Thunder News Flash – March 7, 2020

Once again it is that time to re-register your children for St. James & St. Ann’s School for the 2020-2021 school year!  Re-Registration Packages were 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.

To read more about BC’s Pandemic Coordination Plan, please read the statement by Premier John Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Medical Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry by clicking here.  

There are many scary headlines and myths floating around about the Coronavirus.  If your children are worried you may want to preview a short video produced by CBC Kids by clicking here, and if you feel that it is appropriate please share it with your children.

The school will be closed from Monday, March 16th to Friday, March 27th for Spring Break.  We hope you are able to enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation with your family during this time, and maybe some adventures that will be wonderful topics for Journal entries when the students return to school.  The school will open once again on Monday, March 30th.

The office is still missing a number of Attendance Notes for students who were absent in February.  Attendance Notes were sent home with students on Friday, March 6th for parents to complete if we are missing a note for your child.  Please ask your child, or check their backpack to see if they received a note, and return it to the office as soon as possible.

Please join us for our next school Mass on Wednesday, March 11th at 9:00am at St. James Church.  The Mass will be led by our Grade 2 class, our celebrant will be Fr. Eduardo, and our focus for the Mass will be on Lent.

Since we will not have school on the fourth Thursday of the month, we will be having our monthly spirit wear day on Thursday, March 12th instead.  Students are encouraged to wear pieces of Thunderwear that they have in place of their uniform pieces.  So, if your child has a Thunderwear t-shirt, they can wear this instead of their school shirt.  Please note that this is not a dress down day, and uniform pieces may only be replaced by Thunderwear.

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.  Please note that the next meeting of the Parent Prayer Group will take place on Friday, April 3rd.  

St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Vancouver is having the Man of the Shroud Exhibition from Wednesday, April 15th to Monday, April 20th.  To add to this exhibit on the Shroud of Turin, the parish is pleased to have Shroud scholar and history professor, Dr. Cheryl White, as a presenter.  If you would like to attend this exhibit, for more information click here to see the flyer.

The Lost and Found bin is overflowing with uniform pieces and outerwear.  Please remind your children to come and check the bin if they are missing items, and parents are welcome to do this as well.  Student-led conferences are a great time to go through these items, as anything left at the end of the day on March 13th will be donated to charity.

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.

The next Community Coffee will take place in the school gym on Monday, March 9th at 8:30am.  Please mark your calendar, and we hope to see you there.

Student-Led Conferences will take place on Friday, March 13th from 8:30am – 4:00pm.  This is your child’s opportunity to share their learning with you, and to shine.  Conferences are for 30 minutes, and there are often up to five students in the classroom with their parents at one time.  As this is a school day, students are required to wear their school uniform.  There will be colouring pages in the Library for school siblings to wait until their conference time, but as there will be no direct adult supervision provided unfortunately we cannot have toddlers left unattended in the Library.  Please click here for the link to book your child’s Student-Led Conference time.  If you have more than one child at the school, please book a separate time for each one of your children.  Conference times are booking up quickly, so if you haven’t scheduled yours yet you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.

Our next Work Bee will take place at the school today, Saturday, March 7th from 9:00am – 2:00pm.  The weather seems to be calling for a real mixed bag – sun, rain and possibly snow, but we are still hopeful that both inside and outside work can take place at the school.  If you have any cordless gardening tools, please bring them with you to help with the outside work.  We appreciate all of your hard work!

Walkathon 2020 is on Friday, May 8!  This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, with a goal of raising $25,000!  This year we are returning to a Prize Raffle for the Walkathon Prizes.  Students will earn 1 raffle ticket for every $10 that they personally raise in pledges.  The students can then use these raffle tickets to put into the prize raffle of their choice. 

The PFA and the Grade 7 class are asking many businesses to donate prizes.  We are also asking the school families and businesses if they would consider donating a new item or cash to purchase a prize, so that we have a variety of prizes for all ages and interests.  One family has already donated a 4 pack of tickets to a very exciting tour coming to Vancouver this July!  If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact Nicola Humphreys by clicking here or call 778-227-8711.  Thank you for your consideration!

More information about Walkathon 2020, including pledge sheets, will be coming out the first week back in school after Spring Break.