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, February 18.
• 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, February 18.
• 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/PzKDJK6gB3APtZTY8

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

We will have a 12pm dismissal today for teacher professional development. There will not be lunch that day from Maschios. Aftercare is open until 6pm that evening. Any student attending Aftercare that day will need to bring a lunch.

Friday, February 14th, was the end of the 2nd trimester. Please ensure that if your child is missing any grades that these are completed as soon as possible. Report cards will be emailed on Friday, February 20th.

Students in grades 2-8 will begin our standardized tests, the Terra Nova Next, this Tuesday, February 18th through Thursday, February 27th. It is important that students are well rested and arrive to school on time as testing will begin promptly at 8 am. Students should bring a healthy snack to have during a break in testing every day. Thanks for your help in setting your child up to do his/her best!

The weather is warming up and we are in need of bottled waters for car line to stay hydrated. We appreciate any donations! Remember that every $10 spent counts toward 1 hour of the 20 required service hours per family.

Prek-5th grade Valentine’s Day celebrations will be tomorrow. Please check your email/ Class Dojo for any teacher/room parent requests for treats to be sent into school. Middle School will have a walkthrough party for Valentine’s Day during lunch and recess.

It's that time of year again and the annual St. Joseph’s Taste of Achievement Gala is on Saturday, March 1st. This is our school’s biggest fundraiser and this year we are raising funds for a retractable stage in the gymnasium that can be used for plays, musical productions, the Middle School musical, in addition to much more! Scan the QR code below to RSVP.

Each class is responsible for a basket for the silent auction. Please consider donating items for your child’s class basket. We need all donations by this Friday, February 14th. An email was sent out by Mrs. Insua from the room parents about your grade level’s theme.

We are in need of live auction items for the Taste of Achievement Gala such as vacation homes, experiences, tickets, etc. Please contact Katie Collany at katie@collany.com to donate.

Do you have duplicates of Christmas gifts or gifts that just don't fit you? Do you have bottles of wine that you will not use? Do you have leftover baskets that can be used for making our Gala baskets for the silent auction? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, we would love to have those items! Please send in any of the above items to the office and let us know they are for the Gala.

We need parents of 5th-8th grade students to join our booster club! For information, please contact Brittany Coulter (brittanycoulter@gmail.com). We will be meeting this Tuesday at 330pm.

Booster clubs play a vital role in supporting extracurricular programs, particularly in schools and sports. They help provide essential funding for equipment, uniforms, and travel expenses that may not be covered by school budgets. Beyond financial support, booster clubs foster community engagement, bringing together parents, alumni, and local businesses to rally behind students. Their efforts contribute to enhancing the overall experience for participants, while strengthening school spirit and teamwork. In essence, booster clubs are crucial for enriching student activities and creating a thriving, supportive environment.

We will have a middle school dance on Friday, February 21st, from 6-8pm in the gym. Dress down guidelines must be followed and no cell phones should be left with parents. We hope all the middle school students can join us!

Spring sports are beginning with girls’ soccer, golf, tennis and track.

Flag Football tryouts will be February 20th and 21st (Thursday/Friday) 3:30- 5:00

Girls Soccer tryouts will be February 19th and 21st (Wednesday/Friday) 3:30-5:00

Golf tryouts will be February 20th (Thursday) at Willowbrook Golf course driving range.

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 or students or Coach Edwards will have them as well. Students must have the form filled out for each sport to participate.

For the next few weeks, students in grade 3-5 for Aftercare will be in Mrs. Brown's PreK4A room around the corner from the Science Lab. Middle school will still be in the science lab and Prek-grade 2 will be in Mrs. McDonald’s PreK4B room.

There will be no school on Monday, February 17th, for students. This originally was a hurricane make up day on the calendar, but we do not need to use it.

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

SJCS is happy to share the news that a new speech/language pathologist has joined the staff. Rain Robinson, a newly qualified SLP, joins Diana Goodwin, SLP, to help provide speech and language therapy services to our children with speech and language needs. Mrs. Robinson is a recent graduate from Indiana State University and has special interest in helping children on the autism spectrum. She has a Catholic school education, is a parent of 2 active boys and her oldest attends school here. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, dancing and crafts. She plans to be at SJCS on Mondays. Please help us welcome Mrs. Robinson to our SJCS family.

We have updated our Student/Parent Consent Form for Digital Resources form that was signed by all parents at the beginning of the school year. The new form is below.

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

St. Joseph Catholic Church is in need of money counters on Monday mornings to help with counting each week's collection from the Masses. Money counters must have fingerprint clearance and parents of SJCS can earn service hours for this. The money counters will work on a rotating basis of every other Monday. Please contact Mr. John Richards at hrichards@stjosephwh.org for more information.

With the cooler weather upon us, we want to take a moment to share a few reminders regarding cold weather uniforms.

• Outerwear Outside the Building: Students are required to wear either an SJCS jacket, sweater, or sweatshirt (P.E. day only) when they are outside the school building (e.g., during carline, recess, etc.). These must be purchased from Sir Walter.
• Outerwear Inside the Building: Students are also required to wear Sir Walter issued cold wear gear, such as the school sweatshirt (P.E. day only), sweater, or jacket, inside the buildings.
• Boys Pants: Boys MUST have one pair of trousers for Mass days and cold weather (blue for K-grade 8; khaki is appropriate for grades 6-8).
• Girls' Leggings and Tights: Please note that leggings are not permitted. Only tights that extend from the tip of the toe to the hips are allowed. Students wearing leggings to school will be asked to remove them.
• Girls' Pants: Navy blue pants are acceptable for grades K-5; navy blue or khaki pants are acceptable for grades 6-8.
• Sweatpants: Sweatpants may only be worn by students on PE days and must be Sir Walter issued with the school logo.
• Hoodies: Hoodies are not permitted, including pull-over or zipper style. On dress down days, hoodies are not permitted.
• Heavy Outerwear: On extremely cold days, students may wear heavier outerwear that is NOT from Sir Walter. These must be removed once inside the school building.

The next Middle School Edge will be on Wednesday, February 19th from 6-8pm in Room 2. Parents who volunteer to help with EDGE may earn SJCS service hours.

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.

The chess club meetings will be meeting on February 21st and 28th in Mrs. Motsch's classroom.

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 February 25th. 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. 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.

Jesus came down with the Twelve
and stood on a stretch of level ground
with a great crowd of his disciples
and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Our next Box Top goal is $400. Remember all you have to do is scan your receipts to help us reach this goal and all students will earn another dress down day.

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

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

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