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.

Thanksgiving break begins tomorrow with a 2pm dismissal. Aftercare will be available tomorrow until 6pm. School will be closed for Thanksgiving break next week, November 25-29th. We will welcome students back on Monday, December 2nd.

Our hearts are full of joy and gratitude for the wonderful community that we have at St. Joseph Catholic School. We are so grateful for all the generous giving you provide to SJCS all year long.

This time of year is also a great opportunity to come together as a community in meaningful ways. We are looking to spruce up our school to keep it as beautiful as the spirit within it.

We would love your help to enhance our school grounds and make them even more welcoming for our students and staff. On Monday, we’ll be spreading mulch around the campus to refresh our landscaping, and we’d love your support!

Details:
📅 Date: Monday, November 25th
⏰ Time: 10am-12pm
📍 Location: Meet at the school office
👕 What to Bring: Comfortable clothing, gloves, rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows (if available).

Whether you can spare an hour or the whole morning, your time and effort will make a huge difference. This is also a great chance to meet other parents and show our students the value of community involvement! Middle school students are also able to earn service hours.

We have received guidance from the Diocese of Orlando Office of Schools that the missed day, Friday, November 22, will not need to be made up. Additionally, students will not be counted as absent.

• 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, December 3, 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, December 3, 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/BFg3i5NyinXcLyB97

Today Father Glenn described how we must be thankful for everything and be forgiving of everyone. He said there are three was to be: givers, forgivers, and thanks-givers. I think this was very inspirational as it is a reminder that we should always give to others, forgive our enemies, and thank the Lord for all he has given us. No matter how much or how little you have, keep your faith, and Jesus will give you more as a reward.

Gabby, 7B

In the first reading from Revelations, we learned that God is the Almighty One over all of the previous rulers and the rulers to come. In the homily, Father Glenn shared what we should be and what we are as Christians: givers, forgivers, and thanks-givers. He showed us that what we do to raise food for charity is not unique to us but happens in the entire Catholic Church. He told us that the Roman Catholic Church is the biggest organization built on giving to others. We also were reminded of how beautiful kindness is, how it positively affects others, and that it can also help others turn away from sin.

Dylan, 7B

Tomorrow is our last day for collecting toiletries for Catholic Charities. As a school, we were able to donate over 2,000 items! Thank you so much for your generosity so we can help others in need!

SJCS’s chapter of the National Junior Honor Society is teaming up with Meals on Wheels for our Advent service project, Meals for Change. Beginning December 2 through December 19, we will be collecting change each day in every classroom to pay for ”Angel Meals.” Our donation to Meals on Wheels of Polk County will help support their mission to provide nutritious meals and keep seniors safe and living independently in our community. $195 provides someone meals for a month. The students’ goal is $1,000! These gifts will ensure that when a person with limited income needs a meal they will be served.

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!

Our Read A Thon hoedown will be tomorrow, 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. Students may dress down tomorrow.

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

• Outerwear Outside the Building: Students are welcome to wear any style of SJCS jacket, sweater, or sweatshirt (P.E. day only) when they are outside the school building (e.g., during carline, recess, etc.). These do need to be from Sir Walter.
• Outerwear Inside the Building: Once inside, students are also required to wear Sir Walter issued outerwear, such as the school sweatshirt (P.E. day only), sweater, or jacket.
• 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.
• 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.

The intermediate classes will be doing hand knitting as an activity for their Christmas rotational party. They are in need of any color yarn. If you have any yarn, new or used, please send this to the office by Monday, December 9th.

Thursday, December 5th, will be a 2pm dismissal day. Aftercare will be available until 6pm.

Sweets with Santa will be on Saturday, December 7th. Make plans to attend now! The train is back this year, as well as the book fair. We will need volunteers for this event. Please sign up to help by calling the school office or emailing Ms. DeHaven at sdehaven@stjosephwhschool.org. Also, here is the link for the Amazon Wish List to help with the event. Remember that every $10 spent counts toward 1 hour of the required 20 service hours. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1TWBGJKAB7CQ9?ref_=wl_share

We hope to see you there!

We will have a Spirit Night on Wednesday, December 4th, at Tijuana Flats on Cypress Gardens Boulevard, from 5-9pm. Come join us for food, fellowship, and fun!

Middle School Edge will be on Wednesday, December 4th and December 18th, from 6-8pm in Room 2. Middle school students who attend EDGE may dress down on Thursday, December 5th and December 19th.

Our Room Parent Christmas party will be on Tuesday, December 10th, from 8-10am in Room 2. Please join us for an ornament swap and breakfast!

These are the locations of where students will be for aftercare:

• PreK-1st grade will be in Mrs. McDonald's room by the playground.
• Grades 2-5 will be in the Parish Center.
• Grades 6-8 will be in the Science Lab.

We are so close to our goal of $250 in Box Tops. All you have to do is scan your receipts to help us reach this goal and all students will earn another dress down day.

IT’S ALMOST BOOK FAIR TIME!

It is a busy time in the media center. As we are wrapping up our digital citizenship lessons, we can now turn to an event that we all can look forward to- THE BOOK FAIR!. Our winter book fair will be from Tuesday, December 3rd to Monday, December 9th . The book fair will be open during the school day, as well as during morning and afternoon carline. We will also be open during Sweets with Santa on Saturday, December 7th. We have switched to a new vendor, Good News Book Fair, to ensure that the titles available are age-appropriate and in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

If you are interested in volunteering at the book fair, please sign-up by clicking this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084BAAAE2EA0F49-53345449-2024#/

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

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.

Upcoming Schedule Dates:

• No practice Friday, 11/22 due to 2:00pm dismissal.
• Practice: Friday, 12/6
• Tournament: Saturday 12/7

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 December 3rd. 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.

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.

Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

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

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