The Saint Joseph Academy Fall Dance, JOCO, is on Tuesday, November 22 in the Academy Center (Academy building) from 8-11 p.m. Tickets for the dance can be purchased through Monday, November 21, 3 p.m. 

All tickets must be purchased using this LINK. Tickets WILL NOT be sold on the night of the dance. Please read and carefully complete the details and expectations on the form. Direct any questions about ticket sales to Mrs. Courtney Koz or Mr. Michael Shannon.

Please note, for the Fall Dance, students must arrive by 8:30 p.m. and are not permitted to leave before 10 p.m. Once a student exits the dance, the student may not return back inside.

The Class of 2024 will be taking the Diagnostic ACT exam on Friday, November 18. The exam will take place in the Academy Center, beginning promptly at 8 a.m. Late arrivals may not be admitted to the testing room. 

Below are additional details regarding the exam. 

• All Juniors will report directly to the Academy Center for attendance
• Juniors will eat lunch during Activity Block 3 (Freshman will eat during Activity Block 1)
• Juniors will report to C & D Blocks as usual
• Bring two #2 pencils and a calculator from the approved list here
• Please review this What to Bring on Test Day List list
• Get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast!

Students who are taking the classes listed below during Semester 1 are required by the Ohio Department of Education to take end-of-the-course assessments during the semester they are enrolled in the classes.

• Algebra 1 or Honors Algebra 1
• Geometry or Honors Geometry
• English 10 or Honors English 10
• Biology or Honors Biology
• U.S. History or Honors U.S. History
• Government or Honors Government

Below is the schedule for the end-of-the course assessments. If you have any questions regarding the assessments, please contact School Counselor Ms. Maryann Marek.  

• Monday, November 28: No Test
• Tuesday, November 29: English 10, Auditorium, 8-11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, November 30: U.S. History, Auditorium, 8-11 a.m.
• Thursday, December 1: Government, Auditorium, 8-11 a.m.
• Friday, December 2: Biology, Auditorium, 8-11 a.m.
• Monday, December 5: Algebra 1, Auditorium, 8-11 a.m.
• Tuesday, December 6: Geometry, Auditorium, 8-11 a.m.
• Wednesday, December 7: Make Up Exams, Academy Board Room, 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Thursday, December 8: Make Up Exams, if needed
• Friday, December 9: No Test

The Class of 2023's end-of-the-year ceremonial activities are only a few months away!



To ensure we have your daughter's correct information for her diploma, programs and other communications, please respond to the questions linked here by Thursday, December 15.

Please contact Mrs. Valerie Sanfilippo P'12 with any questions regarding graduation. 

The Environmental Club is taking the next step to keep trash out of the waste stream and add it to the recycling bin. The club has teamed up with TERRACYCLE to help the Academy recycle more efficiently. Throughout the Academy building, there will be containers, like the one pictured, to recycle empty candy wrappers and snack bags (i.e. chips, snack bars, etc.). Please remember to make sure the item for recycling is completely empty before placing it in the container. 

Thank you, Environmental Club leadership members Fiona Kelly '23, Isa Merriman-Valez '23, Brianna Almasy '24, Rachel Garlock '24, Erin Hvizdos '24, Elizabeth Krotine '24, Emily Pavlick '24, Kalina Pernod '24 and Lily Kowalski '25 for helping to improve the Academy’s recycling efforts!

On October 24, the Art Club leadership members Carmela DiLisi ’23, Lily Kuebler ’23, Anna Mancuso ’24 and Club Moderator, Department Chair and Visual Arts Teacher Mrs. Tammy Sparks unveiled the Art Club’s bottle cap mural to the Saint Joseph Academy community. The mural, located in the courtyard as to blend into its surroundings, was created by the Art Club. 

In the fall of 2018, the club began collecting bottle caps. Work on the mural came to a halt due to COVID-19. Despite the pandemic, Mrs. Sparks and the Art Club persevered. During the unveiling, Art Club leadership member Ana Mancuso ’24 explained the meaning of the mural’s image. “The image was selected to be one of hope and transformation. It is meant to remind us all of the triumph of the spirit and soul through difficult times and challenging times.”

For her Teaching Living Poets unit, English Teacher Mrs. Jennifer Bruesewitz incorporated science and poetry to leave a lasting impression. As part of the Teaching Living Poets unit, students researched a poet and then presented the poet to the class.

Then, students wrote an original poem and decorated recycled bottles with a variety of different materials to re-create the tone of their poem. The bottles were then shared with their classmates during discussions regarding how tone impacts the authors’ voices. 

“The poetry tone bottles was one of my favorite activities we've done in English 12 so far,” Caroline Darrah ’23 shared. “I thought it was really clever to have us write our own poem then visualize it.”

Save the date for our annual gala, “Celebrate the Academy,” on Saturday, February 25, 2023, 6 p.m. at Saint Joseph Academy. “Celebrate the Academy” is a fun and memorable event that benefits student scholarships and academic initiatives. Proceeds go to enhance the educational experience of all students. 

We are currently collecting fabulous items for the gala's silent auction and would appreciate your help! Below is our wish list.

• Stays at vacation homes, timeshares or adventures
• Airline miles/tickets and hotel stays
• Event tickets or passes
• Fun and unique experiences
• Gift certificates
• Bottles of red, white or sparkling wine (90+ point wine score)
• Contribute to your parish basket (Contact committee member Jennifer Fitzpatrick P’25)

To donate, fill out the auction procurement form and mail it to the address provided at the bottom of the form or email it to Development Coordinator Mrs. Carolyn Conway Novak ’06.

For more information about “Celebrate the Academy,” visit www.sja1890.org/CTA

Accomplishments: Carmela DiLisi ’23 art piece entitled, Right Out of the Bag, was selected as part of the Ohio House of Representatives High School Student Art Exhibit to be on display in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts from fall 2022 to spring 2024. 

“I was really honored to be chosen for this award, especially when I learned that the Ohio Arts Council only selected a single student from each of Ohio's districts, with a total of 99 pieces in the exhibition,” Carmela said. “...it is rewarding to think that my work will be on display for the next two years. 

Carmela provided the following description of Right Out of the Bag. “In my project, titled "Right Out of the Bag," I depict various bags of candy spilling out of a larger Halloween bag. I used the techniques of “overlap” and “placement” to create the illusion of space in my work. I placed the bags of candy on top of one another so that the more distant ones were out of focus and gave the illusion of great distance. Also, the closer objects are likewise out of focus and give the illusion of being in the foreground. I had the objects overlap one another to create layers in my drawing. The more layers which I can create in a piece of art, the more levels of depth the viewer can see in that work. The medium that I used was prismacolor pencils. I enjoyed the “creaminess” or “opaqueness” of the lines/areas they created. I have never used colored pencils like these before and am very glad to have had the chance to experiment with them. Using traditional colored pencils, it’s almost impossible to create opaque lines/regions of color like prismacolors do.”

Congratulations, Carmela!

Activities and Interests: At Saint Joseph Academy, Carmela is a Senator in the Latin Club, Vice President of the National Art Honor Society, a member of the Art Club’s leadership team and a member of National Honors Society. 

Carmela has been a recipient of a Saint Joseph Academy Art Scholarship for the past four years. In 2022, Carmela’s art received the following awards: First Place in the Yom Hashoah Creative Arts Contest by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Community Relations Committee in partnership with the Kol Israel Foundation and Exhibit Winner for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport’s "The Art of Self Portraiture".

Future career interests: Carmela intends to pursue an academic major that allows her to explore creative-thinking and design, possibly studio arts or engineering. 

This past weekend, the Saint Joseph Academy Cross Country team finished their season at the OHSAA Division 1 State Meet. Competing for the 13th time in the past 23 years, the team finished 17th out of 20 teams. Unranked all year and predicted to finish 20th by the coaches poll, the team exceeded many expectations.

Once again, the team was led to the finish by Senior Ali Blouch, who finished 54th overall in the race despite being tripped twice during the competition. Running a very strong second position for the Jaguars was Junior Grace Rowell, who placed 63rd overall, which is 91 positions better than her place as a Freshman. 

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