Holiday Letter from the Minister of Education
Christmas Letter from the Principal
Dear Parents, please find attached the Christmas Letter that was emailed out to families on December 15th.
St. Bernadette Newsletter December 9th, 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
• Mass for Students Only
• Spirit Week
• Christmas Concert
• Charitable Donations
• Chalice Toy Sale
• Message from St. Bernadette Parish (Confession and Communion)
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE
• Dec. 10th – Christmas Concert (posted on our YouTube Channel at 6pm: https://youtu.be/EVhri8SNWkM)
• Dec. 14th – 18th – Spirit Week and Chalice Toy Sale
• Dec. 18th – Early Dismissal (11:50 LG2 and LG4, 12pm LG1 and LG3)
• Dec. 18th – Reports go home
• Dec. 18th – Stingers club after school until 2:30pm. This is only for families who are registered for Stingers club and they must contact Sheila Vader prior to Dec. 18th to attend.
MASS FOR STUDENTS ONLY
On Monday Dec. 7th, the school received the following message from the Superintendent of Catholic Schools:
Regarding our inquiry about faith-based services, the document specifically states that “faith-based services for students are allowed to continue in independent schools as they would be considered part of students’ educational program. However, all religious in-person gatherings and worship services for the broader community are currently suspended under the updated provincial order.” Therefore, Masses and other faith services within a cohort in school facilities, while observing all safety and health guidelines, are permitted.
Based on this news, we are happy to announce that all students will attend Mass during the last week of school. Fr. Paul and Fr. Sajy have agreed to host Mass for each Learning Group (Cohort) from Monday to Thursday. We understand that this is also Spirit Week, a time when students can dress up. We ask that on the day that your child attends Mass, if they can have a jacket to wear overtop of their spirit wear.
Monday – Gr. 6 & 7
Tuesday – Gr. 4 & 5
Wednesday – Gr. 2 & 3
Thursday – K & Gr. 1
SPIRIT WEEK
We will once again be hosting our annual Spirit Week from December 14th – 18th. Similar to all other aspects of schooling this year, Spirit Week will be done to comply with our health and safety plan. Students will have opportunities to partake in decorating contest, trivia and an elf scavenger hunt. Here are the themes for each day (all days are non-uniform):
Monday Dec. 14th – Christmas PJ Day
Tuesday Dec. 15th – Class Colour Day – teachers will notify families of which colour they will be wearing
Wednesday Dec. 16th – Favourite Christmas Character Day
Thursday Dec. 17th – Ugly Sweater Day
Friday Dec. 18th – Christmas Colour Day – wear Red, Green and/or White
CHARITABLE DONATIONS
Thank you for the generosity you have shown to those less fortunate. To dates we have donated to three organizations – St. Vincent De Paul Society, Holy Childhood Association and Covenant House. We have already reported on the tremendous outpouring of donations for St. Vincent De Paul Society. You also contributed $1155.30 to the Holy Childhood Association and $433.35 to Covenant House. Thank you for your donations and support. Our last charity campaign for 2020 will be Chalice.
CHALICE SALE
Grade 6 students are once again sponsoring the annual gently used Christmas sale from December 14 – 18. All items will be priced from $0.50 to $5.00. This is a great time for students to buy Christmas presents for family and friends.
All proceeds will benefit Chalice, a Catholic charitable organisation based in Nova Scotia with sites all over the world devoted to the health, education and well-being of children.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
We are excited to have our annual Christmas Concert happen virtually tomorrow at 6pm on our YouTube Channel. It is our hope that you are able to make it a special event for your child. Get together on the couch, pour some hot chocolate, make some popcorn and enjoy the concert. Please make sure you bookmark our YouTube channel so it is easy for you to access tomorrow at 6pm – https://youtu.be/EVhri8SNWkM
ST. BERNADETTE PARISH – CONFESSIONS
Saturday, Dec. 12 10:00am – 11:30am and 2:00pm – 5:00pm. Please wear a mask and maintain social distance at all times. Confessions are also available by appointment at this time. Please contact Father Paul at 604-596-0566 to schedule a convenient time to receive this sacrament.
ST. BERNADETTE PARISH – RECEIVE COMMUNION
Even though the church may be closed, we invite parishioners to come to the church parking lot, by car, immediately after participating in the livestream Mass on Sundays from 11am to 11:30am. at home. Everyone wishing to receive is asked to follow these instructions:
• Follow the direction of the ushers who will be monitoring the flow and show you where to go
• Stay in the car
• Wear a face mask
• Sanitize your hands
• Roll down your window when you get to the station for Holy Communion. Extend your arm toward the priest or EMHC and prepare to receive the Holy Eucharist in your hand. Pull your mask down and consume the Host before driving off.
• Feel free to drive to a parking spot for a time of thanksgiving.
St. Bernadette Newsletter December 2nd, 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
• Advent
• Lights of Hope Update
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE
• Dec. 10th – Christmas Concert (posted on our YouTube Channel at 6pm)
• Dec. 14th – 18th – Spirit Week (TBA)
• Dec. 18th – Early Dismissal (11:50 LG2 and LG4, 12pm LG1 and LG3)
• Dec. 18th – Reports go home
• Dec. 18th – Stingers club after school until 2:30pm. This is only for families who are registered for Stingers club and they must contact Sheila Vader prior to Dec. 18th to attend.
ADVENT
This week marks the first week of Advent. It is an exciting time as it marks the start of a new liturgical year and also the count down to the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In a typical year we would be attending Mass every week, however, at this time, we are told that this is not possible. Mass is a large part of who we are as a Catholic School. We take direction from the Archbishop and the Superintendent when it comes to our involvement in Mass and para-liturgical celebrations. Until new directions are given, we will not be allowed to celebrate Mass in the Church or the school. I ask that you find opportunities at home to celebrate the coming of Christ and to find opportunities to join Mass online. St. Bernadette’s has a feed that you can join every Sunday.
LIGHTS OF HOPE UPDATE
Many thanks to Mr. Victor Naval and his band of merry men who worked very hard on creating this year’s Lights of Hope Display.
We are into the third week of our Lights of Hope campaign and we are currently just over $2000 in donations. This is once again an amazing outpouring of generosity. Our school is so thankful for all the donations and pledges that have come our way. We are so blessed to have such a supportive and generous school community.
The deadline for lightbulb purchases is Wednesday, December 9, and all donations received prior to December 2nd will be represented in our video of the Lights of Hope Celebration. Donations received after December 2nd will still have their light bulb put up, prayer intentions blessed by Father Paul, but they will not appear in the video.
This year, we are doing things a little different to ensure everyone’s safety. Instead of each student getting prayer cards to sell, donations can be made through the parish’s online platform similar to our Walkathon. Christmas light bulbs can be purchased for $5.00 each and represents your prayer intention. Students do not have to keep track of their sales as there is no minimum or maximum for how much you are to sell. Tax receipts will not be provided for this fundraiser. Please ensure that your billing address matches that on your credit card or the payment will not go through. All we ask is that you please participate in this event to your best ability and support it in the best way you can.
Here are the steps:
1) To donate, go to: https://www.stbernadette.ca/donate
2) Select or type in the amount you’d like to donate
3) Select Designation: P93 School Lights of Hope
4) Type in your prayer intentions in the comment box
We are thankful for the donations that have come in thus far. This might be our last major fundraiser for the school year. All proceeds will go towards a last push to get the much needed Chromebooks in the hands of our students. We are very close to our goal and we hope to reach it through this fundraiser.
Thank you again for all your support in this meaningful and blessed event.