Eagle's Eye

St. Joseph Catholic School fosters a diverse community of disciples empowered through a rigorous and inclusive Catholic education rooted in Gospel values and service to others.

• Family members of students at St. Joseph Catholic School who would like to attend school Mass at 8:15 a.m. must preregister by 12pm on Tuesday, March 25.
• If you have previously visited SJCS and been cleared through the Raptor System using your driver's license, simply submit the form below.
• **Please note that you must be cleared through the Raptor System each school year. If you have not had your driver's license scanned this year, please go to the school office to have this done.
• If you haven't been cleared through Raptor, please complete the form below AND you must go to the school office to have your driver's license scanned into our Raptor System for attendance at future events by 12pm on Tuesday, March 25.
• If you submit by noon on the Tuesday before Mass, please plan to arrive at the back doors of the church in the courtyard by the Parish Center between 7:55 a.m. and 8:05 a.m. on the day of the Mass. The church doors on the Avenue M side will be locked and no admittance will be given to anyone attempting to enter on that side.
• Once Mass begins, we will not open doors to visitors for the safety of our students.

Click here to sign up to attend Mass: https://forms.gle/QEsDiaGXRdW966vD8

*****Please use your name on the form that appears on your driver's license.

Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter.

Stations of the Cross

During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer. As a school community, we will pray the Stations of the Cross, as we accompany Jesus' on his journey to crucifixion. The next Stations of the Cross will Friday, March 28th, at 8:15am in the church. Click the link to sign up to pray with us. https://forms.gle/8rCgVZqXnN5gr3A19

Eucharistic Adoration

On Friday, April 4th, we will have Eucharistic Adoration at 8:15am in the Church. This is a time for us all to pray in front of the blessed Sacrament, the consecrated host, to worship and be closer to Jesus. Please sign up here to pray with us. https://forms.gle/bqdNXbVSMwDxEujUA

The same safety procedures for Mass are in place for Stations of the Cross and Adoration.

For Lent, we will be collecting different food items for Catholic Charities.

• This Week: Cereal and oatmeal
• Week 3: Rice and pasta
• Week 4: Canned beans, corn, green beans
• Week 5: Tomato sauce and ravioli
• Week 6: Crackers and ramen noodles

The class with the highest number of items after week 6 will earn a dress down day and a treat of the class’ choice

Here is the information about Trimester Awards for grades 3-8.

• Principal's Award: All grades in reading, math, social studies, Religion, and Science are 95% or above; Middle School also includes Spanish grades
• High Honors Award: All grades in reading, math, social studies, Religion, and Science are 90% or above; Middle School also includes Spanish grades
• Honors Award: All grades in reading, math, social studies, Religion, and Science are 85% or above; Middle School also includes Spanish grades

Behavior Matters for Honor Roll Eligibility

At St. Joseph Catholic School, we believe that academic success is connected with positive behavior. To encourage a well-rounded approach to learning, students who receive a "3" for conduct on their report card will not be eligible for the Honor Roll. We encourage all students to strive for excellence both in the classroom and in their behavior. This fosters an environment of respect, responsibility, and achievement!

Our students who are receiving second trimester awards will be recognized immediately after Mass on Wednesday, March 26th. The calendar noted that this would be on February 26th, but the date has been changed. We will not do this on Ash Wednesday or on March 12th as the 8th grade students will be on their Tallahassee field trip. Please sign up to attend Mass that day to attend.

Mrs. James recently took several students to be a part of the Pueri Cantores Festival and Mass in Tampa at the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Thank you to Katie, Nathan, Peyton, Emma, Carter, Will, Sebastian, Hunter, Beatrice for participating in this! Another great achievement for our Eagles. They were 1 of 7 choirs that participated in the Pueri Cantores Festival and Mass held at Jesuit High School in Tampa. Over 70 students from 4-12th grade participated in this event.

Great job and thank you to Mrs. James for all her hard work!

Thank you to Mrs. James and our concert choir for performing at a recent Lakeland Tigers baseball game. The students performed the National Anthem at the Tigers vs. Pirates game and did a beautiful job of representing SJCS. Thank you, Eagles, and Mrs. James!

SJCS Middle School Chess Team had a fantastic end to the season at the Championship Tournament today. The team, coached by Matthew Motsch with Mrs. Motsch as the faculty advisor showcased their chess and sportsmanship skills throughout the season!

Need coffee? We are excited to announce that Richard's Coffee in downtown Winter Haven is having a Spirit Day for us this Monday, March 24th. There will be a container there for you to place your receipt. We are blessed to have this partnership with Richard's and appreciate their support of our school.

The Knights Of Columbus Chapter #4726 hosts a Fish Fry every Friday evening in Lent from 5:30pm–7pm in the Parish Center. There will be no fish fry on Good Friday, April 18th.

On Friday, March 28th, the middle school students will be helping serve food at the church Lenten Fish Fry. The fish fry s sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. If you and your child are able to help with serving, please click the link below to sign up. All helpers will need to be in the Parish Center by 5pm to learn the procedures. Students must be accompanied by a parent and both students and parents can earn service hours. Thank you for helping!

https://forms.gle/T57o4riKybhJu7fL7

We have met our recent goal of $400 in Box Top rewards-thank you! All students and staff will be able to dress down on Tuesday, March 25th. Our next goal is $600.

Spring Break will be next week, March 17-21st and the school will be closed. The office will be open limited hours during this week, from 9am-2pm. We pray you have a restful spring break!

Dear Parents and Altar Servers,

As Easter approaches, we will be having a Mandatory Altar Servers training to prepare us for the Easter Season. On March 29, 2025, we will have training, see a video, and Father Glenn has asked to talk to the Altar Servers.

Please mark your calendars for March 29th, from 10 to about 11:30. I am trying to give you plenty of notice in order that you will attend.

Any Altar Server that is on the schedule for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil will also have trainings the week before Easter. Father Glenn wants to have rehearsals for everyone to know what is expected and to know what we will need to do to assist the priest.

If you have any questions, please give me a call at 863-412-7750. Hope to see you all on March 29th.

Thanks,

Shirley Roberts

Hebe Richer

This summer, we will have new air conditioners and new windows installed. The teachers will need to pack up items in their classrooms so they do not get dusty. If you have any boxes, we would appreciate them! We would like them broken down flat so we can easily store them until May. You can drop those off during carline, before or after school, any day.

Spring sports have begun! Students are competing in girls soccer, boys flag football, girls flag football, and golf. Tennis will not start until April and will take place at the Winter Haven tennis courts.

The forms for each of these sports can be picked up at the school office by parents/students or Coach Edwards will have them. Students must have the form filled out for each sport to participate.

What is the difference between a speech/language pathologist (SLP) and a speech/language therapist? There is no difference in the training and qualifications between a speech/language pathologist and a speech/language therapist. In a medical setting, such as a hospital or outpatient clinic, this professional is usually referred to as a speech/language pathologist and in an academic setting such as a school, this professional is usually referred to as a speech/language therapist.

What does the term articulation mean? This refers to the complex coordination process of producing our speech sounds using the lips, tongue, teeth and other speech organs.

What are misarticulations? This term refers to the speech sounds that are incorrectly made; for example when a child says fumb for thumb and somefing for something, the th sound is misarticulated with an f for th substitution.

What does it mean if my “child is stimulable”? The child is able to correctly produce an incorrectly made sound when given some extra help, (instruction, model, feedback). The more stimulable the child is for the correct production, the more favorable their prognosis for success in speech therapy.

What does speech intelligibility mean? This is a term that describes a speaker’s speech clarity as determined by a listener. If the speaker is difficult to understand, then their speech intelligibility is judged as poor or given a low percentage correct; conversely if a speaker is easy to understand, their speech intelligibility is judged as good or given a high percentage correct.

Many factors affect a speaker’s speech intelligibility including their articulatory skills, their loudness, their rate of speech, their fluency of speech and their vocal quality.

To be continued…

Do you have too many books that you would like to donate to our book sale? Please send any gently used books to the office and Ms. McGillin will use them in her book sale on parent conferences April 9th and 10th to benefit the purchase of new books for the media center.

Interested in helping us replace lost and/or damaged books? Be a book fairy and donate a book from this list: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2S6G0MFCC15VU?ref_=wl_share

New student registration is open and your child(ren)'s spot may not be guaranteed for the new school year without re-registration. The cost for re-registration is $350. If you did not receive the email link for re registration, you will need to contact Mrs. Brown in the front office by email at sbrown@stjosephwhschool.org

Please see the information below about the Step Up for Students scholarship. Here is the link for the Application Checklist.

https://go.stepupforstudents.org/hubfs/Scholarship%20Info/Scholarship-Application-Checklist.pdf?utm_campaign=SCHOOL%20PROVIDER%20-%20GENERAL%20Communication&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--GcARUeCd0J0qJWsoArEhr7zZfKOCptd0zf-xM1mZIsmx7ri9EAeTtiGWfaiPsDhxbddjlNUKHyk-5tDm_bVCq8-MydCMmApmqhaMCkVoDmlIgkIs&_hsmi=344541403&utm_content=344541403&utm_source=hs_email

If you are planning to register your child in VPK at SJCS for the 2025-2026 school-year, you will need to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. You can do this on the Early Learning Coalition website by clicking on the following link and following the directions.

https://elcpolk.org/families/voluntary-prekindergarten-education-program/how-to-apply-for-vpk/

Applying for VPK is a two-part process and your application is not considered complete until we receive BOTH of the following items:

1. Registration Packet (from SJCS)

2. Certificate of Eligibility (from The Early Learning Coalition)

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Brown, Enrollment Specialist: sbrown@stjosephwhschool.org

The first day of the 2024-2025 school year will be Monday, August 11th, 2025.

We have a few different choirs at SJCS.

School Mass Choir
Students in grades 3-8 are invited to sing in the choir at all school masses. Practice will be once a month with the next one April 29th. Please don't arrive to pick up your child(ren) until 4:00 pm if they are staying for choir.

Church Children's Choir

The Children's Choir for our church will practice from 3-4pm on Thursdays. Jitka Cinibulk, music director from our church, coordinates this ministry. This is for students to sing at weekend Masses. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email her at jcinibulk@stjosephwh.org.

Concert Choir with Mrs. James

Students in 3rd-8th grade have the opportunity of joining Concert Choir. The SJCS Concert Choir performs at various community events during the school year including Carols in the Park, the Christmas program and singing the national anthem at the Rays, Bucs and Tropics games. During rehearsals, students will be developing many vocal concepts such as correct posture, resonance and technique. We will be singing a range of repertoire and work on two and three part harmony.

Grades 3-5

Rehearsals: 3rd, 4th & 5th grade on Wednesdays at 3:15-4:00pm beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 19th

Middle School Rehearsals: Thursdays from 7:15-7:45am

Please e-mail Mrs. James at vjames@stjosephwhschool.org if you have any questions. Thank you!

Church Handbell Choir

The Church Handbell choir is looking for 2-3 new ringers. The starting age is 10, so if any student is interested, this would be a great time to join us. Practice is on Thursdays 6-8 pm in the church. If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email Jitka Cinibulk at jcinibulk@stjosephwh.org.

The next Middle School Edge will be on Wednesday, March 26th from 6-8pm in Room 2. Parents who volunteer to help with EDGE may earn SJCS service hours.

St. Joseph Catholic Church's religious education coordinator is Mrs. Melady Roque.

If you intend for your child to receive any sacraments (such as First Communion or Confirmation) through St. Joseph Catholic Church, you can call the church office at 294-3144 or email Melady Roque at mroque@stjosephwh.org.

Confirmation classes will take place every Sunday from 12:15-1:00pm in Room 2. Confirmation is open to grades 8-12. Parents can contact Mr. Nathan Hayes with any questions at nhayes@stjosephwh.org or by calling the office at (863) 294 - 3144 ext. 224.

Lent is a 40-day period dedicated to prayer, fasting, and giving to those in need. It starts on Ash Wednesday and concludes at sundown on Holy Thursday. This season is a time of preparation for celebrating Christ's Resurrection at Easter.

During Lent, we deepen our relationship with God through prayer by reading Sacred Scripture, extend charity by giving alms, and practice self-restraint through fasting. Lent invites us not only to give up luxuries but also to undergo a genuine transformation of heart as we strive to follow Christ's path more closely. We reflect on our baptism, when we were united with Christ's death, freed from sin, and began a new life in Him.

While abstaining from meat on Fridays is a well-known Lenten tradition, we are also encouraged to practice self-discipline and fast in other meaningful ways. Reflecting on the roots and purpose of Lenten fasting can deepen our understanding of this practice.

Additionally, giving alms is an important way to share God's blessings—not just through monetary contributions, but by offering our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).

During Lent, the baptized are encouraged to renew their commitment to Christ, while those preparing for baptism through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults engage in a time of learning and reflection as they journey toward becoming members of the Catholic Church.

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.

Our next Box Top goal is $600. Remember all you need to do is scan your receipts to help us reach this goal and all students will earn another dress down day.

This section of the Eagle's Eye will remain in every edition of our newsletter. It will contain links to information that parents may need from time to time. When parents have questions, we urge you to check this section for possible links that could get you the information that you need.

• School Calendar
• Lunch Menus
• Maschio's Birthday Order Form
• Registering for a lunch account
• PikMyKid User Guide (English)
• PikMyKid User Guide (Spanish)
• Fingerprinting/Safe Environment Certification Instructions
• Fingerprinting/Safe Environment Certification
• Uniform Company
• Technology Responsible Use Policy for Students
• Parent Student Handbook
• Attendance Policy
• Accessing Facts Family Portal
• Family Portal Login
• Logging Service Hours: Parents and students can now enter and view their own service hours. You can use your app to view the hours, however, you have to use the web version to enter new hours. go to FACTS Family Portal. The district code is STJC-FL. Once logged in, click on the Family option in the menu on the left side. At the top of the screen, select the family member who will be adding the service hours. Click on the Add option on the right side of the screen in the Service Hours box. Fill out the information and click Save.

Important calendar dates for the 2024-2025 school year are listed below. ***Please note that the school intentionally schedules school closures at times throughout the school year. We are giving these dates to you early to help your planning for the 24-25 year. Families should schedule family vacations and other commitments during scheduled school closures; vacations should not be scheduled when school is open. Vacations are not considered excused absences and are a violation of the School Attendance Policy.

• March 17th-21st: Spring Break
• April 18th-23rd: Easter Break
• May 26th: Memorial Day: No School
• May 29th: Last Day of School

O Blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of Mary, the virgin Mother of God, I choose you this day to be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor you all the days of my life. Therefore, I humbly ask you to receive me as your client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen.

Principal: Mrs. Insua

Assistant Principal: Ms. Lucarelli

Assistant Principal: Mr. Kupka

Parochial Administrator: Fr. Glenn Lopez

Canonical Administrator: Fr. Tim LaBo

Superintendent: Dr. Erika Wikstrom

Email: jinsua@stjosephwhschool.org
Website: stjosephwhschool.org
Location: 535 Avenue M Northwest, Winter Haven, FL, USA
Phone: 863-293-3311