St. Joseph's School Parent Letter

A Message from Principal Rickbeil
In this week’s video, Mr. Rickbeil speaks about the importance of living in joy in school and during the season of Advent, and gives a 2-minute book review of Living Joy by Chris Stefanick,  the best book he’s read this past year.

All School Raffle
Our All School Raffle will begin next week!  The All School Raffle is one of our largest fundraisers of the school year and for that reason we ask that each of our students and families participate in the important fundraiser.  All of our students will bring home a pack of 10 raffle tickets with an information sheet next week.   Christmas break is a great time to sell raffle tickets to family and friends.  Prizes this year are all CASH!  

1st Prize is $10,000
2nd Prize is $3,000
3rd Prize is $1,000

The raffle drawing will be done on February 2nd at Carnival via live stream.  We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up Catholic Schools Week!

Please check your child’s backpack next week for the envelope with raffle tickets and instructions.  Please note all unsold raffle tickets must be returned to school.  Thank you for your support.

Enrollment for 2024-2025 and Important Financial Aid / Scholarship Deadlines
Thank you for entrusting your children to us and being an important member of the St. Joseph’s School community.  Enrollment has begun for the 2024-2025 school year.  Current school students currently in grades K - 7 will be automatically re-enrolled with the required annual family registration fee applied to family TADS accounts in February.  All preschool, incoming kindergarten or transfer students must apply by clicking here for the next school year.    

Financial Aid and Aim Higher Scholarship deadline is February 23, 2024.  Please note that you are required to apply each year for both financial aid and the Aim Higher Scholarship.  Please do not miss these deadlines.  The Scholarships Section of the Aim Higher Foundation website also provides resources for you, including deadlines, links to TADS, flyers in Spanish and English, an extensive FAQ list, and more.  

For additional information and/or questions about enrollment for next school year, or if you would like to delay re-enrollment, please contact Lindsay Mayernik, Enrollment Coordinator at limayernik@stjosephwsp.org by January 5th, 2024.

Prek - 2 Christmas Concert 
December 19^th – PreK-2 Christmas Concert
Grades PreK-2 will perform on December 19^th at 6:30pm in the Church.  Students should arrive at 6:20pm and find their teacher in the church.  Teachers are not in the church before 6:20pm.

Festive Sweater Day – December 20
Students and staff will have a fun day celebrating by wearing their favorite festive sweater! Students may be out of uniform for this day provided they are wearing a festive sweater or shirt.  We do require that students remain modest by wearing loose pants or jeans.   If your child is not wearing a festive sweater, they should wear their school uniform.  Students may not be out of uniform unless they are participating in the festive dress attire.

Christmas Concerts and Art Display-  Thank you!
Thank you to Mrs. Bowe, Mrs. Carlson along with their band, choir and middle school students for a wonderful Christmas performance on Thursday evening.  

Thank you to Mrs. Bowe and our K - 2 students for a wonderful Senior Citizen Christmas Concert on Friday afternoon.  This is a wonderful tradition for our students and the St. Joseph community.  A special thank you to our Home & School Association and the many parent volunteers and donations that make this event so special. 

Thank you to Mrs, Lamusga and the wonderful student artists that have created such a beautiful display in the Church.  We are grateful for the parent volunteers for helping Mrs. Lamusga to  make this display possible.

Gala Save the Date - New Date Announced
Our Gala date has changed!  The St. Joseph’s Gala will be held on Saturday, April 6th, 2024 at the Omni Hotel.  Please mark your calendars with this important date change. Please watch for more information in the weeks to come.

Report Card Signature Page Reminder
As a reminder, a parent signature page was provided to each student.  Once you have reviewed your child’s report card, please return the signature page to school.  If you need an additional copy, please let your child’s teacher know.

SHINE ON  - A Showcase of Catholic School Talent
Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE)  is hosting their annual SHINE ON Competition for Catholic School students.  Please click here to learn more about how your child can participate.

 St. Joseph’s School Swim Team Registration - Now Open!
St. Joseph’s School Swim Team Registration is now open.  Our swim team is open to students in grades K-8.   Swim Team practice will be held primarily Friday evenings 6-7pm and Sunday afternoons 1-3pm.  The Season will run January-March.  Please click here to register.  Registration will close on December 20.

The Jaguar Spot: St. Joseph's Spirit Wear Online Store
The Jaguar Spot is St. Joseph's Spirit Wear Store located next to the Gym and will be open the following dates in December:
Mon, Dec 18th: 2:30-3:20
Or Email jaguarspiritwear@gmail.com for an appointment.

https://st-josephs-school-102030.square.site/

NEW! Crew Carwash Christmas Fundraiser
St. Joe's Home & School is pleased to announce the start of our NEW Crew Carwash Christmas Fundraiser! Throughout the month of December, purchase any e-wash (Basic, Basic Plus, or Ultimate) and 50% of the proceeds will go directly back to our school! 

To purchase, click here. You will then be sent a confirmation email with a link to an actual gift certificate which you can then use yourself OR email directly to a gift recipient OR print out and wrap-up to give in person. Car washes make AMAZING Christmas gifts, especially for those hard-to-buy folks on your list. Know other people who love a good car wash? Feel free to share the link with them, too! 

Remember: All of the proceeds raised through Home & School fundraisers go directly to funding field trips, community spirit events, teacher appreciation initiatives and MORE! We couldn't do it without your support. Thank you!

Lost and Found
Our lost and found is very full.  Please stop in and look for lost items and remind your students to go and look for their things.  Everything has been organized so it is very easy to find items.  We have several uniform items, gym uniforms, winter items etc. in the lost and found.  Many items that were labeled were delivered back to the students today.  All of the items currently in the lost and found are not labeled.  Please help us help your children locate their missing items by labeling them.  The lost and found will remain up until we leave for Christmas Break.  Any items left at that time will be donated.  Thank you to Sophia Paramo and Audrey Wenner for organizing all of our lost and found items!

If you are looking for a great way to label your children's things, please visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com and type in St. Joseph's Catholic School (West St. Paul) into the search bar. Shipping is FREE and 20% of your purchase will go directly back to St. Joe's! So avoid digging through the Lost & Found - get Mabel's Labels today!

St. Joseph’s Home and School Association   
Recess Helpers Wanted!  Click HERE to sign up.  Lunchroom Helper Wanted! Click HERE to sign up.

If you are a new volunteer and have never completed your Virtus Training, please click here and follow the instructions.  If you are an existing volunteer and need to update your account (updates are required every 3 years), please click here for instructions.  

Please click here to view The Church of St. Joseph Website or view the Church Bulletin by clicking here.

• Tuesday, December 19 - Christmas Concert 6:30pm Church (Prek-2)
• Wednesday, December 20 - Festive Sweater Day - Mass 8:45am
• Thursday, December 21 - Monday January 1 - No School - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
• Tuesday, January 2 - No School Teacher Workshops
• Wednesday, January 3 - School Resumes - Mass 8:45am
• Friday, January 5 - Spirit Wear Day