The Patriot Report – September 24

“Stay the course. When thwarted try again; harder; smarter. Persevere relentlessly.” – John Wooden

During the summer one of the things I enjoy doing is playing sports with my kids, something the busy school year rarely affords. This summer, my youngest, Nadia, developed an interest in soccer. We would pass the ball back and forth and I would occasionally play the part of the aloof goalkeeper. One day, she said to her mom and I that she wanted to play soccer on a team. We were admittedly surprised by this request but thought that she may have been inspired by her brother at rugby or her oldest brother at basketball. Despite the fact that it would make life a little more hectic, we signed her up. 

She was super excited when she got her first pair of purple cleats and shin pads as well. When we got to the field, I could sense her nervousness as she began to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of kids on the field, all part of different mini teams. We moved towards her team and received her jersey and socks. The practice started and she was not too keen on what must have seen to her as a lighting speed pace. In one drill, the girls had to try to take the ball away from each other. However, Nadia was not ready for this at all. The moment the girl took the ball she looked over to her mom and I and then bolted towards us with tears streaming down her face.

It took most of the rest of the practice just to get her back onto the field. Thankfully, through the wisdom and grace of her mom, she was able to somewhat rejoin. Needless to say, her first experience of team soccer was not what she had imagined and was anything but fun. She said she never wanted to do soccer again.

As parents it can sometimes be tempting to give in to the demands of our children. It is certainly easier. It would have been easy to say, “Ok Sweetie, we can stop soccer.” But that is not the lesson we want to give our children. Instead we said we would be right there for her and that we were going to give soccer a try. We signed up and we will finish the season. If she did not want to sign up after the season was over then we would be supportive of that. But once we sign up, we see it through. 

For the next practice, it was decided that just her mom and her would go and that the goal would be for her not to leave the field of practice. Her mom spoke with the coaches as well. Nadia did not leave the field of practice, but the tears were still very much present. However, after the third practice, she got through it without tears. She came home and proudly declared, “Dad! I didn’t cry at soccer today!” Success. 

Will she continue with soccer? Will she want to do it in the spring after this fall season is over? Time will tell. Will she learn that we have to persevere through challenges? I certainly hope so. 

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. 

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