On behalf of the St. Joseph’s School faculty, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year as well as welcome everyone back to school. We hope that you had a great holiday break with your family and friends. We are grateful for the many cards, sweet treats, gifts, and well wishes/prayers that we received over Christmas!
As I look back on 2019, I am so grateful for the many blessings received by our school. I want to thank you for your commitment to our school community. Please join me in having great hope and anticipation for the blessings to come in 2020. May the Lord abundantly bless you, your families, our parish, and school community during this New Year. Mary, Mother of God, pray for us! St. Joseph, pray for us!
Mission Statement “St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence,
and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.”
Just a reminder, special
Preview Nights are scheduled for Preschool, Kindergarten, and Middle School during January. During these preview nights, families will receive information on school programs and registration for the 2020-2021 school year. Please continue to read for more information about these events. In addition, a
School-Wide Open House is also scheduled in January. Our Open House provides the opportunity for families to come to school, meet staff, and visit our classrooms.
A Message from the Wesely Family Dear St. Joseph’s School Families,
We would like to gratefully acknowledge and thank you for your kind expression of sympathy and many prayers at the recent passing of our son, Matthew. Your outpouring of generosity and support is helping sustain us during this difficult time. We are truly blessed to be part of this beautiful school community. St. Joseph, pray for us!
Sincerely in Christ,
Greg and Anne Wesely and family
Registration for the 2020-21 School Year Opens in January It’s almost time to enroll for the 2020-21 school year! Current school families will be automatically re-enrolled with the required annual family registration fee applied to family TADS accounts in February. If a current family would like to delay re-enrollment, they must notify the school office by January 15th.
Current and new families interested in learning more about our school are encouraged to attend one of our January preview nights;.
Middle School Preview Night: January 9th at 6:30pm
Kindergarten Preview Night - January 14th at 6pm
Preschool Preview Night: January 23rd at 6pm
Open House: January 26th, 10am to 1pm
For additional information and/or questions about enrollment for next school year, please contact Lindsay Mayernik, Enrollment Coordinator at
limayernik@stjosephwsp.org or by calling 651-789-8315.
Middle School Preview Night - January 9 Parents of 4th and 5th grade students, and all other parents interested in learning more about St. Joseph’s Middle School, are invited to attend our Middle School Preview Night on Tuesday, January 9th at 6:30 pm in Middle School Room 111. School administration and middle school faculty will be present to share information about our middle school programs and answer questions. Classroom and school tours will also be available.
Kindergarten Preview Night – January 14 Please join school administration and faculty on Tuesday, January 14
th at 6:00 p.m. in the parish’s Great Room to learn more about our school’s Kindergarten program. Families will also tour our Kindergarten classrooms and visit with our faculty during the evening. Childcare will be available.
Preschool Preview Night – January 23 Please join us Thursday, January 23rd at 6:00pm in the Preschool Classrooms to learn more about the preschool offerings we provide for 3 & 4 year olds. Childcare will be available.
Open House – Sunday, January 26th 10:00 am – 1:00 pm St. Joseph School has scheduled an opportunity for current, prospective, and parish families to visit our school. Everyone is invited to our Preschool –Grade 8 Open House on Sunday, January 26 from 10:00am - 1:00pm. All classrooms will be open for visitors. School administration and faculty will be available to meet with you and share information about our school. If you know of a family (parish member, neighbor, relative, colleague at work) who may be interested in learning more about our school, please invite them to attend the special Open House.
St. Joe's STEM Fair – February 7, 2020 Registration deadline is January 6, 2020 Calling all scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and inventors! All students in grades 3-8 are invited to participate in our STEM Fair. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Winners of the St. Joe's STEM Fair will be able to compete in the CSCOE Big Bang STEM Fair in March. Information regarding the Fair was previously sent home in your child's Friday Folder. Middle School Science and Engineering Teacher, Miss Schafer visited the grades 3-8 classrooms to explain all the details to students.. If you have any questions, please email
elschafer@stjosephwsp.org.
STEM Fair registrations will still be accepted through January 6, 2020. A registration form is attached to this letter for your convenience. We encourage all of our students in grades 3-8 to participate in the Fair.
School Carnival Planning is underway for Carnival to be held on Friday, January 31, 2020. Carnival is a long-standing tradition at St. Joe’s and caps off an exciting Catholic Schools Week. Carnival will be held during the school day and students will have a normal school schedule from 8:40am-12:00pm followed by the start of Carnival at 12:00pm. Students are treated to lunch in their classrooms before being dismissed for Carnival.
All Preschool - 1st grade students must be accompanied by an adult or middle school student at all times throughout the Carnival. Carnival ends at 3:00pm and student will return to their classrooms to prepare for normal dismissal at 3:40pm. Please watch for more details coming out soon.
We are in need of donations for prizes at our school Carnival! After Christmas and clearance sales are a great time to pick up carnival prizes of all kinds. Prizes may be brought to the school office. (
No used items please) Please watch for volunteer opportunities for this event. Thank you for your assistance and support of the special event!
St. Joe’s Winter Socials - Now Open! St. Joe’s Winter Socials are now open! Please see the attachment below for a list and details of the Socials that are now available!
Please click here to register to attend.
Preschool Information Preschool will not be in session on Friday, January 17th and Tuesday, January 21st for Parent / Teacher Phone Conferences.
Wednesday, January 22nd Como Zoo Penguins will visit the PreKindergarten 4/5 ‘s class.
Does Your Employer Offer a Matching Gift Program? Employer matching programs are a wonderful way to maximize your donation to St. Joseph’s School. Please look into your employer programs to see if they may participate in this program. If you have any questions or need help with the process, please contact Lisa Wrobel in our school office. Thank you.
Reminders for Parents As we return to school, we would like to remind parents of the following;
Start of school day Our school day for students in grades K-8 begins at 8:40 a.m. Our school doors open at 8:30am. Please make sure your child is arriving to school and in their classroom prior to 8:40 a.m. so they are not tardy. A student’s school day begins smoothly when they are at school and in their classroom on time. In addition, students arriving late to school can be a disruption to the learning environment when they enter the classroom. Thank you for your cooperation (and your child’s cooperation) in arriving at school on time.
Morning student drop off Vehicles are to approach the school traveling on Seminole Ave. in front of the church and school buildings. Vehicles need to move forward as far as possible along Seminole Ave. when dropping off students. After students are dropped off, vehicles should continue on Seminole and only turn right at the stop sign onto Butler Ave. The line of cars moves quicker and limits congestion when vehicles only turn right. Parents need to park their vehicle in the west parking lot across from the church and walk their child across Seminole Ave. if they need to assist their child coming to the school building. For safety reasons, parents should not park on Seminole Ave. across from the school building and walk their child across the street.
Afternoon student pick up Vehicles are to enter the parking lot via the Butler entrance (north), park in the back rows of the parking lot facing the school building, and exit the parking lot via Orme Street (south past the rectory-priests’ residence). Parents are to get out of their vehicles, pick up their child, and walk them through the traffic area. Parents entering the parking lot, moving forward without parking, and having their child come to the car without parking creates confusion, a disruption in the flow of vehicles leaving the parking lot, and threatens the safety of our students and faculty. Parents should not pick up their children from Butler or Orme Streets. Please use reduced speeds and caution when exiting the parking lot. Note: Vehicles should not exit the parking lot going down the entrance driveway to Butler.
Volunteers Needed for Recess Duty - Please help
We need help for recess duty for the remaining months of school. Whether our students are outside or inside because of the weather, volunteers offer tremendous assistance in providing supervision of students. Please
click here to volunteer in January.
The Weather is Changing The cold and snowy weather have arrived in West St. Paul. Please send your children to school with their sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets, and “snow gear” including hats, scarves, and nylon gloves/mittens so your child’s hands remain dry. Please remember to
label all of your child’s clothing so that it can be returned to him/her in the event that it is misplaced or lost while at school. Our school;’s Lost and Found is located on the first floor outside of the cafeteria.
School Masses Our next school Mass will be on Friday, January 10 at 9:00 a.m. in the Church. Parents and family members are always welcome to attend our school Masses and prayer devotions during the school year.
For Your Information St. Joseph’s School is an important ministry of the Church of St. Joseph. Some of our school families are not members of the parish. In our efforts to serve all school families, our Friday Letter may at times include information about activities and events that are taking place at the Church of St. Joseph.
Middle School Youth Nights Middle School Youth Nights will be held every other week throughout the year! These nights will be held on the 1st and 3rd week of each month and will include fun, snacks, fellowship, and different types of prayer such as bible study, Adoration, and small groups. Please see the attachment for a full list of dates and times. If you have any questions, please contact Jake Debolt at
jake.debolt@churchofstjoseph.org
Regular Joes - Exodus 90 Join the Regular Joes for Exodus 90 - January 13-April 12. Please click on the link below to learn more or click on this link to download the app
https://exodus90.com/.
Click here to link to the weekly St. Joseph’s Church Bulletin
.
January Look Ahead: ° Tuesday, Jan. 7 - Confirmation Sponsor Talk: Why Be Catholic? 7-8:30pm Church (Candidates, Sponsors, and Parents) ° Thursday, Jan 9 - Middle School Preview Night 6:30pm / 5th gr. Shadow Day ° Friday, Jan. 10 - Mass 9:00am Church ° Tuesday, Jan. 13 - Kindergarten Preview Night 6:00pm Great Room ° Thursday, Jan. 16 - 9:00am Mass Church ° Friday, Jan. 17 - No School for Students, Professional Development for Staff ° Monday, Jan. 20 - No School for Students, Martin Luther King Jr. Day ° Tuesday, Jan. 21 - School IN Session - Parent Transportation ° Thursday, Jan. 23 - Preschool Preview Night 6:00pm, Preschool ° Friday, Jan. 24 - Mass 9:00am Church ° Saturday, Jan. 25 - First Reconciliation Retreat & Sacrament - Parent & 2nd Grader (Mailing will be sent with exact times) ° Sunday, Jan. 26 - Catholic Schools Week Mass 9:00 a.m. Church of St. Joseph ° Sunday, Jan. 26 - Catholic Schools Week Open House 10:00am- 1:00pm, School ° Sunday, Jan. 26 - Friday, Jan. 31- Catholic Schools Week ° Friday, Jan. 31 - Mass 9:00am Church ° Friday, Jan. 31 - Carnival