Thunder News Flash – October 2, 2021

Next week we celebrate two important feast days in our Church – All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd.  While many faiths celebrate All Saints Day, in the Catholic Church this day celebrates all those who have entered Heaven, including saints who are recognized by the Church and those who are not.  All Souls Day is set aside to pray for and honour the dead who have not yet reached Heaven.  Catholics believe that through the prayers of those on Earth, the dead are cleansed of their sins so they may enter into Heaven.  We will celebrate both of these important days in the classrooms, and also at our November Mass which will take place on Wednesday, November 3rd at 10:45am.  Students are encouraged to come to school dressed as their favourite saint on November 3rd, as we focus on the lives of the saints, and call on them to help us in our own journey to sainthood.

The St. James Parent Rosary Group is starting up again!  Beginning October 7th, they will be meeting every Thursday morning following drop off, from 8:30 – 9:00am in The Sons of Thunder room in St. James Church.  Keep a lookout for their message board reminder on Thursday mornings, near the drop off lane.  Also, email reminders will be sent out weekly.  Please send an email by clicking here if you would like to be added to the Rosary email list.

Calling all parents – are any of you plumbers by trade?  We need some plumbing work done at the school, and are hoping that one of our school parents is able to take on this job.  If that is you, please call the school at 604-852-1788.

We are happy to announce that we will be celebrating our first school Mass on Wednesday, October 6th at 10:45am.  Fr. Richard from St. Ann’s Parish will be our celebrant, with the Mass led by our Grade 4 class as we anticipate the great feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

We will have our next early dismissal day for our monthly staff meeting next week, on Wednesday, October 6th.  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 school is in need of approximately 250 pumpkins for the last week of October.  Do you have a large pumpkin patch, or do you know someone who does?  Would you or someone that you know be able to donate 250 pumpkins to the school, or sell them to us at a reduced price?  If you can help us create a wonderful experience for our students, please send an email to the school by clicking here.

The next Work Bee will take place at the school today, Saturday, October 2nd from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  If you are scheduled to work at this Work Bee, or are planning to attend, please bring a rake, cordless blower if you have one, gloves for inside or outside work and a mask.  Your help with maintaining the school and grounds is most appreciated.

Your Thunderwear orders will be sent home this coming week.  As mentioned in last week’s Thunder News, Youth Jogging Pants are on backorder due to shortages in stock and so will not be included in your package.  We hope to have these in November.  In the meantime, if the weather is cold, please have your children substitute either blue or black sweatpants for their Thunderwear pants.  Thank you to all the families who supported our first fundraiser.  It has been a huge success!

Please complete a Daily Health Check with your child each day before they come to school.  The easiest way to do this is to go to the BC K-12 Health Check website by clicking here.  Please also remember that adults and children in Grades 4-7 are required to wear masks in indoor spaces, and children in Grades K-3 are strongly encouraged to wear masks as well.  These proactive steps will help us all remain safe and healthy.