Thunder News Flash – February 26, 2022

The Public Health Officer in BC, Dr. Henry, has set March 15th as the next date for reviewing the Public Health Orders related to COVID-19.  If there are changes that affect schools, in conjunction with the BCCDC and the Ministry of Education, the Guidelines for K-12 Schools would then be updated.  As such, our school’s Communicable Disease Plan will be revised at that time.  In the meantime, it is still very important to do the following: 

• complete a daily health check with your child – click here to see the most up-to-date information regarding this
• monitor your children regularly for symptoms of illness – if they are sick, they should stay home.  Please click here for information about testing for COVID-19
• follow all of the provincial restrictions that are currently in place – please click here for the latest information
• ensure your children are wearing a mask when they enter the school each morning, unless exempt
• seek reputable sources of information about COVID-19, such as the BCCDC, including how to protect yourself, your family and your community, and what to do if you suspect you have the virus by clicking here

With Spring Break coming soon, it is also important to know that entry guidelines to Canada after travel have been revised, and the latest information can be found by clicking here.

The school has received a small number of COVID-19 Gargle Test Kits.  These test kits are meant to be given to parents when you come to pick up a sick child at school, if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and if you as a parent would like one of these kits.  Parents would administer the Gargle Test at home.  They will be kept in the School Office, and available on request for the above reason.  We have also received our COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests for student use – each student will be supplied with a box of 5 test kits.  These will be distributed to the students on Monday, and brought home with them at that point.  As always, these test kits should only be used if your child is sick with symptoms of COVID-19.  Please click here and here for more information about these test kits. 

An email was sent home to parents on Wednesday, February 23rd with the information to order the next set of Hot Lunch for your child, which will run from March 8th to April 26th.  If you did not receive this email, please check your “spam” or “junk” folders.  Please note that the prices have gone up for some of the items, which reflects the increased cost that the restaurants are charging the school for these items.  Please note that the deadline for ordering is the end of the school day on Tuesday, March 1st.

We just wanted to let you know that Mrs. Dlugan’s surgery was a success!  She is home, doing well, and now the process of healing and recovery begins.  We hope this phase is equally as successful!

There are a number of upcoming events at the school to be aware of:

Shrove Tuesday – Tuesday, March 1st:

• as this is a Hot Lunch day, and the sushi has already been ordered, we are happy to let you know that we will be continuing on with our tradition of serving the students Shrove Tuesday pancakes, except it will be for breakfast when they arrive at school.  The school staff will be cooking pancakes for all of the students, and the students will be served between 8:40 and 9:20am depending on their grade.  If your child is used to eating breakfast much earlier than this, you may still want to have them eat a small breakfast at home before coming to school.  The students will be able to have 1 – 3 pancakes, depending on their age, and they will also be served orange wedges with their pancakes.  If your child requires a special pancake due to allergies or dietary restrictions, please send them to school with their special pancake, and we will heat it up for them to eat with their class.  This will definitely be a fun day before we begin our Lenten journey

Ash Wednesday – Wednesday, March 2nd:

• as we begin the season of Lent, our focus turns to prayer, almsgiving and fasting.  Ash Wednesday is a day where Catholics abstain from meat, and while children are not obligated to participate in this form of sacrifice, we do ask that you send your child to school on March 2nd with a small snack, a light lunch, and no treats.  The children will participate in our Poverty Lunch, where they eat in silence in the classrooms, and our focus is on those less fortunate in our own community and around the world
• the students in Grades 1 – 7 will also be bringing home their mite boxes on Ash Wednesday, as part of their almsgiving.  The students can put coins in their mite box all throughout Lent, which then go to support the seminarians in the Vancouver Archdiocese.  They will also be given a Seminarian Collectible Card with the name and photo of one of the seminarians, and are asked to pray for this young man during Lent as part of the “Adopt a Seminarian Program”
• we are happy to let you know that as the restrictions for schools have been eased, the whole school will be participating in our Ash Wednesday Mass at St. James Church.  At this time the Mass is limited to school staff and students as faith gatherings continue to be capped at 50% capacity

Spring Break – March 14th – 25th:

• please note that the last day of school before Spring Break will be Friday, March 11th.  This will be a full day of school.  School will then reopen on Monday, March 28th

By now all existing families in the school should have received their Re-Registration Package for the 2022-2023 school year, either at our Annual General Meeting on February 23rd, or through your oldest child in the school.  The completed Re-Registration Package needs to be returned to the school no later than March 10th in order to pay the reduced registration fee, and guarantee your child’s spot in the school for next year.  All parents should have received an email with the link to sign up for a time to return your Re-Registration Package to the school, either on March 1st, 3rd or 4th.  If you did not receive this email yesterday, please check your “spam” or “junk” folder, or contact the school by clicking here.