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, September 17, 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, September 17, 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/mKTJFfFuD7TC6cHa8

In today’s Gospel, the message was clear; the opinions of others about us are not as important as how we are viewed in the eyes of God. It emphasized that the judgments of others do not determine our status, but by the way we are seen by God. We also learned that it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor because Jesus will always love you.

Kess, grade 7

In today’s Mass, Father Raju spoke to us about what our goals should be as Christians. In the readings, we heard that we should stay focused on our faith instead of earthly success. Even if we had all of the riches in the world, none of it would mean anything to God. Our lives on Earth are nothing but a test of our faith, and a chance to help others. We were all made equal, and we will all leave the earth the same way, no matter our money, appearance, popularity, or anything that humans would consider “important”. The only ideas setting us apart from others is our positive impact on the world and our relationship with God.

Elena, grade 7

It was announced at the Masses this past weekend that our parish will be welcoming Father Glenn Lopez as Parochial Administrator in solidium with Father Tim LaBo as of October 12th. We welcome Father Lopez and look forward to meeting him!

Below is our meet schedule for this cross country season.

Sept 19th @ Discovery High School 6:15pm

Oct 2nd @ Jewett 6:15pm

Oct 8th @ Haines City High School 6:15pm

Oct 15th @ Lake Wales High School 6:15pm

When entering and exiting the parking lot and in the carline loop, it is imperative that a low speed of all cars is maintained at all times. This is for the safety and security of our students, staff, and other parents.

We will have our Great American Teach on Thursday, November 14th from 8am until 10am. We would love to have you share your career or hobby with our students from Prek to 8th grade! If you are interested, please sign up on this link: https://forms.gle/ZuJLkkNJTmhVFfLw8

More information will be coming soon!

When dropping off your student in the mornings in the Parish Center parking lot, please do not allow your child to exit the car until there are staff members in orange vests in the loop. For the safety of your child, school personnel must be in the parking lot before students may be dropped off.

Our Read A Thon is still in full swing! The students are loving all the special reading time in class! Tomorrow is the final day to donate!

There will be a training for new altar servers on Saturday, September 14th, from 10am-12pm in the Church. Anyone who would like to be an altar server must have been baptized and received their First Communion.

PreK-5th grade students will be in the Parish Center or on the playground for Aftercare. Middle school students will be in the Science Lab or playground.

Below are the list of this year's SSYRA books we will have in the media center. SSYRA stands for Sunshine State Young Readers Award, a statewide reading program for students in grades 3–8 in Florida. The program's goals are to encourage students to:

• Read independently for pleasure
• Read books that are above, below, and on their reading level
• Improve their reading fluency

Our Chess Team is starting up soon! If your middle school child is interested in this, we will have an informational meeting on tomorrow at 3:30 pm in Mrs. Motsch's classroom. The meeting should last 30 minutes.

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. 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

EPCAR (the East Polk County Association of Realtors) is hosting a golf tournament on September 23rd. This will benefit our school as we are their charity of choice for the year!

https://members.epcar.com/calendar/Details/2024-epcar-charity-golf-tournament-1073270?sourceTypeId=EmailInvitation

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 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 October. Please don't come pick your child(ren) up until 4:00 pm if they are staying for choir.

Church Children's Choir

The Children's Choir for our church will begin practicing 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. All students interested will need to audition (even if they were in Concert Choir previously).

Grades 3-5

Rehearsals: 3rd, 4th & 5th grade on Wednesdays at 3:15-4:00pm beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 19th

Middle School

Auditions: Thursday, Sept. 12 beginning at 7:15am

Rehearsals: Thursdays from 7:15-7:45am beginning on Thursday, Sept. 26th

Students do not need to have anything prepared in advance for the audition. 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 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.

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

If you intend for your child to receive any sacraments (such as First Communion or Confirmation) through St. Joseph Catholic Church, it is time to register! You can call the church office at 294-3144 or email Liliana Reyes at lreyes@stjosephwh.org

Confirmation classes will take place every Sunday starting this Sunday (9/8) from 12:15-1:00pm in Room 2. This Sunday's class is open orientation, and parents can come to sign up that day if they would like to. 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.

Save the Date and RSVP your Hawk Jr. Cheerleaders today!

RSVP Sign-up:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4CABAB2DA4FCC70-51075989-sfcjunior

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

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

Since we reached our goal of $100 in funds earned for SJCS, our new goal will be $250. Scan your receipts to help us reach this goal and all students will earn another dress down day.

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply,
"John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it."

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