September 13, 2022

Weekly Mass Schedule

Optional daily Mass will be tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14.  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. You are also welcome to join us for our All School Mass this Friday, September 16. Students will need to be in full dress uniform. Mass will begin at 8:30 a.m. Please arrive on time. 

September Service Project 

Please help if you can! Kids Harbor Foster Care is in need of new or gently used luggage for foster kids during their transition into a new home. Kids Harbor needs over 400 pieces of luggage every year to help transition children. Please help by donating new or gently used luggage for children. pre-teens, and teens. Duffle bags, suitcases, and rolling suitcases are all welcome to be dropped off in St. Jude Hall.

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

Annual Fund

The 2022-2023 Annual Fund Drive will kick off this week. Please be on the lookout for your letter in the mail at home. The Annual Fund is our cornerstone fundraising campaign and your donation is so vitally important to help us sustain our mission. Thank you in advance for praying about how you may support us this year. Together, as ONE, we can make a difference for our school, for our students, and for our community.

*Students and staff may wear the shirts of their favorite sports with uniform bottoms TOMORROW, September 14, to help us kick off the Annual Fund Drive! 

StJPII Homecoming Week 2022

Block off your calendar, save these dates, and get ready to celebrate fall sports at StJPII. We will showcase all of our Saints teams with a jammed-pack week of games beginning Saturday, September 17. The festivities will culminate at the Homecoming football game on September 21.

Rally Towel Presale 

StJPII Student Council is selling RALLY TOWELS just in time for Homecoming and the Fall Sports season! Beat the line next week and pre-order your rally towels online for the big game! Online sales will close on Friday, 9/16/22 at noon.

Rally Towel orders will be sent home on Tuesday 9/20/22.

PTO Spirit Store Presales 

Show your Saints pride! The PTO Spirit Store is now accepting pre-orders for Homecoming. Order now and pick it up at the Homecoming game on September 21.

Saints Game Gear Presale

StJPII Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is selling tailgate gear, just in time for Homecoming and the Fall sports season! Order your StJPII folding chairs, wagons, and canopies, and go to the game in Saints style. Don’t carry those old chairs and canopy to Homecoming!

Now is your chance to pick up some limited edition StJPII merchandise to use during the game. The PTO is only offering these items for a limited time, so order while you can!

(Order form will close on Monday, 9/19/22 at noon.)

Items will be available for pick up on the Pavilion before the Homecoming Game Wednesday, 9/21/22 between 4:30-5:00 PM.

Any questions may be directed to StJPII dad Mr. Thomas Payne (vicodin76@gmail.com) who is branding the merchandise. All proceeds will benefit the StJPII PTO.

Homecoming Volunteers 

The PTO is looking for volunteers to help with some Homecoming festivities. We will have a table to apply Saints spirit tattoos, also ribbons for girls ponytails or armbands for boys. Please consider volunteering at this FUN community event.

StJPII Parking Lot

Please help the teachers and staff of StJPII by remembering to only park in a visitor-allotted space during school hours. We apologize for the inconvenience however, the parking lot is mainly reserved for the teachers and staff of StJPII. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. 

ECI Catering

Many families have balances that need to be paid. Payments can be brought to school or parents may pay online.

Menu Change 9/21

Due to a supply issue, ECI will be serving hamburgers as the kid pick on Wednesday, September 21 instead of beef lasagna. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

International Festival Meeting 

Thank you to all of those who have shown interest in helping with the StJPII International Festival. There will be a meeting on September 28 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Jude Hall to explain the event and for individuals to sign up for their country booth. We are still looking for volunteers to help! Please come out if you can. This is going to be a wonderful event for the StJPII community! 

If you are interested in hosting a country or assisting with a country please email Lauren Gerland at communications@jp2.org

Save the Date 

We are looking forward to celebrating Grandparents & Special Friends Day the Friday before Thanksgiving, the morning of November 18. Invitations will be mailed SOON!

Library Google Page

The StJPII Library has a Google site full of useful resources for students and parents. The site is updated regularly, so be sure to bookmark the page so you can easily access it throughout the school year. Click on the link below to read a few short articles that Mrs. Lamb recently added about reading and studying that are sure to assist your family. Happy Reading! 

Parent Study Skills Class

The Study Skills parent workshop will take place on Monday, October 3 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in St. Jude Hall.  Parents will learn more about the study skills we teach across the campus, including organization, time management, listening and taking notes, strategies for taking tests, and much more! Please click on the Study Skills flyer button for more details. If you plan to attend, RSVP to Ms. Lamb.

THANK YOU

Thank you to the following people who contributed to the delicious First Friday Lunch for the Faculty and Staff on Friday, September 9:

Lauren Baker, Ofelia Hernandez, Ruth Herold, Megan Dominy, Misty Monckton, Rose Nguyen Shelton, Vanessa Briceno-Hinestroza, Kathy Forbes, Rocio Morales, Sandra Vreedenburgh, Julia Hillier, Gail Anderson, Megan Sarvarian, Valentina Bracho-Rodon, Michelle Huertas, Tina Schroeder, Sarah Scafide, Noha Tuma, Priscilla Ojeah, Amber Leech, Tricia Nino, Tiffani Le, Melinda Del Rio, Ervina Widjaja, Thu Mehring, Payton Donoghue, Suzy Nguyen, Hana Byun, Julie Cole, D'Arby Garza, Dare Family, Ebba Tsinopoulos, Analia Gugliotti, Elena Csekitz, Meryem Johnson, Marguerite Ogden, Aza Powers, Chiara Beltrami, Gracia Villasana, Danny Villasana, Victoria Forkner, Beverly Alexander, Yong Chen, Joanna Vasquez, Marisela Rodriguez, Marisol Decker, Holly Michael, Colleen LaPaglia, Aida Patino

Book Club 

Boys and girls in grades 3, 4, and 5 are invited to join Book Club! Book Club will meet 4 times during the year during lunch on Friday. Books will be chosen by each group with guidance from the parent volunteers. Each group in Book Club needs at least 2 parent volunteers*. Volunteers are still needed for all grades, especially for 4th Grade. Sign up as a volunteer using the same link to sign up students. If you have questions or want more information, please contact Sandy Russell at russellfamily610@gmail.com. 

Art A La Carte (AALC) 

Parents of PreK and Kinder kids, we'd love to have you volunteer! Volunteers will visit the PreK and Kinder classrooms on four occasions throughout the school year to help the littlest Saints learn and have fun with art!  Volunteers must have completed CMG Safe Haven training. If you are interested, please fill out the linked form. Please contact Jenn Bickley for any AALC questions or Gwen Montesino for any questions about volunteering for AALC. Thank you for your interest! 

Middle School Athletics 

Middle School Athletics has begun! District play started this week across the board and our Saints had a great 1st week. Football defeated St. Anthony of Padua in the final seconds of their game, inning by a score of 36-32! Both JV & Varsity soccer teams defeated St. Cecilia and St. Martha, while our Lady Saints Volleyball teams also played St. Martha but only Varsity took the win. Cross Country starts this weekend with their 1st Meet of the season. PLEASE refer to the Athletic calendar as there is always a lot of info for the Meets. 

Elementary School Athletics 

Elementary Soccer is up and running. Our teams and coaches have already started their practices and are gearing up for their season to kick off on September 24. Parents, please be patient as the coaches are still gathering their info to email out to all of you. Please keep in mind they are volunteers.

Dads Basketball

StJPII dads play men's basketball on Wednesday Nights in the gym at 7:00 p.m. Please contact Mark Gugliotti to be added to the distribution list and for more information: markgoogs04@gmail.com or 832-301-1681. Everyone is welcome. It's a fun way to meet other dads and get some great exercise!

Note regarding BASP and Elementary Soccer Practice

• PreK - 1st Grade: If your child attends aftercare, you must pick him/her up to get them changed into their soccer gear and to practice on time. For safety reasons, we cannot help them change their clothes, nor escort them outside to the field.
• 2nd Grade and up: If you have children attending aftercare who are planning to participate in soccer, the BASP teacher will release them to attend practice. However, the parents need to pick them on the field once practice is finished.

Retake and Class Picture Day is Coming

Tuesday, September 20 will be Class Picture Day and Individual Retake Picture Day. All students will take a picture and they MUST wear their FULL DRESS UNIFORM. 

Information to access the online gallery from our August 30 picture day will be shared as soon as it is available. You will then be able to view your child’s photo, order picture packages, or choose to have a retake.

If your child was absent or not in full dress uniform on our last picture day, they are on the list to have their individual picture taken on Tuesday, September 20 for the yearbook. If you would like for your child to have their individual picture retaken, please click the button below to access the picture retake form.

Amazon Smile and More

StJPII receives percentages of your shopping when you “Give by Shopping” at these participating vendors:  Amazon Smile, Kroger, Randall's, Shutterfly, Office Depot and Josephine’s Day Spa and Salon. Please check out our webpage for opportunities to give by shopping and contributing to our Saints community. Click here for more details. Thank you!

Steps for Students 

Sign up today to take advantage of early bird pricing for this year's Step for Students 5K Run/Walk Race. The race will take place on the morning of February 11, 2023. Click on the button below to register. 

Fall Math+: Advanced Mathematics Learning Opportunity

This season’s course will be taught at Strake Jesuit on Wednesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 pm starting on Wednesday, October 5 for six weeks. The program will cost $200.

Families can sign-up at www.RedwoodPrep.com.

This Fall’s course focuses on Geometry. Geometry focuses on questions of shape, size, space, and relative position. The concept has clear practical applications,

represents a critical standardized test topic, and forms the basis for most engineering

disciplines. Please contact Reynold D'Souza, the Mathematics Instructor at Strake Jesuit with any questions. Email: rdsouza@mail.strakejesuit.org