Thunder News Flash – March 13, 2021

The school will be closed for Spring Break beginning on Monday, March 15th and ending on Friday, March 26th.  At Thursday’s press conference our Public Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, made an amendment to the orders allowing outside gatherings of up to 10 people.  This is wonderful news as it means that there can be some playdates or small gatherings with friends and family over Spring Break.  However, the message was very clear that these gatherings must occur outside and it must be the same group of 10 people that you socialize with.  This good news also came with a bit of a warning that we need to continue to be careful, especially when indoors, as cases of COVID-19 are still rising in some areas of our province.  There are still many health orders that remain in effect, including that all non-essential travel should be avoided, and that indoor gatherings and any large events should also not be occurring at this time.  To review the latest information about the provincial restrictions and the Public Health Orders, please click here. 

There are a number of helpful websites and information sources that can assist all of us as we navigate living through a pandemic.  To visit the BCCDC’s website with great information for families about COVID-19, please click here.  

Let’s all do our best to follow the Public Health Orders and be careful and stay healthy over Spring Break, so that schools can safely reopen on Monday, March 29th.

The school will be getting a good cleaning over Spring Break, and that includes all of the tile floors and carpets.  Our janitors have requested that the students take their indoor shoes and any boots home during the break so that the rubber mats that they sit on can also be cleaned – this will make things much easier.  So, your children should have brought these items home with them yesterday and we would ask that you send your children back to school with these items when we return on March 29th.

St. Ann’s Pre-School registration is taking place on Tuesday, March 30th from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  Registration forms can be picked up from the Parish Office, JoAnn Nixon or online.  To register you need the following:

• Registration form completely filled out and signed by both parents
• Emergency card
• $40 registration fee
• Copy of your child’s birth certificate
• Copy of your child’s Baptism certificate
• Immunization records
• 10 post-dated cheques payable to St. Ann’s Parish dated July 1/21; October 1 – December 1/21; January 1 – June 1/22

Fees are $175 for 4 year olds and $145 for 3 year olds.  For more information call the St. Ann’s Office at 604-852-5602.

We would like to introduce our biggest fundraiser of the year:  Zumbathon 2021, which will be held on Friday, May 14th!  Due to the pandemic restrictions, we have decided that this year we will change our Annual Walkathon into a Zumbathon.  This event will be held with all the necessary protocols in place.

This year we are returning to a Prize Raffle for the Zumbathon Prizes.  Students will earn 1 raffle ticket for every $10 that they personally raise in pledges.  The students can then use these raffle tickets to put into the prize raffle of their choice.

The PFA has already started asking many businesses to donate prizes.  We are also asking the school families and businesses if they would consider donating a new item or cash to purchase a prize, so that we have a variety of prizes for all ages and interests.  If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact Juana Veters by clicking here.  Thank you for your consideration!

We look forward to sharing more information about Zumbathon with you after Spring Break, including what specific project we will be raising funds for this year!

The Province of BC has created a new Daily Health Check App for parents to use each morning to assess the health of their child before they head off to school.  This is a fun and interactive way to find out if you should stay home until you feel better, or get further health information by calling 811.  To use the Daily Health Check App on your desktop computer, please click here.  To download the app on your mobile device, please click here.

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.