Dear Saints Joseph and John School Families,
“Hold fast to the hope that lies before us.” – Hebrews 6:18
Just like that, we have almost completed our second week of school, the first full week of the year! Classes are in a groove and are already doing excellent work!
Tomorrow we gather as a school community to celebrate the first Mass of the year together.
Tomorrow is also our first spirit wear day. Students may wear SJJ spirit wear with uniform bottoms. Let's show our Viking pride!
Meet the Teachers- Next week we welcome parents and guardians on campus for our Meet the Teacher/Back to School Information Night. We'll kick off the evening at St. Joseph Church for a welcome and prayer service beginning promptly at 6:00 p.m. Please see below for more information.
Hallways of Hope- This year our halls were transformed into "Hallways of Hope," with each area representing a different characteristic of our theme. The Preschool hallway decorated for "Helping Hands," the middle school hallway decorated with symbols of "Opportunity," the K-2 hallway is now filled with symbols of "Promise" and the 3-5 hallway shines with symbols of "Excellence." Yesterday the final touches were added with banners identifying each hallway. We can't wait for you to see for yourselves at our meet the Teacher and Back to School information night.
School Safety- As your school principal, there is nothing I take more seriously than the safety of our students, our staff and our school as a whole. This year, we are again blessed to have a strong partnership with our Strongsville safety forces. Since school began last week, police officers are frequently visible on campus, walking the halls of our building and engaging with our students, faculty and staff.
Our school is very fortunate to have been awarded a $100,000 federal safety grant to use toward safety improvements in our school. Strongsville City School's Operations Manager, Stephen Breckner collaborated with school administration this past week and helped our team identify several exciting improvements that can be accomplished as a result of this grant money. I look forward to sharing these improvements to our building with you in the weeks and months to come.
SJJ's faculty also met yesterday afternoon, where we began the first of regular safety sessions. During these meetings, our team of teachers discuss their roles and their responses to particular emergency situations and then work together to identify strengths and opportunities.
The responsibility for keeping our SJJ students, staff and schools safe remains a top priority.
We ask for your prayers for our SJJ community, and please know of our community’s continued prayers for you! Enjoy the long Labor Day weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Schenek
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
All of the EdChoice Scholarship applications that SJJ has received to date have been uploaded onto the state portal.
What happens next-
1. When families have SUBMITTED the Income Verification via the State portal, it will be reviewed in the order in which it was received. Once the State begins reviewing the income portion of the application, parents will receive an email that notifies them that their application is UNDER REVIEW.
2. Once the income review is completed by the State, parents will receive a second email that notifies them that their INCOME VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE. This email will note what level or dollar amount that your family qualifies for.
We kindly ask that families forward us this information to school business manager Patty Briggs at pbriggs@sjjschool.org.
3. The State will mail - via US Mail - an ACCEPTANCE letter. All families are required to sign and return this letter to the School. This allows SJJ to officially accept your child's scholarship with the State, begin inputting their attendance, and then begin receiving the scholarship allocation toward tuition.
CYO SPORTS RECAP
Congratulations to all of our SJJ Student Athletes on a wonderful opening weekend!
Our Lady Vikings Volleyball teams were outstanding with a combined record of 10 and 4 across all grades! Way to go ladies!!
Our flag football teams did fantastic going 2 and 1 combined in what could be called the mud bowl of 2023! Our 7th and 8th grade football team traveled to NDCL where they played their hearts out but came up just short on the scoreboard.
The Viking runners had a great start to their Cross Country season! The Varsity Girls (Grades 6-8) won their meet against over 20 teams! The Varsity Boys came in 2nd! Our JV (Grades 4-5) had outstanding performances on the hot, muddy course. Top performances came from our Mini-Vikings (Grades 1 – 3) with Ava Zabor leading the team in 3rd place out of 49 runners and Grant Sanders running his first mile race at 7:54 coming in 5th for the boys out of 57 runners. Congratulations to all of the SJJ Runners!
Not to be outdone, our Viking Cheerleaders braved the muddy field conditions and cheered our teams while putting on fantastic halftime shows!!
Good luck to all our teams this weekend!
PTU INFORMATION
SJJ Spirit Wear Sale
It’s time to buy your fall sports spirit wear! Don’t get left behind. Running track, playing volleyball, football or cheerleading? Or just want to be part of the SJJ Spirit fun? We have something for you. Sale ends Sunday, September 3rd! Order online now https://forestcitytees.com/collections/sjj-vikings
Save the Date
Parents - Please join the PTU on Monday, September 11th in McGraw Hall from 6:30-7:30pm as we go through the events and fundraisers planned for the school year. Help is always appreciated! At this meeting we will share the upcoming events and the type of assistance that is needed. Hope to see you there!
Annual Craft Fair
The annual PTU craft fair will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The craft fair is from 9 am - 4 pm. The show consists of more than 100 crafters at tables in McGraw Hall, the gym and the connecting hallways.
Please click on the link below for more information:
PTU EXECUTIVE BOARD:
- Co-Presidents- Natalie Pratt, Roxanne Yurcik
- Treasurer- Tina Dzik
- Secretary- Laura LaNasa
- VP of Operations- Krista Klefos
- VP of Marketing- Julie Lytle
- VP of Fundraising- Kristina Arch
To reach our PTU team please email stsjjptu@gmail.com
Bank in School Program
Ohio Catholic Federal Credit Union is partnering with SJJ for the 2023-2024 school year with its Bank In School Program. It is their mission to collaborate with Catholic schools like SJJ and support Catholic education. Through Bank In School, the Ohio Catholic Federal Credit Union promotes financial literacy and encourages students in grades K-12 to develop healthy saving habits by opening their very own savings accounts.
Ohio Catholic Federal Credit Union will be located in the school lobby outside of McGraw Hall to answer questions at the Meet the Teacher Night on September 6.
Representatives will be on campus from 7:15-8:15 a.m. on the following dates for students to make their deposits into their savings accounts:
September 20, 2023
October 18, 2023
November 15, 2023
December 20, 2023
January 17, 2024
February 21, 2024
March 20, 2024
April 17, 2024
May 22, 2024
VIKING COVE AFTER CARE
Saints Joseph and John School offers a safe, teacher-operated after-school care program. The faculty and staff of Saints Joseph and John School offer an after school care program for students enrolled in our school.
Viking Cove (aftercare) is available for students in grades K-8 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. Students will enjoy an after school snack, participate in a supervised homework time and then explore a variety of activities directed by Sts. Joseph and John teachers and aides.
Please use the following link to register for the program: sites.google.com/sjjschool.org/viking-cove/home.
There is no charge to register for this program. If you are not interested at this time, but find a need for the program during the school year, you may register at a later date.
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Viking Cove is always looking for new or slightly used games, toys, flashcards, and puzzles. Send any donations to the Viking Visionary Center. We thank you for your consideration in advance.
