Thunder News Flash – October 28, 2023

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 religions 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 1st at 9:00am.  Students are encouraged to come to school dressed as their favourite Saint on November 1st, as we focus on the lives of the Saints, and call on them to help us in our own journey to Sainthood.

Don’t want to sort the cans, bottles and other recyclable containers you have at home which you can return for the deposit?  Don’t want to wait in line at the bottle depot?  Well, do we have a solution for you.  We have now set up an account for the school at R & T Depot, 31550 South Fraser Way in Abbotsford.  Simply put your containers in a clear bag, and drop them off at R & T Depot using their “Return-It Express” service.    Go to the kiosk, punch in our school phone number (604-852-1788) and the number of bags you are returning – there is a 6 bag limit per drop off.  The machine will print your labels, then you put one label on each bag, and place your bags into the Express Kiosk chute.  The deposit monies will then be credited to the school’s account – what a simple fundraiser for the school.  We thank you in advance for your support.

We hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe Halloween, whether you go trick-or-treating or not.  After Halloween, students are encouraged to sort through the candy they have collected, and donate the extras to charity.  If you choose to support NightShift, please have your child bring the extra candy to their classroom, where we will be collecting these items from November 1st – 3rd.  Also, just a reminder that Halloween candy should be enjoyed at home, and not at school.

The next Work Bee will take place at the school on Saturday, November 4th from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  For those parents who are attending this Work Bee, please bring a rake if possible, a cordless blower if you have one, gloves for indoor and outdoor work.  Your assistance at the school is most appreciated.

We will have our next early dismissal day for our monthly staff meeting on Wednesday, November 1st.  Please send your child to school with a snack and lunch, and they will be dismissed at 12:55pm. 

Just a reminder that there will be no school on November 10th, which is a day in lieu and November 13th, which will be the Remembrance Day off.  

Just a reminder to check the school website calendar regularly. The calendar has all of the latest information and is the most current for extra curricular.  Did you know that parents can subscribe to the calendar so they never miss an event? Regular updates appear on the school calendar in real time.  Subscribe so you’ll never miss anything again!  If games are cancelled or postponed at the last minute, changes will be made immediately on the school calendar.  Please support our school in our efforts to go paperless. 

Our school community is wanting to participate more in the life of our parishes.  We would like to encourage families to attend adoration at St. James every Thursday at 7pm.

Our Gr. 7 Leadership Team has chosen a “SWAP” day for our next Dress Down Day on Friday, Nov. 3rd.  This is a day when students can come to school dressed as staff members and the staff are encouraged to dress as students.  This will be a reward for the successful Food Drive we had earlier this month.