The Patrioteer – April 17, 2026

“I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them. I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home.”

-St. Bernadette Soubirous

This week we celebrate the feast day of St. Bernadette. Her story was one of my favourite ones to share in my classes as it is a real example of God’s ability to transform the meek and humble faith of an ordinary person into something great. Bernadette was a poor, uneducated girl living in mid-19th century France. This saint’s story is quite remarkable as the Virgin Mary appeared to her when she was only 14 years old. Though Bernadette was young and lived simply, her powerful faith led her home of Lourdes, France to become one of the most-visited pilgrimage sites in the world. At the spot where the marian apparitions took place now flows a stream with miraculous healing powers. This stream is visited by many pilgrims every year hoping to receive healing and renew their faith. Bernadette’s story teaches us that in order to be a instrument for good in the world, we need to first have humble faith. 

St. Bernadette, pray for us! 

St. Jude, Pray for Us! 

Mark your calendars, it’s the most wonderful time of the year–WALKATHON PLEDGE TIME! 

The Walkathon is our only fundraiser for the school and this year, funds raised will go towards school improvements.  Children will walk  between 4-8kms around our neighbourhood, depending on their grade and will be dismissed at NOON.

Same as last year, we will not be collecting any money ahead of the Walkathon.  

PLEDGE SHEETS (no money) DUE on THURS:  April 23, 30, May 7, 2026.

MONEY DUE WITH PLEDGESHEET ON MAY 21, 2026.  DO NOT BRING ANY MONEY BEFORE THIS DATE.

Online donations are received through the school website: stjude.ca.   

All ONLINE donations will receive a tax receipt.  CASH or CHEQUE donations of $25 or more will receive a tax receipt, provided the donor’s full name and address are written on the pledgesheet.  

For every $50 that students raise, they will have the chance to enter their name into a prize draw of their choosing after the Walkathon is completed.

Thank you for your support!

This week the Grade Sevens had a field trip to UBC to participate in Enspire Day. Enspire is an educational program under Enactus UBC designed to introduce elementary school students to social entrepreneurship. The Grade Sevens have been participating in workshops for the past six months designed to “spark creativity, incite passion, and foster global awareness in young learners by teaching them business fundamentals”. The culminating activity is Enspire Day, where students reflect on their learnings through team activities and challenges. 

Thank you Mr. Mow for inspiring our students through this program! 

Our school will run our in-school spelling bee (Grades 4-7) on Wednesday, April 22 at 11am. This is the qualifier for the CISVA spelling bee taking place on April 27.  

If your child has been contributing to their Mite Box during Lent, please have them bring it to the school office.  The donation in the Mite Boxes go towards helping the seminarians in their journey to the priesthood.  Thank you for your support and for your child(ren)’s generosity!

Lifetouch is holding Individual Photos Community retakes for any students that missed their individual photo day or would like to have a retake.  Please note that this is in Coquitlam, and is entirely optional.

Yearbook ordering for the 2025-2026 school year is now open!  Deadline to order is May 15th.  

ypbay.lifetouch.ca

Yearbook ID code: 14136526

Please place your uniform orders for the 2026-2027 school year by June 15th, 2026.   Orders can be placed on Cambridge Uniforms website at www.cambridgeuniforms.com.   Our online school code is TPA859.

Exciting news! St. Jude School is partnering with Little Pawns Academy to offer after school Chess lessons. Little Pawns was started by a Canadian GrandMaster with the goal of bringing Chess to Canadian students and inspiring a love of the game. Classes are open to students in Grades 3-7 and will take place Tuesdays after school from 3:00-4:00pm. Registration must be completed at least one week before each session begins and class sizes are limited so sign up soon! Sign up forms are found on our website here. For more information check out the Little Pawns website: academiedespetitspions.com.

Schedule

Spring Session 3 — May 12-June 23: 6 classes for $120 

We are excited to launch a year-round Bottle Drive to raise funds for the Grade 7 Graduation.

You can help by donating your empty beverage containers through the Return-It Express Program.  Stickers can by printed at the Return-It Express kiosk by entering St. Jude Fundraising and phone number 604-616-3220.   Please see attached flyer for more information. 

Thank you for supporting Grade 7 fundraising.  

If your family has recently moved, or if you have a new phone number, please email office@stjude.ca with your new address/contact information so that we can update our records.

St. Jude’s Parish offers an RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program for anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith and for Catholics who have not received the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation.  For more information, please contact the parish office at 604-434-6700.

St. Jude Weekend Mass Times 

Saturday (anticipation mass): 5pm

Sunday: 9am, 11am and 5pm