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 pray you had a blessed Christmas and New Year. Students return to school on Monday, January 6th. We look forward to seeing them Monday morning!

Second trimester student progress reports will be sent home on Thursday. Please check your child's backpack/take home folder for these.

Thursday will be a 2pm dismissal. Aftercare is available until 6pm.

• 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, January 7.
• 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, January 7.
• 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/NZPhx1iaueJEGhK7A

Catholic Schools Week, January 26 to February 1, is an annual celebration of our Catholic schools. The theme for 2025 is "Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community". Our SJCS students will be hosting Masses the weekend of January 25th and 26th. We will need student volunteers to be altar servers, readers, cantors, and gift bearers. Please click the link to sign up your child to volunteer for a Mass. https://forms.gle/nY454k6KSoYTmqJa9

Income Verification Forms will be sent home on Monday, January 6th. A form is needed from each family. This form is for our school to be able to receive Title funds. Those students who return this by Friday, January 10th, may dress down that day.

We will have a PTO Meeting on Tuesday, January 14th, in the Parish Center, beginning at 6:00pm. We will be discussing new tuition rates and we will be learning about the new App Hallow that is available to all students and families for free to use. Please join us! A dress down pass will be given to students and families who attend.

Please download the app on your mobile device before the event.

SJCS’s chapter of the National Junior Honor Society teamed up with Meals on Wheels for our Advent service project, Meals for Change. We collected change each day in December 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. Thank you so much for all of your generous donations!

Reregistration for the 2025-2026 school year begins Monday, January 6th. Reregistration is $250 if completed by Friday, January 24th at 3:00 pm. After 3pm on January 24th, reregistration will be $350.

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.

Middle School Edge will be on Wednesday, January 8th from 6-8pm in Room 2. Middle school students who attend EDGE may dress down on Thursday, January 9th. Parents who volunteer to help with EDGE may earn SJCS service hours.

Thank you for all your support with the book fair! It was a great success! I know that there was some confusion because we switched from Scholastic to Good News Book Fair, but the feedback I received from students and parents about the quality of books and pricing really does make me believe that this was the best choice to ensure that our students have access to quality, appropriate literature that is in line with our Catholic values.

Some parents did reach out about the Scholastic eWallet they had set up last year because there was money left in it. I looked into this and found out that Scholastic policy is turn the remaining funds into an egift card balance that can be used on the Scholastic Parent Online Store (shop.scholastic.com/parents). Be sure to sign in with the same email used to create the eWallet and you should see the funds listed there.

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.

Chess club will not meet on the 10th and 17th. January club meetings will be on 24 and 31. Reminder of the tournament on Saturday January 18th!

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. 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.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another 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.

Pikmykid is the new servicer for our Parent emails. All whole school emails will show as being from noreply@pikmykid.com.

If you feel like you are not receiving parent alert emails, please contact Mr. Kupka. He will contact PikmyKid so that a case can be created to get the email re-subscribed to the parent alert list.

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.

• 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