Optional daily Mass will be tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25. All are welcome! Mass starts at 7:10 a.m. and ends at 7:40 a.m. It’s in the All Saints Chapel every Wednesday before school. We will not have All School Mass this week due to Parent Teacher Conferences.

Wednesday, November 1, we will be celebrating All Saints Day. Kindergarten will start us off by parading into Mass at 8:30 a.m. Students are to wear full-dress uniforms.

For the past 2 weeks, our faculty have been participating in our very own "StJPII Eyes Up Challenge". This unique 30-day Challenge, created by Mrs. Bogard and her admin team, encourages teachers and staff to take a few moments each day to brighten someone else's day - or even their own! We are being intentional about seeing the good in others, thanking God for our blessings, and having fun too! We've given compliments, spent time in prayer, and even taken selfies in our Randall Crosthwait Pope Garden, as shown below. Our 30-Day Challenge will end just before Thanksgiving and we are excited about the opportunities the next month will bring as we continue to keep our Eyes Up! Be sure to keep talking with your children at home about how we can find blessings all around us when we keep our Eyes focused on the Lord.

Friday, October 27 is Parent/Teacher conference day. This is not a regular school day.

There will be a parent meeting for 5th grade parents on Monday, October 30 at 8:15 AM in the Library. Please plan on attending to learn more about the November 13-15 trip to Camp Allen. Teachers will speak about the agenda, what to pack, expectations, and you will receive cost information and camp paperwork. Paperwork will be due by Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

Join the StJPII community for our annual Trunk-or-Treat festivities in the StJPII parking lot this Friday evening, October 27 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. rain or shine!  Kids and parents are encouraged to dress in costume for safe trick-or-treating, games, food, photos, and fun! In case of rain, the event will take place in the BAC so please plan accordingly. We will send out more information on Friday. 

Your participation is key to make this event a success...without trunks, there are no treats! If you're interested in reserving a spot to decorate your vehicle, sign up by clicking the button below. Families decorating trunks may arrive as early as 4:00 p.m., even if the event is moved to the BAC. General attendee trick-or-treaters should plan to arrive when the event begins at 5:00. Thank you!

Visit St. Jude Hall on Friday, October 27, for the Used Uniform Sale. This is the same day as Parent Teacher Conferences. Feel free to email useduniform@jp2.org to ask about inventory or place an order. All proceeds go to the 8th Grade class.

We are looking forward to celebrating Grandparents & Special Friends Day the Friday before Thanksgiving, the morning of November 17. Invitations have been mailed, so please tell Grandparents and Special Friends to be on the lookout in the coming days. If you need an extra invitation to forward, you may download and share an invitation, which can be found by clicking the button below.  

Below is a portion of a newsletter article shared by Evan Weinberg at Staying Ahead of the Game (SAOTG) where he shares tips for students who may be academically struggling now that the school year has kicked in.

The mission now is to stay the course. At SAOTG, we’ve always emphasized that academic success is a marathon, not a sprint. Thus, the focus of this newsletter is equipping your student with Executive Function (EF) skills tailored to confront the unique challenges of October. We aim to extend beyond mere coping mechanisms, focusing instead on strategies that build a solid foundation for long-term academic independence.

Prioritize & Plan - As midterms and substantial projects loom on the horizon, the ability to prioritize tasks becomes crucial. Failing to plan is planning to fail, as the saying goes. Students should invest time in a planning routine. This involves not just tracking due dates, but also understanding the weight of each task in the grand scheme of their academic goals. As students learn to categorize tasks based on their urgency and significance, they can allocate their time and energy more wisely. This encourages proactive behavior and reduces stress, enabling students to tackle challenges head-on. Prioritize & Plan - As midterms and substantial projects loom on the horizon, the ability to prioritize tasks becomes crucial. Failing to plan is planning to fail, as the saying goes. Students should invest time in a planning routine. This involves not just tracking due dates, but also understanding the weight of each task in the grand scheme of their academic goals. As students learn to categorize tasks based on their urgency and significance, they can allocate their time and energy more wisely. This encourages proactive behavior and reduces stress, enabling students to tackle challenges head-on. 

Mindfulness in the Midst of Chaos - October can be a hectic month, making it easy for students to lose focus or experience burnout. Incorporating mindfulness techniques into student routines can prove transformative. Mindfulness encourages students to be present, allowing them to concentrate better on their tasks and reduce mental clutter. Through simple practices like deep breathing exercises or brief moments of quiet reflection, students can learn to center themselves. This emotional regulation skill is invaluable when it comes to making rational decisions about how to approach the growing academic workload in October and November.

Encouraging Self-Advocacy - With parent-teacher conferences and mid-semester check-ins often happening around this time, effective communication also becomes pivotal. Students should not only be clear in expressing their needs and concerns to their instructors, but also need to be receptive in taking constructive feedback. Impression management is an asset that serves multiple functions: it enhances relationships, facilitates better group dynamics, and allows for a more nuanced understanding of academic material. Merely reframing communication and self-advocacy as skills that students can and should improve will pay dividends for years to come. 

*Parent Meeting for BOTH Girls & Boys teams - Thursday 10/26 right after practice at 5:30 pm. PLEASE make every effort to attend this meeting!

The StJPII PTO invites everyone to come out for a SPOOKtacular time of skating, costumes, and prizes! Join us at the Dairy Ashford Roller Rink THIS Thursday, October 26. Remember, Friday is Parent/Student Conference Day, so Thursday is technically not a regular school night!

Sweater weather has arrived! Grab all your Fall Favorites in the Spirit Store. Orders will be sent home with your youngest Saint through their homeroom.

Did you miss the PTO meeting but would like to know what was discussed? Approved meeting minutes from the September PTO meeting are now available and posted for your convenience. The next PTO meeting is Wednesday, November 8, at 8:30 a.m. in SJH. Please join us to learn more about our upcoming events such as Snacks with Santa and Holiday on the Parkway. Hope to see you there!

Join us on Saturday, November 11 for a day of community beautification. We will begin with check-in and prayer at 8:45 am on the SJV basketball court. From there, we will send teams out to help clean the yards in homes of the elderly and pick up trash form parks in our surrounding neighborhoods. We will return to SJV around 11:00 am to enjoy lunch. Free tee shirts to the first 150 participants (or, until supplies run out by size). 

All volunteers must sign up ahead of time. Adults and older children (with parental supervision if under 16) are invited to participate. A waiver will be available upon check-in. Please click on this link to sign up.

Inviting Families to join the Challenge club community, ECYD and Regnum Christi for a mission!! We invite you to proclaim Jesus Lord through kind acts and service this November!! Sign up indicating you are a part of JP2 and we will serve Nery’s Promise community – about 45 kids and their families. More details and registration here: https://www.ecydhouston.com/about-3 Sign up by October 30.