Parent Letter 5/17/19

Dear Parents,
 
Greetings from St. Joseph’s School!  Families will find included in this Friday Letter important information regarding a number of special events and information regarding the end of the 2018-2019 school year.
 
“St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence, and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.” 
 
Thank you for supporting our mission and entrusting your children to our care each day.
 
Fr. Creagan’s Deployment
Fr. Creagan is a military chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard.  He will be leaving the parish Saturday for a 90 day deployment to Afghanistan.  His return to the parish is scheduled for mid-August.
Please pray for Fr. Creagan and all men and women who are serving in the armed forces. 
 
Feast of Our Lady of Fatima – Rosary
On Monday, May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, students and faculty gathered in the Church to pray the Rosary.  Our kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grade students each did a wonderful job leading everyone in one decade of the Rosary.  During this month, a month devoted to Mary, please consider including prayers to Mary, our Mother in your prayer routines at home.  Examples include; the Rosary, the Hail Mary, the Memorare, the Hail Holy Queen, and/or the Angelus.  Mary, Queen of Heaven, pray for us!
 
MAP Assessments
NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments were mailed to parents today.  Upon receipt of your child’s assessment results, please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
 
Protection of Children and Youth Initiative (PCYI)
All diocesan schools are required to participate in personal safety and technology lessons.  These lessons are not explicit and are presented in a positive, common sense manner and will be taught in Health and Religion class during the month of May.  A permission slip for your child to attend these lessons was sent home with each student (K-8) on Tuesday, May 14.  Parents are asked to sign and return the permission slip by Monday, May 20 to school. 
 
Spring Band & Choir Concert
Congratulations to our Band and Choir students on an outstanding performance Thursday night!  It was a pleasure to see so many of you enjoying the evening!  Thank you to Mrs. Bowe and Mrs. Bachelani for all of your hard work and preparation for this concert. Our students really shined during the performance.
 
At St. Joseph’s School, we are so fortunate to be able to provide our students with high quality fine arts experiences.  Whether vocal and instrumental music (evidenced by the concert last night), world languages (at Mass today, our sixth grade students sang a very special song about the Blessed Virgin Mary in Spanish), or the visual arts (evidenced by the beautiful student art work displayed throughout our school), we are so pleased to see our students excel in these areas.  This happens because of the dedication of our faculty and the tremendous support by our school parents, grandparents, families and friends.  We would like to sincerely thank you for your support of the fine arts at our school.

Confirmation
St. Joseph’s School eighth grade students will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation on Monday, May 20 at the Cathedral in St. Paul.  Please pray for our eighth grade students as they receive this important sacrament.  We thank Ms. Rowe, the Church of St. Joseph Faith Formation Office staff, Fr. Creagan, Fr. Wratkowski, the parents of our eighth grade students, and the students’ sponsors for preparing our students to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the important sacrament.
 
Our eighth grade students are invited to attend a Confirmation Celebration with the Church of St. Joseph SJY youth group on Wednesday, May 22 in the parish’s Great Room.
 
School Mass – Friday, May 24
Please join us for our school Mass on Friday, May 24 at 9:00am in the church.  School families, friends, and members of the parish are always invited to pray with our students and faculty.  After Mass, members of School Advisory Council will recognize students for their leadership and participation in various activities.  Both individual and group accomplishments will be highlighted.
 
Members of School Leadership Groups – Thank You!  Thank You!
We would like to express our thanks to members of our school leadership groups who are completing their terms of service.  Jenny Vierzba, is our outgoing School Advisory Council Chair and Mollie Rubenzer and Bri DeLeon are our outgoing Home and School Association Co-Chairs.  We would also like to recognize and thank outgoing School Advisory Council members Chad Abbott, Roger Bailey, and Kristi Simmons.  These individuals have provided outstanding leadership to our community.  We thank you for your countless hours of service and the dedication that you have given St. Joseph’s School!
 
Box-Tops Classroom Contest
Our annual Box Tops classroom turn-in contest concluded this week!  Thanks to every family that supported this by collecting box tops.  Every box top earns 10 cents for our school and directly supports activities for our students.  We thank Gina Gergen & Jenny Vierzba for their work with this project!
 
Fitness Fun Day!
Mark your calendars!  Fitness Fun Day is scheduled for Thursday, June 5.  Students in grades K-5 will enjoy a morning of fun and games at Charles Matson Field (across from Heritage Middle School).  Afterwards, they will be treated to a lunch at school.  We will need many volunteers to make this fun St. Joe’s tradition a success.  Families should be on the lookout for a SignUp Genius soon!  If you have any questions, please contact the school office.  Go Jaguars!!!
 
No District Lunch Service
There will be no District lunch service on Thursday, June 6 ^th.  We ask that students bring a bag lunch and beverage from home.
 
District Transportation Available on Thursday June 6
There will be district transportation on Thursday, June 6 ^th both in the morning and in the afternoon.  This is an early release day for our students.  Students will be dismissed at 12:45pm.
 
Tuition Agreements
Tuition agreements have been sent out via email from TADS.  It is important that you complete your agreements by the provided deadline.  If you have any questions, please contact our school office.
 
2019-2020 Enrollment
Our school administration and faculty continue to prepare for another exciting school year.  Please continue to assist our school in increasing our student enrollment at all levels by encouraging any families you know to “come and see” our school.  We ask that you think of inviting them to school for Mass, a special event, or even just stop by for a visit.
 
We would like to remind you that there is a $500 Referral Credit available to our current school families for referring new families that register to attend St. Joseph’s School.  Families may contact Christy Frost, our Enrollment Coordinator (651-457-8550) to learn more about our programs and schedule a tour of the school.
 
Jaguar Playground and Greenspace – “FUND A NEED”
This summer includes plans to build a new play structure and enhance the green space on our school campus.  Information about this important project for our school is included on our school website.  Click here to view this exciting information!
 
Please prayerfully discern how you may be able to financially support this project allowing for work to begin in June and the project to be completed in August prior to the beginning of the new school year.  All gifts are important and will assist us in reaching our goal of $200,000 for the project.  Thank you for your generosity!  Please contact Mr. Wesely and/or Mrs. VanDiver if you have any questions or would like additional information on the project.
 
Library End of the Year Information
Please check your closets, bedrooms, family vehicles, classrooms, or wherever lost books may hide.  We have many “checked out” books that have not yet been returned to the School Library.  Please return all books as soon as possible.  Thank you for your assistance.
 
2019-2020 Important School Calendar Dates
As we work to complete the 2019-2020 School Calendar, we would like to share a few of the important dates with you.  The final calendar will be sent out shortly.

• September 3:   1^st Day of School Grades 1 – 6
• September 4:   1^st Day of School Grades 7 – 8
• September 5:   1^st Day of School Kindergarten
• December 23 - January 1:  Christmas Break
• October 16-18:  MEA No School
• March 30- April 3:  Spring Break
• April 10-13:  Easter Break
• June 4:  Last Day of School

 
2018-2019 St. Joseph’s School Yearbook
We do have a small number of extra yearbooks on order.  If you would like to reserve one, please send your payment in an envelope with your child’s name and homeroom teacher listed.  Checks should be made out to St. Joseph’s School.  We thank Mrs. Wrobel and her ‘Yearbook Helpers” for creating this beautiful keepsake of memories and pictures from an exciting 2018-2019 school year.
 
Lost and Found
Students and families are highly encouraged to check the school’s “Lost and Found” for any items that may be missing from home.  Our “Lost and Found” is located in the main entrance of the school near the office.  Unclaimed items will be donated to a clothing shelf after June 15.
 
Attendance Hotline
An important reminder to parents: please call the Attendance Hotline (651-457-3031) if your child will be absent or late.  Also, if your child is leaving early, please send a note to school so we can put them on our appointment list for teachers.  Thank you!

Just a Reminder 
Please continue to review our Friday Letters, check your child’s Family Folder, our school website, Facebook, Twitter, and the St. Joseph parish bulletin to keep updated on all the exciting happenings at St. Joseph’s School. 
  
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. 
 
Upcoming Parish Events and Information Include:                                                      
Please click the link to the bulletin for additional information and activities at the Church of St. Joseph.
 
Click here to link to the weekly St. Joseph’s Church Bulletin .
 
Important Links:
CDH Soccer Camp
CAA Flag Football
Pioneer Pathways Summer Catalog
WSP Parks & Rec Summer Flyer
 
May Calendar Look Ahead:
Please consider joining us for some of the special events at our school.

• Monday, May 20 – 8^th Grade Confirmation 7:00pm St. Paul Cathedral
• Wednesday, May 22- 8^th Grade Confirmation Celebration 7-8:30pm Great Room
• Thursday, May 23 – Preschool Spring Program 3’s 10am; 4/5’s 2pm Great Room
• Friday, May 24 – Mass 9am, Preschool Spring Program 4’s 10am Great Room
• Monday, May 27 – No School Memorial Day
• Tuesday, May 28 – School Resumes
• Tuesday, June 4 – 8^th Grade Commencement 6:30pm Church – Reception to follow
• Wednesday, June 5 – Fitness Fun Day
• Thursday, June 6- Mass 9am, Last Day of School – 12:45 Dismissal – NO District Lunch Service.  Bus service is available.