Please help us promote our Winter Registration Celebration this Tuesday evening from 6:00pm-7:30pm. We already have 60 students registered for 2020 and it's only January (This year we started in September with 63, now we have 75) and more exciting is that we even have current 5th graders registered for 2021!! St. Joe's is growing at lightning speed and we don't want anyone to miss the chance to be part of our community before will fill our school! When we are bigger, we can do more of everything we're doing now: More unified prayer and spiritual development, More sports, more band, more drama, more clubs, more service work, more engaging academic work, more teacher collaboration, more partnerships with universities.

We are exactly one-half way through the school year and though many things have changed at St. Joe's, we are not slowing down!

First, please visit our newly upgraded website. Through my humble efforts I have gotten more content on the website, but I knew it needed a professional upgrade. So, I was able to acquire the support of a fantastic marketing intern, Nina Hinds (daughter of Mrs. Hinds, religion teacher at CLA), who has given this website just the look it needed.

Thanks to Nina, we now even have some new features INCLUDING an ABSENCE REPORTING page, where you can simply go in at any time of day and plan ahead, mark your student absent, tardy, or dismissed early and we will get that information, no phone or email call needed! You can even do it right from your phone! 

Next, students' progress is measured in several key ways this week. We issued report cards on Friday and students are wrapping up the second round of NWEA tests. Some students have demonstrated continued commitment to their studies. Continuously the message they get from me is this: within the honor roll, there are students for whom studies come easily and there are students who must work tirelessly. There is a place for each student who choses to be resourceful, dedicated and curious but you must earn it. The rigor of any academic program can be found at the intersection of a students' willingness to reach for the next hold and for that next hold to be visible and within reach. When I confer with students about their report cards, I am doing so on the basis of effort, conduct, AND achievement and I am teaching them to and expecting them to take full advantage of their small classes, the after school support and their material and social resources (setting up systems with friend). There is no excuse for not performing at their best. Therefore, you will see a robust list of honor roll students and some will be on the "ineligible" list for sports. There is a homework group after school for athletics - so getting less than a C is not acceptable. At the same time, my weekly meetings with teachers about their curriculum and students allows me to identify any necessary improvements in the instruction and assessment process to assure that the grades you see are a reflection of skills and knowledge.

In addition, those taking the reading classes will be doing a mid-year growth and engagement report this week. I do want the students to evaluate their own level of commitment to reading and of course we will be checking progress. Some have used this time to the fullest extent. They have logged in regularly to Goodreads, selecting books, recommending books, writing thoguhtful reviews, read a diverse collection of texts, and those students have radically shifted their thinking about their own agency in reading development. The myth that "learning to read" stops in the early grades is just that ~ a myth. People are always learning to read different types of text and for different purposes. There are new, richer, deeper aspects of literacy to learn through middle, high school and beyond.

The students have just finished the NWEA test on Friday. Though I have seen mid-year dips in improvement for a wide-array of reasons throughout the many years I have used this assessment, I will expect to see strong growth in individual students' performance and across the school. I will be reviewing this performance data and will keep my door open for conversations about students as I did before. Remember, this is one piece of a mosaic of our students' growth but a necessary measurement.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that our Bear Cave School Store has earned enough money to provide scholarships for 2 students to attend the NYC field trip. It is a valuable bonding and learning experience for our students and we don't want ANYONE to miss it. The Bear Cave was set up entirely for this purpose and we are proud that we are able to give this.

But here's the thing...

I've decide that going forward, I would also set up a Square option to donate for school field trips. The more students we embrace at St. Joe's, the more students will benefit from support in being able to participate in meaningful, supplementary experiences as we serve all demographic populations. This donation link can be found on our Family Page or go directly here.

In addition, if you are finding yourself in need of the support, you can send in an envelope with your child's name on it, permission slip signed, with just $1 in it, in good faith that you really do need support. Therefore, the students will interpret that you are paying for the fieldtrip and will be none the wiser. This $1 will be a message to me that you don't have the funds to pay for the trip but you would like them to be able to go and that in the event you are able to pay it forward another day, you will. I've been there. I know how humbling it can be to feel the financial pressure and I didn't want my kids to be embarrassed. I will use the funds from the donation account and the Bear Cave to help, no questions asked.

St. Joe's Classroom Spotlights ~ World Geography

~ Language Arts with Mrs. Deignan~

Parent Engagement News

A MESSAGE FROM THE PTO:

Dear Fellow Parents:

First, thank you so much for your support of the school and teachers. I, for one, have definitely felt a sea change this year in the culture at St. Joe’s. I have enjoyed the opportunity to be more involved and gratified by the outpouring of support such that we were able to create a Parent-Teacher Organization and fund it to the point of giving Christmas gifts for teachers and supporting a whole school science project. This represents an amazing start, but the work isn’t done. We need more help. We need more people. And frankly we need more money. We have some ideas for further fundraising, but many hands make manageable work. We are all overstretched, overscheduled and overtired but the cause is worth it – our kids. Besides, the PTO isn’t just for kids and teachers, it’s for parents too. I’ve found the more involved I am the more I benefit from interactions, experience and advice from the parents I’ve met. Its been very helpful to speak with parents of older kids to get a preview of next year’s high school challenges, and after I stop screaming into my pillow, I feel much better.  I hope you will consider joining us on our monthly virtual meetings or reaching out to a PTO member ( flyingfurey1@comcast.net ) to offer help. Our next meeting is Feb 18 ^th at 7pm. Mrs. Florino’s newsletters have the link. Also please check our Facebook page (St Joseph’s Parents Group) for updates. I hope you’ll consider joining the team and getting involved – it’s good for you and easier to take than a giant multivitamin!

Best,

Gale Furey

Bears Athletics

Important Dates Ahead

New Activities ~ St. Joe's Choir

Choir will be meeting this week with lunch meetings for those interested. Mrs. Deignan has ordered the first songbooks and all students are welcome and encouraged to join! Our first performance will be for St. Teresa's Manor just after February vacation. Interested students should meet in the library on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at lunch.