Those who are attending the whole week and paying $55 a week will not be charged extra for early dismissal days).

I would like to remind families of the following uniform rules:

1. Our uniform policy is found online in the parent handbook.
2. Summer Uniform is worn from September until Thanksgiving (unless otherwise posted–see earlier post).
3. Polo Shirts are to be St. Jude School polo shirts purchased through Cambridge Uniforms.
4. Cambridge is offering a pants option for girls and this must be purchased through Cambridge Uniforms.
5. All sweaters must be up to date (St. Jude Crest on the sweater). Sweater vests or cardigans are a part of our school mass attire.
6. Black shoes are required for indoor shoes – if you would like clarification on shoes please see your classroom teacher or the principal.
7. Every Friday is Patriots Spirit Wear: (students are not allowed to wear items that are not school issued).
   • PE strip is a part of Patriots Spirit Wear.
   • Patriots hoodies, sweatpants, and long sleeve warm ups.
   • Walkathon shirts.

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

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, and Gr. 2. 

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