Thunder News Flash – December 5, 2020

This year has been challenging for everyone, but it has been especially hard for those in need.  While donations to food banks and charities are down due to the pandemic, the need has been steadily rising and some reports indicate that food banks have seen a 50% rise in the number of clients they serve.  Once again we will be collecting food, gift items and gift cards for St. Vincent de Paul to add to their Christmas hampers, but this year we will be having a Virtual Christmas Giving Tree.  Using the same process as when we have parents sign up for conferences, you can go to the following link to select the item or items that you are able to purchase for those less fortunate: click here.  When you select the item you would like to purchase, if you want to select another item you simply have to add another item.  Once you have purchased your item(s), your oldest child may bring them to the school in the morning and place them in the collection bins outside of the Library.  Any gift cards that are purchased should be brought directly to the office by your child.  We will be accepting donations from December 7th until the 14th.  Grade three parents, please note that as your class charity is St. Vincent de Paul, you are already participating in this program so you do not need to sign up at this link as well.

We thank you for any and all donations you are able to make to support this very worthy cause.  

We are happy to announce that Michael Sorley has been hired to teach Grade 4 for the remainder of this school year.  Mr. Sorley worked at our school as an EA during the 2019-2020 school year, and has just finished his teaching degree.  Mr. Sorley will be joining the staff on Monday, December 7th, and we are very happy to have him back at our school in this capacity.  Welcome Mr. Sorley!

The Application Package for siblings of students currently attending the school are now available.  If you require a Sibling Application, please send an email to the office by clicking here.  Please indicate in your email which of your children currently in the school you would like us to give the Sibling Application to, and we will send it home to you through that child.  These applications are for siblings who may be entering Kindergarten – Grade 7 next school year.  These applications must be filled out and returned to the school with all supporting documents no later than Thursday, December 17th as we will begin to take applications for new families to the school at the end of January.  We need to know how many spaces we have available, especially in Kindergarten, as the spaces fill up each year very quickly.

Please note that this year there is an addition to the Sibling Application requirements, which is a short Zoom meeting with the Principal.  This meeting will include the Principal, one parent and the child, and is an opportunity for us to get to know your child a little bit better.  Please note that these meetings will take place in January, and more information will come home through the News Flash in January.

We are happy to announce that once again our Grade 1 class and their Grade 4 buddies have created a beautiful Christmas book, and put together a special treat basket to raffle off to our school community.  Tickets will be sold each day in the classrooms and are 2 tickets for $1.  Students can simply bring their loonie, or several loonies, to school in a plastic bag or their agenda so that they don’t misplace the money, and can let their Classroom Teacher know that they want to purchase some tickets.  Tickets are now on sale, and the draw will take place on December 18th with the lucky recipient able to take the Christmas book and basket home with them for the Christmas break.  All money collected will go to Chalice, and our goal is to be able to purchase a goat through their gift catalogue for a family in need.  To learn more about how to support Chalice, please visit their online gift catalogue by clicking here.  Please help us meet our goal!

Our next Work Bee will take place at the school on Saturday, December 12th from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  If you are able to, please bring gloves for inside or outside work, and a cordless blower.  Also, just a reminder that parents should not bring children to the Work Bee, and family members must be at least 16 years of age for the hours to count towards Parent Participation.  We appreciate all your hard work!

As you know, we try and have the students outside for recess and lunch as much as possible, and this year we are taking the students outside even more.  Children should come to school ready for the cold weather with a good jacket with a hood, boots, gloves, scarves, etc.

Please also remember that our Uniform Policy states that the students may not wear skorts or shorts from December through to the end of February.  On gym days, please wear either your Thunderwear sweatpants, or sweatpants that are dark blue or black over your gym shorts.

The Grade 7 class is in need of some wool to knit hats and scarves.  Thick wool is the best, as it makes these items much warmer.  If you have balls of thick wool around your home that you are no longer using, please consider donating them to the Grade 7 class.  Or, if you are out shopping this weekend, please consider picking up a ball or two of thick wool to donate.  The Grade 7 class donates their knitted items to the migrant farm workers through St. Ann’s Parish.  Your help would be most appreciated!

The January Hot Lunch order form will be going home with the oldest child in each family on Thursday, December 10th.  Please note that this form will be due back on Friday, December 18th at 9:00am, and no late orders will be accepted.  We want to bring your attention to a change in suppliers starting in January – we will be replacing Mucho Burrito with Panago Pizza.  However, in an effort to keep everyone safe and healthy, and avoid too much handling of the pizza by different people, Panago will be cutting their large pizzas into 4 chunks, and packaging these sections into individual pizza boxes.  This is about half the price of purchasing individual pizzas, and equivalent to two slices of pizza, but it means that your child will be receiving two pieces of pizza that are the same kind.  If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to email the Hot Lunch Coordinator by clicking here.

As we anticipate the Christmas season, the Leadership Team is encouraging students to participate in four festive dress down days to get us in the Christmas spirit.  The dress down days are as follows:

• Monday, December 7th – Christmas casual – be comfortable, casual and Christmas-like all at the same time
• Wednesday, December 9th – Royal Christmas Ball – dress in your Sunday best like you would if you were going to Christmas Mass or a fancy Christmas party
• Monday, December 14th – Pyjama Day – wear your Christmas pyjamas to school
• Wednesday, December 16th – Wacky Christmas Day – go to town with wacky hair, silly accessories, etc.

As always, students must wear clothes that are appropriate to be able to participate in school dress down days.  That means no torn or ripped jeans, no short shorts, no clothes with rude or inappropriate sayings or logos and no spaghetti straps.  Students may also wear Christmas colours or their Thunderwear to school on any of these dress down days, or they may just choose to wear their school uniform instead.

Just a reminder that 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.