Eagle's Eye

St. Joseph Catholic School fosters a diverse community of disciples empowered through a rigorous and inclusive Catholic education rooted in Gospel values and service to others.

In today's Gospel, Father spoke about the season of Advent. It is a season of preparation for the birth of Jesus. He also spoke about that this week is the second week of Advent. Eli 5B

For Advent, you have to be patient. Some things you can do to prepare is pray, do good things, and be loving. You need to prepare for Jesus. You need to be kind. Advent is the season to prepare for Jesus. Dylan 5B

Father talked about Advent. He said Advent means "coming". He said Advent is a time of preparing for Jesus' birth. He said we should prepare during this time. He talked about some ways we can prepare. Advent is the season before Christmas. It is a time of preparing. Bianca 5B

Students will be dismissed at 12 p.m. tomorrow. There will be no Aftercare tomorrow so students must be picked up by 12:30 p.m.

The first day of the 2024-2025 school year will be Wednesday, August 14th, 2024.

We are welcoming family members of students at SJCS to school Mass. We have worked closely with the Polk County Sheriff's Office to identify appropriate protocols to allow those with ties to SJCS to join us for school Mass. We need everyone's full compliance in these protocols as we strive to maintain a high level of safety for our students and staff.

• All persons choosing to attend school Mass must first be cleared through our Raptor system, such is the requirement for all volunteers and visitors coming to SJCS.
• All persons choosing to attend school Mass must preregister by 12pm the previous school day using the Google Form provided by SJCS.
• For those individuals who have not been cleared through Raptor (using their driver's license), a photo of the driver's license must be provided to the school office via email no later than 12pm the previous school day. Please note that in this case, the individual must ALSO complete the Google Form.
• All persons choosing to attend school Mass must arrive between 7:55 am and 8:05 am and be checked in through the back church doors in courtyard by the Parish Center. The church doors on the Avenue M side will be locked and no admittance will be given to anyone attempting to enter on that side. Guests will sit in designated areas and must exit the church when directed by administration. Further, upon exiting the church, it is understood that guests will proceed directly to their cars and not congregate outside of the church/school.

• Once Mass begins, we will not open doors to visitors for the safety of our students.

This is the Google Form sign up link for Wednesday's 8:15 am Mass, January 3rd.

https://forms.gle/mqvpcRDNtKi1EErp6

Our first trimester academic awards will be Wednesday, January 3rd after the 8:15 am Mass. If you would like to attend, you must attend Mass beforehand. Please see the procedures above. You must register by 12 pm on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Jean Kortwright (Nurse Jean), who was a long time school nurse here at SJCS for many years back in the early 2000s, has passed away. Please pray for her and her family.

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

School will resume on Wednesday, January 3rd. We will have Mass at 8:15 am so students will need to be in their Mass uniforms.

Re-registration for current students will open on Monday, January 8th, for the 2024-2025 school year. All FACTS accounts, incidentals, and Mashios must be up to date to be able to re-register your child(ren). The deadline for re-registration is Friday, January 26th. After this date, new student registration will open and your child(ren)'s spot may not be guaranteed for the new school year with re-registration. The cost for re-registration is $350 but if completed before January 26th, you will receive a $100 early registration discount.

Siblings of students are not able to be at school when a parent is volunteering or coming for a classroom event/celebration. This policy is stated in our Parent Handbook. Thank you for adhering to this.

Please make sure that when dropping off PreK students in the front office parking lot that you are only turning right to exit the parking lot. With the amount of traffic, it is unsafe to turn left and it backs up the PreK drop off line when waiting. Also, when approaching the stop sign at Avenue M and Unity Way, only right hand turns are allowed. We appreciate your help with this.

The Unity Way gate will be closed every afternoon beginning at 4 pm. Please use the Highway 17 entrance to enter and exit the campus after 4 pm.

Parents will need to park and go to the parish center or the recess field to pick up students when the sign is placed in the parking lot that says "Please Park to Pick Up", usually 3:35 p.m. Staff members cannot walk students to their cars. This is for the safety of your child and those still in Aftercare.

Congratulations to our fifth through eighth grade students who participated in our school spelling bee sponsored by the Knights of Columbus!

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make Sweets with Santa a great success! Everyone had a wonderful time meeting with Santa, listening the Christmas stories, making a craft, and visiting the book fair. It was a special holiday event!

When the school calls to let you know that your student is sick and needs to be picked up, please come to the school immediately. Sick students cannot stay in the clinic for extended periods of time. When this happens, it exposes other students as well as staff members to illness.

St. Anthony Catholic School is in need of a guidance counselor. If you are interested in this position or know someone who is, please contact Dr. Anna Adam at aadam@saintacs.com or 863-858-0671.

We will have our annual Christmas programs on Thursday, December 14th in the Church. Students in grades Prek through 2nd grade, the concert choir, honor band, and drumline will perform at 10 a.m. Doors will open at 9:30 am. Students in grades 3 through 5, concert choir, honor band, drumline, and our seventh and eighth grade bands will perform beginning at 6 p.m. For the evening performance, students in grades 3 through 5 need to be in their classrooms by 5:30 p.m. Honor band, drumline, and our seventh and eighth grade bands will meet in the Parish Center by 5:30 p.m. The church doors will open at 5:30 pm for the evening performance.

All students should wear dressy Christmas attire. Please, no Santa hats, elf hats, antler headbands, etc.

Second semester student progress reports will be sent home on Thursday, January 11th. Grades can also be checked daily on Renweb.

The date of our Taste of Achievement Gala has been changed. Please make a note on your calendar that the Gala will be held on Saturday, March 2nd. You will not want to miss it. Save the date and make plans to join us.

Gratitude abounds this Christmas Season! Thanks to our incredible school community, we have collected over 130 new toys and 36 new backpacks filled with school supplies and comfort items for Heartland for Children’s Toy Drive. A special thank you to Girl Scout Troop #75110 and The Knights of Columbus for their contribution to this year’s Advent project. Your generosity is making a significant impact and spreading joy this Christmas season.

Christmas Masses will be held on Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th, at 6 pm or 10 pm (with music starting at 9:15 pm). On Christmas Day, Masses will be at 7:20 am and 11:00 am in English, at 9 am in Vietnamese, and at 1:00 pm in Spanish.

The season of Advent continues this Sunday, December 17th, with the third Sunday of Advent. The third Sunday of Advent is represented by a pink candle for joy. Next Sunday, December 24th, is the fourth Sunday of Advent and is represented by a purple candle for love.

Special thanks to the Burns family for sponsoring our deputy at Mass and for the Christmas program! Thanks also to the Rovira family for sponsoring the deputy for our Friday activities.

Please continue to scan your receipts so we can earn funds from Box Tops for our school. Our next goal is to earn $300. Students will have another dress down day once we reach this goal.

With the holidays around the corner, our Catholic Charities Food Pantry needs our help to stock the shelves. This collection is in addition to the items students are encouraged to bring to Mass on Wednesdays. The items listed below are collected throughout the week in the classrooms. We will track the number of items collected in each class. The class with the highest total number of items in prek, primary (K-2), intermediate (3-5) and middle school (6-8) will receive a special treat.

Week of December 10: Cereal/Oatmeal

Our annual Mary Hession Nun Run will be an exciting 3.1 mile run/walk. It will be a flat course out and back along the Chain of Lake Trail, and is pet friendly. The event is on Saturday, January 27th beginning at 8 a.m. in the parking lot. For more information about this or sponsorship opportunities, contact Allison Beeman at sjcsnunrun@gmail.com. Sponsorshops are due by January 2nd.

Click the link below to register.

https://www.athlinks.com/event/372770

The class with the highest participation in the Nun Run can have an ice cream party!

This section of the Eagle's Eye will remain in every edition of our newsletter. It will contain links to information that parents may need from time to time. When parents have questions, we urge you to check this section for possible links that could get you the information that you need.

• School Calendar
• Lunch Menus
• Maschio's Birthday Order Form
• Registering for a lunch account
• PikMyKid User Guide (English)
• PikMyKid User Guide (Spanish)
• Fingerprinting/Safe Environment Certification Instructions
• Fingerprinting/Safe Environment Certification
• Uniform Company
• Technology Responsible Use Policy for Students
• Parent Student Handbook
• Attendance Policy
• Accessing Facts Family Portal
• Family Portal Login
• Logging Service Hours: Parents and students can now enter and view their own service hours. You can use your app to view the hours, however, you have to use the web version to enter new hours. go to FACTS Family Portal. The district code is STJC-FL. Once logged in, click on the Family option in the menu on the left side. At the top of the screen, select the family member who will be adding the service hours. Click on the Add option on the right side of the screen in the Service Hours box. Fill out the information and click Save.

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

O Blessed Joseph, faithful guardian of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector of Mary, the virgin Mother of God, I choose you this day to be my special patron and advocate and I firmly resolve to honor you all the days of my life. Therefore, I humbly ask you to receive me as your client, to instruct me in every doubt, to comfort me in every affliction, to obtain for me and for all the knowledge and love of the Heart of Jesus, and finally to defend and protect me at the hour of my death. Amen.

Interim Principal: Mrs. Insua

Assistant Principal: Mr. Reilly

Canonical Administrator: Fr. Tim LaBo

Superintendent: Mr. Fortier

Email: jinsua@stjosephwhschool.org
Website: stjosephwhschool.org
Location: 535 Avenue M Northwest, Winter Haven, FL, USA
Phone: 863-293-3311