Parent Letter 6/7/19

Dear Parents,
 
Today, we celebrate the completion of another successful year at St. Joseph’s School.  As I reflect upon this school year, I have again observed what an awesome school we have!  I have witnessed a school community; faculty, parents, and members of the parish and community working together to provide positive learning experiences for our students.  Our students’ accomplishments are a result of the interest, concern, prayers, and hard work of everyone.
 
At St. Joseph’s School, in addition to learning important information in reading, math, science, and history, our students are able to learn about our Catholic faith and the importance of loving and serving others.  I commend our students and thank them for doing their best at school.  With the guidance and support of parents, teachers and each other, they continue to develop the gifts and talents God has given them.
 
Parents, I realize that you have a choice when deciding where your child or children will be educated for their preschool, elementary, and middle school years.  Thank you for choosing to have your child / children attend St. Joseph’s  School.  Thank you for supporting your children and our staff as we learn together each school year.  Thank you for sharing your time and talents with us and for being an important part of our community. 
 
As St. Joe’s Principal, it is a privilege to work and pray with so many fine children, families, educators, and parishioners.  During our school Mass, I shared a brief summary of this school year using the alphabet.  Please click on the link at the end of the letter to view what I shared with the students and faculty.
 
In conclusion, on behalf of the St. Joseph’s School faculty, I would like to extend to you our wishes for a very safe summer.  Boys and girls, enjoy the summer months with your family and friends.  I look forward to seeing you during the summer and in early September for the start of another exciting school year.
 
St. Joseph, pray for us!  Go Jaguars!
 
Mission of St. Joseph’s School
“St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence,
and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.” 
 
Parents, thank you for supporting the mission of our school and entrusting your children to our care each day.  We look forward to an exciting and very busy end of our school year.  St. Joseph, pray for us!
 
Congratulations to our St. Joseph’s School Class of 2019!
On Tuesday night, we had the honor of recognizing our amazing 8 ^th grade students as they graduated from our school.  Thank you all for your involvement and support of our school.
 
This bright and talented group of twenty-four young individuals have built a strong foundation of academics and faith at St. Joseph’s School.  For fourteen of the families, their eighth grade graduate is the only child or last child in the family to attend our school.  Some of these families have been part of our school for twenty-two years!  Best wishes as they begin their new journey into high school.
 
We also express our thanks to the school staff/specialists and all parents who helped to make the many graduation activities special for our students.  Congratulation Class of 2019!  Be Awesome!

Faculty Members Retiring in 2019
At the end of this school year, two beloved faculty members, Ms. Kathy Rowe, Middle School Religion Teacher and Mrs. Diane Baker, Technology Coordinator will retire from St. Joseph’s School.  We want to thank them their years of service (Ms. Rowe, 35 years and Ms. Baker, 8 years) to the students, families, and faculty of our school.  Please join us in thanking them and wishing them well during their retirement.  Both of these positions are being posted on the Archdiocese Careers website.
 
Christy Frost, Enrollment and Marketing Coordinator
Christy Frost will be leaving her position as Enrollment and Marketing Coordinator at the end of this school year.  She will be returning to her previous role as a marketing consultant and will be assisting her husband with his small business.  Christy will, however, continue to work with our school on a consulting basis and as an active parent in our community.  We thank Christy for her four years of dedicated service to our school.  An Admissions Coordinator position for our school will be posted on the Archdiocese Careers website soon.
 
School Office Hours
The school office hours will vary over the summer.  Please email Lisa at liwrobel@stjosephwsp.org if you have any needs or questions over the summer.  She will be happy to help you. 
 
Summer Fun - Send Mr. Wesely an email and/or a postcard
Our students and their families have left our school for the summer months.  We hope you all have a very safe and enjoyable summer.  As summer begins, the school building gets pretty quiet.  Mr. Wesely would love to hear about your students’ adventures with their families over the summer.  Please consider sending him an email and picture ( grwesely@stjosep[hwsp.org) or writing and mailing a postcard to share with him your travels.  Upon the receipt of your message, he will post it on the bulletin board outside of the office.
Families will be able to see the emails and postcards upon their return to school in August.  Thank you!!
 
Cole Richardson Award
Congratulations to Abigail Farley recipients of the 2019 Cole Richardson Award.  Each year, this award is given to a 6th grade student who best exemplifies the qualities of faithfulness, generosity, kindness and friendship.  The award honors the memory and spirit of St. Joseph’s student, Cole Richardson.  Thank you to  Mr. & Mrs. Richardson for presenting this award which is given to a sixth grade student 
 
Fitness Fun Day!
A big thank you is extended to Jackie VanDiver, Physical Education teacher, and to Sara Rogers and Hilary Lamusga, parent volunteers, for all their work on preparing for Fitness Fun Day.  The weather was perfect!  Students in grades K-5 enjoyed games and relays at Charles Matson field and the 6 ^th and 7 ^th graders went bowling in the afternoon.  We appreciate all the parents who helped out at the field, helped with the picnic lunch and the Home and School Association for covering the cost of the lunch.  What a great way to bring an end to the school year!  
 
Report Cards
Third trimester report cards are being mailed out to families on June 7.  Please contact the school office if you have any questions or did not receive your child’s report card.
 
Tuition Agreements
Tuition agreements have been sent out via email from TADS.  It is important that you complete your agreements by the provided deadline.  If you have any questions, please contact our school office.

District 197 Transportation Registration – Now Open
All eligible students entering grades K-12 who are planning to ride a bus during the 2018-19 school year must register for transportation.  If you have not already done so, please click on the link below to fill out a registration form.
Bus transportation is available to:

• Elementary school students (grades K-4) who live more than 0.75 mile from school 
• Middle school students (grades 5-8) who live more than 1 mile from school 

 
Click below to Complete a Bus Registration Form:
 
Resident Student Registration Form
Completed registration forms are due on or before August 1 . Forms received after August 1 will be put on hold. Students may not have bus service for the first two weeks of school or may be transported home by van (elementary) or asked to use the Academic/Activity Bus (middle and high school) until they are assigned to a route. Transportation requests received after the first two weeks of school will be processed within 2-3 business days. 
 
Please only register for service when you are sure your child will be riding a bus. Complete one form per child. By registering your student for transportation services you are agreeing to comply with our transportation policies and procedures. The transportation policies can be found on the District 197 website (policies 707, 708, 709).  If you have questions about registration, please call Transportation at 651-403-8320 .
 
School Age Care – ISD 197
Last month, we were notified that ISD 197 School Age Care would not be continuing their program here at St. Joseph’s School.  We thank the leadership at ISD 197 for their service to our school community and understand and support their decision moving forward. 
 
We understand that the before and after school care program is very important to many of our school families.  St. Joseph’s School will provide a before and after school care program for the 2019-2020 school year.  Options for providing care for our students are being reviewed at this time.   For your planning purposes, we will work to keep a similar schedule in place for your family.  Please watch for additional information as we finalize plans for the school age care program for 2019-2020.
 
2019-2020 Enrollment
Our school administration and faculty continue to prepare for another exciting school year.  Please continue to assist our school in increasing our student enrollment at all levels by encouraging any families you know to “come and see” our school.  Please consider sharing our school’s story and your experiences at the ball field, the swimming pool, at the neighborhood cookout, in aisle 5 at Target.  It would be great to have you bring the family by for a visit!
 
We would like to remind you that there is a $500 Referral Credit available to our current school families for referring new families that register to attend St. Joseph’s School.  Families may contact Christy Frost, our Enrollment Coordinator (651-457-8550) to learn more about our programs and schedule a tour of the school.
 
Jaguar Playground and Greenspace
This summer includes plans to build a new play structure and enhance the green space on our school campus.  Information about this important project for our school is included on our school website.  Click here to view this exciting information!
 
Please prayerfully discern how you may be able to financially support this project allowing for work to begin in June and the project to be completed in August prior to the beginning of the new school year.  All gifts are important and will assist us in reaching our goal of $200,000 for the project.  Thank you for your generosity!  Please contact Mr. Wesely and/or Mrs. VanDiver if you have any questions or would like additional information on the project.
 
2019-2020 Important School Calendar Dates
As we work to complete the 2019-2020 School Calendar, we would like to share a few of the important dates with you.  The final calendar will be sent out shortly.

• September 3:1^st Day of School Grades 1 – 6
• September 4:1^st Day of School Grades 7 – 8
• September 5:1^st Day of School Kindergarten
• December 23 - January 1:Christmas Break
• October 16-18:MEA No School
• March 30- April 3:Spring Break
• April 10-13:Easter Break
• June 4:Last Day of School

 
Thank you ~ Thank you ~ Thank you!
Thank you to Cheryl Weimer for the beautiful flowers in the planters and around our St. Joseph’s Statue in the front of our school.  We so appreciate your hard work and dedication to keeping these garden spaces looking so beautiful! 
 
Just a Reminder 
Please continue to visit our school website, Facebook, Twitter, and the St. Joseph parish bulletin to keep updated on all the exciting happenings at St. Joseph’s School. 
  
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 and Information Include:                                                      
Please click on the link to the bulletin below for additional information and activities at the Church of St. Joseph.
 
Corpus Christi Procession – Sunday, June 23
Sunday, June 23, following the 9 a.m. Mass, we will have a Eucharistic Procession for the Solemnity of Corpus Chris-ti. Recent First Communicants are invited to wear their special First Communion Clothes to the 9 a.m. Mass and then walk with their families in the short procession. If the weather is good we will have Benediction in front of the school, if not we will process in the church. We also invite those who have been recently received into the Church at the Easter Vigil through RCIA to join us in the procession.

 
Click here to link to the weekly St. Joseph’s Church Bulletin .
 
Important Links:
Mr. Wesely's ABC's
2019-2020 Fall Sports Registration
CDH Soccer Camp