Thunder News Flash – May 5, 2018

My morning commute to school was one in which I typically listened to Golic and Wingo on Team 1410. However, since the change to BNN Bloomberg I have turned to listening to podcasts while I commute. A recent podcast I listened to was titled “Here’s Why All Your Projects Are Always Late – and What to Do About It” from Freakonomics Radio. It is a fascinating podcast jammed pack with experts and research and analysis. I do not want to summarize the podcast as you can listen to it yourself. However, I do want to pullout from the podcast what they had to say about procrastination.

Procrastination is something that affects so many students and adults. Why do we procrastinate? The main reason why is due to the distractions in our life that are more instantly appealing that the task that we ought to be doing. Today more than ever, there are so many instant distractions that pull us away from what is important. Two obvious examples are cell phones and video games. For myself, I check Bleacher Report several times throughout my evening. Why is that? Do I think the stories about the world of sports has really changed that much? Or is it because I would rather distract myself from the task of cleaning dishes or helping with laundry? I think we all know the answer to that one. As parents, you have probably observed on more than one occasion your child avoiding a task in favour of one that is more enjoyable but not at all helpful. We therefore need to do what is best for our children and build in them the resiliency and tenacity to overcome the instant gratification. 

I think that is where the Gospel message sounds loud and clear. Nothing about our faith story says “this is easy” or “you will be rewarded instantly.” It is all about delayed gratification. A happiness that can be achieved through mastering a level in a video game can never compare to the happiness that is found from living a life rooted in faith and truth. St. Augustine reminded us that “Our hearts are restless until the rest in You, O Lord.” It certainly is not easy to over come the path to instant gratification but it is most certainly worth it. 

It is a very rewarding experience to work together on the St. James & St. Ann’s Education Committee for the greater good and exciting future of our school.  There will be four volunteer positions available for the St. James & St. Ann’s Education Committee starting July 1st for the 2018/19 & 2019/2020 school years (two positions to represent St. Ann’s Parish and two positions to represent St. James Parish).  All of these positions are for one term (two years) with the potential to stay on for a maximum of four terms.  More information on the Education Committee Nomination Process and the different roles within the Committee will be coming home via email on Monday, April 30th.  Information will also be available at the school office.  The deadline to put your name forth for nomination is Friday, May 11th at 3pm.

As a staff, we have noticed that adherence to the school uniform is slipping and teachers will be doing daily uniform checks starting Monday. Our uniform policy is found on p.41-42 of the Parent Handbook. Children who are not in uniform will receive a warning first from their teacher. The second time will result in a uniform infraction note sent home and will require the parent’s signature. The third time, administration will call the parents in to discuss the ongoing infractions. A signed note must be sent in for your child if there is a reason why they are unable to be in uniform (e.g. injury to the foot hence different footwear). We are going to concentrate our efforts on the following common infractions:

1. Indoor shoes are to be solid black shoes (dress shoe or runner) with no contrasting trims or soles (for those who have contrasting trims a black sharpie can be used to colour it in)
2. Hair accessories are to be in school colours (dark blue, light blue) or natural hair colour. Colours outside this spectrum are not permitted. Hair accessories are to be modest in size and not cause distraction.
3. Navy or Black socks. 
4. Neat and Tidy presentation. Uniform articles that are ripped are not to be worn until mended or replaced. 

The school uniform is a matter of pride and we want our students and parents to take pride in wearing the school uniform. Thank you for your attention to the uniform and your cooperation.

St. James’ and St. Ann’s Year End Annual Pub Night.

Our annual Pub Night, and last fundraiser is on Friday, June 1st, 2018.  Last year’s Pub Night was such a great event and a wonderful opportunity to socialize and meet all of the wonderful families in our school.

This year it will be held at ‘The Canadian Brewhouse’ in the Highstreet Plaza (right next door to Milestones). Tickets will be $25 and each ticket includes a burger (either beef, chicken or veggie), beer (choose from 30 on tap), or a 6 oz. wine, or a highball. We will be doing 50/50, lotto board, and Silent Auction.

Do we have any chef’s at the school?  How about anyone with a vacation home?  Do we have any families that have something that they could donate for our Silent Auction?  Maybe you have a weekend getaway that you can’t attend? How about passes for local events or concerts?

Please consider donating any new items or any event or adventure that you feel would be a success.  Please remember, it all goes back to our children!

If you or someone you know, has an item you would like to donate, please contact Nicola Humphreys at 778-227-8711.

Thank you.

Volunteer schedules are now in the church entrance for the Spring Fair & Garage Sale. Please sign up for the activity that interests you and the time that suits you best. First come, first serve! During this season of getting back into the yard and fixing things up for summer, please take a look in your garage, shed and basement for tools, sporting goods and electronics you no longer need to donate to this worthy cause. 

Alex and Dana McCune of Sts. Joachim & Ann, along with Fr. Donnelly of St. Joseph’s (Langley) are putting on their first Catholic summer camp in July! 

The camp will be held at St. Catherine’s Elementary in Langley from July 9-13, and we would love to have your help in reaching your students. We are geared towards ages 7-15 and have planned a week full of fun activities that celebrate our faith and life in Christ.

Please click here for more information.

Congratulations to our Grade 2 students who are receiving their First Holy Communion this Sunday, May 6th at their respective parish. May the Lord bless them on this very special moment in their faith journey. 

May 5th at 7:00 pm – St. Ann’s Parish

St. Ann’s Family Group invites you to a special parenting presentation. How do we grow in the face of caring for our children? Is there a reset button? Best-selling author and counsellor Deborah MacNamara, PhD, is here to answer these questions and more. Deborah teaches on the relational-developmental approach of Dr. Gordon Neufeld. Last year’s presentation was very popular – mark your calendars! 

Admission is by donation ($5 recommended) and childminding is available for children ages 3 and up. Please RSVP if you require childcare to stannsfamilygroup@gmail.com.