Dear Parents-
As we focus on our Lenten sacrifices and preparing for Easter, you may have time to join us for
Stations of the Cross on Friday afternoons. Meditating on the Stations of the Cross helps us to appreciate the magnitude of Christ’s love for each of us, and reflect on whether we are living the life Christ wants for us. Stations are led by students from SCA and NJHS. Each time I hear these students speak, I am amazed at their poise and confidence, which reflects not only on their dedicated teachers, but also on their loving families.
Confirmation was an awesome event, and congratulations to our 8th grade students as they became confirmed in our faith last Saturday morning. Bishop Burbidge, Father Tom and Father Vince concelebrated a beautiful Mass, and everything was perfect! Additional thanks to Mrs. Alice Eelman and her fabulous Mass choir, and Ms. Laura Stump and her staff for their hard work readying the reception that followed.
We had a wonderful turn out for the
Gift of Human Sexuality parent meeting last Thursday evening, and I thank all of you who were able to attend. Parents were impressed with the knowledge shared by the presenter
Kevin Bohli, and his message on the dangers of pornography and ways to protect our children from cyber-threats.
Use this link to access the information handout, where you will find a list of resources to help parents talk with children about sexuality. I also want to recommend a book titled
Good Pictures, Bad Pictures. This book will help parents frame a conversation about pornography and steps children can take to protect themselves. There is also a “junior” version, and both are available on Amazon, and recommended by Mr. Bohli. Reminder that only those students in grades 6-8, who have registered for the in-class sessions on the
Gift of Human Sexuality will participate, however, if you are interested in signing-up your middle school child, please contact Mrs. Pearce. The classes will be 3 Thursdays in a row, starting on March 28th.
On Friday, March 22nd
7th grade
students will participate in a
retreat
here at St. Joseph Catholic School from 11am-2pm. The purpose of the retreat is to deepen students' connection to God, to grow in knowledge of their Catholic faith and to build community among classmates. It will be an afternoon of inspiring talks, small group discussions/reflections and activities. Students will be separated by gender so that they may freely and openly discuss with one another. This particular Identity retreat will be led by Carmen Briceno, a consecrated virgin and founder of Sacred Print and Happy Feet Ministries and Tim Judge, Dean of Students Christendom College. They will be assisted by Mrs. Farrell and Mr. O'Brien and students from PVI will also be present and helping with small group discussions. A pizza luncheon will be provided at no cost to students. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Farrell.
At Coffee with the Principal last Friday, we began the conversation on what the partnership between home and school looks like, and focused on the difference between conflict and bullying. The conversation fostered community and we hope to build on this discussion going forward. Our next coffee is scheduled for
Friday, April 5, and we will focus on social media, and sharing ideas on keeping our children safe and looking at ways to monitor use of social media accounts. Please consider joining us and participating in this important conversation.
Our
Spring Fling and Auction is now only three weeks away! Mrs. Brenner and the auction committee continue to pull out all the stops to make this a fabulous evening.
Rejoice and Be Glad that we are all members of this amazing community!
Our appeal is focused on classroom lighting and other enhancements, including
security upgrades. During a school emergency, it is very important that we are able to communicate internally as well as externally. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notes that during an emergency, nothing is more important than accurate information, and a combination of methods is the most effective to relay information. We are in the process of upgrading the walkie-talkie system so that each teacher has a working radio that can be used for live, real-time audio communication. Additionally, we are looking at installing digital communication panels throughout the school, that will allow for the silent broadcast of emergency information internally. A digital panel can communicate silently, and provide a continuous update on the emergency situation to ensure everyone’s safety. (
See FEMA training on communicating during an emergency and also
EverAlert)
Don't forget to place the
lunch order for your children through our school lunch program, in conjunction with Fairfax Food Service. Use this link,
https://sjschoolva.org/hot-lunch-program, to be re-directed to our webpage to find the ordering procedures. Remember to place your order no later than the 28
th of each month!
As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.
Rejoice and Be Glad!
Denise Rutledge
Principal
