PRINCIPAL'S CORNER
As Term comes to a close I would like to thank everyone who helped make this term a success for our school.
Thank you to Father Mauricio–you are so supportive of our students and care so much for our community, you are a real blessing!
Thank you to the admin staff, Mrs. Nguyen and Ms. Pham–Thank you for all you do to help our school run smoothly and for doing it all with a smile on your faces!
To the Teachers, EAs, and our Vice Principal, Mrs. Chao–Thank you for all you do for our students, your tireless dedication to academic excellence and student wellness are what sets our school apart!
To the Education Committee–Thank you for all that you do to support our school behind the scenes, we are grateful for your commitment.
To our Families–Thank you to everyone who supports us, especially the consistent volunteers who are always there when we need them, your spirit of service is appreciated.
To our Students–You are the reason we are here, thank you for making our lives bright and happy!
This is the last Patrioteer for 2025, see you in January 2026!
St. Jude, Pray for Us!
ADVENT ASSEMBLY WEEK 3 and 4
Our very own primary students led the school community in two prayerful assemblies on the genealogy of Jesus this week. This week our assemblies come to a close as we celebrated both week 3 and week 4!
Thank you to all the primary classes for leading us in our journey through Advent, you all did a marvelous job of helping preparing our community for Christmas.
Special Visitor
We were very lucky to have a special visitor come to our school before he got too busy delivering presents to all the boys and girls. Santa Claus enjoyed spending some time with all of our students and listening to them sing.
CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA WEEK
Everyone had an absolutely wonderful time during Christmas extravaganza week! Everyone was in festive spirits with Santas, reindeers, and elves throughout the school. The highlight was building Winter Wonderlands and the air was filled with smell of sugar as sugar plums, chocolates, gummies, and lots of icing were used to create these amazing wondrous delights!
TOILETRY DRIVE
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who donated a toiletry item for the women of the Downtown Eastside. We appreciate your generosity.
Thank you, also, to Ms. Corea and the Grade Six class for organizing this worthwhile cause.
MUNCHALUNCH ORDERING OPEN FOR 2026
Munchalunch is open for the rest of the school year. Please note some changes to item prices as well as some new selections from Pho Kitchen.
Ordering for the week of January 5-9 will close on New Years Eve–7am on December 31.
NOTRE DAME REGIONAL SECONDARY GRADE 8 PLACEMENT EXAM
Families are encouraged to register for the placement exam by January 4th, 2026, to take advantage of the reduced non-refundable application fee of $75.00, payable via e-transfer to payments@ndrs.org (no password required). Please include the student’s full name and “AppFee” in the message.
Please note that the fee for placement exam registration will increase to $100.00 after January 4th, 2026.
The registration link for the grade 8 placement exam is now open. Families can register by scanning the QR code on the poster or by visiting our website at www.ndrs.org. The placement exam will take place at 9:30am on Friday, January 23, 2026.
SCHOOL TOURS AVAILABLE
School tours are now being offered to prospective families interested in having their child attend St. Jude School. They are led by our Gr. 7 School Ambassadors and can be booked in advance by calling our office.
REFER A STUDENT AND GET REWARDED
A reminder to our families that our referral program is operational. Every student that is referred and enrolls in our school for the year results in a reward of $200 for the the referring family.
To learn more about the referral program, please click here.
GRADE 7 FUNDRAISING - BOTTLE DRIVE
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.
Grade Seven Students sent home plastic recycling bags for collection over the holiday!
Thank you for supporting Grade 7 fundraising.
OFFICE MATTERS
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.
INCLEMENT WEATHER DECISION MAKING PROCESS (SNOW DAYS)
The decision making process for closing the school due to snow includes:
– assessment of sidewalks & stairways
– assessment of parking lots
– assessment of staff driving routes
– assessment of general driving conditions
– assessment of weather, current & projections
– consultation with neighbouring schools and principals
– consultation with staff that live in the area
– prayer
Some of the factors which make St. Jude School unique when considering these decisions include the following:
– we’re not a neighbourhood school, but nearly exclusively a commuter school
– students travel from different parts of Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Richmond
– staff travel from Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, North Van, and Maple Ridge
– we live in a region that does not get much snow and many drivers are ill prepared (no snow tires) to drive in snow yet do so anyway. The Government of BC has not mandated that winter tires must be used on lower mainland roads during the winter season. As such, the risk of car accidents greatly increases in such conditions and commute times become exceptionally long with many arriving very late or not at all, which reduces our ability to properly staff the school.
Other factors all schools must consider:
– are we able to provide a quality learning experience if we have 1/3? or 1/2 of our students in the building?
– if some teachers aren’t able to make it to school, do we have the support from our Teacher On Call pool to handle the sudden demand? Are we able to provide adequate supervision if staff cannot make it to work?
– can we confidently say that we made the best decision to open if an injury or fatality occurs?
When the school is closed due to inclement weather, communication will be through the Remind App first, Facebook, and the school website by 7am at the latest. It is the responsibility of the parents to sign up for Remind, to check our website, or our Facebook feed, when snow is in the forecast.
If the school is closed due to Snow, there will be no clubs, sports, or after school clubs running that day.
In difficult weather, our hope is to open our schools as soon as it is possible while considering all educational and safety perspectives. We thank you for your prayers and support!
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE CATHOLIC FAITH?
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. Classes are held on Thursdays at 6pm in the church hall. For more information, please contact the parish office at 604-434-6700.
ST. JUDE PARISH MASS TIMES
St. Jude Parish Mass Times
Monday – Saturday: 9 am morning Masses
Novena Mass on Wednesdays: 7:30 pm
Saturday anticipated Mass: 5 pm
Sunday Mass: 9 am, 11 am, 5 pm
Special Christmas Schedule
Simbang Gabi Masses
December 15-23, 2025 at 7pm
Mass in English, songs in Tagalog
Christmas Mass Schedule
December 24: 5pm, 11pm
December 25: 9am, 11am, 5pm
New Year’s Mass Schedule
December 31: 11pm
January 1: 9am, 11am, 5pm
CALENDAR REMINDERS
January 5 — School Re-Opens
January 12 — NO SCHOOL, Professional Development
January 30 — Care Day, 12pm Dismissal
You can subscribe to our school calendar here.