Parent Letter 12/18/20

Dear St. Joseph’s School Parents,                                                                                 

Christmas Blessings from St. Joseph’s School!  “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.  They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:5

The faculty and staff send holiday greetings to you and your family during this most holy time of year.  It is a gift to be able to work with your children - both in person and remotely.  We are so grateful for the assistance you have provided to your children and our faculty as we have navigated this school year together.  

I would like to commend you and thank you for providing the “gift” of a Catholic education for your children.  As parents, we are called to guide and provide for our children . . . to help them become saints.  Thank you for entrusting your children to us and allowing us to support you in this calling.  Let us take this special gift, continue to hold onto it, while at the same time sharing it with others.

On behalf of all of us at St. Joseph’s School, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We have made it to the Christmas Holiday break.  This is one of a series of touch points we planned for during the summer as we created our plan for reopening the school.  Our transition this week to full remote learning and having a pause in our preschool programming sets the stage for us to return in January healthy and ready to continue providing in person and remote learning (if elected) through the remainder of the school year.  We look forward to everyone’s return on January 19, 2021.

St. Joseph’s School Calendar - Adjustments
Please note that some adjustments have been made to our original 2020-2021 St. Joseph’s School calendar.  Monday, December 21, Tuesday, December 22, and Friday, January 15, 2021 will be non-school days for students and staff.  Monday, January 18, 2021 (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) remains a non-school day.  On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, our students will return to continue in person learning and remote learning (if elected).  

For your information, the school office will be closed for the holidays December 21, 2020 – January 1, 2021.  School will resume with full remote learning and the school office will reopen on Monday, January 4, 2021!

 St. Joseph’s School Christmas Health and Safety
Over the next several weeks, we all look forward to celebrating the holidays.  Even though school will not be in session, our commitment to the health and safety of our students, families and staff is our top priority.  It remains very important that our school stays informed about all household COVID-19 information.  Please click here for more information from Mr. Wesely and Nurse Amy Milosch.

St. Joseph’s School 2020 Gala
Are you continuing to hear the buzz around Gala 2020.  During the virtual event held earlier this month, the spirit and generosity of our community was evident and shined.  Members of our school community came together to show their support for the mission of St. Joseph's School.  We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event.

We would like to congratulate the 2020 School Raffle winners!

Grand prize:  2020 Ford Escape SUV  Avenna Rosales (member of Church of St. Joseph)

2nd Prize:     Pilgrimage thru Mater Dei Tours  Alyssa Kelley (parent of Mariah - grade 5)

3rd Prize:     $1,000 Christmas Cash  Marie Pacyga (parent of Vincent - grade 4, Ale - grade 1)

In addition, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Event Co-Chairs, Rachael Amarante, Bria Hammel, and Shannon Kroon along with their amazing team for making Gala an event to remember.  They all worked extremely hard creating the program, coordinating all of the wonderful auction items, and reaching out to our entire school community about the event.  We are so grateful for their work sharing our school’s story and raising funds for our school.  Great job!  Thank you!

Mission

“St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence,

and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.”

Transition to Full Remote Learning - Grades K-8
This past week, our teachers and students in grades Kindergarten through 8 successfully made a transition to full remote learning.  This is a temporary interruption in our in person instructional model that we have been in since the beginning of the school year..  Our teachers and staff did a great job instructing and engaging their students from their classrooms.  Full remote learning will continue as we return after the Christmas holiday break; January 4-8, and January 11-14.  Students will return to school to resume in person learning or remote learning (if elected) on Tuesday, January 19.

We thank our parents for everything you are doing to assist and support your students while they are at home remote learning.  Our students were prepared well by their teachers and our staff to make this transition - using their technology devices, practicing using Clever (K-5 students), using Seesaw and Google Classroom, and being engaged with their teachers and classmates through Google Meet.  We understand that at times there may be some “glitches” for our students' families during remote learning.  If this occurs for your child, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher and/or the school office.  We will work with you to correct the situation.  

Remote Learning Technology Resources for Parents
In preparation for the continuation of full remote learning, a website with tutorials for students and parents has been created by our school staff.  The website with the resources can be found under the "Parent" tab of the school website; www.stjosephwsp.org.  The resources include video tutorials and written instructions for the following;  Grades K-3: Clever, Google Meet, and Seesaw and Grades 4-5: Clever, Google Meet, and Google Classroom.  Please refer to these tutorials, contact your child’s teacher, or the school office if you need assistance and/or have any questions.

Transition to Pause - Preschool
This week the families of our preschool children received Choice Boards from Ms. Peg and Ms. Kirsten.  The Choice Boards included a number of activities and videos.  We hope you enjoyed completing the variety of holiday activities and viewing the videos with your children.  Our Preschool Programs will continue to be on pause and not in session during the weeks of January 4, and January 11.  The programs will resume on Tuesday, January 19.  This follows the same schedule as our elementary and middle school.  Our preschool teachers will continue to provide complimentary resources and activities for their children during the pause. 

Why did our school choose to transition to full remote learning (K-8) and pause in Preschool?  It is our hope that our transition to full remote learning and having a pause in our preschool programming will allow our school community - our students, families, teachers, and staff - to remain healthy and safe.  We also believe this sets the stage for us to return in January healthy and ready to continue providing in person and remote learning (if elected) through the remainder of the school year.

2021-2022 Planning
This year we had one of the largest Kindergarten classes in recent memory. We want to make sure that we have a seat for all future kindergarten students next year!  We are asking current school families to please let us know if they have a child who is the age for entering kindergarten next year (5 years old prior to September 1, 2021), even if you aren't sure they'll start kindergarten next year or where they will attend school.  We're already planning to welcome our next class of kindergarten students!  Please click here to learn more.

St. Joseph’s School Auto Re-Enrollment for the 2021-2022 School 
It's almost time for current school families to re-enroll for the 2021-2021 school year. Current school families will be automatically re-enrolled with the required annual family registration fee applied to family TADS accounts in February.  If a current family would like to delay re-enrollment, they will need to complete the Google doc click here if you wish to have your account placed on hold.  All requests for hold must be submitted by January 4, 2021.

Preview Events
We would like to share with you that 2021-2022 school Preview Events are being scheduled for Preschool, Kindergarten, and Middle School in January 2021.  Watch for the dates and times coming soon.  During the Preview Events, families will receive information on school programs and registration for the 2021-2022 school year.  

St. Joseph’s Middle School Newsletter - The Jaguar Journal
St. Joseph’s School has a very robust and enriching Middle School program.  Each Trimester our Middle School Faculty publishes a copy of The Jaguar Journal that shares information about current events and curriculum.  Please click here to read the most recent Journal.  

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
We are feeling blessed!  Thank you to the Bacouros Family who provided a beautiful lunch for our faculty last week.  We were treated to a pizza lunch by the Filhart Family this week along with a Jimmy John’s lunch provided by our Home and School Association!  Thanks to everyone for your generosity.

We would also like to extend a thank you to Mr. Ed Kocourek. Mr. Kocourek is that wonderful man that many of you see each and every morning during drop off. He has been with us most everyday since the beginning of school helping to keep our drop off running safely and smoothly! Thank you Ed!

St. Joseph’s School - Title I Tutor Position
St. Joseph's School is seeking a qualified Title I Tutor who is passionate about guiding students to be successful learners.  This specific position is a school district position and is posted on the ISD 197 website under Employment.  The details for this position include; working with students in grades K-5 as a Title I Tutor, dates of employment being approximately January 19-June 2, 2021, approximately 13 hours per week (3-5 days with hours based upon available funding).  See the ISD 197 website for specific qualifications and responsibilities.  Interested individuals need to apply online at www.isd197.org.  In addition, please contact Mr. Wesely if interested and/or if you have any questions.  

Family Christmas Cards
We would like to thank all of the school families who shared a Christmas greeting with us by sending the school office a Christmas card.  Merry Christmas everyone!  

School Mass
Please note that while our school is in full remote learning, we will continue to celebrate Mass as a school community.  Our next school Mass will be on Friday, January 8  at 9:00 a.m.  The Mass will be live streamed on the Church of St. Joseph website; www.churchofstjoseph.org.  Students need to participate by viewing the Mass prior to beginning their school day with their teachers.  Parents and families are also encouraged to join us for Mass.

Home and School Association
Our Home and School Association is still meeting monthly to plan and work on many things for our school and community.  Click here to see their minutes from the most recent meeting.

Restaurant Night – Panera on Tuesday, January 12, 2021                                                 Families are invited to participate in the next St. Joseph’s School Family Restaurant Night at Panera in West St. Paul.  Visit Panera on January 12 between 5:00pm and 7:00pm for Take Out, Curbside Pickup, OR Delivery.  Please let the Panera staff know you are there for the St. Joseph’s School Fundraiser or bring and show the Panera flyer and our school will receive a percentage of your purchase.  You are encouraged to order online or through the App and enter code PRFUND when you check out.  Proceeds from our school’s restaurant nights are used to fund important programs within the school. We thank our Home & School Association for Coordinating this event!

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.

Church of St. Joseph Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses
Fr. Creagan and Fr. Wratkowski are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with your family through the celebration of the Mass!  Pre-registration is required to attend the Christmas Masses.  Additional Masses have been added so the parish is able to accommodate all who would like to celebrate in person.  All liturgies will be livestreamed on the parish website for those unable to join us in person.  We ask that you arrive early.  Face coverings / masks are required (exemptions apply).

The Mass times are;

Christmas Eve: 3:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:00pm, 10:00pm

Christmas Day: 7:30am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”     Matthew 1:23

December Look Ahead:

• Monday Dec. 21 – Friday, Jan. 1 No School - Christmas Break Merry Christmas!
• Monday, Jan. 4 - Thursday, Jan. 14 School Resumes Remotely.  Happy New Year!  

             Remote Learning – Kindergarten - grade 8

             Preschool on pause – not in session

• Friday, Jan. 15 & Monday, Jan. 18- No School Martin Luther King Holiday
• Tuesday, Jan 19 - Students K - 8 Return to In-person Learning and Remote Learning (if elected)