The Patrioteer – January 30, 2026

When the days for their purification were completed according to the Law of Moses, they brought the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is prescribed in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer a sacrifice in accordance with what is stated in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Luke 2:22-24

On February 2nd we celebrate Candlemas or the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. This feast is called Candlemas because we light candles to celebrate the end of the Christmas season and to remind ourselves that Jesus is the light of the world. In a world plunged in the darkness of sin, Jesus became human to save us and light our way to Heaven. 

This feast day is a commemoration of how Mary and Joseph followed the Jewish laws and brought their baby boy for consecration to God. I love feasts like this that give us a peek into the life of the Holy Family. Through these ordinary moments we can see how much Jesus was loved and cared for. In the ordinary moments of our day, ones that we think are not important or exciting, we can devote ourselves to following God, much like the Holy Family. A life lived for God is never one wasted. Even though Jesus was God He was also completely human and wanted to live life like us in ordinary devotion to the Father. We can learn so much from Jesus as our Model and our Guide.

  St. Jude, Pray for Us!

Grade 6 boys had a great time playing several games this past week! 

Grade 5 girls played well against St Mary’s.

Congratulations to the Grade 6 girls who placed first in the OLPH basketball tournament this week. They worked very hard as a team and had a lot of fun playing!

Go Patriots, Go! 

Re-registration for the 2026-2027 school year has begun.  Please submit all forms back no later than February 9.   

Required forms checklist:

• Student Verification Sheet (signed)
• Re-registration documents 
• Void Cheque or PAD 
• Proof of BC Residency

Please contact the office if you have any questions or need assistance. 

The Daughters of St. Paul will be visiting SAINT JUDE on FEBRUARY 17TH with a Catholic book fair.

Letter from the Daughters of St. Paul:

We look forward to spending time with your school community! As Daughters of St. Paul, our mission is to proclaim the Gospel using the most effective media—including great Catholic books! Our Pauline Books & Media publishing house is just one expression of our mission to give Jesus Christ to the world in the spirit of Saint Paul. During our visit to your school, we will make available some of the award-winning books that our sisters have prayerfully written and/or published in collaboration with many talented Catholic authors and illustrators. We pray that these books will spark wonder, inspire faith, and help your family grow closer to Christ and each other.

The Pauline Book Fair will be open in the school cafeteria from 9am to 4pm. To preview some of the books that we will have available for children, teens, families, and teachers, please see our School Book Fair list. Note that listed prices do not include tax. (For a comprehensive list of the books we publish, as well as the books from other Catholic publishers that we carry in our Pauline Books & Media Centre in Toronto, you can also visit us online at paulinestore.ca).

We can accept Visa, MasterCard, Debit Interac, and/or cash on the day of the book fair. For more information about us and our Pauline Books & Media mission, please visit us at daughtersofstpaul.com and pauline.org.

You and your family are in our daily prayers!
In Jesus our Way, Truth, and Life,
Sr. Gioan Linh Nguyen and Sr Joane Caritas Gepitulan

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. There will be three sets of sessions starting Mid-February and pausing for spring break and Easter. 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 1 — February 17-March 10th: 4 classes for $80

Spring Session 2 — April 7-May 12: 6 classes for $120

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

Our very own St. Jude Orchestra will be performing on Wednesday, February 25th at 7pm in the St. Jude School Gym. 

Come on out to support our student musicians on their big night!

Christ the King Seminary High School in Mission will have a “live-in” for prospective students on the weekend of February 7-8. Check out the poster below for more information! 

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. 

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.  

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.

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!

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

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