St. Joseph
Catholic School

Psalm 146

 R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs! 

The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free. 

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs! 

The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia. 

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!

From the Principal

Dear Parents:

Important:

Registration for the 2011-2012 school year for students presently enrolled in school and their brothers and sisters is February 4 through February 11. Please be attentive to these dates. The form is coming home today.

This week the school is celebrating Catholic Schools Week. Four of our Eighth Grade students kicked off the week by reading essays regarding Catholic Schools at Mass over the weekend.
** Mass was celebrated for the entire school on Monday. Our Distinguished Gradute, Mrs. Jackie Pepitone Mitchell, addressed the student body after Mass. The school also acknowledged the support staff, including the maintenance staff and the aides. 
** Tuesday the Home and School sponsored the National Teacher Appreciation Luncheon for the staff in the Teacher’s Lounge. 
** Wednesday, the school will recognize Mrs. Little as our Assistant Principal. 
** Thursday is the Religion Fair, a wonderful opportunity for the students to express their faith. Members of the St. Joseph community will come to school to judge the students' work. Parents will be able to view the Religion Fair Projects that night. We will also have a Home & School Meeting Thursday evening where there will be a discussion of the preparations for the Spring Fair.. Please make an effort to come to the meeting. All is done for the benefit of your children.
** Friday representatives of the student body will attend the Diocesan Catholic School Mass at St. Jean Vianny in Baton Rouge. At the Mass employees of the schools who have served as Catholic educators for ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years will be recognized. We will recognize those individuals this Thursday at the Home and School Meeting. 

Congratulations to the Junior Varsity Girl’s Basketball Team for winning the Northshore Independent Athletic League. They defeated Tafton last Thursday 41-28. Members of the team include Blair Adkins, Mallory Vining, Jayden Berthlot, Clair Chapin Perriloux, Haleigh Laylle, Kennedy Martin, Karlee Kraft, Lydia Pevey, Allie Amerson, and Emily Hines.

The Varsity Team plays Trafton tonight for the NIAL Championship at Above the Rim in Madisonville. High point scorers in last night's hard-fought game were Lydia Pevey (8 pts), Emily Waddell (6 pts), Jennifer Brescher and Allie Amerson (3 pts each), and Grayson Boudreaux and Morgan Fontenot (2 pts each). Other members of the Varsity Team are Karlee Kraft, Blair Atkins, Leigh Fresina, and Abigail von Almen. We will have a full report on their game for next week’s message.


-- Gerard Toups

Current Calendar

Thursday, February 3
* Religion Fair - Viewing is from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
* Home & School Meeting @ 6:30 in the Gym 

Friday, February 4
* NO SCHOOL MASS
* Diocesan CSW Mass in Baton Rouge
* Spirit Dress 

Monday, February 7
* Last Day to Order Heart Grams

Tuesday, February 8
* Class Pictures in Uniforms
* 8th Grade Pictures in Caps & Gowns
* Field Trip - Fifth Grade

Wednesday, February 9
* MidQuarter Reports Online 
* Mother Seton Nominations Due to the Office
* Advisory Council Meeting @ 6:00 in Library

Thursday, February 10
* Reconciliation - Sixth Grade 
* Field Trip - Grades 1-4

Friday, February 11
* Mass @ 8:30 - All are invited to attend.
* Adopt-a-Child Collection
* Spirit Dress (red/pink shirts for $1.00 donation)
* Last Day for Current Families to Re-Register without Penalty

Monday, February 14-Friday, February 18
* Eighth Grade Mobile Classroom

Friday, February 18
* Mass @ 8:30 - All are invited to attend.
* Spirit Dress

Saturday, February 19
* Quiz Bowl at St. Jude School

Monday, February 21
* Open House for Parents of Prospective Students
* New Family Registration Begins

Thursday, February 24
* Penance Prayer Service - Grades 3-4-5

Friday, February 25
* Mass @ 8:30 - All are invited to attend.
* Crusaders Announced
* Spirit Dress
* Last Day for Third Quarter Accelerated Reader

Distinguished Graduate 2010-2011

Jacqueline Pepitone Mitchell sees her Catholic education as the greatest gift her parents could have given her. 

The 1975 graduate of St. Joseph School said her parents raised her “with strong Christian values which aligned with those in the Catholic school. 

“Catholic education has fostered my deep faith and belief that we are all given gifts in order to better serve as the hands and feet of Christ. It taught me compassion and instilled in me a desire to help
those less fortunate,” the Distinguished Graduate said. 

“The strong Christ-based education I received in a Catholic School helped develop my self-discipline both morally and academically. My Catholic faith has also been a source of wisdom, comfort and joy as I have raised my children,” she said

Mitchell currently teaches math at Holy Ghost School in Hammond. She serves on the school committee that worked on national accreditation, on the technology committee, the leadership team and the discipline committee. She also serves her parish church of St. Joseph as a member of the bereavement committee and as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. 

She attended Ponchatoula High School and Southeastern Louisiana University. She and her
husband, Randy, have three children, all of whom are St. Joseph alumni.

Registration

Re-registration for current students and their siblings begins today and continues until Friday, February 11.

Current students may still register after February 11, but they will be subject to a late fee and are not guaranteed that a spot will be available.

Re-registration forms have been included with today's packet. ALL parents, returning or not, should fill out the appropriate form and return it to the office. The registration fee ($200) should be included with the form for those students returning and those who have siblings registering for 2011-2012.

Tuition rates for next year are posted on this website under the Admissions tab.

 

Cheerleaders Win First!

Congratulations to the St. Joseph cheerleaders who participated in Kickin' it for Kids, a charity competiton to benefit Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, this weekend at Southeastern. Our cheer team placed first in our junior high level 2 division, and first in the overall session which consisted of over 35 performances! We are so proud of our team for representing St. Joseph School.

Team members include: Grayson Boudreaux, Jennifer Brescher, Morgan Fontenot, Bethany Herrick, Kailee King, Dani Majeau, Catherine McRae, Erin Pereira, Sarah Ryals, Krystal Waddell, Gabrielle Wahl, Savanna Barrient, Emily Waddell, Blair Atkins, Sydney Gregoire, Avery Meyers, Claire-Chapin Perilloux, Traci Carollo, Maiya Delpidio, Gabrielle Gremillion, and (on crutches!) Hailee Krupp.

We are looking forward to showing off our award winning routine to their classmates and peers at our next pep rally! Congratulations, girls!

Home & School Meeting

The St. Joseph School Home & School Association will have their next meeting on Thursday, February 3, at 6:30 in the school gym. Please make plans to attend.

Religion Fair

Parents are invited to come view the Religion Fair on Thursday, February 3, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in the gym. All grades have projects in the fair.

Open House for Prospective Parents

We ask parents now to begin to recruit students for the school for next school year. Open House this year is scheduled for February 21, which is President's Day.

As parents, you come into contact with other parents who have school-aged children. This often happens at Christmastime. You are our best recruiters. You have family, friends, and co-workers who have children starting school, who are moving into the area, or who are not happy with the education their children are receiving. Let them know about St. Joseph. Let us know about them.

Please send the names and addresses of parents who you think might be interested in sending their children to St. Joseph. We will simply invite them to the Open House. The prospective parents need not know how we received their names. Increasing school enrollment will allow us to provide a better education for all the students. Please use the form sent home today for that purpose.

Class Pictures

Barbarito Photographers, Inc. will be at school on Tuesday, February 8, to take class pictures of students in uniforms.

Students may obtain an 8x10 class group picture by using the order form enclosed with today's packet. Pictures are $12.00 each. Payment should accompany the order.

Orders are due by Tuesday, February 8.

Eighth Grade cap and gown pictures will be taken the same day. Information has been sent home with those students.

Beta Induction

After Mass on Friday, January 28, the following students were inducted into the SJS Junior Beta Club. These students and their parents were also invited to a short reception in the gym following the indcution ceremony.

8th Grade
Shelby Bagby, Leah Dahmer, Raylea Willoughby

7th Grade
Scott Dufreche, Lauren Hebert, Lauren McKneely, Katelyn McKneely, Kitch Taylor

6th grade
Christina Ernst, Alyssa Henderson, Emily Ransom, Ian Waller

Serving as officers for the club are: President Abigail vonAlmen, Vice President Danita Majeau, Secretary Paul Mitchell, Treasurer Krystal Waddell, Historians Bethany Herrick and Sarah Ryals.

Mother Seton Award Nominations

The Mother Seton Award was created to honor those individuals whose volunteer service and dedication to home, school, and church has been exemplary. This individual should be recognized as an outstanding volunteer and cannot be a paid employee of the school. Strong Catholic values and a selfless dedication to Catholic schools should be manifest in the honoree chosen. The honoree should have at least three years involvement in the SJS Catholic school community and be an active member of his/her church parish.

• Diocesan Home & School Association dues have been paid.
• Nominee is a current (dues paying if applicable) member of the local home and school organization.
• Nominee is a volunteer.
• Nominee has been an active Home & School volunteer for at least three years.
• Nominee espouses Gospel values and emulates the qualities of Elizabeth Ann Seton.
• An individual may receive this award more than once IF presented by a different school.
• Nomination is made by the Home & School Association with the approval of the school principal.


Forms have been sent home today for your nominations. 

Forms are due in the office by Wednesday, February 9.

Heart Grams

Student Council is selling Velentine Candy Heart Grams. They are 50 cents each and will be on sale from Thursday, February 4 through Monday, February 7.

Forms for ordering Heart Grams are included in today's packet. They are also available in the school office. 

Heart Grams may be sent to friends, teachers, or that "special someone" to let them know how much you care.

All proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.

 

St. Joseph Parish

Personnel
Rev. John Dominic Sims, O.P. - Pastor
Larry J. Melcanon - Deacon

Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday Vigil Mass - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Mass - 8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m.

Contact Information
Address - 255 North 8th Street (P.O. Box 368), Ponchatoula, LA 70454
Phone - 985.386.3749
Website - www.stjosephsonline.com


MARRIAGE MINISTRY
The St. Joseph Marriage Ministry Presents: Evenings at Paul’s An Evening for Married and Singles from St. Joseph Parish and School Date: Thursday January 27, 2011 Time: 7:00 to 9:00 PM Location: Paul’s Café in Ponchatoula Topic: Making Good Marriages Great – Married Love and Natural Family Planning Presenter: Father Jose I. Lavastida, Rector of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans Married Couples and All Singles Adults 18 or Older are Welcome Admission is Free – No Advance Registration Required Snacks and Refreshments will be offered

FINANCIAL PEACE COURSE
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Course Offered at St Joseph location:
St. Joseph Catholic School Primary Building Ponchatoula, LA
Starts on February 3rd - A few spaces left!
Time: Thursdays, 7:00pm - 8:45pm
Cost: $100 for kit and course
Dates: February 3, 2011 March 31, 2011 February 10, 2011 April 7, 2011 February 17, 2011 April 14, 2011 February 24, 2011 April 28, 2011 March 3, 2011 May 5, 2011 March 10, 2011 May 12, 2011 March 24, 2011
To sign up or for more information, please contact Ryan McGill (985) 233-9996.
Sponsored by St. Joseph Marriage Ministry