Thunder News Flash – November 3, 2018

We are called to live in community and have relationships with those in our community, whether we are talking about our families, our school or our church.  This week the principals gathered at St. Pius X for a presentation called “Walk a Mile with Me” all about mental health concerns.  Many mental health concerns in children become even more challenging when there are fractured relationships, or worse yet, no relationships at all.  As a matter of fact, we learned that the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it is connection.  We need to work very hard to build a culture of connectedness in our communities including our school, and we need to be available, attentive, attuned and appropriately responsive to our students and our children.  Schools should be so much more than a place of academic learning – through shared activities we can build relationships and show our students they are welcomed, safe and enjoyed in our schools.

The school will be hosting Community Coffee on Tuesday, November 6th at 8:30am in the school Library.  This is a wonderful opportunity for community members from both the school and the parish to join together for some coffee, treats and great conversation.  Bring your toddlers as well as there will be toys and colouring pages set out for those children who are not yet in school.  We hope to see you there!

Do you have a teenager to buy a Christmas present for, or a friend or relative who is difficult to shop for?  Well, do we have the answer for you!  We will once again be selling gift cards through the Shopfunds program to raise money for our school, and the gift cards will arrive well before the Christmas break.  Shopfunds provides the opportunity to purchase gift cards for a variety of stores, restaurants, gas and services, and then provides the school with a percentage based on how much is purchased.  Watch for the order forms to be sent home to each family through your oldest child on November 5th.  The forms with payment to the school will be due back on November 13th for cards to be picked up at the end of November.  Happy shopping!

We will be collecting Halloween candy for NightShift during the week of November 5th – 8th in all classrooms.  Students and parents are encouraged to sort through the candy that they have collected, and donate the extras or items that are not their favourites to NightShift.  Your donations are very important to help those in need.

We will have our next early dismissal day on Wednesday, November 7th.  The teachers will begin their staff meeting with a presentation sponsored by Science World called “Computational Thinking Across the Curriculum”, and are excited to learn how to bring this into the classroom.  Please send your child to school on November 7th with both a snack and lunch.  We will be having our Remembrance Day Assembly from 12:15pm – 12:55pm in the gym that day, and parents are welcome to attend.  The students will be dismissed in silence from the gym at 12:55pm.  The Thunder Club will be available for parents who are unable to pick up their children at 12:55pm, and will be open until 5:00pm as usual.  If you are planning to use the Thunder Club on November 7th, please make sure that you complete the registration package ahead of time, and you will be charged the morning drop-in rate.  Those parents who typically have their children in the Thunder Club will not be charged any additional fees for this day.

We are happy to announce that once again the Abbotsford Judo Club will be holding their after school program in the gym at St. James & St. Ann’s School for students in Grades 1 and 2.  The program will take place on Fridays beginning on November 16th from 2:30 – 3:30pm, and has 16 spots available.  Please see the Judo School Schedule by clicking here.  If you are interested in having your child participate in this Judo program, please click here to get the Sign Up Sheet – print the sheet, fill it out, and either email it to the address provided, or take it directly to the Abbotsford Judo Club.  You will also need to complete the Individual Membership Registration Form, which you can get by clicking here.  The cost of the program is $150 and your payment can either be taken with the forms to the Abbotsford Judo Club, or brought to the first class.  Please remember that there are only 16 spots available, and these will be filled on a first come, first served basis.  A poster regarding the program is available by clicking here.

When students are absent from school, we must have a note from the parents explaining the absence to meet the requirements of our student audit each year.  If your child was away in October and we did not receive a note from you, a paper note will be sent home with your child on November 5th for you to fill out and return to the school.  If your child is absent from school, the easiest way to let the school know is to go to the website, click on the Parents’ tab, and then click on Absentee Note.  When you enter your information and click on “send message”, this will inform the school of the absence and act as a note that will satisfy our auditors.

This is just a reminder that the school will be closed on the following days in November, and there will be no staff at school on any of these dates:

• November 9th – this is a non-instructional day
• November 12th – this is a day off in lieu of Remembrance Day
• November 23rd – this is a Professional Development Day

Unique Christmas gifts available from vendors & crafters, scrumptious homemade baked goods, silent auction, basket raffle, and fun for the whole family – that is what you will find at the St. Ann’s Christmas Market.  A hearty Italian dinner will be served Friday evening, as well as a delicious breakfast and lunch on Saturday.  Admission is free!  Please come and kick off the festive season with us in comfort and joy.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Friday, November 2nd from 4:00pm – 9:00pm & Saturday, November 3rd from 9:00am – 4:00pm.

St. Ann’s Parish Hall – 33333 Mayfair Ave., Abbotsford, BC.

To see the Facebook page click here.

To see the St. Ann’s website click here.

For more information, call 604-852-5602.