Thunder News Flash – May 1, 2021

As we begin the month of May, our “pandemic fatigue” is making us really look forward to next school year, and our hope is that things will return to what we have always known to be normal at our school.  But we still have two more months left in this school year, and what better way to lift our spirits and reawaken our feelings of hope, than to turn our attention to Mary.  May is a month where we traditionally focus on Mary in the Church, and this year it is even more important than ever that we turn our attention to our Blessed Mother.  In the mystery of the Annunciation, Mary said “yes” to God, and the human race was raised to glory in the flesh of Jesus.  The word of God, through Mary, began our redemption.  Our focus on Mary this month should strengthen our hope and remind us that through her intercession for us, all things can be conquered, even this pandemic.

We are happy to let you know that we will once again be celebrating Mass in our school Gym on Wednesdays at 11:00am for one class each week.  We have created the schedule to allow for each class to participate in Mass once before the end of the school year.  Please check the calendar on the school’s website to see which Wednesday your child’s class is scheduled for by clicking here. 

Just a reminder that our next early dismissal day for our monthly staff meeting will take place next week, on Wednesday, May 5th.  Please send your child to school with a snack and lunch, and they will be dismissed at 12:55pm.  Please note that if you have registered with the YMCA Kids Club, this is a great option if you are unable to pick up your children early.

The next Work Bee will take place at the school today, Saturday, May 1st from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  Please bring gloves for inside and outside work, and any cordless gardening tools to help with some landscaping work around the school.  As always, your hard work is most appreciated!

We will soon be posting a part-time PE position for next school year.  While we certainly do not want to see Mrs. Ni Lorcain step away from this position, she will be a little bit busy at home with a new little one.  Congratulations to Mrs. Ni Lorcain and her husband who are expecting their second child in October.  St. Patrick’s Day celebrations just won’t be the same without her!

Just a reminder to please enter your Parent Participation hours, which is especially important as we get close to the deadline for completion of your hours for this school year.  You can enter your hours by going to the school’s website under the Parents tab, then clicking on Parent Participation and clicking on the “submit your hours” button.  OR, you can scroll down to the bottom of this News Flash and click on the “submit your hours” button. 

For those parents who still need Parent Participation hours, we have another request for help.  While the grass often gets cut during our monthly Work Bees, now with the nicer weather it needs to be cut more regularly than that.   We are looking for 2 or 3 parents who would be able to cut the grass as well as do some edging work with a weed eater.  This can be done on the weekends or in the evenings.  Volunteers would need to supply their own ear plugs and eye protection.  If this sounds like something that you would be able to help with, please email Mrs. Sask directly by clicking here. 

If your child was absent in April, and you did not send a note to the office to explain this absence, your child was given an attendance note yesterday.  Please complete this note, sign it, and send it to the office with your child as soon as possible.

The ZUMBATHON is now just 2 WEEKS AWAY.  It is sure to be a fun and exciting day filled with school spirit.  There will be a free hot dog lunch and freezie after Zumba-ing, for all students and staff.  We hope that students are busy collecting pledges to raise money for outside learning and fun spaces for our school! 

All students who raise at least $125 are automatically entered into a draw to win a Nintendo Switch Lite!  Plus, all students earn 1 raffle prize ticket for every $10 they raise that they can put into draws for prizes such as an Annual Family Pass to the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Scooters, Lego, Gift Cards, Sports Equipment, Arts & Crafts and much, much more.  For a current list of prizes, check them out by clicking here. 

We want to thank Agrifair, Abbotsford Bandits, Cabela’s, Canadian Tire, Castle Fun Park, Columbia Business Systems, Dairy Queen, Fresh Co., London Drugs, Mucho Burrito, Panago, Purdy’s, St. Ann’s Parish, Superstore, The Chow Family, The Dos Santos Family, The Laflamme Family, The Steinbichler Family, Mrs. Sask and many more anonymous families for donating some awesome prizes and items for our event!

We encourage all students to ask for pledges in COVID-safe ways.  Please check out the Zumbathon info package for details on how to keep safe. 

DONORS CAN PLEDGE ONLINE USING THEIR CREDIT CARD by clicking here.

Together we can raise $25,000!

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.