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.

Today in Mass, the Gospel was about when Mary visited Elizabeth while carrying the Son of

God. Elizabeth was carrying John the Baptist, who was the prophet of Jesus and felt him leap in her womb upon seeing Mary. Elizabeth immediately knew that Mary was blessed by God. Today was the Feast of the Assumption when Mary entered heaven, body and soul. Mary is our mother in heaven who we worship and pray to unlike a normal human because she was given a gift by God. Evie 8B

The Gospel said at Mass today was about Mary visiting her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, in Judah. After coming into contact with her, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy. Elizabeth, after noticing this, proclaims that Mary is holy and that she is the mother of the Messiah. She continues to talk to Mary and praise her for being the Mother of God. Mary, in response, also states that her soul sings praises for the Lord. Isabella 8B

Today for Mass we had Father Saji as our priest. In the Gospel, Mary traveled to a town in Judah. She came over to her cousin’s house where she was greeted by the Holy Spirit in Elizabeth. During Father’s homily, he talked about how we love our mother both biological and . How we usually go to our mom when we’re hurt, with a kiss on a cut thumb makes it good as new. Mary is our spiritual mother and is the Mother of the Church. Like how we go to our biological mothers for help we should go to Mary for our spiritual, mental, and emotional help. - Vincent, 8B

Parents of students in grades 5-8 are reminded of two very important meetings tonight.

At 5:30pm, there will be a mandatory meeting for all parents of students interested in playing competitive sports at SJCS. This meeting will be held in the Parish Center.

At 6pm, our Orientation Meetings will begin for parents of all students in grades 5-8.

Again, it is strongly recommended that at least one parent attend the Orientation Meetings. Children should not attend!

A very special thank you to the Bowman Family for sponsoring our police officer this week for our school Mass. 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.

Tomorrow, Friday, is our School Supply Dress Down Day! Students are invited to bring a new school supply to donate to our Sister Diocese at the Dominican Republic, and dress down. Be sure to follow the dress down day guidelines that can be found in the Parent Student Handbook. As a general rule, if students aren't sure if they should wear something, they probably should choose something else. Thank you for your kind donations.

School picture day is Wednesday, August 23rd. Since it is a Mass day, students should be in full Mass uniforms. Parents should watch for an order form to come home with their child. Pictures must be pre-ordered.

We are looking for a couple parent volunteers to assist with Picture Day. Volunteers must be fingerprint cleared through the Diocese. If you are able to help us from about 8am until 12pm on August 23rd, please email Mrs. Heisey at sheisey@stjosephwhschool.org.

We will recognize those students who earned academic honors from last year's third trimester after Mass on Wednesday, August 23rd. Parents are invited to join us.

The first practice for school mass choir is Tuesday, August 22nd from 3:15- 4:00! Current 4th through 8th graders are welcome to attend this practice- we will welcome 3rd grade choir members in September. School mass choir practice will be a bit different this year, as we will only be practicing one time a month for the all the masses that month. Starting in September, practices will only be the first Tuesday of each month from 3:15- 4:00 in the church. Students may only sit in the choir area during school mass if they attend that month’s practice. We look forward to interested students joining this musical ministry!

Box Tops is a fantastic way for us to earn additional money at St. Joseph Catholic School. Parents, grandparents, and friends of SJCS are encouraged to download the Box Top app and begin scanning to earn funds for our school. It doesn't cost you anything. Scan your paper or digital receipts after you go shopping, and watch our funds grow! When we earn $150 in Box Tops, all students at SJCS will receive a free dress down day!

These three water bottles are in Lost and Found. This is a great reminder to please label all belongings. If you recognize one of these water bottles, please call the school office today, and we will get the water bottle to your child.

Parents are reminded that they are required to give a minimum of 20 volunteer hours per family each school year. There are many opportunities to volunteer and earn hours. One way to earn hours is to donate items that are requested by the school/teachers. Many of our teachers have Amazon Wish Lists. If you purchase items off of the teachers' Wish List, you can earn one hour for every $10 that you spend.

Parents are reminded to document service hours on Renweb as they are earned. Please see the Resource section (below) of this edition of Eagle's Eye for directions of how to document parent volunteer hours.

The best way to communicate with members of our school staff is via email. In some cases, teachers may use DoJo or give out their personal cell phone numbers. Parents are asked to be patient and allow staff members 24 hours for a response. Additionally, our staff members have their own children and families. In an effort to be mindful of their personal time, Mrs. Haas has a 7pm -7am rule. Staff are encouraged to not check emails, DoJo messages, text messages, etc between 7pm and 7am. This allows our staff members to have a balance of family time and recharge for the next work day. Thank you for your respect of our professional teachers who give so much of themselves.

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 tshirt from Boosters. Please keep this in mind as you start making commitments to chaperone field trips.

Please note that we will have tshirts on sale tonight at our Sports and Grade 5-8 Orientation Meetings. We will accept credit card or check for purchases.

Parents are reminded that SJCS is closed on Friday, September 1st for Teacher Professional Development. School is also closed on Monday, September 4th for Labor Day!

Please remember that there are many times throughout the school year, where parents choosing to come on campus must be fingerprint cleared through the Diocese of Orlando. This includes volunteering at special events or chaperoning field trips. The fall is always such a busy time for the diocesan fingerprint office, and clearance can take weeks depending on circumstances. If you are a new parent to SJCS, or your fingerprints have expired, we urge you to consider taking care of this requirement now!

The steps for being fingerprint cleared are as follows:

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