Dear Parents-
On Thursday we will celebrate the Solemnity of the ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD, celebrating the visit by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary announcing God’s call to her to be the mother of His only son. What could be more important to our own salvation than Mary saying “Yes!” I am always filled with awe at the courage Mary had as a young woman to give herself over to God, to live her life in service to Him. We need to look to Mary for guidance as we look to serve our own communities.
On Saturday, March 27 we celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation with our 8th graders! Archbishop Broglio will celebrate the Mass and confer the gifts of the Holy Spirit on our students. We are excited to reach this milestone and congratulate all the confirmandi, from SJS and Religious Education! Please keep all these amazing young men and women in your prayers. Mass will be live-streamed and can be accessed through the St. Joseph Church webpage, St. Joseph Church on Facebook, or through Youtube.
I want to strongly remind parents of in-person students that you are required to complete a morning COVID screening check of all your children, including taking temperatures. This requirement was spelled out as part of the waiver you signed upon returning to in-person instruction. This is a daily obligation on your part, and to keep our school families safe and to keep our school open, everyone must do their part!
Our COVID update this week, case data remains high with 83.25 cases per 100,000 which is considered a high level of community transmission, additionally, the percent positivity rate in Fairfax County is up slightly to 4.95%. Neighboring Loudoun County has a positivity rate of 6.9%, and in Prince William County the 7.2% positivity rate represents a concerning uptick. Additionally, there are 50 known cases of the UK B.1.1.7 COVID variant in the Commonwealth, and 23 cases of the South Africa B.1.351 variant, as of March 18. No other variants have been detected at this time. VDH asks all Virginians to recommit to following ALL mitigation strategies!
The CDC announced guidance on Friday that now recommends 3 feet of social distance for elementary school students who also adhere to other mitigation strategies such as cohorts, masks, and attention to hand-washing. For middle school and high school students, the recommendation remains six feet, and that applies to teachers and staff as well. For this school year, SJS will adhere to the original 6-foot guidance.
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
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Virtual Week: April 12-16 |
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Based on the survey sent out last week, SJS will have a distance learning week for all students April 12-16. This allows families to quarantine before in-person learners return to school.
If a student needs to borrow a Chromebook during the distance learning week, please complete THIS FORM to request a computer. |
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Yearbooks
3 Days Left to Order!
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Yearbooks will be available to purchase from Feb 10 - March 26 ONLINE only. There will be no extra copies to purchase after yearbook sale.
Cost for the yearbook is $20
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Parents are asked to meet their children who are walking home, in the municipal lot at the corner of Vine and Center Street.
Please do not block traffic on Vine Street or attempt to pick up your children as they walk along Vine Street.
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Mrs. Rutledge and Mrs. Carson invite you to join along
for conversation and camaraderie as we begin
our second book
Discipleship Parenting -Planting the Seeds of Faith by Kim Cameron Smith
First meeting planned for Wednesday, April 7, at 7:00PM.
Topic: Introduction and Chapter 1
“In Discipleship Parenting, I provide tools and insights to help parents foster seven ideal growing conditions in the home: Love, Balance, Play, Merciful Discipline, Empathy, Radiant Faith, A Strong Marriage.” - Kim Cameron-Smith
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.
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Friendly reminders:
● If a household family member or child is sick, all siblings must stay home until an official diagnosis has been made by their healthcare provider before sending the siblings back to school.
● If a household family member or someone whom members of your household were in close contact with is being tested and waiting for their test result, please keep your children home until you receive a negative result before sending them back to school.
● If you travel or participate in a social gathering event with people outside your cohort, please quarantine for 7 days if tested on day 5 to return to school with a negative test on day 8 OR quarantine for 10 days to return to school on day 11; assuming everyone is symptom free
● If a household family member has to quarantine due to travel, please have the children go on DL during the quarantine period to prevent an unintended exposure from your children to their classmates/teachers during the quarantine period assuming the household family member ends up becoming ill.
All travelers (domestic & international) are required to quarantine upon return from your travel. You may choose to quarantine for 7 days and get tested on day 5 and return to school on day 8 with a negative result OR if not tested, quarantine for 10 days upon return and return to school on day 11; assuming every household member remains symptom/fever free. Travelers who test positive or develop symptoms of COVID-19 should isolate and follow public health recommendations.
Students have to be 24 hours symptom/fever free without any over -the-counter medication before they can return to school. It is better to air on the side of caution, when in doubt, please keep your child home until they are evaluated and cleared to return to school. The nurse needs to be contacted for an update before sending the siblings back to school.
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SJS Mitigation Strategies |
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All SJS COVID mitigation strategies remain in effect. Please review all requirements for travel and gatherings. Do your part to stop the spread. Thank you for your compliance!
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Reservations for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter Sunday Masses
Mass Reservation Required
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Reservations for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter Sunday Masses - Required
Making a Mass Reservation
Step One:
Review Directives – It is important that you review the list of Directives for Phase III Reintegration Plan prior to making your reservation.
Step Two:
Make your Reservation – No one will be admitted to the church for Mass without a reservation.
If you have Internet access, use the following email, rsvp@sjcherndon.org to make your reservation for Mass. Note, if you do not have Internet access, you may call the parish office (703-880-4355 or 703-880-4304) and a member of the staff will make a reservation for you.
You will receive an email confirming that you have a reservation at a particular Mass with the number of people attending. Please bring this email with you to the Mass for entry to the Church. The entire number of people attending with you must be present to enter into the Church as a family.
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Stay Connected!
SJS Mobile App, Twitter and Facebook
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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)
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750 Peachtree Street, Herndon, VA 20170
Tel: 703-880-4350 Fax: 703-880-4320
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