Reflection
Our staff is currently reading a book called Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar. It is perhaps the most important professional development that we are undertaking. In chapter 4, it speaks of the importance of the stories we tell ourselves. How we interpret the events around us can dramatically influence our feelings and thoughts. Time and again we see that the Gospels remind us of the same thing. One powerful example springs to mind:
It is the story of the woman caught in adultery. We are all familiar with this story. A woman is caught in adultery and they want to stone her to death according to the law of Moses. They bring her to Jesus and instead Jesus says whoever is without sin can throw the first stone. They all leave and Jesus is left alone. He tells the woman that he will not condemn her either. It is interesting to reflect on the stories that we tell ourselves about the people we encounter. In this story, one group sees everything that is wrong with her. The story they tell themselves is that she is a sinner. She is corrupting society. She deserves to be punished. Jesus on the other hand sees the same woman as a child of God. That her life has been hard. That she has sinned but she can do better. That she just wants to be loved. It is the same person and action, but two very different interpretations.
What stories do we listen to in our minds? How do we interpret the words and actions of other? How do we interpret the actions of our children? Do we spin things in a negative or a positive light? The stories we tell ourselves color our world. Our faith is an empowering faith. It teaches us to see the world in a positive light. We are told that Jesus loves us. We are told that God made everything good. We are told to forgive others. We are told that we can do all things through Christ.
Updates
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, IS PHOTO DAY
On Tuesday, we will have individual photos taken by Lifetouch Photos. We are requesting that all students be in full uniform (sweaters) and do not wear their PE strip under their uniform. Students will not have to wear their PE strip that day
ST. JUDE PARISH CELEBRATES 75 YEARS ON OCTOBER 28
St. Jude Parish will be celebrating their 75th Anniversary. For this important occasion, they will be have a Mass on October 28th at 4pm. Their will be a formal reception at 6pm hosted at the Hilton Metrotown. Tickets are $125. The parish is looking for door prizes, sponsorship, and donations. Please contact Richelle Akol or the Parish Office if you have questions or are able to assist in any way. Tickets can be purchased through Richelle Akol.
MEDICAL INFORMATION
A reminder that we need to have the most accurate medical information about your child on file. If your child has life threatening allergies, we need to have the forms completed by your family doctor and we need to have the appropriate medication on site.
EMAIL ADDRESS
If you are not receiving emails from the school, please ensure we have the correct email address on record. If you change your email, please notify us so we can update our information. Thank you.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
From time to time, you might unavailable to pick up your children during an emergency. Last year, we had a long power outage in which we cancelled school during the midpoint of the day. If there are family friends or relatives that are allowed to pick up your children please make sure that the office has this information in writing. We are not allowed to release children to adults if we do not have written permission to do so. If you work in a job that does not allow you to get to the school quickly, please work on having a contact that can pick up your children.
FINANCIAL DONATIONS
Last year we received a generous donation that allowed the school to purchase and install a water refill station. Over the summer we received a donation that allowed the school to purchase sports uniforms for the students. If you or someone you know would like to make a donation in support of a particular initiative of the school or you would like to know more about making donations, please contact Mr. van der Pauw at cvanderpauw@stjude.ca
NEW SPORTS UNIFORMS
At a basketball game last year I had the unfortunate experience of having to tape a number onto a student’s jersey because we did not have enough jerseys for the team to wear. It is embarrassing to the athlete and the team. No more. Due to a generous donation of $3000, we have purchased new uniforms for volleyball and basketball for both boys and girls! This year we will look professional out on the court!
DRIVING TO AND FROM SPORTS GAMES
Teachers have been advised by Catholic Mutual (our insurance provider) that it is not good practice to drive students. We therefore need parents to coordinate rides among one another so that children are able to get to and from sports venues. Please help each other out so that our staff is not faced with having to tell your child that they cannot attend the game due to a lack of rides.
REMIND MESSAGING
During emergency events (power outage, snow days, etc) we will use MailChimp, our website, and REMIND to communicate with parents. Please encourage anyone that may be picking up your children to sign up so that they are informed too. To sign up for REMIND please click here.
PARISH EDUCATION COMMITTEE (PEC)
Our PEC for 2019-2020 is:
Richelle Akol – Chairperson – echairperson@stjude.ca
Anita Hua – Vice Chair – evicechair@stjude.ca
Leah Wong – Treasurer – etreasurer@stjude.ca
Ann Tang – Parent Participation – eparticipation@stjude.ca
Desiree Suganob – Maintenance – emaintenance@stjude.ca
Maria Paredes – Secretary – esecretary@stjude.ca
Fr. Jun Reyes – Pastor of St. Jude Parish
REMINDERS
September 17 – Individual Photos Day ; Hot Lunch – Pizza Hut
September 24 – Hot Lunch – Edo
September 25 to 27 – Gr. 7 Outdoor Education
September 27 – CARE Day – NOON DISMISSAL
September 30 – Pro-D – NO SCHOOL