Thunder News Flash – February 20, 2021

Across the country, students will be wearing pink shirts on Wednesday, February 24th to focus on an anti-bullying message.  At St. James & St. Ann’s School we believe that every day is an “anti-bullying day”, so we will be focussing on being extra kind to others on February 24th.  Students may participate in a special dress down day next Wednesday if they are wearing something that is pink – this could be a pink shirt, pink pants, pink hair band, a pink ribbon or pink sticker on their shirt, etc.  As always, what your child wears must be considered appropriate by the school staff, so no short shorts, no ripped jeans, no clothes with inappropriate slogans or graphics, and no spaghetti straps.  There are no parameters on the pink possibilities, except to have a day that is positively pleasant!!

Re-Registration Packages for the 2021-2022 school year will be going home with your oldest child in the school on Friday, February 26th.  There are a number of changes to the package, which we would typically review at our Annual General Meeting, but since we are unable to have an in-person meeting this year, instead you will find a letter in your package which explains the changes.  We will also be hosting a Question and Answer session via Zoom for parents to answer any additional questions you may have regarding the package on Monday, March 1st from 6:30pm – 7:00pm, or longer if required. A link to the Zoom session will be emailed to all parents. 

This year we will be asking parents to sign up online for an appointment time to return your completed Re-Registration Package on either March 2nd from 3:00pm – 7:00pm or on March 3rd from 8:00am – 3:00pm.  The link to sign up for your 15 minute appointment was sent to families yesterday by email.  There will be three stations set up in the Gym to accept your package, and all health and safety protocols will be followed, including:

• parents are asked to wait in their cars until just before their appointment time
• parents will be required to wear a mask
• parents must physically distance from other parents coming at the same time
• parents will enter the Gym through the outside doors at the front of the school, and exit though the Gym doors at the back of the school to the Parent Parking Lot
• stations in the Gym will be sanitized in between each appointment

Completed Re-Registration Packages are due back at the school no later than Monday, March 8th in order to secure your child’s spot at the school for the 2021-2022 school year.

We are very excited to have received our second order of Thunderwear for this school year.  Please note that on the days that your child has Gym class they should be wearing something over top of their Gym shorts when they come to school, ideally their Thunderwear, as we are still in our winter uniform season.  If you were unable to purchase Thunderwear, please note that your child may wear dark coloured (blue or black) sweatpants and sweatshirts over their Gym strip to come to school, or if they are cold for Gym classes.  

It has been brought to our attention that our neighbours on Townline Rd. are concerned about the line up of traffic in front of their houses at pick up time, and as that line can often extend onto Maclure Rd. this is causing an issue with the flow of traffic.  We want to be good neighbours and citizens in our community, so beginning on Monday, February 22nd we are going to try something similar to what the M-Z line does.  When you come to the school for the afternoon pick up, please drive past our school to the dead end, and then drive north on Townline Rd., lining up along the front of our property on the west side of Townline Rd.  Please make sure you are not blocking St. John Brebeuf’s driveway, and do not block access for parishioners or staff to enter or exit our gravel parking lot.  We know that vehicles are facing the wrong direction on Townline Rd., but hopefully this will cause less traffic congestion on Maclure Rd., and make our neighbours happy. 

Just a reminder that our next early dismissal day for our monthly staff meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 24th.  Please send your child to school with a snack and lunch, and they will be dismissed at 12:55pm.  If you are unable to pick up your children at that time, the Thunder Club is a very affordable option.

Parent/Teacher Interviews will take place on Friday, March 5th from 8:00am – 5:00pm via Zoom.  There will be no school for students on this day.  The link to sign up for your interview(s) was sent home via email yesterday – please sign up early to get the time slot(s) that work best for you.

The gift card order form submission date is Monday, February 22nd at 9am.  Families submitting order forms requesting $500 or more in gift cards will automatically be entered into a draw to win one of three $100 gift cards, to the vendor of their choice, which will be delivered to them along with their order in the first week of March.  The PFA recognizes the efforts that families make to support the school and we appreciate your support of the school’s fundraising efforts.  Many thanks also to the many St. James and St. Ann’s parents whose businesses are featured on the order form, including the owners of Au Naturel Beauty Bar, Vi-La Palace restaurant, StrEATS restaurant, Jasmine Garden restaurant and Chef-Boss Culinary restaurant and caterer.  Order forms were sent home with your oldest child on Tuesday of last week, and they can also be found on the school’s website by clicking here, and in your email inbox.  Thank you again for your support!!

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.