February 2, 2021
Dear Saint Families,

Happy Catholic Schools Week! We have so many blessings to celebrate! Thank you to everyone who participated in Bogard Ballcap Bingo last night, it was so fun to see everyone’s fun hats and I hope you enjoyed mine too. Now that it’s February, the holidays are behind us and we are thankfully well into our second semester. All of our safety routines are well established and everyone is working together to limit any spread of Covid-19 in our saint community.

I wanted to share some reminders about the many mitigation procedures and practices that keep our campus a healthy and safe environment. Our community has been very supportive and forthcoming in working with us, which has been a tremendous blessing. Your partnership has helped prevent potential community spread, and we are so grateful for your willingness to work with us.

In addition to the many physical safety precautions we have put into place such as wearing masks, checking temperatures, and social distancing, each and every day, I have a number of staff who review all of the responses to the daily student questionnaires. After reviewing, if there are any students in question, our nurse follows up to get additional information. Students are quarantined for various reasons:
  • Symptoms presented from answering the questionnaire
  • Symptoms that arise at school from a visit to the nurse
  • A close contact exposure to a friend/relative/caregiver who tested positive, with or without symptoms

Our process includes working with the Archdiocese and health department and doing our due diligence to contact trace. We send a Health Notice to our parents whenever there is a confirmed positive case on our campus. Any individual(s) who may have had a close contact exposure will be individually contacted and asked to quarantine. 

Putting an individual in quarantine is a safety measure to prevent possible community spread and not an automatic indication that someone has tested positive. We’ve learned that each situation is unique and so each case or potential case is treated with careful consideration. I must congratulate our nurse, Mrs. Aertker, who has done a phenomenal job of tracking our cases and all students and families to make sure we are doing our very best to care for the health and well-being of our whole community. I am forever grateful for our entire staff for their dedication during this challenging time.  

Being in school is truly the best for the children. We will continue to work hard to maintain a healthy environment and provide an exceptional Catholic education for each of our students where they can grow spiritually, academically, and socially. As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week this week, I am reminded of the gift we have been given in the privilege to be part of an amazing community of saints! I’m looking forward to celebrating StJPII as this week continues!

In Him,
Principal
School Business
Friday Mass
Please join us this Friday for our weekly All School Mass at 8:30 a.m. by clicking the link below. Mass will be live-streamed via Zoom. In an effort to maintain the reverent nature of the Mass, please ensure you turn off your video and mute your devices to keep our focus on the altar.
Father Daughter Banquet
We cannot wait to see you this weekend. As a preparation for the Father Daughter Banquet, please be on the lookout for a Covid questionnaire on Friday that you must complete prior to the banquet on Saturday. A mask will be required for entry, along with a Covid screening and temperature check, and have seating restrictions in place. Questions, email Communications@jp2.org.
Steps for Students- During PE Classes
This year, Steps for Students is a virtual event that will be held on the individual campuses of Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese. Students must register using the link below where our Saints will be completing the race during the week of February 22-26.

Take a look video below from our PE Department explaining the prizes and incentives this year. When your child registers through the Steps for Students website, they will earn DOUBLE points when they compete during PE class.  

Below are the incentives for all students:
  • Laps run in PE: Competitions among K-2, 3-5, & 6-8
  • Grade level most laps – free dress, class with most laps pizza party
  • Individual with most laps – free dress and homework pass
  • Individual who raises the most funds will be PE teacher of the day
  • (Incentive Day TBD)

Don't forget to designate StJPII as your school of choice so StJPII can receive the funds to be allocated properly. This event is lots of fun and a tremendous community builder for Catholic schools! And, it's a great opportunity to raise money for StJPII and show our Saints pride as well. If you have any questions, please contact the Communications Office.
Art Corner
Congratulations StJPII Middle School Art Students
The “Annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Student Art Contest” is considered the most honorable Student Art Event in the State of Texas! I am extremely proud of our St. John Paul II Art Students as they continue to display consistent levels of “excellence” and “outstanding performance” in the statistical performance of ribbon awards at this prestigious art event! The ribbons are as follows: Finalist – Turquoise - the group from which the top two winning artworks are selected for “Best of Show and Gold Medal Winners”, then 1st Place – Blue, 2nd Place –Red, 3rd Place- White.

This year only middle school students participated in the show. It is with great honor that we announce “all of our StJPII art students achieved Finalist”! This is our highest statistical ribbon status ever in this show and one student achieved overall district show winner!

7th Grade
  • Ink Etching/drawing -Vi Nguyen
  • Prisma Color Drawing-Andrey Hoang

8th Grade
  • Ink Etching/Drawings: Blake Kulhanek, Jenna Beyer, Olivia Vasquez
  • Ebony Prisma Color Drawing: Felipe Guio
  • Prisma Color Drawing: Marianna Rondon, Madeline Escobedo
  • Sharpie Pointillism: Mark Naddaf

Photos of Student Art below, courtesy of Mrs. Stieber
*For the second time in our school and show history, we had a student who achieved one of the two top prizes of “Gold Medal Winner” in the combined middle school category- 6th/7th/8th grades. Their Artwork will have a special award ribbon and displayed at the Hayloft Gallery at N.R.G. during the Rodeo Events, receive a Gold Medal Award, and opportunity to apply for a week of art classes at the Glassell School of Art. This student displayed “mastery and unique creativity” in her Ink Etching Drawing-Titled “Blooming into Dusk”, Congratulations 8th grader Brooke Bengal!


Photo of Student Art below, courtesy of Mrs. Stieber
*All Students Artwork will be displayed thru “Catholic Schools Week” on the bulletin board between the computer labs –first floor - then sent home with your student. *Thank you to all students for their hard work & parents who supported their exceptional artistic 6efforts. Congratulations to all our Outstanding StJPII Artists!
Athletics
Elementary and Middle School Athletics
We have a lot to cover so please read through to the end regarding all info for Spring Sports!

Middle School 
Baseball & Softball teams are set! We had a great showing at tryouts, and now the teams are practicing and getting ready for their games to start!

T&F kicked off their season with their first practice yesterday enjoying the beautiful weather and being back with Coach Jones! The parent meeting will be held on February 10 right after practice at 5:30 on the field area by the gaga pit and pavilion.

BOYS & GIRLS Lacrosse are a GO!!!! Both tryouts will be held next week as follows:
Boys ~ Friday, February 12, 3:45-5:30 and Saturday, February 13, 2:00-3:30 pm
Girls ~ Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9, 3:45-5:00 pm
For BOTH Boys and GIRLS tryouts, all you need is a lacrosse stick, water bottle, and school appropriate workout attire. If you do have all the necessary equipment for both Boys and Girls lacrosse please bring it to tryouts.  

JV & V Soccer tryouts will be held on Wednesday, February 17 & Thursday, February 18 right after school from 3:45-5:30 pm. You must have cleats, shin guards, and appropriate workout attire.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS!!
*Please remember for all Middle School sports that you try out for, you must attend both days of tryouts. If not, your tryout is based solely on your 1 day performance. 
*Please have your PHYSICAL on file prior to attending tryouts.
*Please keep in mind we are still a closed campus so we must practice social distancing as well as being required to wear a mask at all times, as well as socially distancing ourselves. 
*Please remember that making a team in Middle School sports is a major commitment.
*ALL INFORMATION IS ON THE WEBSITE AS WELL AS THE ATHLETIC CALENDAR
Elementary 
We are in the middle of Baseball/Tball/Softball registration! Please remember it closes this Friday 2/5 so make sure you sign up on the StJPII Athletic website on the ACCEPTIVA link:

All teams will be formed and hopefully, we will have enough volunteers to coach! Remember you must be VIRTUS/CMGconnect certified per the following link: https://galvestonhouston.cmgconnect.org in order to volunteer at our school. Once teams are formed along with coaches, we will send out all the info regarding practices, and the WHCSA game schedule.

All athletes, coaches, and families must adhere to the same COVID protocol in regards to wearing a mask as well as maintaining 6 ft distance from one another.
Catholic Schools Week
StJPII Catholic School Week
2021 Schedule
Only day students will be wearing full dress is Friday
House shirts Tuesday & Wednesday
Be not afraid… to show your Saints pride
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
·       8:05 AM - Morning Kernels of Knowledge StJPII Trivia
·       1:30 – 2:00 PM Relay Races, Hula Hoop Competition (Front field)
·       2:00 PM Volleyball in BAC for MS students
·       All students will wear their House shirts
Be not afraid… to be a Saint Superstar
Thursday, February 4, 2021         
·       8:05 AM - Morning Kernels of Knowledge StJPII Trivia
·       1:00 PM St. John Paul II Student Council Talent Show: Talent on the Plaza in GSC – participants/student council officers (all students live stream in classrooms)
Be not afraid… to learn, serve, & lead with excellence
Friday, February 5, 2021  
·       8:05 AM - Kernels of Knowledge StJPII Trivia
·       8:30 AM - All School Mass
·       NJHS Induction following Mass
Parent Teacher Organization
Please join us for the February virtual PTO meeting to be held next week Wednesday, February 10, 2021 @ 09:30 a.m. Central Time

Join StJPII February PTO Zoom Meeting
Time: Feb 10, 2021, 9:30 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 833 7431 3649
Passcode: 611951
Birthday Club suppliers are running low!! Orders are honored on a first-come, first-served basis so do not delay in signing up your kid(s) for the birthday recognition. It is a lot of fun to celebrate his/her birthday at school.
Community Events
Energy Dance Center is gearing up for our 6th Annual OUTDOOR Spring Show, and we don't want you to miss out! Registration for all of our classes closes on February 10th. You can start at age 2, and we have classes for everything from ballet to hip hop!
Calendars
St. John Paul II Catholic School
1400 Parkway Plaza, Houston, TX 77077
281-496-1500 • 281-496-2943 (fax)
St. John Paul II Catholic School prepares all students spiritually
and academically to succeed in life and to do God's will.