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, October 22, 2024.
• 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, October 22, 2024.
• 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/19ihxG8dMLTkyFsM9

"Your heart and mind are like a workshop." Amazing line really. It means since our hearts and minds are always working on how to properly use the Holy Spirit's gifts because even though the Holy Spirit is giving it to you, there is still a way to use it wrong. Riley 5A

Father Raju talked about how our mind is a workshop. He also explained the reading. He also talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how you should use these gifts in life. He said, "If we live in the spirit, we should also follow the Spirit". Theresa, 5A

Father's homily today was about our heart and mind is a workshop, meaning that are always working. It was also about our spirit giving us gifts, but its important how we use those gifts. For example, our spirit can give us the power to forgive, but it is our choice to decide if we forgive. Our mind is always working because we think about our choices, and we always use our heart to love. Neil, 5A

The priest said today that our mind and heart are a workshop. He told us that our workshop can do anything. That we should use it for good and not evil. That the Holy Spirit also gives us gifts and to use the gifts for good not evil. Nico, 5A

There will be school tomorrow Friday, October 18th. This was on the calendar as a hurricane make up day, but due to Hurricane Milton, this will be a school day.

We will recognize Soaring Eagles and Acts of Kindness next Wednesday, October 23rd. These will be immediately after Mass that day. You must have attended Mass to be present at the recognitions as the Church doors will not open for the safety of our students.

We will have our fall PTO meeting nextTuesday, October 22nd at 6:00 pm in the Parish Center. We will have a speaker from the Polk County Sherriff's Department on the latest Social Media safety measures that you can put in place for your children. Because of the topic of this meeting, no children should attend.

The Winter Haven Fire department will be coming on Thursday, October 24th, for K-8th grade students to rotate through an age-appropriate Fire Safety talk.

Our Read A Thon hoedown will be Friday, November 22nd. We are excited to celebrate the great job the students did in helping to raise funds for our 4 Square Court and replacing windows in our school.

There will be a middle school dance tomorrow night from 6-8pm in the gym. A snack of pizza, cookies, and drink will be provided. Students may dress down for the dance, but all attire must follow the SJCS dress down guidelines.

Red Ribbon Week is celebrated the last week of October, October 28-November 1st, the highlight the importance of staying drug free. At SJCS, we celebrate this with dress down days. Below are the dress down days for this week:

Oct. 28 Monday-We are too bright for drugs- Neon & Sunglasses attire

Oct. 29 Tuesday-Lay off Drugs- Wear Hawaiian or floral shirt

Oct. 30 Wednesday- We say no as we are St. Joes, head to toe. Wear any St. Joe gear

Oct. 31 Halloween Thursday-Cowboy up against drugs- Wear your Country/Cowboy attire

Nov. 1 Friday All Saints Day - Be different- Wear shoes other than all black ones (must follow dress down guidelines for shoes)

Catholic Charities continues to be in need of the following items if your child is able to bring in one or more of these items for Mass next Wednesday: cereal, canned meat, canned fish, spaghetti sauce, pasta, oatmeal, mac & cheese, rice, beans, canned vegetables and fruit, applesauce, and granola bars. Thank you for your continued generosity!

The Office of Catholic Schools is coordinating a special diocesan collection to support those in the Florida Province impacted by Hurricane Helene. This is a wonderful opportunity for our school community to demonstrate their generosity and compassion during a time of need.

Please send monetary donations to the school office to help Catholic School families and schools on the West Coast of Florida impacted by the hurricane.

There will be an Altar Server refresher training this Saturday, October 19th, at 10 am in the Church. This is to prepare altar servers for the upcoming Advent Season. All current altar servers are encouraged to attend.

It is time once again for an SJCS spirit night. Come join us any time between 5pm-9pm at Panda Express on Thursday, October 24th. We look forward to seeing you for food, fellowship, and fun!

Middle School EDGE is in need of volunteers to help with the program for our youth's faith formation. EDGE meets once a month on Wednesday evenings from 6-8pm. If you are interested in helping, please email Mr. Nathan Hayes at nhayes@stjosephwh.org.

We will have a $1 dress down day next Friday, October 25th to benefit breast cancer research. Any and all donations are appreciated!

Get your pumpkin decorating ideas ready! On Monday, October 28th, our annual pumpkin decorating contest begins. Send in your pumpkin by Thursday, October 31st, to be considered for prizes. Please, no carved pumpkins. We look forward to seeing all the creative designs!

Our Fall Fest is coming soon and we are still in need of volunteers! Come join us on Friday, November 8th for fun, fellowship and food, as well as to help make this the best Fall Fest ever! We will need volunteers for with things like running booths, inflatables, and games as well as set up and clean up. If you are able to volunteer on this day any time between the hours of 8am and 7pm, please click the link SJCS Fall Fest Volunteers: Fall Fest Friday, November 8, 2024 2pm-7pm (signupgenius.com). Middle school students accompanied by a parent and high school students are welcome!

Click this link to access all this year's Fall Fest information: https://stjosephwhschool.org/fall-fest-24-25

Friday, November 8th will be a 2pm dismissal for Fall Fest. There will be no aftercare this day.

As you begin to decorate for fall and have some decorations that you are no longer using, please donate them to our school! We will use them for Fall Fest. Donations can be dropped off at the office.

This year, we will have Tacos at Fall Fest! These are being donated by the Molina family and they will also offer flavored waters. You don't want to miss these special, new additions to the SJCS Fall Fest!

Thank you so much for your valuable help with Fall Fest! The Fall Fest Bake Sale is a great time for the SJCS community to taste a variety of delicious HOMEMADE treats and we can’t succeed without your help.

We are in need of “Homemade Baked Goods” (Cupcakes, Cookies, Breads, Brownies, etc.). Any donation would be greatly appreciated. Please sign up on the Sign Up Genius link with what will you donate.

Mobile

signupgenius.com

On Fall Fest Day, November 8th, there will be no regular lunches from Maschio's. A box lunch must be pre-ordered by Monday, October 21st. Please fill out the form and return it to the office by this day.

The holiday poinsettias are back! These beautiful florist quality plants will be available for pick up Tuesday, November 19th, just in time for your holiday decorating! Click the link by Friday, October 25th to order: https://sjcswh.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/Poinsettias2024/tabid/1500789/Default.aspx

***Due to the recent storm, no Winter Rose poinsettias are available.

Book Damage- It Happens to Everyone!!

A HUGE part of the media specialist job is book maintenance. As your students probably told you in the beginning of the year, I spent several lessons going over proper book maintenance and care with real examples of how books get damaged if they are repeatedly misused (book crimes). We spoke about keeping books away from water, using book marks to protect the spines, and how to turn pages to prevent tears. We also talked about how many books have protective coverings on them to ensure the cover stays in one piece.

But, even with all that, books will still get damaged. After passing through many hands, pages get torn, covers wear down, spines start to pull away. As you can see from the picture, I have quite the collection of tools and materials to repair the books with. However, you will notice that there is one common household item missing- clear office tape. That is because it is NEVER used to repair books. The tapes and glues used to repair books are made with specific plastics and adhesives that will not discolor, turn brittle, or alter the book itself. Tapes and glues that you can buy for your office and home do not meet those specifications. If your student’s library book has a torn page, spine break, or page fall out, please do not attempt to repair it at home. Instead, put the page in the book and send the book back to school as soon as possible. It does not need to wait until their library day. It would also be helpful if you send a message to me so that I know to look for the book so it doesn’t get placed in the book return where it may sustain more damage.

Most book damage is accidental and can be repaired as long as I am made aware of it as soon as possible. The only time a family will be charged for damage is if the damage caused by the student is irreversible and causes the book to be unreadable. Examples of this would be mold damage or pages torn out of the book and missing. If this occurs, I will notify the family of the cost of the book and the amount will be charged to their FACTS account. Thank you for working with me to make sure the library stays full of beautiful books for all our students to read!

Congratulations to the students who auditioned and will be representing SJCS at various musical events in Florida. They were chosen out of over 1000 students that auditioned from around the state of Florida.

· Layla, Laura, Laila and Marina will be performing with the Southern Regional Honor Choir at Southeastern University in October.

· Marina, Katie and Theresa will be performing with the Southern Regional Honor Orff Ensemble at Southeastern University in October.

· Chloe will be performing with the All-State Elementary Choir at the Tampa Convention Center in January.

We will have our Great American Teach on Thursday, November 14th from 8am until 10am. We would love to have you share your career or hobby with our students from Prek to 8th grade! If you are interested, please sign up on this link: https://forms.gle/ZuJLkkNJTmhVFfLw8

More information will be coming soon!

Parents interested in chaperoning for field trips are reminded that they must wear a SJCS shirt. There are several options. Parents may either purchase a SJCS polo from our uniform company or a t-shirt from Boosters. Please keep this in mind as you start making commitments to chaperone field trips. These can be purchased in the office.

Our middle school Chess team will practice Friday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 pm in Mrs. Mostch's classroom. The coaches are Mrs. Mostch, Matthew Motsch, and Noah Brown.

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 November 5th. 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.

We have a new religious education coordinator, Ms. Malady Rogue. She wanted to let you know of date changes for the 2nd Grade Sacramental Preparation Session: Reconciliation. The event will now take place on Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 @ 6:30 and Sunday, November 10th, 2024 @ 9:30am. Both events will take place at the Parish Center and parents only need to choose one (the date that works best for their schedule) and at least one parent should plan to attend with their child.

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.

All parents are required to contribute a total of 20 service hours during the 2024-2025 school year. There are lots of opportunities to earn service hours. Thanks to all those parents who have already given of their time in service. Please remember to document those volunteer hours in Renweb. You can find information about logging service hours in the "Resources" section at the bottom of this newsletter.

If you have any questions regarding logging of hours, Mr. Kupka is the best person to help you. Email him at mkupka@stjosephwhschool.org

Since we reached our goal of $100 in funds earned for SJCS, our new goal will be $250. Scan your receipts to help us reach this goal and all students will earn another dress down day.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

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.

• November 25th-29th: Thanksgiving Holiday: No School
  
• December 23rd - January 3rd: Christmas Holiday: No School
• January 20th: Martin Luther King Day: No School
• March 17th-21st: Spring Break
• April 18th-23rd: Easter Break
• May 26th: Memorial Day: No School
• May 29th: Last Day of School

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.

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

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