Thunder News Flash – February 9, 2019

One of the things that we all hope for is to have a few good friends in our lives.  People we can share things with when something important is happening in our lives, and people we can have fun with through our shared interests.  For children, there is sometimes confusion about what makes a good friend – are digital friends real friends?  Are people who sometimes ask us to do things we know are wrong really our friends?  What about those people who play with you only when their other friends are not around?  One thing that we always know for sure is that God’s love for us is real and perfect, and will never waiver.  Having a relationship with God through prayer, and celebrating the sacraments, teaches us what real love is and what relationships should be like.  God’s love never fails, and God never gives up on us, just like a true friend.  What does God want of us – to remember how much he loves us and to share that love with others.

Once again the Lost and Found box is overflowing with items that students have misplaced.  Please take a moment to look at the items and see if anything belongs to your child or children.  Any items left in the Lost and Found by the end of the school day on Wednesday, February 13th will be donated to charity, and all uniform pieces will be sent to consignment to be sold.

The new Hot Lunch Order Forms went home this week.  Just a reminder that due to next week being a short week at school, the order forms are due back on Wednesday, February 13th by 2:40pm.  No late orders will be accepted!  Please also note that the Shrove Tuesday pancake order is included on this form.  Even if your children will not be eating the pancakes and sausages, please indicate this by circling the “N” to indicate “No”.

On Saturday, February 2nd the First LEGO League team competed in the provincial championship in Victoria, and they represented our school very well.  There were 40 teams from B.C. and the Yukon competing, and our team came in 8th overall in the robotics portion of the competition.  Well done!  As those of you who saw the team practising for the competition at our Open House know, there is also a research component to this challenge, and the team did very well.  They came in first place and brought home a trophy for their creative presentation of their research into bone density loss in prolonged space travel, and were complimented for their innovative solution of using cricket powder to create cookies that are high in calcium, protein and vitamin B12.  And, the judges really enjoyed trying their cricket cookies!  Congratulations to all members of the team.

St. James and St. Ann’s School, along with SJB, will be hosting a “Garage Clean Up” Work Bee over three days in March.  This is a great opportunity for families who have been unable to meet the required number of Parent Participation hours in their task group.  Please join us on March 16th, 17th and 18th as we remove unwanted items from the garage storage that is behind our school.  We will be renting a dumpster to aid in our clean up so there will be plenty of work for everyone.

If you have students in both schools, you may divide your hours to claim Parent Participation hours at each school, but please no double dipping.

Also note that both schools will be using the same sign up sheet that you will find by clicking here.

Questions?  Contact Erika by clicking here.

Monday, February 11th will be our Jeans Day to raise money to support the following archdiocesan charities – the Men’s Hostel, the Prison Ministry, Refugee Sponsorship, and The Door is Open.  We hope that all students and staff will participate in this fundraiser, and wear jeans to school on February 11th.  This is a dress down day and students who participate do not have to wear any pieces of their uniform; however, the jeans and tops that they wear must be appropriate.  That means no jean shorts, no ripped or torn jeans, no tops with inappropriate sayings and no spaghetti straps.  Students who are not participating in this fundraiser need to come to school in their school uniform.  Students and staff who participate in this Jeans Day are asked to bring a loonie or a toonie to donate to these very worthwhile charities.  If you would like more information about how these different charities support those in need, please click here.  We hope everyone will participate!

This is just a reminder that students who need to take medication at school may not keep their medication on them or in their backpacks, with the exception of rescue inhalers for asthma and epi-pens for anaphylaxis.  If students need to take medication while at school, parents must have the appropriate paperwork completed, the medication must be kept at the school office, and it must be packaged appropriately.  This means it must be blister packed by the pharmacy and in its original packaging.  Any over the counter drugs must be in the original packaging and never opened.  For more information regarding this, please see the Parent Handbook on the school’s website.

St. James & St. Ann’s School will be hosting a Parent Support Meeting entitled “Sexuality and Your Child” for all parents whose children are in Grades 4 – 7 on Wednesday, February 13th.  The meeting will begin with prayer and a brief opening session in the gym at 6:45pm, and then sessions with content specific to each one of the intermediate grades will take place in the classrooms with speakers from Signal Hill.  This is a mandatory meeting for parents only; however, we will be providing free babysitting for toddlers to school-aged children, and dinner for those people who signed up.

If your child has been absent from school and you have not either sent an email or paper note explaining their absence, an Absentee Note was sent home with your child from the school office.  Absentee Notes are required by our auditors to explain any student absences.  Please complete the Absentee Note and return it to the school office through your child as soon as possible.

Come and get a great start to this new year by praying the rosary with us for our school community at 8:30am every Thursday morning.  Please note that we meet each week in the school Library.  Small children and babies are welcome.

As school will not be in session on February 14th due to the Catholic Educators’ Conference, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day as a school on Wednesday, February 13th.  Please note that if your child is going to bring Valentine’s Day cards to school they must bring cards for everyone in their class so that students do not feel left out or singled out.  If your child would like to attach a small treat to the cards they hand out, that is fine but please do not send in whole class treats.  We are trying our best to limit the amount of treats the students are receiving at school, and they will have just had special cupcakes the day before with the Hot Lunch.  Let’s make this a day focussed on being sugary sweet, rather than eating sugary treats!

While the school Uniform Policy has been changed to allow more options for what the students wear, we have noticed lately that there have been quite a few things that students are coming dressed in that are not part of our policy at all.  While we understand that it is cold outside, if students need an extra layer they should be wearing their school sweater, not base layers or hoodies in every colour.  Also, while we have said that students can wear the shorts or skorts at any time, please remember that if there was an earthquake or other natural disaster it is possible that your child could be outside on the playground for many hours.  Bare legs at -15 degrees for a prolonged period of time could be very dangerous.  So, we would ask parents to please consider the weather before they let their children dress for school.  We would also ask for your cooperation in sending your children to school dressed neatly in either pants or the kilt, with their school sweater, on days when we have Mass.

We are always very excited by the number of students who participate in the various extra-curricular activities at the school.  However, please note that siblings who are not participating in the activity whether they are older or younger, need to be picked up and cannot wait in the school hallway for their sibling’s activity to be finished.  Remember, the Thunder Club is always an option if you do not want to come to the school twice in the afternoon!

Complete orders with exact change or a cheque payable to St. James School are due into the school by Wednesday, February 13th!  You can also find printable order forms and their Special Fundraiser Catalogue on their website by clicking here.  What an easy way to support our school!

Please note that our next monthly early dismissal day will be on Tuesday, March 5th.  The students will be able to enjoy their Shrove Tuesday pancake lunch and then be dismissed at 12:55pm for the monthly staff meeting.  This change was made due to the fact that the following day is Ash Wednesday.  We will be celebrating Mass together and want the whole day to focus on this important day to begin our Lenten journey together.

On March 9th – 10th the Abbotsford International Airport will host the world’s largest event of its kind to inspire female future leaders in Aviation, Aerospace, Marine & Defence, as well as other high-tech STEM fields.  Weather permitting, hundreds of free flights are provided to female first-time fliers of any age.  Events are fun, hands-on and completely free to ensure there are no barriers to participation.  Events are open to the public and everyone is welcome – no registration is required to attend.  In attendance this year to share her inspirational story will be NASA astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper.

The next Work Bee will take place today, Saturday, February 9th from 9:00am to 2:00pm.  While we can never be sure what the weather will be like, please be sure to dress for the conditions as there is always outside work that needs to be done.  If you are scheduled to attend this Work Bee, or are planning to come to make up for a Work Bee that you have missed, we greatly appreciate your help.

The students have done a wonderful job with composting in the classroom, and all the classes have won a reward.  Next week each class will have a special block of time set aside to play board games in their classrooms, supervised by Mrs. Sask, and they are encouraged to bring their favourite board game from home to play with their friends.  Students should bring their games to school as follows:

• Monday, February 11th – Grade 2
• Tuesday, February 12th – Grades 3, 6, 7 and Kindergarten
• Wednesday, February 13th – Grades 1, 4 and 5

This is a great way to have some fun, socialize with their friends, and they won’t even notice all the learning that is taking place – Math skills, strategy, communication…

Thank you to everyone who came out (in the snow and wind) and supported our school at our Winter Movie Night last night!  Everyone had a great time watching Ralph Breaks the Internet. 

A huge Thank You to our sponsors and donors.  

Sponsors:

Jasmine Garden Seafood Restaurant – click here

Starbucks

TPC 2000 Ventures Inc. – click here

Westlynn Meats & Seafood – click here

Donors:

Laflamme Family

Tundra Sales Inc.

and many anonymous donors

A big thank you also goes out to all the families who attended as well as the staff, parents and students who shared of their time to help make Movie Night a success.  Working together as a community, using our gifts of time, talent and treasure, we can reach our fundraising goal for this year.  Every dollar adds up and it all benefits the students of St. James & St. Ann’s.  Thank you for your support of our great school!