Parent Letter 11/5/21

Dear Parents, 

Hello from St. Joseph's School!  As we complete another week of school, our students and faculty have had another wonderful week of prayer, teaching, and learning.  Please continue to read and review this Friday Letter to keep updated on all of the happenings at school.  Thank you for your prayers and support as we continue through this school year. 

Mrs. Cathi Budge 
Thank you faculty, staff, students and families for helping us to celebrate and thank, Mrs. Cathi Budge for her years of beautiful service at our school.   We wish her well and all the best to her family.  

School Leadership Team  (SLT)
As previously announced the new School Leadership Team was established to both assist in evaluating the current administrative model of the school, but also make a broader assessment of the overall school's health, staffing and direction.

SLT Members include:

·   Patrick Menke, Parish Administrator, SLT Chairperson

  patrick.menke@churchofstjoseph.org; 651.789.8349

·   Greg Wesely, Principal

grwesely@stjosephwsp.org; 651.457-8550

·   Tom Gagliardi, Advisor

togagliardi@stjosephwsp.org; 651.457-8550

We encourage you to reach out to any of the members with questions or comments.

Tom Gagliardi will be onsite fulltime beginning next Monday, November 8^th both assisting Mr. Wesely with some practical administrative needs, but primarily meeting with faculty, staff and others, while helping with our assessment.  The length of his service is still to be determined.

A confidential Parent Survey will be forthcoming in the next week to provide an opportunity for direct input from the primary educators of the students we serve, our parents.

Weekly Updates will be provided within the Friday Letter.

COVID-19 Update 
St. Joseph’s School has had 3 lab confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 to report during this week of school.  To date we have had a total of 5 COVID-19 positive cases in our school.  State law requires our school to continue to report to the Minnesota Department of Health any cases of lab confirmed COVID-19 that occur among students or staff in our building.  In addition, the Archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis requires Catholic schools to report a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 in a student or employee associated with our school each week.  

Archdiocese Communication Regarding the Approach to Vaccination of School Age Children in Catholic Schools
“As with all vaccines, Catholic schools of the Archdiocese recognize that vaccination of school-age children is a decision of parents and guardians and is not mandated by Catholic schools.  Parents and guardians make healthcare decisions for their children.  As with all healthcare decisions, parents and guardians of students in our Catholic schools should carefully weigh the risks and benefits in consultation with their healthcare provider. 

We encourage you to meet with your child’s primary care provider in an effort to make an informed decision in light of your child’s particular health history, risks, and benefits associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.  Our school remains vigilant and focused on ensuring our students receive the essential service of an in-person education and a place of encounter with Jesus Christ.”

We are very grateful to our school families, teachers, and school staff for working together as we continue through the school year.  Please know that we continue to have our COVID strategies in place to mitigate any spread of the virus.

Welcome Karen Chamberlain! 
We are pleased to welcome Karen Chamberlain to our school faculty as our Kindergarten-Grade 5 Instructional Assistant.  She will be assisting teachers, working with students, assisting with supervising students at recess, facilitating the Library for grades K-2, and as well as “all other duties as assigned”.  Please join me in welcoming Karen to our faculty. 

Veterans Day Concert - Thursday November 11                                                               St. Joseph School will have a Veterans Day Concert on Thursday, November 11th at 7:00p.m. in the gymnasium.  A rehearsal of the concert will be held at 2:00p.m.  Students in grades 3, 4, and 5, under the direction of Mrs. Bowe, have been preparing songs for this concert, “Oh, I Love America”.  We would like to invite all family and friends to attend the concert as we honor and thank our veterans.  All service men and women are encouraged to wear their uniform.  We hope you are able to attend.

Culver’s Restaurant Night - Save the Date Monday, November 8  5:00- -7:00pm     
Please join us for our November restaurant night at Culver’s in West St. Paul on Monday, November 8 5:00-7:00pm.  Please make sure to mention that you are there for St. Joseph’s School and show them this flyer and a percentage of your purchase will be donated to our school!  We thank Mollie Rubenzer and our Home and School Association for coordinating this event and all of our restaurant nights during the school year!

Lifetouch Picture Day
School pictures are scheduled for Monday,  November 15.   This will be an out-of-uniform day.   Lifetouch is looking for parent volunteers to help line up the students and assist the photographers.  Volunteers receive a free picture package for their child.  Please email Lisa Wrobel liwrobel@stjosephwsp.org  if you are interested.  If you have already ordered your pictures online,  do not need to re-order.  If you have not previously ordered, You may place your picture order online at mylifetouch.com and enter our Picture Day ID:  EVTXTZRKK 

Give to the Max 2021
Mark your calendars!  Give to the Max 2021 is on Thursday, November 18.  Give to the Max is a virtual, statewide giving event which St. Joseph’s School has participated in for many years.  We are grateful for the financial support provided by our community to our school through this annual event.

St. Joseph’s School Gala 2021 - Save the Date: Saturday, December 4
The St. Joseph's Gala is our largest annual fundraising event of the school year.  Gala 2021 will be an in-person event held at the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront on Saturday, December 4, 2021.   Please start making your plans to attend and participate in this special event.  Please consider inviting family and friends to join you. 

Gala Seating:  Electronic invitations to our upcoming Gala have been sent out to school parents in the last week.  We hope that you will be able to join us for this fun night together.  As you make plans for attending, please make note of how seating has traditionally worked.  Those attending are able to purchase individual tickets or a full table of 10.  If a particular group of parents would like to sit together, we encourage you to consider having one of the parties purchase the table and make arrangements for (re)payment.  If you are purchasing individual tickets, we will simply assign you to a particular table; OR if there is a particular table or group that you would prefer being assigned to, please let us know by sending a preference request to Katherine.Walcher@gmail.com.  We especially encourage you to consider purchasing a table and inviting friends, family, alumni, and former parents to join you to support the great cause of Catholic education at St. Joseph School.

Ticket Sales are now open -please click here to purchase tickets. 

Our Gala Committee is now seeking auction donations.  ASign Up Genius has been created to help organize and coordinate the donations.  Please click here to view some of the requested items along with the opportunity to sign up!  Thank you for your support of our St. Joseph’s Gala!  

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Katie Sullivan Katherine.Walcher@gmail.com or Sophia Paramo sophia.rodriguez.2012@gmail.com

School Mass
Our next school Mass will be on Friday, November 12 at 9:00 a.m. in the Church.  Parents, grandparents, family members are always welcome to attend our school Masses and prayer devotions during the school year.

Pianist Requested
Do you or someone you know have experience playing the piano?  Mrs. Bowe is seeking individuals who may be interested in assisting at our school Masses by playing the piano.  The pianist would allow Mrs. Bowe to support our student cantors singing the prayers and parts of the Mass.  Please contact Mrs. Bowe at bebowe@stjosephwsp.org if you would like more information about assisting at Mass.  Thank you for your consideration and/or sharing this opportunity with others.

Thank you Mrs. Weimer!
Thank you to Cheryl Weimer for updating our planters and garden space around our St. Joseph statue.  We are so grateful for your continued work on keeping our entrance seasonal and beautiful!

Volunteers Needed for Recess Supervision & Home and School Association Information
Our school is looking for assistance with supervising our students during their recess 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 November & December.

Thank you to the many volunteers who make up our H & S Association!  Please click here to view the minutes from the October meeting.  

Attendance Communication
Our Attendance Hotline is 651-457-3031.  If your child is going to be absent or late due to a morning appointment, please leave a message on the “Hotline”. 

Hot Lunch Menu
November Menu

The Weather is Changing
As fall weather is fast approaching, it is a good time to start sending your children to school with sweaters, sweatshirts, and jackets. It can be very cool at the bus stops and on the playground.  

Please note that sweaters, sweatshirts or pullovers worn by students in their classrooms must follow our uniform dress code.  Clothing items, other than St. Joseph’s uniform, are not to be worn in the classrooms.  Please remember to label all of your child’s clothing so that it can be returned to them in the event that it is misplaced or lost while at school. The last day to wear shorts is October 29.

Mission

“St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence,

and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.”

 

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. 

LECTIO DIVINA
Reading, Praying, Studying, Sharing the Word of God
Tuesday, November 9, 23 and December 7 - Msgr. Foran Great Room
Two Sessions Available: 8:30-10:30 AM and 6:30-8:30PM
No pre registration required.  Join us as you are able to encounter Jesus in Holy Scripture.
Douglas Bushman, Director of Parish Mission and Formation, will lead this beautiful series.

St. Joseph Church Bulletin

November Look Ahead:

• Thursday, November 11 - Grades 3-4-5 Concert  2:00 pm Rehearsal, 7:00 pm Concert
• Friday, November 12 -  Mass 9:00am
• Monday, November 15 - School Picture Day (Students may be out of Uniform)
• Thursday, November 18 - Give to the Max Day!
• Friday, November 19 - Thanksgiving Mass 9:00am 
• Tuesday, November 23 - End of Trimester 1  Mass 9:00 a.m.
• Wednesday November 24 - Friday November 26 - No School, Happy Thanksgiving!
• Monday, November 29 - Trimester 2 Begins