"St. Joseph's School strives for academic excellence by encouraging the development-mind, body, and spirit-within an environment of Christian values  and the Catholic faith."   -School Mission Statement 2006

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FEBRUARY 6, 2012

ST. JOSEPH’S SCHOOL FAMILY NEWSLETTER~ A-B-C-D!

A for Academics ~ Information about our curriculum, instructional methods, programs or learning goals.
     Congratulations to two St. Joseph’s students in their academic challenges this month.
Sullivan Igo, a student in Grade 4, won the Division II level of the Duluth Diocesan Spelling Bee. This is the first time St. Joseph’s School has won a division title! Please stop by the office and see the BIG school trophy that we get to display at our school for this next year.
Congratulations to Dominic Nalan, who with his teammates from other schools, participated at the State Level of the LEGO Robotics competition-WOW!
     MAP TESTING for mid-year is finished. We will send home results when we have received them.

B for Building
     We have hired a new daytime maintenance person (Curtiss Gagner) and two part-time evening custodians for the school/church( Vern Bishop and Nestor Johnson). We extend our appreciation to Kevin Foix who is leaving in early March. Kevin was very helpful and put in many extra hours for our church/school community during a challenging time in our history as we moved out of one building and into a brand new building. We wish him many blessings as he moves on from here.

C for Calendar and Community~ information about when, what, where & how!
     NO MASS this week-the priests from our diocese are on retreat.
     KC sponsored Basketball Hoop Shoot for students who are 10-11-12-13 at 12:30 THIS Wednesday-contact your child’s teacher for necessary forms.
     Valentine’s Day information will come home to you from your child’s classroom teacher.
NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS on February 20 and 21. Teachers will attend a Multi-District Workshop on the 20. There will be NO SAC on either of these days.
    

School Registration for 2012-2013
     The blue Pre-Registration form for 2012-2013 will come home in the February 27 white envelope. We use these forms to help set       our budget for the upcoming school year.

     We welcome visitors to our school and classrooms to see what wonderful learning is happening here. If you know someone who has school-age children that might be interested in checking into our school, please bring them in and introduce them to us, and we will answer their questions and show them around!

     Marathon Gym Time Reward with Fr. Jerry will take place this month after school for those students who brought in at least $100 this fall. Enclosed in this envelope is a list of students, dates and times. We have tried to be accurate with our list. Please let us know asap if we have made a mistake-thank you!

SECOND SEMESTER NOTES & REMINDERS….
Parking Lot
We are working on getting a YIELD sign to help with traffic in our parking and driving area in front of the school. THANK YOU for taking that little extra time to ensure that the children are safe-and to avoid having a “Fender Bender” with another parent. Please help us out by telling others who pick up your children about our parking lot protocol. Thank you.

On time thank you note
     Thank you to the many parents who see that their children get to school on time everyday. When students arrive on time, it helps the hot lunch/office system run smoothly, shows consideration to the teacher and classmates who are ready to begin their lessons for the day; and most importantly, creates a great start for your child at the beginning of his/her school day.

     Children are supervised by a faculty member in the gym beginning at 8 am each day or they may visit with friends in our Commons area. Teachers pick up their students from the gym about 8:15/8:20 and bring them to class. Classes begin promptly at 8:30.

Uniform Reminders
     Parents are responsible to see that their child(ren) are dressed appropriately for school. We ask that YOU purchase clothing that meets our uniform dress code. The teachers and I do not want to make your child feel singled out because they are not dressed appropriately. We ask that YOU ensure that the dress code is followed. Most everyone is doing well with our uniform dress code-just in case you have forgotten, we ask that you make sure of the following….
⇒ PANTS REMINDER: NO OUTSIDE POCKETS (Pants must be “uniform” style. No jeans-style pockets in back)
⇒ SHIRTS should be PLAIN white without logos
⇒ Sweatshirts and fleece sportswear should have the SCHOOL LOGO on them.

D is for Devotion/Reflection
                                                            See what kind of love the Father has given to us,
                                                                 that we should be called children of God; and so we are. – 1 John 3:1

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 St. Joseph’s Parish School is an elementary Catholic School in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  It was established in 1954 and is recognized for outstanding academic and religious education.  The school is accredited through the Minnesota Non-public School Accreditation Association (MNSAA). Average class size is 22 students in grades Preschool through Grade 6.