The Patriot Report – September 17

“When the present does not recognize the wrongs of the past, the future takes its revenge. For that reason, we must never, never turn away from the opportunity of confronting history together – the opportunity to right a historical wrong.” – former Governor General Michaelle Jean

I would like to update our school community on the steps that we are taking to learn about Indigenous worldviews, histories, and approaches to education. This is a starting point for our school and it is a journey without end. 

1. As a staff we are reading Bob Joseph’s book 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act as a way to open up dialogue amongst ourselves and to grow in our understanding. 
2. With the support of PSG funds, we are working with Spelexilh (Anjeanette Dawson), an Indigenous knowledge keeper, storyteller, weaver, educator, and consultant from the Squamish Nation. She works with schools providing workshops to teachers on pre-contact history of First Nations, residential schools, impacts of colonialism, Indigenous education, and other pertinent topics.  She will be coming to speak with our teachers and we hope this can be a start of a working relationship. 
3. With guidance from Spelexilh, we will work to bring in authentic First Nations experiences for our students so that their knowledge and appreciation for cultures will also grow. 
4. With the support of PSG funds we will purchase Indigenous art that we can have on display as a form of cultural appreciation.
5. On November 19, all CISVA teachers will participate in a system wide workshop on Truth and Reconciliation. 
6. Teachers will work to continually integrate First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) and the Catholic Worldview into their classroom cultures and lessons. 
7. We are looking at purchasing resources to help teachers better integrate FPPL into their lessons.

We understand that the journey toward reconciliation is one that must be met with action and not merely words. For a Catholic school, reconciliation must be at the center of what we are about because Christ taught his followers to seek forgiveness and to give forgiveness. The opportunity to forge new relationships and to build bridges between communities is one that I am most grateful for. 

As a staff we will also look at how best to show our respect for First Nations with the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30th. While we will not be in school on September 30th, we will be looking to create various learning experiences for our staff and students that will honor the spirit of Orange Shirt Day. 

We have had several complaints from neighbors along East 15 about the incredible congestion that occurs each morning and afternoon during our pick up and drop off times. This congestion along East 15 is largely due to our change to having primary students dropped off and picked up from outside their classrooms. We have also noticed, on more than one occasion, young students crossing East 15th by themselves to get to their parents car. This is incredibly dangerous and a risk to student safety that we cannot afford. 

Effective Monday September 20, 2021:

All students, Kindergarten to Grade 7 will be dropped off and picked up in the main parking lot. At 8:30am, the first tone will go. Kindergarten to Gr. 3 students will line up in front of cones designated for their class. A teacher will supervise the students and their entry into the school. Students will go through a hand washing routine upon entry into their classroom much like they do after PE, and after recess times. For intermediate students the routine stays the same. For primary students, it means no longer being dropped off or picked up at the exterior classroom doors. 

Our parent supervisors will assist with watching students and ensuring the drop off lane keeps flowing. We encourage parents to use the drop off lane as it does create less congestion. No parking is allowed in the drop off lane. 

This does mean that our parking lot will become considerably busier – there is no way of avoiding this. However, the parking lot is more controlled and slower zone than East 15th. East 15th gets used by the public and while it is a school zone, frustrated drivers may drive recklessly and this poses a major risk to our youngest children. 

While in the parking lot please follow these rules:

1. Go SLOW
2. Be Courteous and Patient
3. At pick up times, go and get your child from the coned area. Children are often not as aware of cars backing up as adults are and it is not safe for kids to walk unescorted through a busy parking lot. 

We are asking all parents to not park along East 15th during morning drop off or after school pick up. Please use our parking lot for all drop off and pick up times. 

Each Care Day on the calendar is a non-uniform day and a non-dismissal. We collect money on these days for our charitable efforts. Last year we supported:

• Archbishop Miller’s Charities
• Creation of Hope Charity
• Local Legion for Remembrance Day
• Covenant House

Last year was the first year that we collected money by way of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). We collected $18.00 per family representing a donation amount of $2.00 for each of the 9 Care Days throughout the year. This worked wonderfully as parents did not have to worry about finding loonies or toonies on Care Days and the school did not have to worry about collecting and counting and depositing coins. 

This year we will support:

• Archbishop Miller’s Charities
• RCAV Charity for Truth and Reconciliation with First Nations
• Covenant House
• Local Legion for Remembrance Day

As this is a charitable effort on behalf of the school, you do have the option to opt out. If you would not like the school to do an EFT of $18.00 please email office@stjude.ca before September 23, 2021. For all other parents, the EFT will happen on September 30, 2021.

Thank you for supporting our charitable efforts. 

For the September 24th Care Day, students are encouraged to wear shirts related to Superheroes of their choosing. There are many heroes to choose from. Staff and students can choose to wear shirts of imaginary heroes such as those found in Marvel, DC, or other works of fiction. Or, staff and students can choose to wear shirts honoring real life heroes. 

As with all non-uniform days the following set of rules are in place:

1. No inappropriate messages depicted. This means no violence, no sexually suggestive images or phrases, and no phrases that are counter to a respectful and safe Catholic school. 
2. Dress modestly. This means no cut offs and no clothing that would be considered inappropriate for a K to 7 Catholic school. We are an elementary school and we expect modesty from our students. If you are in doubt please contact your child’s teacher. 
3. If your child has no shirts that fit the theme then simply pick colors that would connect. For example red and gold are colors of Ironman or blue could mean healthcare workers. We do not want children to feel left out. We also do not want parents to feel burdened to buy more clothes.
4. If you do not want your child to be out of uniform, then they can wear their school uniform or Patriots spirit wear that day.  

Grade 5 students use a mixed medium approach for art of the Holy Family. 

We will be doing a virtual Meet the Teacher night on September 23, 2021. We are unable to host all of parents for one night so instead our teachers will create video presentations that will be shared with parents. Parents can then watch these video presentations at their leisure. As always, if you need to have a meeting with your child’s teacher please email them to set up an appointment.  

The PSG is looking for new members!  To know more about what we do, please visit our web page here: https://stjude.ca/parent-support-group/. 

Contact info:  Anthonette Imperial,  psg@stjude.ca.

PEC is short for Parish Education Committee. The PEC is a group of seven volunteers elected from the Parish who work with the Pastor and the Principal to ensure the successful running of our school. The PEC, like the school, acts to forward the mission of the Catholic Church.

PEC elections will be held on Sep 26 and there is 1 vacancy to fill.  

The following items are part of the Patriots Spirit Wear:

• current PE strip (shirt and shorts)
• Patriots hoodie
• Patriots sweatshirt  
• Patriots sweatpants
• Patriots long sleeve warm up shirt
• 2021 Walkathon Shirt

When will the next Patriots order be? Currently, uniform companies are very busy with fulfilling uniform orders. We will do a Patriots order at the end of September. We only do one order a year (only if there is enough demand do we do a second order in the Spring). With the exception of the PE strip, these items are not available on the Cambridge website. It is a one time special order. Please watch for this order in the newsletter at the end of September.  

A valid Criminal Record Check (CRC) must be on file for parents who will be volunteering in our school in any of these parent participation categories:  

• Library
• Coaching Assistance / Refereeing / Extra-Curricular
• Playground / Parking Lot Supervision
• Hot Lunch helper
• Classroom / Office helper

For existing families:  the office will email you if your CRC is expiring or expired.  

New families:  If 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

We currently have the following items available for sale in our Consignment:

3 – Girls Tunic – size 5 – $10 each

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