Bernie's Bark
1.26.2021
Dear Parents-

This week we have several important feast days to celebrate. Sunday, January 24 was the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales. The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul was Monday, January 25, today we celebrate Sts. Timothy and Titus. Tomorrow we honor St. Angela Merici, founder of the Ursuline order of religious sisters and Thursday, January 28 is the Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and Patron Saint of Catholic Schools. These saints are notable for their love for God and thirst for knowledge, each proclaiming, teaching and converting hearts to Christ.

The March for Life is Friday, January 29. While the COVID prevents SJS/SJC from sponsoring representatives at the March, students at SJS will participate in their own Respect Life March. Individual cohorts will march and pray the rosary for the respect of all life.

We continue to follow all our strategies aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in our school and in our community. Parents should remain prepared for SJS to switch to online learning for all students. However, our COVID update this week starts with the report of a stabilization in the number of new COVID cases in Fairfax, notwithstanding that the County remains in an active outbreak. The current positivity rate in Fairfax is 12.5%; neighboring Loudoun County has a positivity rate of 14.6%, and Prince William County is at 14.1% positivity rate.

With the increase in the number of COVID cases in Fairfax County, it is imperative that you keep your children home if ANY family member is feeling unwell, or is undergoing a test for COVID-19. Thank you for your partnership with us to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

In-person students will continue to go outside for recess everyday, as fresh air is an important mitigation strategy. Please make your child bring a coat to school. There will be recess, winter weather tends to be cold, and a coat is needed to stay warm. No student will be allowed to stay inside; please insist that your child has a coat.

We are in Scantron week 3. For “in-person” learners, please make sure your children are in school during this time to ensure adequate opportunity to complete the tests. If you have specific scheduling questions or conflicts, please contact your child’s teacher.

Mrs. Carson and I invite you to join our parent book club. The first book we will read and discuss is recommended by the Intentional Catholic Parent community and is titled The Power of Showing Up by Daniel Siegel, M.D., and Tina Bryson, Ph.D. See below for additional information.

Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I can be of any assistance.

Go to Joseph
                              (Gen 41:55)

Denise Rutledge
Principal
 
 Building Wisdom and Faith Through Service to God
Weather Related School Closing and Delays


For weather related closing and delays, we continue to follow Fairfax County Public Schools - FCPS.
Dress Out Day - Jan. 29


Students will be participating in a special way in a Respect Life march at SJS on Friday, Jan. 29. Students may wear jeans and SJS spirit wear.....no holes, leggings, yoga pants, or pajama pants. Grades 6-8 will attend Mass so please be mindful and choose appropriate jeans and spirit wear. Don't want to wear jeans? P.E. uniform pants are acceptable!
Vision and Hearing Screening
VISION AND HEARING SCREENING FOR GRADES K, 3 & 7:
Thursday February 11 at 9:00

Please read the email sent out on Monday 1/25 about the upcoming vision and hearing screening at St. Joseph School. If your child has already been screened this school year and we have a copy of the screening report on file, your child does not need to be re-screened. The hard copy consent forms included in the email sent on Monday 1/25 are due back to your child's teacher on Thursday February 4.  
Book Club
Mrs. Rutledge and Mrs. Carson invite you to read along and discuss the key elements detailed in
The Power of Showing Up.

First meeting planned for Wednesday, February 3, at 7:00PM...zoom link will be provided closer to that date.

Topic: Chapter 1 What It Means to Show Up
Parents should not seek to be perfect when raising children. It is more important to be present; it makes a child feel safe, seen, secure and soothed.

The goal of the book club is building community and helping each other through a pandemic. It is not intended to be therapy or family counseling. Please seek the assistance of licensed practitioners if needed.
Catholic Schools Week
We are excited about all the fun events planned for our students during Catholic Schools Week! One slight change on February 2! The PTO will sponsor a Winter Warmth Dive - please donate gently used or new coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. In addition, the Knights of Columbus will generously donate ice cream for our students on February 3! *Note to our friends with allergies: there is dairy and corn syrup in all of the flavors. There is also Red Dye 40 in the strawberry flavor.
SJS Spirit Wear
Thank you to those who placed Spirit Wear orders! We are opening the store again from Friday 1/22 until Sunday 1/31, with delivery date in mid-February. You will be able to choose direct shipment to your home (shipping charges apply), or school delivery to be sent home with your student! We encourage checking out the Sizing Guides before ordering to help with proper fit.
The 8th Grade thanks you
for your support!
March for Life Prayer Service
St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus will lead a
prayer service on the day of the
March for Life.
Where: The Church
           When: Friday, January 29, 2021
           Time: 11:00 a.m.
           Prayer: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Scripture reading
Rosary for Life
Benediction and closing prayer at noon

Please join us for any amount of time that you can spare to pray for a culture of life.
Stay Connected!
SJS Mobile App, Twitter and Facebook


Don't forget to follow the official St. Joseph Catholic School Facebook page (sjschoolva), Twitter account (@sjschoolva), and download the mobile app from the App Store (St. Joseph Catholic School, VA)
Weekly Saints Quote
750 Peachtree Street, Herndon, VA 20170
Tel: 703-880-4350 Fax: 703-880-4320