Principals' Peek at the Week

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” – John 15:11

There is much good news to share this week! Please read on for more information about our school. At SJJ, we feel blessed to be able to work hard for the good of your children-- to help them learn and grow in their Catholic faith and foster a passion for learning.

MAP SCORES
The Fall MAP Assessment progress reports were sent home with your child today. Additionally, Acadience reading assessment reports for students in grades K-3 have also been sent home. These reports provide valuable insights into your child’s academic progress and growth.

Your child’s teacher will be able to answer specific questions regarding these assessments at upcoming parent-teacher conferences.

FIRE SAFETY

Our third-graders welcomed the Strongsville Fire Department today, who came and taught about fire safety this week. We thank them for their service to our community and for spending time with our students!

QUARTER END

The end of the first quarter is next Friday, October 18! Report cards will be emailed through Digital Academy on Tuesday, October 22. Our teachers look forward to seeing you at parent-teacher conferences on October 23 or October 24. Remember there is no school for students on October 24 or October 25.

FALL FEST

SJJ’s wonderful “Fall Fest'' will take place on Thursday, October 17 for students in grades Preschool to Grade 3 and their families. More details can be found below.

FAMILY MASS

Sunday, November 3 will be our first SJJ Family Mass of the year at Saint Joseph’s 10:30 am Mass. All students and families are welcome to attend, and our 6th, 7th and 8th grade students will assume the special roles of readers, greeters and student ambassadors at the Mass.

May God bless and strengthen our students, your families and our entire school community!

Autumn blessings,

Mrs. Schenek & Mrs. Francis

Mrs. Blake and Mrs. Nadeo's third grade classes participated in Strongsville Fire Prevention presentation. Strongsville Fire came and showed a presentation regarding the dangers of fires, how to put them out, and showed the students just how quickly things can burn. After the presentation, students went through the Fire Safety trailer. This showed them how to escape out of a house if a fire was to ignite.

Our school clubs have began and are working on a lot of projects! Our Advanced Sewing Club made Halloween Pillows with their choice of fabric. Eager Artist have created a lot of fun art work and completed a clay mummy this week.

P4 and Pre-K have had a busy week with a field trip to Majestic Alpaca Farm and an in-house visit from the Strongsville Fire Department! We enjoyed the sunshine last week visiting with and feeding the animals. The firefighters reminded us of fire safety rules and showed us their special uniforms and tools. P3 celebrated Preschool's October Spirit Day and continued to thank God for the gifts of their bodies.

A special thanks to our families who came out to support our MR. HERO fundraiser on Tuesday! MR. HERO was appreciative of the business and we profited $150 thanks to you.

Thursday, October 17 is the SJJ Fall Fest from 6-7PM at the school for Preschool-Grade 3. This event is so much fun for our students as they trick-or-treat the hallways. The PTU will provide juice and treats!

Saturday, November 2 SAVE THE DATE for our popular CRAFT FAIR from 9AM - 4PM @ SJJ school. We’ve had so much interest that vendors are already SOLD OUT! Free admission. Bring your family and friends to shop the hallways and check out our crafty vendors. Just in time before the holidays! More details to come soon. Questions? Email: sjjptucraftfair@gmail.com

If you would like to volunteer for the SJJ PTU Craft Fair, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45ADAA2DA7F58-51769026-sjjptu?useFullSite=true#/

Wednesday, November 20th Save the Date for our Mother/Son bowling event! More details will be shared soon.

The 7th/8th grade football playoffs start this weekend. Come out and support our SJJ and PSR students. They will be taking on the St. Bernadette Bulldogs at St. Ed's High School Stadium on Sunday, October 13 at 6:45 p.m. GO VIKINGS!

Hello Viking Sports Fans!!

As we wrap up the fall season, and the weather certainly feels like fall now, it's amazing how fast it goes!!

Our flag football teams wrapped up their seasons this past weekend with our 4th grade padded flag playing their last game this weekend. Great job players and coaches on a great season and can't wait to see you all again next year!!

Our Cheer squads were amazing as well in their last cheers of the season and so much work behind the scenes by the coaches and these girls. The halftime routines are the best I have seen on our field this whole season!! Great job ladies!!

Our volleyball teams in grades 2 through 5 will wrap up their seasons this coming weekend with their final regular season matches. It is amazing how much these girls all improved from way back in July until now. I definitely sense some very strong teams in the coming years! Congrats players and coaches on a remarkable season!!

Our 6th through 8th grade volleyball teams opened up their CYO city tournament play this past weekend. Definitely some very exciting matches going 3 sets and a lot of back and forth! Hanging on to play again this weekend in the Semi-Finals, our 8th grade girls will take on St. Jude this Saturday at 12:45pm at the Center for Pastoral Leadership!! WHEN they win that match, they'll play again for the CYO City Championship at 2:00pm!!! Good luck lady Vikings and know we are all behind you with support and prayers!! If you are interested in coming out to support the girls, and I hope you can, here is a link to purchase tickets: https://www.ccdocle.org/service-areas/cyo-athletics/schedules/buy-tickets

Tickets go on sale at 6:00pm tonight and are $7/ticket. After clicking that link, select Volleyball and tournament VI to find our team. All tickets must be purchased in advance, no tickets sold at the door.

Our 7th/8th grade football team opens up their playoff run this Sunday at 6:45pm at St. Edward High School Stadium!! WHEN they win this game, they will be in the semi-finals next weekend and then the championship on October 27th. If you are able, just like the volleyball team, we would love to pack the stands with Viking support!! Trust me, save yourself watching the Browns and come see a better team!! Tickets again can be purchased starting tonight at 6:00pm at https://www.ccdocle.org/service-areas/cyo-athletics/schedules/buy-tickets. Select tackle football and then Tier II to find our team. Good luck boys!!

Rounding out our fall season playoffs is our cross country team for grades 6-8. They will compete for the Cross Country Championship Sunday, October 13th at 1:00pm at Walsh Jesuit High School. We'll be praying the rain holds off for all our runners and please come out and support our runners if you are able. No tickets required for this one!! Best of luck runners!!

Also, final reminder, SJJ Winter Basketball registrations are now open and will be open until October 14th. Please go to www.sjjathletics.com to register! Deadlines to enter teams and rosters with CYO will be tight, so please register early as late registrations cannot be guaranteed after October 14th. Basketball is open to all boys and girls in grades 3 through 8. If you have any questions about eligibility, CYO or the Basketball season, please reach out to the Athletics Department at sjjcyo@gmail.com at any time. In addition, we will host our winter sports parent meeting on October 16th at 7:30pm in the SJJ Gym.

Best of luck to all our athletes this weekend! As we enter these playoffs and championships, let us pray to St. Sebastian for all our teams and athletes:

Dear Commander at the
Roman Emperor's court,
you chose to be also a soldier
of Christ and dared to spread
faith in the King's of King's,
for which you were condemned to die.
Your body, however proved
athletically strong and the
executing arrows extremely
weak, so another means to
kill you was chosen and you
gave your life to the Lord.
May athletes be always as strong in
their faith as you so clearly
have been.

Amen.

Go Vikings!!

Craig D. Behm

Athletic Director

Sts. Joseph & John School

sjjcyo@gmail.com

Our school website is currently under construction as we undertake a significant update. These changes are aimed at enhancing the site’s design and functionality, with a particular focus on improving our marketing and outreach efforts.

As a result, the new SJJ website will prioritize marketing aspects over detailed information for school families. Information and resources such as the school handbook, school policies, lunch menus, gym uniform and book store order forms can be found by going to the SJJ Families Group under the "resources" tab on auth.digitalacademy.org.

Our goal is to create a vibrant and engaging online presence that effectively showcases our school’s strengths and achievements to the public, while Digital Academy houses the information that is school-family focused.

Our goal to relaunch the website is set the end of Quarter 1.

This school year, we have transitioned to Digital Academy, a new and comprehensive system designed to enhance various aspects of our school operations. As we work to implement its features, please be aware that this process will take some time.

We anticipate encountering a few glitches along the way as we navigate this learning curve. We are dedicated to addressing any issues promptly and efficiently as possible. Our goal is a smooth transition without overwhelming anyone and to get everything up and running at a manageable pace.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we adapt to this new system. Thank you for your support!

PLEASE NOTE THE SCHOOL SCHEDULE FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR:

MORNING

6:30 am- Mornings at Cove opens (pre-registration is required, fee involved)

7:15 am- Building opens and students may enter the building to report directly to McGraw Hall.

Car drop-offs may not occur prior to 7:15am unless students are being dropped off at Viking Cove

7:30am- Teachers pick up students from McGraw Hall and escort students to homeroom. Students arriving after 7:30am report directly to their classrooms.

7:45 am- Tardy Bell Rings.
Students not in their seats and ready to learn at 7:45 am will be marked tardy.

AFTERNOON

2:00pm- End of day bell, dismissal after closing prayers.

Saints Joseph and John School offers a safe, teacher-operated before- and after-school care program for K-8 students enrolled in our school: Viking Cove and Mornings at Cove.

Viking Cove is our after-school care program in our Viking Visionary Center. Available for students in grades K-8, Viking Cove operates from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. During their time in Viking Cove, students will have access to supervised homework time, after-school snacks, outdoor activities, open gym time, and the resources of our Viking Visionary Center.

Please note that Viking Cove is offered every day that school is in session, except for scheduled early release days and the last day of school. The fee for Viking Cove is $5 per hour per student, with charges billed in 60-minute increments.

In addition to Viking Cove, we offer our Mornings at the Cove, our new before-school care program. Open to students in grades K-8, Mornings at the Cove takes place between 6:30 AM and 7:15 AM. Students will receive a light breakfast and be taken to McGraw Hall at 7:15 AM. There is a flat rate Mornings at the Cove of $10 per student for this program.

Please click here if you would like more information.

We believe Viking Cove and Mornings at the Cove provide valuable support and care for our students and their families. If you have any questions or need further information about these programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Rosanne Puliafico at rpuliafico@sjjschool.org.

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If your child is attending Viking Cove or Mornings at Cove be sure to sign up for our REMIND messaging. On your iPhone or Android phone, open your web browser and go to the following link: rmd.at/vikingcove. Follow the instructions to sign up for Remind. You’ll be prompted to download the mobile app.

For pick up send a REMIND 10 minutes before arriving. A teacher will have your child ready at Door E and bring them out to the car. Please pull into the parking lots outside Door E.

If you need your child to attend MORNINGS AT COVE send a REMIND to notify staff you will be dropping off in the morning. Mornings at Cove drop-off begins at 6:30 A.M.

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Viking Cove is always looking for new or slightly used games, toys, flashcards, and puzzles. Send any donations to the Viking Visionary Center. We thank you for your consideration in advance.

Please follow the guidelines as stated in the SJJ Student Handbook:

Field Trips: Traditional School Uniform or Gym Uniform (based on the nature of the trip and determined by administration).

Spirit Wear Days: On designated days, students may wear school-approved spirit wear (sold by the SJJ PTU or purchased through CYO only) with uniform bottoms and school shoes. If this day falls on a gym day for some students, the student may wear gym uniform bottoms and tennis shoes with their spirit wear top.

Our students have been doing a great job adhering to the dress code so far this year. To keep this year running smoothly we ask that parents and students familiarize themselves with the Dress Up Day policy.

When students are permitted to be out of uniform, they will dress up. Days include but may not be limited to:

• Picture Day: Dress Up Only

• Birthday: Dress Up Only

• Dress Up Day defined:

Girls may wear dresses, skirts, blouses, sweaters, dress shoes, dress slacks. Make-up and

jewelry guidelines apply.

**Note: Leggings or tights are permitted only with uniform length skirts or dresses.

Boys may wear slacks, dress shorts (during warm weather uniform months), collared shirts, dress shirts, ties, sweaters, dress shoes, socks appropriate for school.

Jewelry guidelines apply.

The following items are not permitted to be worn on a Dress Up/Out of Uniform Day:

Tanks, sleeveless, or narrow strap tops; Top that are revealing low-cut necklines, or expose bare midriffs when sitting, stretching, stooping, etc.; Athletic shorts or jeans; Pajama pants;

Low or sagging pants or shorts; Skirts or dresses shorter than the top of the knee; If dresses or skirts are shorter than the top of the knee, they must be paired with tights or leggings;

Leggings or other tight fitting pants, unless paired with uniform length skirts or dresses;

Ripped or torn clothing; Hoodies

Administration reserves the right to deem what is appropriate. Students not adhering to rules on

Dress Up/Out of Uniform days will call home for either a change of clothes or their school uniform. If a school uniform or change of clothing is not brought to school by 8:30am, a uniform violation will be issued to the student.

Students are always welcome to wear their traditional school uniform instead of dressing up.

SKI CLUB is filled, but you can reach out to Mrs. Thomas (kthomas@sjjschool.org) and asked to be added to the waitlist.

Shelly Schenek, Principal~ Lower School

sschenek@sjjschool.org

Jennifer Francis, Principal~ Upper School

jfrancis@sjjschool.org

Angela Bosko, Little Vikings Preschool Director

abosko@sjjschool.org

Patty Briggs, Business Manager

pbriggs@sjjschool.org

Victoria Cimino, Director of Marketing and Enrollment

vcimino@sjjschool.org

Fr. Barry Gearing, President

FrBarry@sjnohio.com

Fr. Andy Gonzalez, Treasurer

agonzalez@sjohio.org