The Patriot Report – October 9

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” – Maya Angelou

I will be the first to admit that there have been days when I feel absolutely frustrated by various circumstances of life or my work. I think we can all feel that way at times. It’s only natural. However, I strongly believe that the more gratitude we have the more joyous we become. 

With Thanksgiving weekend upon us, you can choose to focus on the negative or you can practice gratitude and see the many blessings you have. Here are some of the things we can be grateful for:

• We are able to send your child to Catholic school with an excellent reputation
• We are living in one of the most desirable locations in the world
• We are living in a region that is managing the coronavirus better than other densely populated areas
• We live in a country that allows for freedoms (vote, work, speech, religion, education, etc)
• We have a community of educators that care deeply for our children
• We have a Faith that teaches lessons of compassion, forgiveness, and hope
• We live in a country that provides aid for its citizens
• We have access to healthcare 
• We have access to food – so much so that we can choose our food preferences 
• We have access to technology (flushing toilets, electricity, computers, cars)
• We live in a beautiful area with access to mountains, lakes, parks, and the ocean
• We have family and friends

As you can see, there is much to be grateful for.  However, living gratefully cannot just be contained to one long weekend. Imagine how much better our lives would be if we each practiced a little more gratitude each day. 

For myself, I am grateful to work at St. Jude School. I have encountered so many welcoming and generous people. The students say hello and they care about each other. I am grateful for my family. I have a loving wife and such wonderfully energetic children that bring me so much joy and wonder. I have a faith that has given me direction in times of trouble. I have so much to be grateful for and for that I give my thanks to God who has blessed me abundantly. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

You have until the end of this upcoming week to complete your orders. 

Patriots Spirit Wear is now available for order through Cambridge Uniforms. 

See the attached flyer for our code to access the ordering page. 

Today your child received a document explaining that we will be doing an EFT for October 16, 2020. The amount is $18.00. Please notify the school if you do not want us to withdraw the money by Tuesday October 13, 2020. 

Due to road construction along side Beaconsfield Park and the slippery running conditions we have postponed the Mini Meet to next week. We are hopeful that by next Thursday or Friday the construction will be completed and the weather improved.  

The school is taking extra precautions to make sure we can safely have in-person parent teacher conferences. We need each parent to be mindful of the following:

• No students or children are to attend the conference
• Only 1 parent is to attend the conference
• No parents are to attend if they have any Covid19 related symptoms
• All parents must follow our directions so we can all be safe

In order to host in-person meetings we will be doing the following:

• Access is only granted from the outside exterior doors – doors will be labelled according to Grade
• Interviews are only 10 minutes with a 3 minute buffer to allow for disinfection – meetings must not run late as we need to disinfect
• The main hallway is closed off to parents – to access the opposite side of the building parents must either cross by the school office or by the learning resources room
• Parents must not linger and are to only show up for the time booked; parents must wait for the teacher to admit them into the space
• Physical distancing is important – teachers will have tables set up to allow for 6 ft distancing 
• Teachers will have a plexiglass divider
• Teachers and Parents are to wear masks and Parents will need to sanitize their hands upon entry into the classroom

I have attached a map showing the layout and directions for parents. Click here to view the map. 

To book your interview time slot please click here. 

Parent Teacher Interviews happen on October 22, 2020. 

Often when new students come to St. Jude School they end up telling us that it was a family member or a friend that referred them to us. The power of your referrals is something St. Jude School wants to reward. The program is not retroactive and it is effective as of October 13, 2020. 

The New St. Jude School Student Referral Incentive Program awards a referring St. Jude School family with a $200 tuition credit for each new student who is referred to and enrolls in and attends St. Jude School for the academic school year. (Refer a family that enrolls two students and receive a $400 tuition credit; refer a family that enrolls three students and receive a $600 tuition credit; etc.). The rules of the referral program are outlined below:

• Tuition credit awards will be given to families for referring new families/students to the school. To qualify for the incentive, referred students cannot have a sibling currently or had been previously enrolled at St. Jude School.
• There is no limit to the number of students a family refers to St. Jude School.
• All new students must meet standard enrollment criteria and be enrolled for the entire school year before credit is granted. Referring Families must also remain enrolled for the entire academic year.
• Tuition credits will be applied to the last payment of the school year. Families who paid their tuition in full will receive the credit on the next year’s tuition or will receive an incentive cheque if they are graduating out of the school, and teachers and staff (excluding the principal and office staff) making referrals will receive tuition credit or an incentive cheque should they not have children in the school equal to the amount of the tuition credit.
• To qualify, the Referring Family must fill out the online form before the new family contacts the school. New families will be asked to confirm their connection with the Referring Family when they are interviewed.
• Newly referred families who enroll after February 15 and re-register for the following Academic school year will result in the award being applied to the following school year provided that the family remains enrolled for the entire academic year.
• Failure to turn in a completed Referral Incentive Program form will make the referring family ineligible for the reward.
• The referral program is for parents or guardians who are paying tuition for enrolled students attending St. Jude School.
• Interpretation of program parameters will be at the sole discretion of the Principal and Pastor.

The Referral Form is available through our website under the new Admissions Tab on the main page. Or you can click here to access it. 

Category placements are complete. If you are participating and have not been contacted, please contact the Participation coordinator at eparticipation@stjude.ca  Please remember to use the online reporting form to record your hours as this is the only way you will receive credit for hours worked.  You can go to the St. Jude website at www.stjude.ca, click on the Parents tab and then click on Parent Participation Online Reporting. 

We are looking to fill the following positions.  Please contact the Participation coordinator if you are available to help with any of the shifts below.

Supervision – Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:15 – 9:00 am

Supervision – Thursday and Friday recess from 10:05 – 10:50 am

Mass on Wednesday – after our school mass on Wednesday (9am to 9:30am) we would like two parents to assist with disinfecting the pews. 

If you can assist with any of the above please contact our new Parent Participation Coordinator is Monique Nguyen – a parent in Gr. 1. 

Gr. 2 students spent time reflecting on what they are thankful for. 

If your child has life threatening allergies, we need to have the Student Emergency Response Plan completed by your family doctor.  If you have not submitted the form back to us, please do so as soon as possible.

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 COVID19 procedures seriously. Click here to access the form.