February 14, 2023

Exposition, Adoration and Benediction

In lieu of All-School Mass this Friday, February 17, we will participate in the sacred Catholic devotion of Adoration and Benediction. Even though our littlest saints in PreK and Kindergarten will not participate, all students are to wear full-dress uniforms.

Ash Wednesday

The StJPII community will celebrate Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, with an All-School Mass on Wednesday, February 22 at 8:30 a.m. in the GSC. Students should wear their full-dress uniforms. There will be no all-school Mass on Friday, February 24.

Helping Turkey and Syria

Families who would like to assist the people of Turkey and Syria affected by the terrible earthquakes are kindly asked to send the following items: sweatpants, sweatshirts and socks for adults and children as well as blankets. The collection starts today and will continue through February 23. Thank you for your generosity. There are bins for donations in the hallway.

*Click on the button below for more Faith Focus information. You can find the monthly virtue, Saints of the month, and service projects.

Official School Communications

As we look back on the confusion we experienced on Thursday and Friday last week, we want to caution you against using Whatsapp chats and other means of social media to share school news. While Whatsapp provides an instant way to connect with fellow parents, it can also send misinformation whenever hearsay or speculation is presented as fact. Unfortunately, gossip and rumors can spread rapidly and lead to unnecessary anxiety and undue panic, which is exactly what happened within our community. Last week's events were the perfect example of how social media can present an inaccurate picture of events. Sadly, a story evolved quickly that became so far from the truth, even among school leaders at Barbara Bush Elementary, that it negatively impacted and confused many people. Whenever you have a concern, please come directly to the school so appropriate action can be taken, and resist the urge to take to social media for answers. Rest assured that, with God’s help, Mrs. Bogard and the administrative team will act in all the students’ best interests and will properly investigate any issues brought forth. IRIS, email, and Saints Weekly should remain your trusted and official sources of school information. We recommend that Whatsapp and social media use among parents be reserved for sharing prayers, goodwill, and informal conversation. Thank you in advance for your support, and please consider praying the following prayer to St. Michael.

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Guest Speaker - Jessie Funk

Jessie Funk did an amazing job of speaking to our community today regarding emotional well-being and knowing your worth. She challenged our community to perform 5,000 acts of kindness. As our patron would do, we will be participating in various ways to show acts of kindness as a school. Please talk with your student about today and how they will be demonstrating their acts.

Upcoming Important Dates

February 20- Student Holiday in observance of Presidents' Day

February 28- Early Dismissal (2:15/2:30/2:45 p.m.)

Go Texan Day

February 24- StJPII will observe Go Texan Day. Students may wear western-style rodeo attire (please leave your spurs, whips, guns and handcuffs at home). "Go Texan" attire can be as simple as jeans, a t-shirt or western shirt, with boots. Cowboy hats are allowed. If you choose not to dress "Texan", then students should wear full dress (this is NOT a free dress day). Please follow the general dress code guidelines which are noted in the Student Handbook.

Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences

Conferences are not required during the Spring semester; however, if you would like to meet with your child's teacher, then please reach out to them to schedule. If a teacher feels that a student is in need of a parent-teacher conference, he or she will be in contact to make arrangements.

Middle School Theater Arts

As you start SPRING CLEANING, please consider donating to the 8th grade Theater Arts program which is in need of adult costumes such as superhero capes/ costumes, white lab coats, other working uniforms (fire chief, police, FedEx, UPS, not school uniforms). Theatre is also looking for period-specific clothing (like the Greek, Roman or Victorian Era, the roaring 20's, 50's, 70's - etc.). 

Mrs. Hughes is also looking for unusual props like old cell phones, a stethoscope, a red rotary telephone, toy handcuffs, top hats, wooden (only) crutches, etc.  Anything that could be used in production would be greatly appreciated.   

Lastly, each year the theatre students portray a special Saint in November. Students pull together and create their own costumes and props, but sometimes we need a little help. Anything we can convert into a priest or nun costume, black or brown cloaks, "rope belts", large cross necklaces, black or brown rosaries, a 150 bead long rosary, wooden crucifix, adult male or female sandals that are leather or plastic sandals (black and brown only) like sandals that Jesus and the Apostles would wear. THANKS for helping our Saints become SAINTS! 

From the Business Office - Update

Invoices for the school year 2023-24 have been sent to your primary email. Please check your email and spam folders.

Please note:

• You can start sending payments towards the 2023-24 tuition
• $100 a week late fee will be applied for TUITION received after 3:00 p.m. on April 28, 2023.
• Tuition Loans and Tuition Assistance applications are available under the Admissions tab on our website. 
• The due date for Tuition Loans is April 7, 2023.
• The due date for Tuition Assistance was February 6, 2023 to be considered in the first round. Applications will still be considered.

Thank you! Steps for Students

We had a great turnout this year at Steps for Students! StJPII was well represented. Those who participated will receive their Free Shoe Pass next week. This pass is to be used on February 23rd. The winner for PE Teacher for the Day will be announced next week.

Mardi Gras Pancake Breakfast

Kick off Shrove Tuesday, February 21, with a belly full of pancakes and a Mardi Gras themed celebration! Students are invited to join our Admin team for breakfast before school! We will serve up a pancake bar with lots of toppings! Laissez les bons temps rouler!



Open to all current StJPII students and faculty. Please be sure to drop off no later than 7:30am so we don't disrupt carpool. Tickets will NOT be sold at the door. All those who purchase a ticket may wear a purple, green, or gold top with their uniform bottom on this day! Click the button below to purchase tickets today. Ticket sales close tomorrow!

Bidding with Bernie

Don't miss your chance to bid on these awesome “All Access” experiences! Take a Behind the Scenes Tour with Mr. Garcia and see the entire facility in a whole new light! Or team up with up to 9 of your friends and take over the school for an evening during Campus Takeover! You can’t go wrong with either one of these All Access experiences! “Bidding with Bernie,” StJPII’s Online Auction, will begin soon! Click the button to preview all of the packages!

Crawfish Boil

Plans are already underway for our 7th Annual Saints @ Sunset Crawfish Boil! Mark your calendars for the evening of Friday, March 31, here on campus. We had over 800 people attend last year!

If you would like to volunteer, send an email to Communications@jp2.org. We are also looking for corporate sponsors!  If your business is interested in helping sponsor the event and receiving advertising and promotion opportunities, please contact Communications and Events Officer, Lauren Gerland, at lgerland@jp2.org. Tickets will go on sale in March!  Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Dear Friends, I hope you have some basic reference books at home. A few basics are truly handy for school work, general knowledge, and fun for families that do not include the use of a computer. Build your skills with these wonderful books. I have included a slideshow with some facts and recommendations for reference books for your home. We have been discussing and browsing through these handy helpers during library lessons. Take a look at the slide show to know more about these useful tools that you can purchase for modest costs. I hope you find this helpful. It is posted on my google site for reference. Please click the button below to access my google site. Happy Reading, Mrs. Lamb

Faulty Meeting Food and Drinks

A HUGE THANK YOU to all our parents who signed up to donate to the Faculty Meeting Food and Drink for the January 2023. Our teachers and staff deserve ALL of this and more, THANKS to your generosity it was made POSSIBLE.

Ana M. Esteva-Parra, Alexandra Pepe, Analia Gugliotti, Aza Powers, Beverly Alexander, Chiara Beltrami, Danielle Lalonde, Donna Peters, Elizabeth Feldpausch, Gwen Montesino, Hilda Hickman, Kathy Forbes, Maria Silvia Socorro, Marielisa Gutierrez, Marisela Rodriguez, Nirvana Kerkhoff, Ofelia Hernandez, Rania Fadi, Rocio Morales, Rose Nguyen Shelton, Sandra Vreedenburgh, Sandy Russell, Sarah Moore, Susan Gordillo, Thien Nguyen, Thomas Payne, Valentina Bracho, Viviane Lozano, Aida Patino and Valentina Lares.

If you would like to sign up for upcoming Faculty Meetings, please contact Aida Patino, aidilla84@gmail.com and Valentina Lares, valentinalares@yahoo.com. This is an easy way to show appreciation to teachers and staff, and a simple way for working parents to get involved. There are nearly 80 StJPII faculty and staff members who THANK YOU!

Spirit Afternoon at Russo's Pizzeria

Families are invited to patronize our neighborhood Russo Pizzeria tomorrow, Wednesday, February 15, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Dine in, take out, or delivery, for every order Russo's gives back 20% to the school. Please thank them for this wonderful partnership!

Spring Semester Art Club

It is now time for students to join Art Clubs for the Spring Semester. These are after school clubs open to boys or girls who enjoy making a variety of challenging creative art projects. Click the buttons below for more information and to sign up.

STREAM Challenge Activity

Looking for something fun and creative to do as a family? Try the StJPII monthly Family STREAM Challenge! On early dismissal Tuesdays or the last Tuesday of the month, look for a STREAM Challenge in Saints Weekly to complete with your family. The challenges will use easy-to-find materials around the house and follow the engineering design process to complete. 

How do you participate in the STREAM Challenge? Click on the button below to go to this month’s challenge. Complete the challenge and share what you’ve done on social media using the hashtag #StJP2STREAM  

This month’s challenge is to create a rolling shoebox Mardi Gras float. To kick off the StJPII STREAM Challenges, this month there are TWO options for sharing:

1) share what you’ve created by emailing pictures to communications@jp2.org

2) bring your family’s rolling shoebox float to your homeroom teacher by Thursday, February 16 to have it be part of a StJPII Mardi Gras parade on Fat Tuesday through the hallways of the school.

Questions? Email Dr. Hiltbrand at sehiltbrand@jp2.org  

Summer Enrichment Program

Start making plans now for the summer. Sign up today for StJPII's Summer Enrichment Program. Students going into PreK-4 through 8th Grade are welcome. Click the button below for more information.

Elementary Athletics

Elementary spring sports opened for registration on February 1 and will close on February 15. Please click the button below to register.

Middle School Athletics

Our Varsity Baseball and Softball teams opened up their season with victories! Our Lady Saints defeated Christ the Redeemer, and our baseball team won against Our Lady of Guadalupe! Our Boys

Lacrosse team had their first game of the season against Pershing Middle School and although they lost the game they got their “first Lacrosse game” jitters out. Our Lady Saints Lacrosse team is officially

formed and we will dedicate the next 2 weeks to practices and then will add a few games to the

schedule. Track and Field is off and running as they had their first day of practice yesterday. Our Spring sports are going to be HUGE this year ~ we love all of our SAINTS!

Spring Chapelwood Volleyball registration for 4th through 8th grade girls closes TOMORROW!!!! It is run in the same format as WHCSA sports, practices are 1-2 days a week, games are on Saturdays, coaches are volunteer parents!

Share Your Basketball Photos

We love to see your photos of our saints in action! If you get a great shot at practice or a game, please share with StJPII! Your photo(s) may be featured on social media or in The Spirit yearbook. Please upload them directly using the button below. All grade level sports pictures are needed and appreciated.

STH Spring Academic Skills Camp

St. Thomas High School is pleased to announce details for its Spring Academic Skills Camp, Pathways to Independent Learning. In this course, students are given tools and strategies to take charge of the learning process. They will be able to take full responsibility for choosing effective approaches to long-term learning. Students need the skills and strategies of independent learning in order to excel in any learning environment or situation. Research has proven that the facility and practice of executive functioning skills and critical thinking are a greater predictor of student success than IQ. Students who develop independent learning skills are better able to adapt and succeed when they encounter obstacles. Click the button below for more info.