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.

We welcome family members of students at SJCS to school Mass. We have worked closely with the Polk County Sheriff's Office to identify appropriate protocols to allow those with ties to SJCS to join us for school Mass. We need everyone's full compliance in these protocols as we strive to maintain a high level of safety for our students and staff.

• 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, August 27th, 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, August 27th, 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/49GPzVks7TxnEWa38

In today’s Gospel, Father Saji read from Matthew about a landowner who hired laborers five times throughout the day. He promised each of them a day’s worth of pay. When the first laborers received the same pay as the last laborers, they got upset at the landowner. The landowner asked if they had a problem with how he spent his money and if they were jealous of his generosity. In the same way, the landowner symbolizes Jesus calling to us at different times. The laborers are us, His followers, and the pay, His love. We shouldn't be upset that Jesus shows everyone the same amount of affection even if we are called to follow before others. At the end, Jesus will keep his promises and give us our reward for being faithful: eternal life.

Hayden, grade 8

In today’s mass, we learned how we should guide and help others instead of judging them. Just like the shepherds were judging the sheep by punishing them instead of guiding them, God wants us to learn how to help others and to use Jesus as our example. Helping people can help ourselves as well. Just like Jesus, we can be great examples to other students, friends, family, and those who we don’t even know.

Audrey, grade 8

Please see a letter from our Superintendent of Schools.

Today we will host an Altar Server interest meeting for current and new servers. This will be in Mrs. Tanner's classroom from 3:30pm-4:15pm.. This ministry seeks to encourage the youth of our parish to fully engage in our faith through their service to the Church as altar servers. Serving at the altar gives youth a hands-on, personal experience of God's work in the liturgy. Requirements are that the children have received their First Communion. Children over the age of 14 will need to complete the Safe Environment Training and Fingerprinting. Please contact the Mrs. Tanner at htanner@stjosephwhschool.org with any questions.

We reached our goal of $100 of earned funds for our school! We will have a schoolwide dress down on Tuesday, August 27th. Please continue to scan your receipts so we can earn funds from Box Tops for our school. Those of you who shop at Kroger can email your receipt to yourself then submit it Box Tops. Our next goal is to earn $250. Students will have another dress down day once we reach this goal.

If your 5th-8th grade child would like to play sports this fall and a parent or guardian attended the sports meeting on Thursday, we need all sign up forms returned to the office. This is for the fall sports of girls volleyball (grades 6-8), girls cheerleading, boys soccer, and co-ed cross country. If you were unable to attend the sports meeting, please contact Mr. Kupka to schedule a time to meet mkupka@stjosephwhschool.org.

There will be a cross country meeting on Wednesday at 3:30-4:00 pm in front of the gym for boys and girls.

There will be boys soccer this Friday August 23 from 3:30-5pm.

Thanks to your generosity, we were able to collect over 10 large boxes of school supplies for students in need. We are so appreciative of your donations!

Parents are reminded that we offer supervision beginning at 7am daily in the parish center. If you need to drop your child(ren) off before 7:30am, you will be charged $2.50 per family for anytime between 7:00am and 7:25am. Please drop your child(ren) off at the parish center doors and ensure that they enter the parish center to the care of an adult before driving away.

When entering morning carline at the Parish Center parking lot, there will be two lanes of traffic when you enter the gate. On the right side will be the fast lane in which students will exit their cars and walk to the Parish Center overhang. On the left side will be the cars that will go through the Parish Center loop. Please make sure you are in the correct lane for how you wish your child to be dropped off so that traffic can continue to move. Also, please watch for Mr. Art's signals of when to continue moving.

Afternoon carline has been running very smoothly-thank you! Please remember these two items:

• If your child is in middle school (grade 6-8), dismissal is not until 3:10pm. If you arrived too early, parents must comply with the directions of the staff member. Exit the parking lot and circle back and re-enter.
• Immediately upon entering the parking lot, please "Announce" for all of your students using the PikMyKid app. When skipping the "announce" step, the child doesn't have the appropriate amount of time to begin packing up and getting ready to head out. This will result in your child not being in the parking lot when you get to the front of the line and you being asked to park or exit the lot, circle the block and reenter.

We have received some questions about after school care billing. If your child is not picked up by 3:30 pm, they will be signed into after school care and you will receive a bill the following Monday. To avoid this cost, we recommend arriving to school well before 3:30pm. If you child is clocked in anytime between 3:30-4:30, you will receive a bill for $4.50 per child. Please note that any child that is not picked up at the end time of their extracurricular activity will also be signed in to aftercare and charged accordingly.

With the hot weather, we are in need of bottles of water for our afternoon careline staff members. If you are able to donate some, we would appreciate it! Remember that every $10 spent counts an hour toward the required 20 service hours for each family for this school year.

SJCS will continue to offer aftercare for all families. Students must be picked up by 6pm. All families will need to use the app for pick up from aftercare and will be asked to show a car tag. Remember, this is for the safety of your child! PreK-5th grade students will be in the Parish Center or on the playground. Middle school students will be in the Science Lab or playground.

The cost for aftercare this year is $4.50 per hour. Families are billed weekly. SJCS will not provide a snack. If parents wish to send an extra snack with their child, you may. Aftercare staff will give students a chance to eat his/her snack (brought from home) around 4pm.

We are excited to begin another school year at SJCS and have many great events planned for our school community. We invite all parents to get involved. Please take a few minutes to complete this Google Form. We will use the information submitted on this form to create committees for all events.

Please keep in mind that most events require parent volunteers to be fingerprint cleared through the Diocese. There are directions to get started on this process in the Resource section of Eagle's Eye newsletters. Also, keep in mind that this is a great way to earn those required 20 service hours per family.

https://forms.gle/46eWw6SyEf28FdLu6

Our new and used uniform sale will be this Saturday, August 24th from 9am-12pm

New uniform sales will be in the gym and used uniforms will be in the library. Please make plans to bring your student with you during the uniform sale so that he/she can try on uniforms before purchase.

Want to get ahead on your service hour commitment for the 2024-2025 school year? SJCS parents are required to complete 20 hours of service to the school each academic year. Our Fall Uniform Sales are a great way to log some hours before the school year even starts. If you are interested in volunteering at the Fall Uniform Sale on Saturday, please reach out to Ms. Summer at sdehaven@stjosephwhschool.org or call 293-3311 to let us know that we can count on you.

We are beginning to schedule field trips for some grade levels already! Parents interested in chaperoning 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.

We encourage parents to send in water bottles with their child daily to keep hydrated in the extreme heat. We have water bottle filling stations around campus. Remember that water bottles must be clear and may not be glass. Please put your child's name on his/her water bottle.

Parents are reminded that SJCS is closed on Friday, August 30th for Teacher Professional Development. School is also closed on Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day!

Please join us for fun, food, and fellowship on Tuesday, August 27th, from 5pm-9pm at Beef O'Bradys on Cypress Gardens Boulevard. What a great way to meet new friends and enjoy dinner with out cooking! Proceeds from the evening will be donated to SJCS.

As you know, 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. It's time 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

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 in September. Please don't come pick your child(ren) up until 3:30 if they are staying for choir.

Church Children's Choir

The Children's Choir for our church will begin practicing at 3pm on Thursday, September 5th. 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.

Choir with Mrs. James
TBA

Our middle school students are invited to attend Edge, St. Joseph’s Middle School Ministry. This will begin on Wednesday, September 18th. Email Nathan Hayes at nhayes@stjosephwh.org for more information.

If you intend for your child to receive any sacraments (First Communion) through St. Joseph Catholic Church, it is time to register! Registration is being held after all masses this weekend in the parish center. You can also call the church office at 294-3144 or email Liliana Reyes at lreyes@stjosephwh.org

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.

• August 30th: Teacher Workday: No School for Students
  
• September 2nd: Labor Day Holiday: School Closed
• 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

Maschio's is our lunch provider. The cost for a regular lunch will be $5.00 this school year. Below is the price list for extras that are offered.

2024-2025 Lunch Price List

If your child requires a special menu for food allergies or other food-related conditions, please fill out one of the following forms and submit it to the email address listed in the forms.

Food Allergy Management Program - English

Food Allergy Management Program - Spanish

The best way to communicate with members of our school staff is via email. In some cases, teachers may use DoJo or give out their personal cell phone numbers. Parents are asked to be patient and allow staff members 24 hours for a response. Additionally, our staff members have their own children and families. In an effort to be mindful of their personal time, Mrs. Insua has a 7pm -7am rule. Staff are encouraged to not check emails, DoJo messages, text messages, etc between 7pm and 7am. This allows our staff members to have a balance of family time and recharge for the next work day. Thank you for your respect of our professional teachers who give so much of themselves.

Our annual Mary K. Hession Nun Run will be a great 3.1 mile run/walk. It will be a flat course out and back along the Chain of Lakes Trail, and is pet friendly. The event is on Saturday, October 5th beginning at 8 a.m. in the parking lot. Click the link to register. Sign up by September 10th to receive a t-shirt. For more information about this or sponsorship opportunities, contact Allison Beeman at sjcsnunrun@gmail.com. You can sign up using this link:

https://www.athlinks.com/event/st-joseph-catholic-school-nun-run-372770

Please use this link for sponsorships:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebo_nB9DC1mR0gzg7OfKmkJGCMgWrEEOiJfTYlFtdaAdZwmg/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

Please remember that there are many times throughout the school year, where parents choosing to come on campus must be fingerprint cleared through the Diocese of Orlando. This includes volunteering at special events or chaperoning field trips. The fall is always such a busy time for the diocesan fingerprint office, and clearance can take weeks depending on circumstances. If you are a new parent to SJCS, or your fingerprints have expired, we urge you to consider taking care of this requirement now! The steps for being fingerprint cleared are below.

If you have been previously fingerprinted and have questions about this, contact the office. Please do not contact the Diocese directly about this.

With the new security procedures put in place this past school year for adults attending Mass and attending ceremonies, all driver license IDs must be scanned in the main office for the new school year. Please stop by the office and have your ID scanned now. This will ensure you are able to attend all events this coming school year and will not have to scan your ID for the remainder of the year.

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

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