January 27, 2021
Dear St. Joseph School Families,
Each year the National Catholic Education Association calls upon all Catholic Schools in our nation to celebrate the mission and accomplishments of our Catholic Schools. This year, the week of January 31st through February 5th has been designated for that purpose. Ordinarily, we would have several activities to which our families and parishioners are invited. Unfortunately, this year that will not be possible. However, that does not mean we will not be celebrating here at school. All activity will be done appropriately distanced in cohorts. As always our uppermost concerns for the health of our students take precedence over everything else at this time.
During the week designated as Catholic Schools Week, we are having another online book fair for which you received information. This will benefit our Library. Monday morning there will be an opening prayer in celebration of this week. Throughout this week students will be making cards for those in our local community and school family to thank them for all they are doing to keep everyone safe. A cohort-style scavenger hunt highlighting fun facts about our school will take place on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday we will be sending home cards and letters to you, to express our appreciation to you for choosing St. Joseph School. On Thursday we will celebrate our students and our school with a blue and gold casual day; pizza served by the teachers in their classrooms, and movies will be shown. On Friday our 4th through 8th graders will attend Mass in thanksgiving for our wonderful school. We will also celebrate the teachers and staff with a catered lunch in the auditorium to provide appropriate distancing. Friday, February 5th is a 12:30 dismissal day.
We are collecting new SOCKS, men’s or women’s, for local shelters during this week and next week. Thank you for your donations.
Please note that there appears to be some confusion about vacations on the yearly calendar. We have scheduled two week-long vacations. The first vacation is February 15th-19th and the second is April 12th -16th.
I also wish to remind everyone that if it is snowing or there has been a storm, please check your email, texts, Channel 3 or 30 for cancellations and delays. We wouldn’t want anyone to arrive at school early when we are delayed or out of school due to weather.
Anyone wishing to request scholarship funds or financial assistance for the 2021-2022 school year must complete the scholarship/financial aid application found on the FACTS website. This must be completed by the beginning of March.
The Chromebooks have arrived and are being set up for use in the classrooms at this time. These were purchased by the school at a cost of $32,000. In addition, we have had to upgrade our WiFi at a cost of $600 per month. As you can see technology can become quite costly, especially for small schools such as St. Joseph School. We rely on donations by gracious friends of our school and fundraising to provide things such as the above mentioned. We thank our donors and all who assist us with raising funds for our children. Every little bit helps.
We continue to keep the health and safety of all of our families in our prayers, and ask that you continue to pray for us.
Sincerely,
Marianne Cote
Principal