Thunder News Flash – December 12, 2020

Once again we are collecting food, gift items and gift cards for St. Vincent de Paul to add to their Christmas hampers, but this year we have 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.  There are a number of items that have not been selected yet, so we hope that over this last weekend many more families will consider helping out this very worth cause. 

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 until Monday, December14th.  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.  

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Sorley who welcomed their first child, Joan Marie Sorley, into the world on Sunday, December 6th.  Needless to say this did delay his start date at the school by one week, so we will happily welcome Mr. Sorley to the school on Monday, December 14th! 

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.

This will be the last week to purchase tickets for the Christmas Big Book and Basket!  Tickets are 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.  The draw will take place on December 18th with the lucky recipient able to take the Christmas Big Book and Basket home with them for the Christmas break.  All money collected will go to Chalice, and while our goal was to purchase a goat, through your generosity it looks like we will be able to purchase enough animals to fill a small stable!  To learn more about how to support Chalice, please visit their online gift catalogue by clicking here. 

Our next Work Bee will take place at the school today, 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!

The January Hot Lunch order form went 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.

We are continuing with our two remaining festive dress down days this week.  They are as follows:

• 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.

During this time of pandemic, the escalating level of anxiety in our children begs for an explanation as well as a solution.  Dr. Gordon Neufeld sheds light on this age-old problem, providing tools for parents, caregivers and teachers to be able to navigate and support children during this alarming time.

Join us for a Dr. Neufeld video course followed by Q & A with Kevin Bredeman, an authorized Neufeld Institute Course Facilitator.

This will be offered online:  Wednesdays from January 6th to 27th from 7:30pm – 9:00pm.  Pre-registration and a fee of $10 is required.  For more information and registration, click here.  

This course is hosted by the Ministries and Outreach Office at the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

This is just a reminder that our last day of school before the Christmas break is Friday, December 18th, and the students will be dismissed at 12:55pm.  Please send your children to school with a snack and lunch, unless the Classroom Teacher has already informed you that there is something special happening in the class that day for lunch.  

This will definitely be a different day at school, as we are used to being able to gather together to celebrate.  However, we will still do our best to make it a special day for the students.  

On behalf of all of the staff at St. James & St. Ann’s School, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.  We hope that the new year ahead will bring all of us much joy, peace and happiness.

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.