PRINCIPAL'S PEEK AT THE WEEK

Mr. Vadini is planning a fun-filled Field Day for our SJJ Students. The Field Day festivities begin after Mass at approximately 9:30am for students in Grades K-7. Our Field Day stations will be run by our 8th grade students!

Students will be provided lunch this day from the PTU!

Cheese pizza from Antonio's

Baked Lays

Sliced Apples

Bottled Water

Following lunch, we will have an exciting and interactive PEP RALLY hosted by the Cleveland Cavaliers' CAVS ACADEMY in the gym! Cavs Academy is the official youth basketball program of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Academy coaches will be leading students through skills and drills that teach the "FUNdamentals" of basketball with lots of cheering and fun.

THE BIG REVEAL! There will be a special appearance by our school mascot during the pep assembly, as he reveals our NEW SPORTS LOGO to our students, faculty and staff! Watch for the video to be posted later that afternoon!

We are so excited for our Field Day and upcoming Cavs Academy Pep Rally TOMORROW!

SJJ is permitting students on field day to wear Cavs t-shirts or Cavs team colors, school appropriate bottoms and tennis shoes.

To clarify what dress is appropriate for this day:

• No tank, sleeveless, or narrow strap tops.

• No ripped or torn clothing.

• No tops that are revealing low-cut necklines, or expose bare midriffs when sitting, stretching, stooping, etc.

• Pajama pants are not permitted.

• Girls shorts must be appropriate length (no shorter than fingertip length) and they are not to be tight fitting.

• Boy’s shorts must not be longer than the knees.

• No flip flops or Crocs of any kind.

• No inappropriate words, designs or pictures on any clothing.

Students not adhering to the dress code rules on field day will call home for either a change of clothes or for their uniform.

If students do not want to wear Cavs attire, they are welcome to wear their complete school gym uniform or spirit wear shirts and gym shorts and tennis shoes for field day.

SJJ is starting a new tradition for grades 1-7, following the last Mass of the year on May 30. In our new Ceremony of Advancement, students will take their new seats in church as members of the next grade level. We'll begin with our 7th graders, as we reflect upon their year and ask them to move to their new pews as 8th graders. This "rite of passage" continues until we reach our 1st graders, who ultimately take their seats in the pews as 2nd graders. The move symbolizes not only a change in physical location, but signifies growth in our students' faith and educational journeys at SJJ as they look ahead the 2024-2025 school year.

On or around July 1, families registered for the 2024-2025 school year will receive an email from Digital Academy. We will be asking you to fill out your child’s Beginning of the Year Forms online. Forms must be completed by August 1, 2024. More information to come!

This week, our second and eighth graders celebrated a Mass that recognized their First Communions and Confirmations. May they always know God’s peace and find guidance from the Holy Spirit to bring that peace to others!

Please contact your parish if your child needs to be baptized or is in third grade and above and has not made First Communion or First Reconciliation. Parish staff is available all summer to answer any questions you have about the sacraments and becoming Catholic. St. Joseph Church 440 238-5555 ext 107 St. John Neumann (440) 238-1770

Students running for President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Spirit Commissioner and Sports Commissioner have spent the mornings this week campaigning.

Elections for the executive board will take place on May 28. The candidates will give a short speech to the student body. After, grades 3 - 7 will elect the Executive Board. In the fall we will have elections for class representatives for grades 4 - 8.

Best of luck to all of our candidates! We are grateful for your willingness to be part of the student leadership next year at our school!

Mrs. Meghan Kelley will be leaving Saints Joseph and John School at the end of the year, as she has accepted a position at another Catholic school as a principal!

Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Kelley in this exciting career move, and in thanking her for her dedication to SJJ over the years. Mrs. Kelley has been a valuable member of our SJJ family, and we wish her all the best as she moves forward to lead a Catholic school of her own!

SJJ's 4th grade Girl Scouts were gifted a tree from the City of Strongsville recently. During their meeting and after learning about the importance of planting more trees this year, the troop planted the 4-foot Sycamore along the trail toward the back of the school. They are excited to watch it grow over the years.

Strongsville High School junior (and SJJ alum) Estelle F. is completing a service project this summer collecting plastic grocery bags and making them into mats for the homeless.

"The first time I made these I learned that I was surprised to learn that there is a waiting list for these mats and that they are highly requested. I immediately wanted to make more as plastic bags are wasted so much, however their material is what makes these mats so requested," Estelle said. "The fact that the mats are made out of plastic means that they can be rinsed off and are waterproof. The plastic bags are knotted together to create material to crochet the mats."

Estelle is asking our current school families to donate plastic shopping bags between now and the end of the school year. There is a box located in the main office to drop off your unwanted plastic bags should you wish to donate. Thank you!

Please note that Strongsville City Schools will not be in session on May 28-30, 2024.

Morning- Strongsville Schools will provide transportation on this day. Please be at stop approximately 5-10 minutes earlier than usual scheduled time.

Your afternoon bus will be your morning bus on this. day.

Afternoon- Transportation will remain the same.

If you have any questions feel free to contact Strongsville Transportation Department at 440-572-7060.

The Saints Joseph and John School office will be open from 9 a.m. to Noon from June 3-7. We will be closed to our families for the summer after that time, as our safety grant projects will begin!

The school office will reopen beginning Monday, August 5 from 9 a.m. to Noon.

As a reminder, student tuition and fee accounts must be paid up to date for students to attend upcoming field trips.

Education fees for the 2024-2025 school year will be debited to your account on June 1.

Please contact the Business Office with questions.

Hello SJJ Families! Certainly hope everyone is enjoying the nicer weather and looking forward to summer! As much as we all love our summer, it's time to start looking ahead to fall sports!

First I want to again thank and congratulate our 8th grade CYO Student Athletes. As they prepare to head off to high school, we wish them all the best and prayers along the way! It has been an extreme honor and privilege to see each one of you grow and mature into outstanding student athletes! You will be missed but remember, once a Viking, always a Viking!

Registration for fall sports is now open! Please go to www.sjjathletics.com for all registration information and to register for a fall sport. A couple of quick things to note for this coming fall season:

• 4th Grade flag football will be offered as Padded Flag this year and players will wear helmets and shoulder pads but NO TACKLING.
• Rookie Tackle for grades 5&6 and Tackle Football for grades 7&8 have an accelerated registration period. Due to the need to weigh in players, registrations will close earlier for these sports. So please sign up early! We will not be able to accept late registrations.

Registrations will close for all sports on July 7, 2024, so please register as soon as possible and before summer vacations as late registrations cannot be guaranteed.

In addition to fall sports registration, we will also be hosting a summer Volleyball Camp at SJJ!! The camp will be led by CYO Hall of Fame coach Karol Coundourides and her team of outstanding instructors. The camp will be held June 10th through June 12th.

• 9:00am - 11:00am for grades 2 through 4
• 11:30am - 1:30pm for grades 5 and 6
• 2:00pm - 4:00pm for grades 7 and 8

Please see the attached flyers for registration forms and medical release forms. Please print and complete the registration form and mail directly to Coach Karol. We can assist with any basic questions about the camp but all specific questions will be sent to coach Karol for reply.

Wishing you all a fantastic end to the school year and a blessed and safe summer!

~Craig Behm

Athletic Director

St. John Neumann Vacation Bible School 2024 | July 22-26 | 9am to noon!

VBS is for children entering Preschool through 6th grade.

Our summer program, held in the mornings for one week, invites students entering Preschool through 6th grade (Fall 2024) to a fun, faith-filled, and lively experience. Join us for engaging faith lessons, high energy games, Bible stories, fun crafts, lively music, yummy snacks, and so much more!

For more details and to register, see https://sjnohio.com/vacation-bible-school/

**REGISTRATION DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2024,BUT ACT NOW – WE MAXED OUT MANY GRADES LAST YEAR!**

7th and 8th graders (and up) : You can volunteer for VBS!

We need dedicated young people to help the younger grades with crafts, outdoor activities, and more.

Students may use service hours for any club/school/sacrament prep requirements: Minimum of 20 hours!

See below for the link to sign up to help us bring our young people closer to Christ.

All volunteers aged 18 and older must be Virtus-trained.

https://sjnohio.com/vbsvolunteer/

Questions? Please email Kelly Sheredy at kelly@sjnohio.com.

See below for details about the special programming offered during VBS for Preschoolers and for 5th & 6th graders to meet them where they are!

For Preschoolers: CGS @ VBS

We’re so happy to offer VBS to a younger set of children! They will participate in the same Games, Crafts, Music, and Snacks as the older grades, but will be welcomed into our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) Atrium for faith formation instead of the regular VBS classes. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a hands-on faith formation experience like none other, and we know your children will love entering the Atrium room for some very special prayer work. Preschool ages are 3-5, not yet entering Kindergarten (Kindergarteners join regular VBS!). Must be potty-trained, or parents must be on site.

For 5th & 6th Graders: VBS with a Twist

We always want to offer content that engages our youth at their level, so our older children in this transitional stage between elementary and middle grades will experience an amped up version of VBS made just for them! They will have more in-depth Bible study during their faith lessons, a service project or two (including helping some of our younger VBSers one-on-one with their crafts!), opportunity for deeper prayer, plus fun team building and leadership activities – all fitting neatly within the VBS framework.

Get ready to explore God’s Kingdom with your friends at St. Joseph Church and Mrs. Debbie Kazimir during our VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL on June 25-June 27.

Children entering grades K-6 are invited to register for VBS at www.sjohio.org/rock.

Register early to avoid the waiting list!

With God as our anchor, our three-day adventure begins at 9:00am with

prayer, Bible activities, games, crafts, gym time and snack. Parents are asked to join us at noon

for closing activities.

Students entering grades 7-12 may assist as group leaders.

Email lzvoncheck@sjohio.org for more information.

Shelly Schenek, Principal

sschenek@sjjschool.org

Jennifer Francis, Assistant Principal

jfrancis@sjjschool.org

Angela Bosko, Little Vikings Preschool Director

abosko@sjjschool.org

Patricia Briggs, Business Manager

pbriggs@sjjschool.org

Joe Clark, Admissions and Marketing Coordinator

jclark@sjjschool.org

Fr. Barry Gearing, President

FrBarry@sjnohio.com

Fr. Andy Gonzalez, Treasurer

agonzalez@sjohio.org

Saints Joseph and John School lives the values and teachings of our Catholic faith, serves as Jesus served and encourages lifelong learning.