Thunder News Flash – January 16, 2021

Thank you to all of the students who wrote testimonials about why they love St. James & St. Ann’s School.  They were wonderful to read!  There were so many entries that we decided to draw two students’ names and give away two Chapters gift cards for $25 each.  The recipients were Tiago and Owen, both in Grade 3.  Well done, everyone!

There continues to be two seats available on the Regional Education Committee (REC) for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, and for the 2021-2022 school year.  The Board of Directors has given St. James & St. Ann’s School permission to make these seats available to parishioners of St. James Parish, St. Joseph’s Parish and St. Ann’s Parish.  Currently the positions to be filled are in the Maintenance and Vice-Chair portfolios.  If you feel that you would be a good fit for one of these positions, and are interested in being involved in the governance of our school, please contact your parish priest no later than Monday, January 25th to put your name forward.  Depending on how many people are interested, these may either be appointed or elected positions.  Remember that being a member of the REC fulfills your Parent Participation commitment for the year, and is a wonderful way to be involved in the school.  

While the current Public Health Order does not allow for in-person Mass attendance at this time, there is an exception to this for faith-based schools.  As Mass is considered to be an important part of our educational program, students may attend Mass held at the school only, and if they remain in their cohort.  Beginning on Wednesday, January 20th, Fr. Ashley will be celebrating Mass for one class of students only each week on Wednesdays in our school gym.  We will begin with our Grade 7 class, and then have scheduled Mass for the following two Wednesdays for Grades 6 and 5, as the current Public Health Order ends on February 5th.  We will wait to schedule further class Masses until we know if this order will be extended or not.  We will ensure that we are following all of our health and safety protocols, including having all students receive communion in their hands.  

We will also be resuming confessions for the students, and will start again where we left off in the fall, with the second half of the Grade 5 class.   Fr. Ashley will come to the school to hear student confessions on Fridays, half a class each week, and these will be conducted in a private space in the school. Once again we will ensure that all of our health and safety protocols are being followed for the safety of everyone, including having participants wear masks as it is difficult to practise social distancing in this situation.

If you have any concerns regarding your child attending Mass in the gym in their cohort, or participating in confession at the school, please call the school at 604-852-1788.

Do you know any new families who would like to apply to join our school community for the 2021-2022 school year?  If so, please let them know that we will be hosting a Virtual Open House on Wednesday, January 20th.  This will be a Zoom meeting that will take place starting at 6:30pm, and go until approximately 7:30pm.  This meeting will include a virtual tour of the school, some student testimonials, information about the application process, as well as a Q & A session.  Any interested parents should email the school office in January at office@stjameselementary.ca, or by clicking here, so that they can receive the link to the Zoom meeting.

Don’t forget about Mabel’s Labels, our new fundraiser for St. James & St. Ann’s School, which is ongoing throughout the year.  Maybe you have purchased some new uniform pieces, or maybe some new outerwear for your child recently.  Putting a label in these items will ensure they are returned to your child if they are left outside or lost within the school.  To order these labels, just go to their website at https://mabelslabels.ca/en_CA/fundraising/support/ or by clicking here and choose St. James & St. Ann’s School from the list.  Then shop and your labels will ship directly to you, and the shipping is FREE!  St. James & St. Ann’s School earns a commission on every order.  Please support our school as every fundraising dollar we raise helps out.

St. John Brebeuf High School will be holding their Virtual Open House in early February.  Staff and students are presently working hard to put together an online experience that will showcase SJB as a great place to grow faithfully, academically, physically and emotionally.  Please stay tuned to our school and to SJB’s website at www.stjohnbrebeuf.ca for more information in the coming weeks.  They hope to see you there.

The Hot Lunch forms for February were sent home with the oldest child in each family yesterday, Friday, January 15th.  They are due back on Friday, January 22nd by 9:00am, and no late orders will be accepted.  

This year Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday as it is fondly known, is taking place on Tuesday, February 16th.  Usually on this day we gather the students together in the gym in groups of 2 or 3 classes at a time, and the school provides all the students with a delicious pancake lunch cooked by our wonderful Hot Lunch parents.  Unfortunately, the Health and Safety guidelines for schools, as well as the current Public Health Orders that we are under, will not allow for this kind of celebration to take place at school.  However, one of our Hot Lunch suppliers, The Bag Lady, is able to provide pancakes for the students and they will be a special thank you from the school for all the support you have given us so far during this very different school year.  Each student who would like to order will be given two pancakes, approximately the size of a medium paper plate, as well as syrup and cutlery.  If you feel that this will not be enough for your child for lunch, please provide some extra food for them to eat along with their pancakes.  You will notice on the form it says “free” for the cost, and you just need to put the name of each of your children who would like this serving of pancakes.  Unfortunately there will be no second helpings this year!

St. James & St. Ann’s School is seeking to hire a full-time Educational Assistant.  This is a short-term position to fill a leave at the school.  The ideal candidate would have their EA certification from an accredited post-secondary institution, and have experience working with students with exceptionalities.  Additional training such as CPI and First Aid would be an asset.  Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to the principal, Terri Sask, no later than January 29th by clicking here and can view the full posting on the CISVA website by clicking here, then scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking on “Education Assistant/Support Positions”.  Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Parents are asked to complete a Daily Health Check of their children each morning before they come to school.  Please assess your child for the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Chills
• Cough or worsening of chronic cough
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of sense of smell or taste
• Diarrhea
• Nausea and vomiting

If your child has one of those symptoms, excluding fever, they should stay home for 24 hours from when the symptom started.  If the symptom improves, they may return to school when they feel well enough.  If the symptom persists or worsens, seek a health assessment.  If your child has two or more of the symptoms, or they have a fever, you should seek a health assessment for them.