Thunder News Flash – November 5, 2017

On November 1st it was the Feast of All Saints. During our school mass the students were reminded by Fr. Joseph that our mission in life is to become saints. Later in the same day, Fr. Peter from Christ the King Seminary, in a presentation, relayed the same message to our intermediate students. It is a message that fits beautifully with our school theme. For it is in caring for others that we become saints. With that in mind, we would like to thank all the students who shared their Halloween candy in support of Night Shift Ministries. 

On November 23rd, from 1:00 – 8:00 pm we are having Parent Teacher Interviews.  The purpose of the interviews is to discuss your child’s progress as well as your child’s behaviour. It is not appropriate for children to attend this interview. This year we will be using an online booking service.  You will be able to book your children’s interviews starting November 12th.  In the November 12th News Flash we will provide the school code that is required to log into the site. The website is https://www.schoolinterviews.ca/

As many of you now know, our school will be performing the musical Beauty and the Beast on April 18th and 19th, 2018. As a result, we have decided to take a different approach to our annual Christmas Concert. I am excited to announce that on December 21st, the students of St. James and St. Ann’s Elementary will be conducting an evening of song and prayer in the church of St. James Parish. More information will be coming home in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing you there! 

The decision to close a school due to snow is never a simple one. Many factors are considered in the decision making:

– assessment of bus routes (staff driving the routes)
– assessment of general driving conditions
– assessment of weather, current & projections
– consultation with St. John Brebeuf Secondary School

There are several factors that make our situation as a regional, independent school, unique:

– we’re not a neighbourhood school, but nearly exclusively a commuter school
– students travel from Mission, Langley, & all parts of Abbotsford
– staff travel from Maple Ridge, Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam, & all parts of Abbotsford

Similar to other commuter based schools in Abbotsford, we must also consider:

– are we able to provide a quality learning experience if we only have half or a third of our students in the building?
– if some teachers aren’t able to make it to school, do we have the support from our Teacher On Call pool to handle the sudden demand?
– can we confidently say that we made the best decision to open if an injury or fatality occur? We do not want to risk student or staff safety.

It is only after careful consideration of the above and always in consultation with St. John Brebeuf Secondary that we are able to make a decision about school closures due to snow. We thank you for your prayers and support!