Parent Letter 9/18/20

Dear Parents,

The St. Joseph’s School students and faculty have had another awesome week at school.  Thank you for supporting your children as they continue through the beginning of this unique school year.  We know of the time you take to get them prepared each day for learning remotely at home or at school.  We thank you for taking time to assist them with their studies and stressing the importance of using their talents and doing their best..  Please let your child’s teacher or the school office know if you have any questions or need additional information about school.

As we continue through the school year., our mission continues to be; 

 “St. Joseph’s Catholic School educates students through faith formation, academic excellence, and the development of virtue to be disciples of Christ.”

Our mission is recited at the beginning of each day during our morning announcements as well as at the beginning of various meetings.  Thank you for your support in carrying out our school’s mission.

School Picture Day
Monday, October 5th is school picture day for all students PreK - 8.  Students will be out of uniform for their picture day.  Please watch for an electronic ordering and payment option coming soon.

Parent Educate Access – Middle School
Educate (our school’s on-line grading system) for middle school has opened today.  Sixth grade families and new families, please watch for a letter coming home on Monday with password and login instructions.  Please contact Mrs. Bruce (lobruce@stjosephwsp.org) with any questions about using Educate.

 St. Joseph’s School Lunch Program
Our school lunch program provided by ISD 197 began this week.  Below is information about the lunch program.  Please review the information carefully.  Please click here to view the lunch menu.  Hot lunch or bag lunch are available, however salads are not available at this time.

All Students Eat FREE This Fall!
Free meals are now available to all children in School District 197 (ages 1-18). The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it will waive all fees for school meals through December 31, 2020 (or earlier if funding runs out). This is an extension of the summer meals program that provided meals to families throughout distance learning last spring and into the summer.  For more information visit the ISD 197 website at isd197.org/district/departments/meals.  Individual milk is still available for a .50 cent charge per carton.

St. Joe’s Student Lunch ID’s
All Kindergarten and New Students will be receiving their electronic lunch ID numbers over the next few weeks.  Mrs. Wrobel will email them directly to you with instructions on how to set up your lunch account.  

Do I still need to fill out a Free & Reduced Application (FRP) form
Even though meals are free for the first few months of school, you still need to fill out your Free & Reduced Application form. This ensures you’ll have help paying for meals after December 31 (or earlier if funding runs out). Complete the 2020-2021 Free & Reduced Meal Application online here or request one by calling 651-403-7320.

Please Note: Families MUST fill out a new application for benefits at the beginning of each school year or benefits will expire on October 22, 2020!

Student Drop Off and Pick Up
As we complete the third 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.  Also, thank you to our morning drop off volunteers!  We are grateful for your time and assistance!

NWEA MAP Assessments
Students in grades 2-8 will continue the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments for the next two weeks.  The students are completing assessments in mathematics and reading.  Families of students in grades 2-8 received a letter last week with information about the assessments.  We thank Mrs. Budge for coordinating and facilitating the assessments for our students.

Thank you
Thank you to our Home and School Association.  The Home and School Association provided individual soups for all of our faculty and staff today!  What a great treat on a chilly day!  We look forward to a SOUPer year!

St. Joseph’s School Spiritwear Orders
Our Home and School Association has put together another Spiritwear Sale that will run October 2nd-9th.  They will have a selection of t-shirts, sweatshirts and face coverings.  Please watch for a link to this sale next week.  You will receive an email from our school office with information on placing your order online.  

St. Joseph’s School Gala
The St. Joseph's Gala is our largest annual fundraising event.  It's an opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the legacy of our school and raise money for its continued education of our children in Christ.  When discussing the events of 2020 and how we could approach Gala this year, it became even more clear how much our community depends on each other.  We all look forward to the night of Gala and we want to keep that "normalcy" intact as much as we're able to.  

That said, this year's Gala 2020 will be held as scheduled on December 5th.  The event will be virtually, with opportunities for smaller community gatherings that evening.  
Now more than ever, we are looking for sponsors to help us meet our fundraising goals.  If you are interested in sponsoring this event or know of businesses that might be interested, please email rachael.amarante@gmail.com.

School Mass
Today, our students, faculty, and community were led in the celebration for the Mass by Fr. Wratkowski.  The Mass was live streamed on the Church of St. Joseph website using the new video camera equipment installed in the worship space.  Our students, faculty, and families were able to view the Mass in their classrooms.  As we begin this school year, our Masses may look different, but it’s a blessing to be able to worship as a community, and to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  

Fr. Creagan and Fr. Wratkowski visited our grades 3-8 classrooms to distribute the Eucharist to our students and faculty after Mass.  Fr. Wratkoski visited our K-2 classrooms and gave the students a special Eucharistic blessing. 

School Masses will typically be on Fridays during the school year.  Please plan to join us in prayer for our next Mass on Friday, September 25 at 9:00 a.m.  You may view the Mass live streamed on the Church of St. Joseph website; www.churchofstjoseph.org.  

As we continue through the school year, we plan to have our students experience the Mass in the church following the parish’s established guidelines and protocols to do so safely.  A schedule for classes attending Mass is being finalized with Fr. Creagan and our faculty.  The initial schedule will be shared with school families next week.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Christina Stokman, Church of St. Joseph Director of Catechesis and Formation, school administration, and teachers are finalizing plans for our K-5 students to safely participate in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program beginning in October.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a unique method of faith formation that our parish offers to our school children on a weekly basis.  This method strives to proclaim the message of Jesus to children by presenting the mysteries of our faith in a Montessori learning environment which incorporates beauty and silence in a prepared setting called the atrium.

Parent Letters / Attendance Communication
All non-emergency communications will come home on Fridays in 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.  

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 (ex.. grwesely@stjosephwsp.org).  When leaving a message, remember teachers may not be available to return calls/emails until the end of the day.  

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.

The Consecration to our Beloved Patron, St. Joseph
Join St. Joseph School families and parishioners for a 33 day Preparation for Consecration to St. Joseph.  Please click here for more information.

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