The Patrioteer – October 11, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving! 

When reflecting on gratitude a great exercise is speaking to the Kindergarten class and asking what they are thankful for. The answers are simple and profound. Through the wisdom of children they thank God for sunlight, rainbows, the joy of play, and their parents. All things that adults can take for granted, but through the eyes of children we can see that each day is a gift from God and we have been given so much! 

This Thanksgiving I am thankful to live in this beautiful province as other parts of the continent are ravaged by natural disaster. The sunlight we take for granted is not a given for all. We can hold our loved ones tight and thank God for the gift of life and the joy of our temperate weather. 

A very blessed Thanksgiving from all of us at St. Jude School. 

St. Jude, pray for us! 

Care Days are the last Fridays of the month and are days when students are reminded to care for others. These are dress down days following a monthly theme and have a 12pm dismissal. Students may wear a shirt following the Care Day theme or they may come to school in Patriot wear as is permitted every Friday or they may wear their uniform.

As we did last year, we have done an EFT of $18.00 for all 9 of our Care Days. The money collected has been used to support various local charities. The EFT is scheduled for October 18, 2024. If you choose to not participate, please email bookkeeper@stjude.ca. 

Parent Teacher Interviews are coming up on Thursday, October 24th. The purpose of Parent Teacher Interviews is for the teacher and the parent/guardian(s) to discuss the child’s behaviour, habits, attitude, and performance. The conversations are to focus on goals for the child and the strategies to implement at home and at school so that greater learning can happen. It is also an opportunity to raise and address concerns. It is not an opportunity to discuss other children or other teachers.

There will be no school on this day, and we do not recommend that children attend the interview.

To book your time slot, please visit this link: https://schoolinterviews.ca/code/bmrrc

Alternatively, you can go to: www.schoolinterviews.ca
Event code: bmrrc

If none of the posted times work, please email your child’s teacher to set up an alternate time to meet.

Nature Club is back in session and started by prepping our garden for new winter bulbs. It’s great to see our students excited to get their hands dirty in our small community garden. 

Nature Club runs on Wednesdays after school and is led by Mrs. Abela. 

Recycle Your Batteries, Canada!Battery Blitz School Mission Contest

On October 22 at 10:30am, the school welcomes the Earth Rangers into our school for an exciting presentation! 

Excerpt from the Earth Rangers Website: 

The Earth Rangers School Assembly is an inspiring, interactive presentation featuring live animals, games and trivia, captivating video content, and two enthusiastic educators who not only teach kids about the environmental issues our planet is facing, but empower them to take action. Our assembly is reinvented every year so it is always fresh, with the most up-to-date science and real-life work conservationists are doing in the field.

This week our Grade Six Girls Volleyball team participated in the qualifying tournament at Corpus Christi School. The girls played very well and had three very exciting games against Corpus Christi, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick (Vancouver). The team came in second and is headed to the playoffs! Go Patriots! 

Thank you to Mr. Wong for coaching and Ms. Smillie for being their teacher sponsor!

On October 16 we will be celebrating the baptisms of 6 of our students at our weekly mass.

Edmund in Gr 7, Sherlyn in Gr 6, Leo in Gr 5, Sherwin in Gr 3 and Elsa in Gr 2. 

Please pray for these children as they begin their lives in Christ. 

With Halloween fast approaching, St. Jude School will allow students to dress in costumes on Thursday, October 31, 2023.

Please ensure that your child’s costume is appropriate and suitable for our Catholic school community. Those who dress as Saints or Biblical Characters will receive special prizes!

Students are not permitted to wear the following:
● Any costume that covers the face. Staff members must be able to identify
students.
● Costumes that are provocative, revealing, sexual in nature, or employ questionable props, including fake weapons.
● Costumes that depict violence, alcohol, or drugs.
● Costumes that could be offensive or perpetuate a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, heritage, age, sexual orientation or religion.
● Costumes that mimic or imitate another person or group of people in our community.

Students who choose to not be in costume are to be in their school uniform.

For Thanksgiving this year, consider donating to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. This valuable community support relies on community donations to continue their good work. For more information check out their website for ways to give. 

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