St. Joseph's School Parent Letter
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A Message from Principal Rickbeil
Thank you to everyone who came to one of our events this past week: Oktoberfest, the 9/11 Salute to First Responders, and curriculum night. This week’s video is a slide show of our Oktoberfest celebration, compiled by our own Hazel Jordan. Thank you to all of our volunteers that made this event possible so that we could celebrate together as a community.
I was thrilled by the response of so many local emergency responders to our 9/11 salute this week. We had 21 emergency vehicles take part in our procession around the school! I look forward to continuing this event for many years to come, as it is the least we can do to show our gratitude to so many individually who selflessly serve our community each day. Have a wonderful weekend!
All School Raffle
It is time to kick off our ‘all-school fundraiser’ – the 2024-2025 School Raffle! Raffle tickets went home with all of our K-8 students today.
The real annual cost of educating a student at St. Joseph at approximately $8,000. Every student’s tuition of $6,150 is reduced through various fundraising efforts and the generous support of the parish. For this reason, we ask each of our students and families to participate in this important fundraiser.
Important Notes:
- This is the only ‘school-wide’ fundraiser for our students this year.
- 100% of the proceeds benefit St. Joseph School. Total goal is $85,000.
- Tickets are $20.00 each (game of chance, not tax-deductible)
- 1st prize is $10,000 Cash!
- 2nd prize is $3,000 Cash!
- 3rd prize is $1,000 Cash!
- Students are asked to sell a minimum of 10 tickets each ($200), or 25 tickets ($500) per family.
Please help us to meet or exceed our goal!
School Website
We are in the process of updating our school website. It is likely that you will see changes to the website in a variety of phases. Thank you for your patience as we complete this project. Please contact the school office if you have any questions.
Spirit Wear Day - September 27
We will have our first spirit wear day on Friday, September 27th. Students should plan to wear their spirit wear shirts.
Bottoms should be as follows: Jeans (no rips or tears), loose fitting sweat pants or athletic pants. Leggings and yoga pants may not be worn.
Shorts may be worn April 1 - October 31. Shorts must be loose fitting and must have a length of mid-thigh or longer.
We have not had a spirit wear sale yet this year. If your child does not have spirit wear yet, they may wear a shirt that is orange or black.
RaiseRight Home & School Fundraiser
Why are we launching another fundraiser? To help streamline the number of fundraisers Home & School asks for your participation in while increasing the opportunities for us to support activities for your student(s) and their teachers like Grade Level Get-Togethers, Carnival and Field Trip opportunities!
How does it work? Buy gift cards for their full value from 750+ Brands to use for your everyday purchases. Your purchase of an e-gift card or a physical gift card sent directly to you (many reloadable) means St. Joe’s can receive up to 20% (amount varies by retailer) of your purchase sent directly to St. Joe's Home & School Association. You can watch in the app or online as your support for St. Joe's grows over the year!
RaiseRight regularly runs additional bonuses with brands each week. Their “Raise Days” on September 19-20th is fast approaching. For two days only, 100+ brands will have additional fundraising percentages! Those that are signed up can have a sneak peak of all the brands with bonuses on Wednesday, September 18th.
Please sign up at this link to help support your student(s) and their amazing teachers!
Lego Robotics for Grades 5-8
Lego Robotics will begin on Monday, September 16th from 3:15 - 5:00. In the first few weeks of Robotics, we will learn how to create attachments and learn to program them for use. We have been told some sports conflict with Monday afternoons but don't let this prevent anyone from being on the team. Reach out to Mrs. Wilcox if this may pertain to you. We will have two Saturday morning (9:00 - 11:30) practices a month, the first being September 28th. We are looking forward to a fun, successful year!
Mother & Son Dance - Save the Date!
Please join us on Saturday, September 28 6:30-9:00pm for our Mother & Son Dance. Mom’s please invite the special “sons” in your life to this wonderful event. We will have a fun evening of music, dancing and games. This event will be held in the Msgr. Foran Great Room. Cost will be $20 per Mom and includes a dessert and refreshment. Please click here to register.
Parent Volunteers - Virtus Requirement Prior to Volunteering
We are very excited to welcome our parents into the building to volunteer. We have many opportunities throughout the year where we will invite parents and grandparents in to share their time and talents with us. All Catholic Schools in MN require that all employees, and volunteers who interact with minors, are required to complete and maintain safe environment credentials through the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The program through the Arch is called Virtus.
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.
Some existing accounts have been placed in an inactive mode if you have not volunteered recently. If that has happened and you are interested in becoming reactivated, or if you have any questions, please contact Lisa Wrobel liwrobel@stjosephwsp.org.
To ensure successful completion of the requirements, follow the information below before creating your VIRTUS account. If you have an existing VIRTUS account, contact Lisa Wrobel liwrobel@stjosephwsp.org for assistance so your account can be updated prior to login.
Home & School Association
Our Home & School Association works hard to help us coordinate volunteers. Below you will find 2 SUG to help coordinate volunteers for recess helpers and lunchroom helpers! Thank you all so much for coordinating this for our school!
Boys Scouts- 1st Pack Meeting September 17th 6:30pm Cafeteria
Cub Scout Pack 9198 would like to welcome children grades Kindergarten-5th grade. Please click here to learn more!
School Mass – Wednesdays at 9:00am. Our School Masses will typically be on Wednesdays at 9:00am. We welcome family members to join us for our school masses. For the first month of school as we are getting our students refreshed and, in the routine, students will remain seated with their homeroom classes. Family members may sit towards the back of the church in areas not assigned to classes. Beginning Wednesday, September 25th students may sit with a family member during mass and should return to their teacher following communion.
Important Dates 2024-2025 School Year
Please click here to view the important dates for the 2024-2025 school year.
Please click here to view The Church of St. Joseph Website or view the Church Bulletin by clicking here.