Thunder News Flash – February 16, 2019

The school staff attended the Catholic Educators’ Conference on Thursday and Friday of last week, and it is always wonderful to gather as a faith community to hear some amazing speakers and celebrate Mass together.  This year the theme of the conference was our archdiocesan theme What do you want of me, Lord?  There were many great moments, but a few that particularly stood out:

• Our Thursday Opening Keynote speaker, Hallie Lord, was talking about discernment and she said we need to ask, listen and act.  When we are acting on something we often go through a list of things that could happen, and they are usually very negative.  She said that we shouldn’t “live in the wreckage of the future” and that we need to “discipline our imagination” so that we don’t just live in our fears about what could happen.
• One of the breakout session speakers, Kevin Honeycutt, was talking about how we need to think outside of the box to get kids to be their best.  However, we often have these great ideas that are a little crazy and we fail to act on them because we aren’t sure how to carry them out well.  Kevin said that “perfect is the enemy of done”.  If we wait until we have an idea perfected, we will fail to do anything!
• Our Friday Opening Keynote speaker, John O’Leary, was particularly inspiring.  At nine years old, John was burned on 100% of his body while playing with fire and gasoline and wasn’t expected to live  Yet, he not only survived, but has gone on to live an amazing life.  One of the many great things John shared is that God “wants to meet us in the ordinary to bust through to the extraordinary.”  

Tie all of these inspirational thoughts together and you learn that what God wants of us is not to live in fear, to try new things even if they might seem ridiculous and you might fall flat on your face, and that if we trust in Him, He will help us to do amazing things.  Our students will benefit from our faith-filled action!

Due to the snow days last week we will accept the Hot Lunch Order Forms on Tuesday, February 19th in the morning only.  No orders will be accepted after the morning attendance comes to the office!  Also, just a reminder that next week we will have two Hot Lunch days – Tuesday, February 19th will be last week’s Quiznos order, and Thursday, February 21st will be hotdogs. 

*Please note additional day added

St. James and St. Ann’s School, along with SJB, will be hosting a “Garage Clean Up” Work Bee over FOUR 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 Friday – Monday, March 15th, 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.

Due to the snow days last week we have moved our RCAV Fundraiser.  On Tuesday, February 19th will have 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 19th.  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.

We are still looking for someone to tune up and maintain our yard maintenance equipment.  If you, or a family member, has this skill please let us know!  Your expertise can be used to fulfill your 20 hour Parent Participation requirement.  Family members can donate their expertise to your participation requirements as well.

Please email Erika by clicking here for more information.

The snow last week not only closed the school, but also caused us to postpone our Parent Support Meeting for all parents whose children are in Grades 4 – 7.  We will be rescheduling this evening as it is so important for parents, as well as a curricular requirement, and will let you know the new date as soon as it is chosen.  A new form will be sent home to families so that you can once again indicate that you are attending, whether you will require babysitting for your children, and if you are joining us for dinner.  Even though we will be picking a new date for this event, we know that we will have a full house!  

Come and join the Parent Prayer Group in praying the rosary 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.

Celebrating love and friendship is always a good thing, even if it is a few days late.  So, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day as a school on Tuesday, February 19th.  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.  The students will be having their special cupcakes with their Hot Lunch on Tuesday, and that is enough of a sweet treat for all! 

The monthly Hospital Mass will take place on Sunday, February 24th at 4:00pm at the Sacred Space in the Abbotsford Hospital.  Any students wishing to read, please meet Mrs. Wakely at 3:45 at the Sacred Space.  This is a wonderful outreach opportunity for our students and their families.

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.

While the adults have probably seen and shovelled enough of the white stuff over the last week to last us until next winter, most children would never get enough of playing in the snow.  When we return to school next week we don’t know how much snow will be left on the playground and field, but we certainly want the children to be able to enjoy the snow that remains.  However, students must be dressed appropriately to go outside and play in the snow.  That means boots, warm jackets and some kind of waterproof pants, as well as mitts or gloves.  Those students who are not dressed to keep themselves warm and dry outside will be supervised inside the school.

Complete orders with exact change or a cheque payable to St. James School are due into the school by Tuesday, February 19th!  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.

The snow hasn’t made us forget about the wonderful job the students have done with collecting their organic waste in the classrooms.  So, 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:

• Tuesday, February 19th – Grades 3, 6 and Kindergarten
• Wednesday, February 20th – Grades 4, 5 and 7 
• Friday, February 22nd – Grades 1 and 2

Let’s have some fun and practise some Math and social skills at the same time!