Thunder News Flash – April 3, 2021

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and let us remember that this is the most important day for Christians as we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.  Through his resurrection, Jesus confirmed that he was the Son of God, and provides all of us a living hope.  Even though the current Public Health Orders limit how we will be able to celebrate this special day, we wish you all a very blessed Easter weekend.

Neat Uniforms, our uniform supplier, has had to adapt and do things very differently this year.  Please click here to read a letter about purchasing uniforms for next school year; click here to see a promotional flyer about a bundling option that they have; and click here to see a poster about our school’s online focus week.  They are working very hard to meet all of your uniform needs under less than ideal circumstances, and we are confident that this will continue in the future.

The purpose of the “Traveling Chalice” is to promote a “culture of vocations” (Pope St. John Paul II) through the prayers of families in their homes.  A Catholic family may request that the Chalice and the accompanying materials be loaned to their home for a period of one week.  Prayers for each day of the week (found in the loaned materials) are meant to foster the habit of praying for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life, and to dispose family members to be attentive to God’s call.  “The Traveling Chalice” is an initiative of the Serra Clubs of Fraser Valley-West and Vancouver.  The Chalice and all accompanying materials are jointly owned by the same.  For you to have “The Traveling Chalice” visit your home, please phone 604-832-5802.

Just a reminder that if you come to the front door of the school to drop something off, to pick up your child early, or because you have an appointment, please remember to ring the buzzer indicated.  We will communicate with you through the intercom and then let you inside if need be.  Your continued cooperation with this procedure is most appreciated.

The opening date for the YMCA Kids’ Club at St. James School has been pushed back by one week to Monday, April 12th.  Licensing is taking a little bit longer than expected as Fraser Health is incredibly busy at this time.  Please note that the Thunder Club will remain open for one more week to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Please note that there will be no school on Monday, April 5th for Easter Monday.  The school will reopen on Tuesday, April 6th following the Easter long weekend.

Just a reminder that our next early dismissal day for our monthly staff meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 7th.  Please send your child to school with a snack and lunch, and they will be dismissed at 12:55pm.  Please note that the Thunder Club will still be open on April 7th, so this is an affordable option for those families who are unable to pick up their children early.

The next Work Bee will take place at the school on Saturday, April 10th from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  Please bring gloves for inside and outside work, and any cordless gardening tools to help with some landscaping work around the school.  As always, your hard work is most appreciated!

Our biggest fundraiser of the year:  Zumbathon 2021, is coming up on Friday, May 14!  Information packages, including pledge sheets and envelopes were sent home to each family this past week.

We encourage all students to ask for pledges in COVID-safe ways: by phone, video calling and emails, and encourage potential donors to donate online.  Please see the information package for more details.

We have some great prizes that can be won, which will be announced in the coming month.  If you would like to donate a prize, please contact Juana Veters by clicking here.  Thank you for your consideration!

DONORS CAN PLEDGE ONLINE USING THEIR CREDIT CARD by clicking here.

The Province of BC has created a new Daily Health Check App for parents to use each morning to assess the health of their child before they head off to school.  This is a fun and interactive way to find out if you should stay home until you feel better, or get further health information by calling 811.  To use the Daily Health Check App on your desktop computer, please click here.  To download the app on your mobile device, please click here.

Parents are asked to complete a Daily Health Check of their children each morning before they come to school.  Please assess your child for the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Chills
• Cough or worsening of chronic cough
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of sense of smell or taste
• Diarrhea
• Nausea and vomiting

If your child has one of those symptoms, excluding fever, they should stay home for 24 hours from when the symptom started.  If the symptom improves, they may return to school when they feel well enough.  If the symptom persists or worsens, seek a health assessment.  If your child has two or more of the symptoms, or they have a fever, you should seek a health assessment for them.