Thunder News Flash – February 22, 2020

Lent begins on Wednesday, February 26th with the celebration of our Ash Wednesday Mass at 9:00am at St. James Church.  The Mass will be led by our Grade 6 class, celebrated by Fr. Ashley, and we invite all of you to join us for this very holy day.  Lent is a time in the church when we focus on three things:  prayer, fasting and almsgiving as an important part of repentance and renewal.  Last Sunday my parish priest asked the congregation what kind of Catholic we want to be.  He said that we can either be a “thermometer” Catholic or a “thermostat” Catholic.  A thermometer is something that reads the temperature of a person or a place.  It starts with a preset temperature and then changes itself to read the temperature of that person or place, so it changes to match its environment.  On the other hand, a thermostat is set with a temperature and it changes the temperature of a room, thereby actively changing the room.  If we are only going through the motions during our Lenten journey we are like a thermometer, changing one way, and then the next, but not really committing to any real change.  However, if we truly repent and are renewed, then we are like a thermostat who will affect change in the world all around us.  

It is almost time to re-register your children for St. James & St. Ann’s School for the 2020-2021 school year!  Re-Registration Packages will be sent home through the oldest child in each family on Friday, March, 6th.  This package is very comprehensive and we hope that you will read through all the information included in the package.  Then, you are asked to bring your completed Re-Registration Package, all required cheques and any supporting documents that you need, to our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, March 11th in the school gym.  Please note that we will not accept any Re-Registration Packages before this meeting, and you must attend this meeting to be eligible for the $50 registration fee.  Packages returned after this date will be subject to a $100 registration fee, and they must be returned by the end of the day on March 13th in order to hold your child’s seat for the 2020-2021 school year.

Here is some important information that you need to know about the AGM:

• dinner will be served from 6:00 – 6:30pm
• the meeting will begin promptly at 6:30pm – here we will go through changes for next year, explain tuition increases, etc.
• no later than 7:15pm we will begin to accept the Re-Registration Packages at tables throughout the gym that are divided alphabetically
• babysitting services will be available in the school Library for toddlers to Grade 5 students.  If you have an infant in a stroller or carrier they are welcome to attend the AGM with you, and children in Grade 6 and up are very capable of staying home by themselves

Some important information that you need to know about the Re-Registration Package:

• all white papers are to be filled out and returned on March 11th, or by March 13th at the latest
• all blue papers are information pages for you to keep
• there are two copies of the Family Statement of Commitment, which must be signed by both parents – please return one signed copy with your package, and the other copy is for you to sign and keep at home for reference
• remember to bring proof of residency with you – this is a provincial requirement and we must collect this each year
• remember to bring cheques with you for Parent Participation (3 cheques required), the Registration Fee (1 cheque or cash), and Student Fees (1 cheque)
• you only need to attach a new cheque or bank form to the Tuition Payment Form if your banking information has changed

We hope to see you all at this very important meeting.

Come and pray the rosary with us on Fridays at 8:30am in the school Library.  It only takes 20 minutes, but the benefits last much longer.  Help us pray for our schools, children, teachers, school staff and school families.  Everyone is welcome and there are toys for your little ones to enjoy while we pray.

The Income Tax Receipts for tuition paid for the 2019 calendar year will be available for pick up, by parents only, at the school office beginning on Friday, February 28th.  Any receipts not picked up by Thursday, March 5th will be sent by mail.  

St. Ann’s Parish is opening a new Childcare Centre for toddlers aged 18 months to 3 years of age.  For more information, please click here to see their poster, or call the parish at 604-852-5602.

Please click here to read the latest update from Fraser Health regarding the Coronavirus, which schools were asked to distribute to their parent communities.

The monthly Hospital Mass will take place on Sunday, February 23rd at 4:00pm at the Sacred Space in the Abbotsford Hospital.  Any students wishing to read, please meet Mrs. Wakely at 3:45 at the Sacred Space.  This is a wonderful outreach opportunity for our students and their families.

The next Community Coffee will take place in the school gym on Monday, March 2nd at 8:30am.  Please mark your calendar, and we hope to see you there.

On Tuesday, February 25th we will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday.  Please send your children to school with a snack, and for Hot Lunch we will be enjoying our Shrove Tuesday pancake lunch.  If your children do not enjoy pancakes and sausages, please send them to school on Tuesday with their snack and a lunch.

The following day is Ash Wednesday and we will be celebrating Mass together as well as participating in our Poverty Lunch.  The students are asked to bring a simple snack, a smaller lunch, and no treats to school.  We will have a short assembly in the gym at 11:45am, and then the students will return to their classes in silence and eat their lunches in silence, as we keep our focus on the importance of this very holy day.

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our school at our Winter Movie Night last night!  Everyone had a great time watching “Frozen II”.

A huge Thank You to our sponsors and donors.

Sponsor:

Westlynn Meats & Seafood!  Please click here for their website.

Donors:

Tundra Sales Inc.

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A big thank you also goes out to all the families who attended as well as the staff, parents and students who shared their time to help make Movie Night a success.

Working together as a community, using our gifts of time, talent and treasure, we can reach our fundraising goal for this year.  Every dollar adds up and it all benefits the students of St. James & St. Ann’s.  Thank you for your support of our great school!