Thunder News Flash – October 3-7

Our next school Mass will take place on Wednesday, October 5th at 9:00am at St. James Church.  This Mass will be led by the Grade 7 class and will also include the enrollment ceremony for the Grade 2 and 7 students as they prepare to receive their sacraments this year.  We hope that many parents will be able to join us for this Mass.

Miss Macedo and the Kindergarten class would like to request your help – if you have been cleaning out your child’s collection of toys and games and are looking to donate items that they no longer want, the Kindergarten class is specifically looking for the following items:

• La La Loopsy figures
• Little Pet Shop toys
• Shopkin toys

Items for donation should be in good shape, clean and include all their parts.  Your donations would be greatly appreciated!

At Meet the Teacher Night we introduced to the parents our new method of collecting donations for Chalice this year, and this was also unveiled to the students at our September assembly.  We are using a “Give without getting” philosophy – instead of raising money by holding raffles or selling items such as freezies, we are asking the students to give without getting anything for themselves in return.  The students are being encouraged to donate a portion of the money they may receive this year for things such as their birthday gifts, or Christmas gifts, etc., as well as a portion of their allowance or extra money that they may get for chores that they do for their family, neighbours or relatives.  When they choose to do this they simply bring the money to the office, and place it in our collection jars.  They do not receive a physical reward for this, but are simply thanked for their donation as we are hoping to instill the idea that giving to those less fortunate is the “right thing to do”. 

However, that does not mean that we will become a “no fun school”.  We will still find many opportunities to reward and celebrate the students at our school, as we know how important celebrations are.

We are proud to announce that so far we have collected $18 in our Gifts’ jar and $18.50 in our Chores’ jar, for a grand total of $36.50.  While this doesn’t seem like a large amount, we have only been collecting this money in this way since September 21st, and $36.50 can still go a long way through Chalice.  Items such as chicks and ducklings, or breeding rabbits, a Jiko stove, vitamins and many other essential items could be purchased through the Chalice gift giving program for $36.50 or less!  For more information about Chalice’s program, or if you would like to talk to your children about this at home, please click here.

From time to time we look at how we can make physical improvements to our school building and surrounding area.  Currently we are thinking about how we can increase the outdoor lighting and require the assistance of an electrician with the work we are considering.  Are there any electricians in our parent community who would be willing to take this on?  This could even count as your Parent Participation hours.  Please contact the school office and let us know if you could provide this service to our school.

This year we will once again be going outside for recess and lunch, rain or shine.  The students need the opportunity to run around and get fresh air so that they are ready and able to work to their full potential, and they actually enjoy being outside rain or shine. I know that it is hard to remember what Fall can be like with the Summer weather we have been experiencing, but please make sure that your children come to school dressed for the weather.  Jackets with hoods are the best bet, and boots are always a good choice when necessary.  Of course if the weather is quite stormy, or the rain is torrential, we will keep the students inside.

As you know, on Monday, October 31st we will be allowing students to come to school dressed in their Halloween costumes.  While this seems like it is far away, it will be here before we know it, and as you begin to plan what your child will wear for Halloween we wanted to ensure that you are aware of what our expectations are regarding costumes.  We are looking for students to come to school dressed in creative costumes, or costumes that highlight a hero, career, fairy tale character, etc.  Students may not be dressed in costumes that are scary, violent, or show any kind of blood or gore, and masks are not allowed.  If you have any questions about whether your child’s costume is appropriate or not, feel free to speak to your child’s teacher, or come to the office directly.

Please note that students must come to school in their “winter” or “regular” school uniform as of Tuesday, October 11th after the Thanksgiving long weekend.  This means that sweaters will now be required for school Masses, Hymn Sing and assemblies, and the skorts and shorts must be put away for the winter.  The Grade 7 students will be required to have their hoodie with them once they are ordered and arrive, as this replaces the school sweater for the Grade 7s only.

St. James & St. Ann’s is excited to offer a great selection of Thunderwear again this year.  We have hoodies, jogging pants and performance T’s in great school colours.  Order forms came home last week and samples of items are available in the office to try on for size from September 28th – October 5th, after 2:30pm.  If you need another order form, please click here.  The order deadline for Thunderwear is Wednesday, October 5th at 3:00pm.