St. Joseph Catholic School
| Education |
| Respect |
| Charity |
| Athletics |
| Faith |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
School Newsletter
| March 25, 2010 CALENDAR: • Friday 26th: Stations of the Cross PowerPoint at 8:45 a.m. ---3rd Quarter report cards distributed ---NO DISMISSAL BUSES – K – 8TH GRADE ---7th & 8th grade Social (St. Joseph students only): 6:30 – 9:30 in gym • Sat 27th: 7th Grade Rosary Making 2nd session 10a.m. – 12 p.m. • Tues. 30th: Spring Pictures (dress UP) ---8th Grade Graduation Pictures (BRING CAP, GOWN, SHOES, etc.) • Wed. 31st Penance service in lieu of regularly scheduled school Mass • Thurs. 1st HOLY THURSDAY ---NO BUS SERVICE: K – 8 (MORNING OR AFTERNOON) Early dismissal: 2:00 p.m. • Friday 2nd Good Friday – NO SCHOOL • April 5th – 9th: Easter Week – NO SCHOOL • April 12: Classes resume At the most recent School Board Meeting, FACTS tuition management made a presentation to the Board. This program has the potential to assist our school with cash flow problems due to tuitions coming in late or not according the agreements made with the school. The board will be discussing their thoughts on this presentation at the next school board meeting, April 20th at 6:30p.m. Cheryl Curry, school counselor presented a wonderful Anti-bullying/Cliques Presentation last Tuesday. Many who attended stated that it was very informative and assisted conversations with their children on this important topic. Thank you to Cheryl for such an informative evening and also to the parents and children who attended. We have ordered a SMART board for the 7th grade classroom/science lab through the gallant efforts of our Scholastic Book Fair volunteers and supporters!!! Thank you to all involved. The SMART board will likely be in the classroom before the end of the school year. We are looking into the possibility of ordering one or maybe even two others before the Easter break! The teachers are excited about this possibility and are already forming lesson plans to use with these interactive white boards. Stay tuned for more information! Other wonderful news: One of our 7th graders qualified to go to State competition at the recent regional Science Fair! Congratulations to Joseph McGuire who received a first place award with his “Cold, Hard Facts on Ice” project. Good luck at State Competition Joe! If you have not already sent your registration paperwork in for next year, please do so as soon as possible so that we can plan properly for the upcoming school year. If you have not paid off your tuition in full and you have not called the office to make special arrangements, please do so at this time. Unfortunately, if accounts are not up-to-date, final report cards cannot be distributed to any students who have a balance remaining on their accounts. We understand times are tough right now, but we do need to get payments in quickly. Please be reminded that safety in the parking lot is important. Many people are not aware of the new driving laws that came into effect on January 1, 2010. Full information can be found on the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles web-site. Please be aware that it is now against the law to talk on a cell phone while driving in a school zone. This includes our parking lot. Kindly consider the safety of all the children around and postpone the conversation while in our school zone. After year long preparations, our school will be visited on April 15th by State and Diocesan representatives (13 member team of administrators) for our self-study and evaluation. This is a very comprehensive look at all aspects of our school, including, but not limited to curriculum, policies, school board, health and safety, safe environment, students, teachers, administration, community involvement, parental involvement, financial records…etc. (I think you get the picture!). Our teachers have worked very hard to prepare for this visit and deserve to be commended on their work. The April 15th visit will be a preliminary evaluation where the team will be looking at documentation (lesson plans, grade books, test scores, etc.). On May 4th, the team will return and will be visiting classrooms and observing teaching strategies, etc. This is a regularly scheduled evaluation and occurs approximately every six years. Once we receive feedback from this visit, we will be working with the school board to set up a five year plan to address any weaknesses. We look forward to planning out our continued path towards constant improvement for the sake of the children. There will not be a newsletter next week. The Faculty and Staff at St. Joseph School would like to wish you all a very happy and Holy Easter. Please take time to attend the Holy Week services. Enjoy the time with your children. We hope to use this special time of the year to find Peace in our hearts – especially during these tough times. God Bless! Mrs. Eileen Ramsay |
 | |  | |  | |  |
| Previous Newsletters March 25, 2010 March 18, 2010 March 11, 2010 March 4, 2010 Feb 25, 2010 Feb 18, 2010 |
| 275 W. North St. Manhattan, IL 60442 815-478-3951 |
 | |  | |  | |  |