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.

Father Joseph’s homily was about all the different ways we love and serve God and how we need to put God first. To do this, you have to make sacrifices. Every time though, choose God over anything else including video games and TV or any other distraction. Carson 5th grade

Father talked about all the ways we love God. He said we should honor the Commandments and follow Jesus’ directions. He also said we should follow Jesus and put Jesus first. He asked us all the ways we can follow Jesus. Someone said read the Bible. Another person said pray. Father said these were all great examples. He said remember always put Jesus before you. Bianca, 5th grade

Video games don’t matter, but Jesus does. You should be able to sacrifice anything for Christ. Never forget Christ our savior. If you get distracted by video games, that’s bad because you should always turn yourself to Christ. Sienna 5th grade

At least one parent from each family is required to attend a Mandatory PTO Meeting on Tuesday, October 10th at 6pm in the church. This meeting will last one hour. We will offer free babysitting for students enrolled at SJCS. Please make plans to attend this important meeting. Students whose parents do not attend this meeting will lose the privilege of using school issued devices (chromebooks or iPads) at school.

A very special thank you to the Childers family for sponsoring the police officer at Mass this week. Family sponsors cover the $135 cost for our off duty Winter Haven Police Officer to be present on our campus during school Mass or other special events. The sponsoring family also receives 13.5 volunteer hours (as families earn 1 hour for every $10 when requested by the school). A special thank you to all families who have already scheduled a sponsorship of a police officer. If you are interested in sponsoring a police officer, please reach out to Ms. Summer at sdehaven@stjosephwhschool.org.

We had such a great day earlier this week celebrating our PTO fundraiser, the Read A Thon: Dive Into A Good Book! We are grateful to all who supported this fundraiser. Congratulations to our winners:

First Place Class (earning Pizza Party): KA

Second Place Class (earning Ice Cream Party): 1A

Middle School Class with Highest Earnings (Ice Cream Party): 7B

First Place Individual: Destiny Davis ($100 Amazon Gift Card)

Second Place Individual: Santiago Arroyo ($75 Amazon Gift Card)

Third Place Individual: Dallas Salzlein ($50 Amazon Gift Card)

Raffle Drawing (students earned 1 raffle ticket for each $100 earned): Jianna Anonuevo, Santiago Arroyo, Creighton Collany, Luderson Dugar, and Aiden Moore.

Our fall sport season is wrapping up. In just a few weeks, we will start forming our basketball teams to play this winter. If your 5th through 8th grade child is interested in playing basketball, and a parent hasn't attended the Mandatory Sports Meeting, this is your chance before the new season begins. Mrs. Haas will host another Mandatory Sports Meeting before our PTO Meeting, this Tuesday, October 10th - the Mandatory Sports Meeting will begin at 5:30pm in the Parish Center with the PTO meeting beginning at 6pm in the Church.

We are excited to offer Odyssey of the Mind for our current third and fourth graders. Information was sent out to families a few weeks ago. Please remember that the informational meeting is next Thursday, October 12.

WHO: Out-of-the-box Thinkers in 3rd and 4th Grade

WHAT: Informational Meeting

WHERE: Ms. Brotherton’s Classroom

WHEN: October 12 at 3:45 p.m.

WHY: To find out about this awesome program

Our second graders recently visited officers at Winter Haven Police Department in honor of the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of law enforcement. Second graders delivered goodie bags to them and prayed with/for them. Thank you second graders for being the Eucharist to others and spreading God's love in our community.

Our students will participate in prayer through a Living Rosary on Friday, October 6th at 8:15am in our church. Students should wear Mass uniforms on Friday, October 6th. Parents and parishioners are invited to join us for the Living Rosary. Hope to see you there.

SJCS had 12 students audition for the Elementary All-State and Regional Chorus and Orff ensembles. These students worked hard to learn their parts and had to record their audition. We will find out the results in October.

Dash, Carson, Luke M., Madison T., Layla A., Theresa R., Hangler, Harmony, Chloe M., Bridget, Sienna, Rylie W.

We have almost reached our goal! Do you scan your receipts for St. Joseph? If not, we need your help! You can earn money for our school at no cost to you! And, when we reach $150, Mrs. Haas will give the whole school a dress down day! It's simple. Download the Boxtops app and start scanning your receipts every time you shop at Publix, Walmart, Dollar Stores, etc. If everyone helps, the money will add up. During the month of September, only 24 parents scanned receipts; can you imagine how much money we would earn if we had more participation?!?!

Earlier this week, St. Joseph Catholic School has raised $122.60! We are less than $30 from our goal. If you aren't already scanning, please do so! This is free money and goes right to PTO and benefits our students and teachers.

Special thank you to our PTO board who decorated our school and hallways for Fall recently. We love the decorations and appreciate your special touch to make our school more festive. Now, if we could just get some cooler weather...... Thank you PTO!

All students are invited to attend Mass this Sunday, October 8th at 11am in your Mass uniforms. See Mrs. Haas after Mass and receive a dress down pass.

Our Student Service Council is excited to launch our School Store! The School Store will be open from 7:30am-7:50am on Mondays and Fridays in the downstairs hallway. Students may purchase school supplies on their way to class.

Our church is holding a training for students interested in becoming altar servers. The training will be Saturday, October 21st at 10am in the church. Call the church office if you have any questions.

A very special Congratulations to the SJCS students who performed recently in Winter Haven Theater's presentation of Lion King Junior: Christopher Rivera, Carson Rivera, Luis Aguilar, and Katie Makovec. Many SJCS teachers and students supported these thespians in their production! Way to go!

Fall Fest is just a little less than a month away! HOW WILD! Fall Fest is our largest attended events of the school year! You will not want to wait in line to purchase tickets for food, games, or raffles. Get your tickets now by clicking on the QR code below. Options include:

• Wristband for $30. The wristband will give your child unlimited use of games or inflatables. This does not include purchasing food or bakery items. Wristbands will be $35 on the day of the Fall Fest.
• Class Basket Tickets $1 each. Classes will create raffle baskets. Buy your chances for $1.
• Food and Game Tickets $1 each. We only use tickets the day of the Fall Fest. We will have a table where you can purchase tickets the day of the event, but you are encouraged to preorder some to avoid waiting in line.
• 50/50 tickets are $1 each and can be prepurchased.
• Egg Rolls! There are a limited number of egg rolls being sold. We will run out. A dozen egg rolls cost $18. Order your egg rolls today! Thank you to the Vietnamese community for donating these scrumptious egg rolls!
• Finally, we are looking for sponsors to help offset the cost of the inflatables and other rentals. if you are interested, you can donate using the QR code.
• Use the QR code below to order tickets or use the link below: https://sjcswh.ejoinme.org/fallfest2023

Our SJCS PTO Poinsettia Sale is back! These gorgeous poinsettias come straight from the grower and are available by presale only. We know it's early to be thinking of Christmas poinsettias, but order yours today! These make great gifts! They are beautiful and better than what you can buy in stores. You won't be disappointed.

To order online: https://sjcswh.ejoinme.org/Poinsettia

Deadline to order is October 23rd.

Poinsettias will be available for pick up on campus on Tuesday, November 28th. Please reach out to Mrs. Burns at missyburns14@gmail.com with questions or to help out.

Mr. Art is beginning an afterschool art class for middle school students. If students are interested, they need to see Mr. Art to get a registration form. The cost is free. Art class will meet on Tuesday afternoons from 3 - 4:30pm.

If you wish for your child to receive the sacraments of Baptism and/or First Communion at St. Joseph Catholic Church, please watch for information about registering in future editions of the Eagle's Eye. Also, please save the date for a Sacramental Preparation Orientation meeting for parents on Sunday, October 1st at 9:45am in English and 11:30am in Spanish. More information will be forthcoming.

Come out and cheer on our Volleyball, Soccer and Cross Country teams next week.

On Monday, October 9th, our Soccer team will compete against Discovery at home. Games are at 4:30pm and 5:30pm. Our girls Volleyball team will travel to St. Anthony Catholic School to compete at 4:30pm.

On Thursday, October 12th, our JV girls volleyball team will compete at 5pm at Winter Haven Christian School while our Varsity girls will travel to Ridge for a 4:30pm game.

Good luck, Eagles!

We are looking for another employee to add to our Aftercare Team. Candidates must be 18 years old and have completed high school. If interested, please email Mr. Reilly at jreilly@stjosephwhschool.org.

St. Joseph Catholic Church is currently seeking an individual to fill the role of Director of Religious Education. To learn more and apply, please visit the Diocese of Orlando website of job postings. https://www.orlandodiocese.org/ministries-offices/human-resources/career-opportunities/

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. Haas

Assistant Principal: Mr. Reilly

Assistant Principal: Mrs. Insua

Canonical Administrator: Fr. Tim LaBo

Superintendent: Mr. Fortier

Email: thaas@stjosephwhschool.org
Website: stjosephwhschool.org
Location: 535 Avenue M Northwest, Winter Haven, FL, USA
Phone: 863-293-3311