Dear Parents,
Today, we complete the first month of the school year. It has been a terrific month with many special activities taking place that have provided the opportunity for our students to grow in their faith and knowledge. It has been great to see everyone get back into the school routine. Our school community has done an excellent job of welcoming our new students and their families to our school. Thank you for getting off to a great beginning!
In our Catholic Church, October is recognized as the Month of the Rosary. The rosary is one of the most loved devotions in the Catholic Church and dates back to the Middle Ages when a practice developed of praying the Hail Mary on a set of beads. The rosary honors Mary, who praised God for looking upon her, his servant. During this month, we will be sharing information about the Rosary with our students and praying the Rosary at school. We encourage you and your family to consider taking the time to pray the Rosary as a family. Mary, Queen of the Rosary, pray for us!
Our students and staff will begin this month by praying the Rosary on Monday, October 1 at 9:00 a.m. in the Church. Fr. Wratkowski will lead everyone in prayer. Families are invited to attend and pray with us.
Are you or family members interested in sharing your time and talent with the St. Joseph’s School? Please watch for opportunities to volunteer at our school in the Friday Letter, email blasts, and with Sign Up Genius.
Just a Reminder - No School There will be no school for students on Friday, October 5
th. Our faculty will have a professional development day.
Enjoy the long weekend.
Marathon Marathon is an important school community event that raises funds for our school to continue to carry out the mission of Catholic education, keep the cost of tuition affordable for our families, and support school programs.
The monetary goal for this year is $67,000. We have also set a goal to have 100% participation from our school families. We ask that everyone please plan to participate in and support this year’s event.
The Marathon event will take place on Thursday, October 4, 2018 on the St. Joseph’s campus. The opening ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. with walking and other activities continuing until 3:15 p.m. Parents and family members are invited to attend this event as well as sign up to volunteer to make it a success.
CLICK HERE to volunteer!
Specific details about Marathon were sent home with students last week in the Friday Folder. We do request that you please see and review the Marathon information and pledge forms. The information includes an overview of the event, a pledge sheet, and a script that can be used by your children when contacting people to support their efforts to raise funds for our school. We would like all students to get out there and collect pledges this weekend! Additional pledge form are available in the school office. Thank you for your involvement in and support of this special event.
After our first two Pledge Turn-in days, we are at 24% of our goal. We need everyone’s help to reach our goal! Please check with your place of employment as many companies offer matching incentives. If you have questions on this process, please contact Lisa Wrobel in our school office. Please have your children bring their pledge forms to school to report their pledges on the turn-in days. They should keep their form, bring it home, and continue to gather pledges prior to the next turn-in day. During the pledge weeks, there are a variety of incentives for the students and homeroom classes that report the greatest dollar amount in pledges.
Did you hear from your children? Mr. Wesely told the students that by reaching the school goal in pledges, the students will have a Marathon celebration “parking lot dance party”. He also said that he would sit in a “Dunk Tank” with the chance for students and faculty to “get him wet”! So far he is dry, but everyone can change that by collecting pledges and reaching the goal. Thank you for your participation in our 2018 Marathon
Respect Life Month October is Respect Life Month. St. Joseph’s students and faculty will recognize the sanctity of all life through classroom lessons, activities, prayer, and service. Our school will be having a layette (baby items) collection during this month. Watch for more information about this important service project that benefits and supports the Wakota Life Center in West St. Paul.
NWEA MAP Assessments Students in grades 2-8 will be completing the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments next week. We thank Mrs. Budge for coordinating and facilitating the assessments for our students. Individual student report and information about the assessments will be sent home in October.
The Positivity Project During this school year, you will hear your children talking about the Positivity Project and the “Other People Matter Mindset”. This week, our students and faculty explored and discussed Teamwork. Teamwork is defined as working well as a member of a group or team. Individuals are loyal and sacrifice individual desires for the greater good.
This upcoming week, our students and faculty will learn about the character strength
Open-mindedness. So why is open-mindedness important? Individuals with open-mindedness are more likely to make accurate decisions – and decisions that they won’t regret. This is because they think through all sides of a problem. Open-minded individuals are often good listeners and called upon to provide a balanced viewpoint. This strength helps individuals form meaningful and lasting relationships.
We look forward to learning about and practicing all twenty-four character traits through the Positivity Project during this school year.
Mass of the Holy Spirit – Wednesday, October 10 St. Joseph’s School students and staff in grades 4 – 8 will be attending an all-school youth Mass for our archdiocesan Catholic grade schools, the Mass of the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE) will host the Mass at US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday, October 10. Archbishop Hedba and Bishop Cozzens will officiate with other priests of the Archdiocese, celebrating Mass with 14,000 Catholic grade school children, school leaders, teachers and guests. Please pray for the success of this special event for our students and staff.
Spiritwear We are pleased to announce that our Spiritwear sales delivery will be next Tuesday, October 2. Please watch for these items coming home with your child(ren). If you have any questions please contact Katie Doyle
kmdoyle654@gmail.com. Just a reminder, our Marathon day, Thursday October 4
th will be a spiritwear day for students, staff, and families!
Parent Letters/Friday Folders/Attendance Communication All non-emergency communications will come home on Fridays in the red Friday folder. 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 (e.g. grwesely@stjosephwsp.org). When leaving a message, remember teachers may not be available to return calls/e-mails until the end of the day.
Our Attendance Hotlineis 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”.
School Mass School families, friends, and members of the parish are invited to join us in prayer by attending our next school Mass on Thursday, October 4 (please note the change in day this week) at 9:00 a.m. in the Church. Parents, grandparents, family members, and members of the parish are always welcome to attend our school Masses and prayer devotions during the school year.
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 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 31
st.
St. Joseph’s “Drive In” Family Movie Night- Thank you! Thank you for joining us for our “Drive In” Movie Night! It was such a beautiful evening and such a joy to see so many families celebrating our St. Joe’s community! A special thank you to Mollie Rubenzer and Bri DeLeon for coordinating this wonderful event!
Mission Statement “St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence,
and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.”
Our school community has identified faith formation, academic excellence, and the development of virtue as three pillars of our school as we continue to partner with you to provide your children with a quality Catholic education.
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 include;
Women of St. Joseph Silent Auction, Craft & Bake Sale will take place in the Great Room on !
NET Night – Tuesday October 2nd 4:00-7:00pm in the Great Room.All students in grades 6, 7, and 8 are invited to attend NET Nights.
Click here to link to the weekly St. Joseph’s Church Bulletin
.