Thunder News Flash – November 19, 2017

Our school just went through a full CISVA and Ministry of Education Evaluation on November 6th and 7th. The evaluation went well and our teachers and students should be commended. I would like to share with you one of the commendations the Evaluators shared with our staff. The Evaluators were impressed by the culture of our school. They could see and feel that students genuinely cared about each other. They were also impressed by the way our school lived out the philosophy of inclusion. At St. James and St. Ann’s Elementary School we firmly believe that all children have dignity and worth as human beings because they are made in the image and likeness of God. This translates into action at our school because we do not exclude children from the classroom but rather work hard to make sure all our students feel part of the classroom and our larger school community. And while we are not perfect, it was very clear to the Evaluators that we are a Catholic School living out our faith. 

As parents, you should be proud of your children and your teachers. I know I am! 

This weekend a new movie came out called The Star. It tells the story of the Nativity of our Lord from the perspective of animals. According to the family orientated review at Plugged In, the film stays true to the Gospel story. As such, we are arranging for our entire school to go and see the film at the movie theatres on December 22nd. More information will be coming home with your child but I wanted to let you now know so that your child can experience the movie for the first time with their classmates. This is an excellent opportunity to bring our school community together to celebrate the story of our faith!

By now, the majority of parents have signed up for their Parent Teacher Interviews, which is great. I would like to remind parents of the purpose of these interviews:

• They are a chance to discuss questions surrounding the report card
• They are an opportunity for you to ask questions about how you can support your child at home
• They are an opportunity to ask clarification questions about your child’s educational experience and progress

I would also like to address some guidelines that will make Parent Teacher Interviews as positive experience:

1. Please arrive on time for your interview. There will be chairs outside each classroom for parents to wait.
2. In most cases it is not appropriate for your child to be present for the conversation. This is a conversation between the parents and the teachers.
3. Please be mindful that these are 10 minute conversations. Teachers are placed in awkward situations when parents want to discuss longer than 10 minutes. If you feel like 10 minutes was not sufficient then arrange for another time in which to discuss things with your classroom teacher. To go longer than 10 minutes is not being fair to the other parents.

If you still need to sign up then please visit: https://www.schoolinterviews.ca/

The access code is: aur4t

I thank you for your cooperation!

Please take a look at the Lost and Found items in the front hall. Any items left after November 23, will be donated. Uniform items will go into consignment. To avoid having lots of items in the Lost and Found, I would like to kindly remind parents to write the name and grade of their child onto their articles of clothing. You would be amazed at the amount of coats left outside at the end of each lunch hour. If names are in the coats, PE shirts, uniform shirts and pants, and so forth, then we can quickly return them to the rightful owner. 

All are invited to attend the Hospital Mass Sunday, November 26th, in the Sacred Space at Abbotsford Hospital.