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.

The first day of the 2024-2025 school year will be Monday, August 12th, 2024.

Congratulations to our latest Soaring Eagles: Mila, Skylar, Martin, Owen, Irelyn, Aiden, Francely, Nicolas, Aiden, Camila, Aiden, Claudia, Jake, Noelle, Giorgiana, and Tatiana!

Congratulations to our latest Acts of Kindness winners: Tatiana, Nicko, Kateryna, Dylan, Adam, Victoria, Grayson, Emily, and Juan!

Congratulations to our SJCS students who submitted essays to the DAR essay contest. Eighth grade chapter winner is Evie. Seventh grade chapter winner is Emilia. Honorable Mention to Rawan.

Anyone wishing to attend our school Mass must sign up on the Google Form below by 12 pm noon the day before. We are unable to add anyone to the list after this time.

Also, please remember that once the church doors close at 8:15 am, they will not be opened to allow anyone admittance.

Students who are tardy on Mass day will stay in the school office until the classes return to the classrooms after Mass.

We are welcoming family members of students at SJCS to school Mass. We have worked closely with the Polk County Sheriff's Office to identify appropriate protocols to allow those with ties to SJCS to join us for school Mass. We need everyone's full compliance in these protocols as we strive to maintain a high level of safety for our students and staff.

• All persons choosing to attend school Mass must first be cleared through our Raptor system, such is the requirement for all volunteers and visitors coming to SJCS.
• All persons choosing to attend school Mass must preregister by 12pm the previous school day using the Google Form provided by SJCS.
• For those individuals who have not been cleared through Raptor (using their driver's license), a photo of the driver's license must be provided to the school office via email no later than 12pm the previous school day. Please note that in this case, the individual must ALSO complete the Google Form.
• All persons choosing to attend school Mass must arrive between 7:55 am and 8:05 am and be checked in through the back church doors in courtyard by the Parish Center. 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. Guests will sit in designated areas and must exit the church when directed by administration. Further, upon exiting the church, it is understood that guests will proceed directly to their cars and not congregate outside of the church/school.

• Once Mass begins, we will not open doors to visitors for the safety of our students.

This is the Google Form sign up link for Wednesday's 8:15 am Mass, January 24th.

https://forms.gle/3t2k7uHP2BB8PmRy5

Students need to bring their own snacks to aftercare in the afternoons. We are not providing snacks this year.

Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which in 2024 is January 28 – February 3. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2024 is “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” More information about the week's activities will come soon.

Our students will be altar servers, readers, and gift bearers at all weekend Masses, Saturday, January 27th and Sunday, January 28th. We are still in need of readers for the 4:30 pm Saturday Mass and readers and gift bearers for the 7:30 am Sunday Mass. If your child would like to be a reader or gift bearer, please fill out the Google Form. https://forms.gle/PUCNWP1SG7Nnjqoq7

Grandparents Day is coming quick, Wednesday January 31st. All grandparents are invited to join us for Mass and a special morning at school. Please note that this event is reserved for grandparents or older relatives/close friends that serve in the role of grandparent for a student.

If a grandparent is not able to join us at school the morning of January 31st, they can send a card/letter to the school with the name of the student on the envelope. We will be sure that the student receives this piece of mail during Grandparents Day activities. Please watch for additional information in next week's edition of Eagle's Eye.

Join us on Friday, January 26th for a movie under the stars! Click this link for a printable copy: Movie Night_2024.pdf.docx

Our annual Mary Hession Nun Run is less than two weeks away! Come join us on Saturday, January 27th beginning at 8 a.m. in the parking lot.

This will be an exciting 3.1 mile run/walk on a pet friendly, flat course out and back along the Chain of Lakes trail. For more information, contact Allison Beeman at sjcsnunrun@gmail.com.

Click the link below to register.

https://www.athlinks.com/event/372770

The class with the highest participation in the Nun Run can have an ice cream party!

Also, volunteers are needed for the event. Middle school students who want to volunteers must be accompanied by an adult.

We are in need of snacks such as water, Gatorade, bananas, and apples for the runners of the Mary Hession Nun Run. Remember that every $10 spent can be counted as 1 hour of the 20 required hours of volunteering for this school year. All donations will need to be sent to the office next Thursday, January 26th, or next Friday, January 27th.

Click the link to help with this. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4AA4AF2EABFC1-47241178-mary

Re-registration for current students opened on Monday, January 8th, for the 2024-2025 school year. All FACTS payment plans, incidentals, and Mashios lunch accounts must be up to date to be able to re-register your child(ren). The deadline for re-registration is Friday, January 26th, by 3:00 p.m.. After this date, new student registration will open and your child(ren)'s spot may not be guaranteed for the new school year without re-registration. The cost for re-registration is $350 but if completed before January 26th, you will receive a $100 early registration discount. If you do not receive the email link for re registration, you will need to contact Mrs. Brown in the front office by email at sbrown@stjosephwhschool.org

If you have a sibling of a current student who you would like to be considered for enrollment as a new student next school year, please contact Mrs. Brown by email at sbrown@stjosephwhschool.org.

If you are planning to register your child in VPK at SJCS for the 2024-2025 school-year, you will need to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. You can do this on the Early Learning Coalition website by clicking on the following link and following the directions.

https://elcpolk.org/families/voluntary-prekindergarten-education-program/how-to-apply-for-vpk/

Applying for VPK is a two-part process and your application is not considered complete until we receive BOTH of the following items:

1. Registration Packet (from SJCS)

2. Certificate of Eligibility (from The Early Learning Coalition)

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Brown, Enrollment Specialist: sbrown@stjosephwhschool.org

Were you "over blessed" this year with more gifts that you can imagine? If you are looking to "rehome" gifts that you may have multiples of or just can't use, the Gala Committee would love to have those donations! They are also in need of any extra baskets or containers for making the Gala baskets. Any donations can be sent to the office.

Heartland for Children is so thankful for all the toys SJCS donated to children in need!

Congratulations to Tatiana! She has qualified for the Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund Regional Bee! The Regional Bee will be held on February 10 at Tropicana Field in Tampa. After winning the school spelling bee, she went on to the regional semi-final online test and was one of the top 50 spellers from that test who will complete in the regional competition.

Special thanks to the Figueroa family for sponsoring our deputy at Mass this week.

Please continue to scan your receipts so we can earn funds from Box Tops for our school. Our next goal is to earn $300. Students will have another dress down day once we reach this goal.

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.

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

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: Mr. Reilly

Canonical Administrator: Fr. Tim LaBo

Superintendent: Mr. Fortier

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