Parent Letter 9/25/20

Dear Parents,

It has been a terrific first four weeks of school!  We are so grateful to be back.  I want to thank you and our school community for doing an excellent job of welcoming our new students, their families, and our new faculty to St. Joseph’s School.

Some of my observations since we returned to school are; 

• hearing the joyful voices of children daily.
• our faculty working extremely hard managing two models of learning and the several new protocols and routines implemented for this school year. 
• prayer happening throughout the day in our classrooms, the school, and during our school Mass.  
• students are being provided numerous opportunities to grow in their faith and knowledge.
• parents are being so supportive of their children and our faculty. 
• students arriving at and leaving from school with smiles on their faces (even under their face coverings!).  

Also, just a reminder, if your student forgets their face covering, we have both masks and shields available at each of the school entrances so no need to return home to go get one!!  Thank you parents and students for all that you are doing!  Stay well everyone!

Thank You!
Our school administration and faculty want to thank you for the great communication that continues between your homes and the school regarding students and family absences and illnesses. 

Please make note of these important COVID reminders: (taken from the Center for Disease Control)

• When a person in your household is staying home with COVID symptoms or are waiting on COVID test results, all children in the household need to stay home until the tests results are back or an alternate diagnosis has been given.
• Close contacts cannot return to school or other activities outside their home until they have completed the 14-day quarantine, even if they are tested and receive a negative test result before the 14 days have passed.

We ask our families to continue to do everything possible to limit exposure and spread of the coronavirus.  Please continue to emphasize these good health practices including;

• washing hands / using hand sanitizer
• wearing face coverings
• remembering to be physically distanced when possible
• covering your coughs and sneezes

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we have already completed the first four weeks of this school year.  St. Joseph, pray for us!  Go Jaguars!!

NWEA MAP Assessments

Students in grades 2-8 are completing the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments next week.  The students are completing mathematics and reading assessments.  Assessment results will be sent to families in October.  We thank Mrs. Budge for coordinating and facilitating the assessments with our teachers for our students.

Uniform Dress Code

Families are reminded that all students are expected to be following our school’s uniform dress code.  This includes:

• Uniforms should fit properly and be in good repair.
• Socks should be white or dark (navy or black).  A small logo in white or black is permitted.  No-show socks are not allowed.  Socks are to be visible.
• Belts need to be worn by any student wearing shorts or pants.  Belts can be leather, cloth, or braided but should be dark in color.
• Skirt length should be no more than four inches above the back of the knee.  Please refrain from rolling up skirts at the waistband.
• Only sweatshirts, vests, and pullovers labeled with St. Joseph’s School may be worn during the school day.  Spirit wear clothing and community sweatshirts may be worn to and from school and at recess only

Thank you for your cooperation in assisting your students with following our uniform dress code.

School Picture Day

Monday, October 5th is school picture day for all students PreK - 8.  Students will be out of uniform for their picture day.  Please click here to order your child’s picture package.  All orders will be placed online through Lifetouch. St. Joseph’s School Picture Day ID is EVTZNF9GQ.

Middle School Technology Update
We had Christmas in September this past Wednesday when the new Middle School laptops were distributed!  Many students stated that "This was the best day of school ever!" The day was filled with many smiles, eager anticipation, and appreciation from our Middle School students at the opportunity to use this technology daily in their classes.   

Reminder that Educate is now open for all Middle School parents and students.  Returning parents should use their username and password from last year to see their child's grades.  A letter was sent home with students new to the Middle School with information on how parents can access the system.  Please contact Mrs. Bruce lobruce@stjosephwsp.org with any questions or with issues accessing Educate.

School Mass
Today, our students, faculty, and community were led in the celebration for the Mass by Fr. Creagan.  Our middle school students and faculty attended the Mass in person.  The Mass was live streamed to our classrooms for students in grades K-5 and our school families.  Holy communion was distributed at the end of the Mass to our students and faculty in the church and in their classrooms.

Today, Fr. Creagan said a special votive Mass for St. Joseph, our patron saint.  During the Mass he shared information about St. Joseph mentioning that the Church of St. Joseph is beginning a Consecration to St. Joseph next week on September 30.  The thirty-three day consecration will end on November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints.  Please see the information at the end of this letter or visit the parish website for more information and details about the consecration.  I invite you to join me in participating in and completing the consecration.

Our school Masses are typically scheduled for Friday.  As we continue through the year, our students and faculty will be attending the Mass in person following the parish’s established guidelines and protocols to do so safely.  The following schedule has been created with Fr. Creagan;

• October 2 - grades 4 and 5
• October 9 - grades 2 and 3
• October 16 - No School for students and staff
• October 23 - Kindergarten and grade 1
• October 30 - plans are to have two Masses to allow for more students and faculty to attend in person

At this time, our school Masses are not open to family members.  Please plan to join us in prayer for our next Mass on Friday, October 2 at 9:00 a.m.  You may view the Mass live streamed on the Church of St. Joseph website; www.churchofstjoseph.org.  

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Plans have been finalized for our PreK4/5s through grade 5 students to safely participate in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program beginning the week of October 5.  Students from each classroom in small groups will visit an atrium for instruction, prayer, and reflection.  We thank Director of Catechesis & Formation Christina Stokman, and Catechists Katy Lasure, Teri Jackson, and Jennifer Thompson for instructing our students while they visit the Atrium each week.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a unique method of faith formation that our parish offers to our school children on a weekly basis.  This method strives to proclaim the message of Jesus to children by presenting the mysteries of our faith in a Montessori learning environment which incorporates beauty and silence in a prepared setting called the atrium.  We look forward to having our students grow in their relationship with Jesus through attending Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Preschool News
Our Preschool has been a very happy and busy place!  Here are a few things that have been happening in PreK!

PreK 3’s

*Created a friendship paper doll with lots of different items.

*Finger painted with a friend.

PreK 4s

*Played a game to learn one anothers names.

*Had a puzzle matching activity and created a friendship bracelet with a partner.

*Did an experiment called Milk Magic.

PreK 4/5s

*Created a huge friendship chain that went almost the length of our classroom.

*Made a melted crayon out of broken crayons.

*Chant: 5 Little Friends

*We started our Letter curriculum and met letter F for Francy Fish from our Zoo-phonics.

St. Joseph’s School Spiritwear Orders
Our Home and School Association has put together another Spiritwear Sale that will run October 2nd-9th.  They will have a selection of t-shirts, sweatshirts and face coverings.  Please watch for a link to this sale next week.  You will receive an email from our school office with information on placing your order online.  

St. Joseph’s School Gala
The St. Joseph's Gala is our largest annual fundraising event.  It's an opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the legacy of our school and raise money for its continued education of our children in Christ.  When discussing the events of 2020 and how we could approach Gala this year, it became even more clear how much our community depends on each other.  We all look forward to the night of Gala and we want to keep that "normalcy" intact as much as we're able to.  

That said, this year's Gala 2020 will be held as scheduled on December 5th.  The event will be virtually, with opportunities for smaller community gatherings that evening.  Please start making your plans to attend and participate in this special community event.

Now more than ever, we are looking for sponsors to help us meet our fundraising goals.  If you are interested in sponsoring this event or know of businesses that might be interested, please email rachael.amarante@gmail.com.

No District Food Service or Transportation - October 14
St. Joseph’s School is in session on October 14th.  ISD 197 is not in session and for that reason there will not be bus transportation or food service provided.  Please plan transportation to and from school accordingly.  Please send a lunch and beverage from home for your student.

Parent Letters / Attendance Communication
All non-emergency communications will come home on Fridays in this parent letter.  Parent letters will only be sent out by email every Friday (or the last day of the school week.)  Friday Letters may be found on the school website, www.stjosephwsp.org.  

Teachers may be reached via the school’s voice mail system at (651-457-8550) or their email account by using the first two letters of their first name followed, without a space, by their last name (ex.. grwesely@stjosephwsp.org).  When leaving a message, remember teachers may not be available to return calls/emails until the end of the day.  

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”. 
 

“St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence, and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.”
 

Our mission is recited at the beginning of each day during our morning announcements as well as at the beginning of various meetings.  Thank you for your support in carrying out our school’s mission.

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.

The Consecration to our Beloved Patron, St. Joseph
Join St. Joseph School families and parishioners for a 33 day Preparation for Consecration to St. Joseph.  Please click here for more information.

Important Upcoming Dates:

Friday, Oct. 2 - Mass 9:00am Virtual
Monday, Oct. 5 - School Picture Day PreK-8, Out of Uniform
Wednesday, Oct. 14 - No District Food Service or Transportation
Thursday, Oct. 15 & Friday Oct. 16 - No School  MN Education (MEA) 

Please click here to view our St. Joseph's Church weekly Bulletin.