Parent Letter 9/10/21

Dear Parents, 

Welcome Back!
Greetings from St. Joseph’s School!  Our second week of school has gone extremely well.  We hope that you and your families are settling into the school routines.  Please know that our school staff is here to partner with you and assist you in any way during the school year.  Please contact the school office, your child’s teacher(s), check our school website, or look for this Friday Letter if you have any questions or need information about anything happening at school.

Preschool Children Arrive
This week Ms. Peg and Ms. Kirsten and our preschool staff welcomed our Terrific 3s, PreK4s, and PreK4/5s to our preschool programs.  In addition to these programs, we are also offering “Lunch Bunch” to our preschool families this year.  It was so enjoyable seeing the children arrive excited to meet new friends, learn about preschool, complete fun activities including having their hand painted, and exploring around the classroom.  We look forward to the preschool children learning and growing throughout the year.  Please join us in welcoming our youngest Jaguars! 

Mission

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

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

We fulfill our mission by: 

Inspiring spiritual growth through classroom instruction, prayer, liturgy, devotions, sacraments, retreats, and service. 

Challenging students with a comprehensive curriculum enriched with fine arts and co-curricular activities meeting the needs of all learners. 

Engaging students in an environment that allows them to develop virtue through shared responsibility, self-discipline, respect, honor, and faith in Christ.

We are excited to welcome back our teachers, students, and families for an exciting 2021-2022 school year of in person learning where we will enthusiastically make our mission happen.

St. Joseph’s School Enrollment Update
As the new school year begins, we invite you to welcome 46 new families and 81 new students to our St. Joseph’s School Community!  Currently, in grades K-8, 366 students are enrolled.  This is the largest number of K-8 students in several years.  In addition, we are excited to have the largest Kindergarten class with 52  students in many years along with opening a third section in 1st grade.  Our outstanding Preschool has 61 children enrolled in the programs.  We are so grateful to you for partnering with our faculty and entrusting your children to us this year.      

​​Classroom Blessings
Today, Fr. Creagan and Fr. Bruno visited our classrooms and areas of the school to bless our students and faculty as we begin the new school year.  We thank them for helping all of us grow in our faith!  Please watch for pictures of Fr. Creagan and Fr. Bruno blessing our students and classrooms.

Student Drop Off and Pick Up
As we complete the second week of school, we want to express our appreciation to you for following our new procedures for the Drop Off and Pick Up of your children.  Our Preschool and K-8 morning drop off is going very smoothly.  The student pick up at the end of the school day is busy - we thank you for your patience as you leave the parking lot with your child(children).  Please continue to keep the safety of our students in mind during these times of day.  School faculty will be present during the drop off and pick up to assist our students.

School Mass
Today, Fr. Bruno, our parish’s new Parochial Vicar, presided at our school and introduced himself to the students.  Masses are scheduled on Fridays beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Church of St. Joseph.  Please note that exceptions may be for Holy Days of Obligation and days when school is not in session.  School Masses will be listed in the Friday Letter each week.

Our next school Mass will be on Friday, September 17 at 9:00 a.m.  Parents and family members are invited to attend school Masses.  Our students will remain seated with their teacher and class for teh school Masses in September.

School Update
Summer has been very busy on campus at St. Joseph’s School!  Our school has been in need of several updates and repairs in many areas of the building and grounds.  We would like to thank our Parish Leadership team; Fr. Creagan, Fr. Bruno and Patrick Menke, Parish Administrator, along with our Trustees Tom Hurley and Tom Gainor.  Our hallways and stairwells have been refreshed with new paint, our classroom windows have new shades, the cafeteria underwent a makeover with new paint and ceiling tiles, and the sidewalks leading up to the school and preschool were replaced with new concrete.  School parents and parish members will now be parking on a new paved parking lot on the west side of Seminole Ave.   Additional projects have been scheduled to be completed during the school year.

Uniform Dress Code
Everyone looked great in his or her uniform as we all returned to school. Thank you for assisting your child with getting back into the school routine.  Please remember these uniform dress code requirements; 

Skirts/Jumpers: Girl’s skirt lengths are to be no more than 2 inches above the knee in order to reflect a more modest appearance.  Skirts waistbands are not to be rolled. 

New this year:  Girls in grades 4 - 5 may wear either the plaid skirt or the plaid jumper.

Shorts: Navy blue uniform short only.  Uniform shorts are to be no more than 2 inches above the knee in order to reflect a more modest appearance.

Socks/Shoes: White or navy blue crew socks.  Must be a minimum of four inches above the ankle. Low-riding/no show golf sock styles are not allowed.  White or navy blue tights.  Navy blue leggings may be worn under skirts or jumpers, not intended to be worn as pants only.  No open toe or open back sandals/shoes, flip flops, or clogs.  Tennis shoes are required for physical education classes.

Belts: All uniform pants and shorts must be worn with a belt; solid dark colored (black, blue, brown).

General Appearance 
As we all return to school, please make note of the following General Appearance requirements;

• Hair style and color should not district or draw undue attention to the student.
• Hair is not to be dyed a color that cannot be grown naturally.
• Boys hair styles shall not exceed below the top of the ear on the side, and should not touch the collar in back nor extend below the eyebrows.
• Boys are to be clean shaven.
• Jewelry should not distract or draw undue attention.  Small earrings may be worn.  (No other body piercing is allowed.)
• Hats and bandanas are not worn inside during the school day, except on designated “theme” days.
• Body ink: henna designs (or something similar), excessive ink writing are prohibited.
• Shirts must be tucked into skirts, pants, shorts.
• Only plain white t-shirts are to be worn under uniform shirts.

St. Joseph’s Home and School Association 
Your Home and School Association exists to support our faculty, students, and families by coordinating volunteers, organizing community events, and providing enrichment opportunities for our students.  Did you know that YOU are a part of the St. Joseph’s Home and School Association?  Every family is a member, and all members are represented by grade representatives and an executive committee.  Everyone is welcome to learn more about Home and School.  Please contact Christina Mahady  christina.mahady@gmail.com.   Meetings are typically held the first Wednesday of each month at 7 pm. If you are unable to attend, you can also send your ideas to your class rep.  We are looking forward to a GREAT year at St. Joseph’s!

Parent Letters and Attendance Communication
All non-emergency communications will come electronically through this Parent Letter.   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.   Our Attendance Hotline is 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”. 

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.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Parent Orientation
Please join on Tuesday, September 14th from 7-8pm in the Church to learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program.  This wonderful program has been catching the attention of Catholic parents and educators in our Archdiocese and across the globe.  Children in the ⅘’s program-5th grade at St. Joseph’s School participate in this beautiful program.  Please come and learn more.  This meeting is for parents only.  Please contact Chris Stokman at 651-457-8841 with questions.

Relevant Radio’s Fr. Rocky - Evening of Reflection
The Year of St. Joseph - Evening of Reflection with Fr. Francis Hoffman (Fr. Rocky), Executive Director of Relevant Radio.  This special event will be Wednesday, September 15, 2021 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the church.  The evening will begin with the Family Rosary Across America followed by a reflection on our patron St. Joseph.  We invite you and your family to attend.

Archdiocese Synod
Members of the parish and school community are invited to support the important work of our Archdiocese and our Parish by participating in the Synod Small Groups at St. Joseph’s this Fall.

The Synod Small Groups will be held on Tuesdays at 8:30-10:30 a.m. or at 6:30-8:30 p.m.  You may register online at churchofstjoseph.org/small-group-registration.  Please contact the Parish Office for more information; 651-789-8350.