St. Joseph
Catholic School

Psalm 85: 9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. 

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD -- for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land. 

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. 

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven. 

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. 

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps. 

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

From the Principal

Dear Parents:

Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year. We thank you for your continued support. Largely to the efforts of parents who have expressed confidence in the school, enrollment has increased again this school year, and the school year will start with over 410 students in attendance.

There are additions to staff this year with new employees and new duties for employees previously on staff.
Mrs. Kelly Curtis will teach third grade and comes to St. Joseph from St. Peter in Reserve where she has taught for the past fifteen years. She is a graduate of Southeastern University and a product of Catholic education having graduated from St. Charles High School in Laplace. Mrs. Curtis has three children. Two will attend St. Joseph.

Mrs. Melissa Henderson will serve as a sixth grade homeroom teacher. Her schedule includes social studies for the seventh and eighth grades and reading and English for the sixth grade. Mrs. Henderson has taught for ten years, six at Martha Vineyards and three in Pennsylvania. She was a regular substitute at St. Joseph last year. She has three girls attending St. Joseph.

Mrs. Debra Caliva who worked mainly with fourth graders last school year and taught art to other students will join Mrs. James as the second homeroom teacher in the first grade this year.

Mrs. Melissa Thomas will move to fifth grade from fourth grade, and Mrs. Colette Hamilton will move from fifth grade to fourth grade.

Mrs. Jennifer Tallo, who taught third grade last school year, will teach art and two sixth grade social studies.

Mrs. Elaine LeBlanc has been hired as the second preschool teacher. She is a graduate of McNeese State University and is currently enrolled in the Early Childhood Certification Program at Southeastern University. Mrs. Picou will administer the program and be the lead teacher. They will be joined by Mrs. Tiffany Quigley who will act as an aide. Mrs. Quigley has a child at St. Joseph in third grade. Mrs. Quigley is also a new employee at the school.

In addition to new staff and new assignments, the school doubled the sixth grade homerooms and new science text books were ordered for all classes. Also, two more Starboards were installed in the school.

During the summer, three classrooms on the first floor of the main building were renovated. Ceilings were dropped, lights were replaced, and new, very quiet, air conditioning units were installed, Several other classes were renovated with new paint, and in some cases sheetrock was installed over several very rough walls. Third grade classrooms in the red building were also repainted. Students in these classrooms will enjoy a quieter and more pleasant environment for their studies.

On the grounds, the back field was cleared and a new privacy fence is being installed along the back of the playground by Gabriels. These improvements greatly enhance the amount of area the school can use on the field. The eyesore at the rear of the school has also been eliminated. Fencing the field is a goal of the school. In addition, several pieces of playground equipment from the old playground were installed in the area of the new playground. Plans are to enhance the playground area with more bark chips and, when the heat subsides, trees will be planted that in time will shade the area.

A thank-you goes out to Mr. Tommy, Mr. Joe, and Nicholas and Christopher Ekker for their yeomen efforts this summer. Every year the school environment improves and our pledge to you is that these efforts will continue.

Finally, please understand that this is the only newsletter that will be forwarded to you through your child.

From this date on, it is vitally important that you check the school website for all information regarding the school. Weekly newsletters will be posted on Wednesday and it is a parental responsibility to check the website. The actual printing of a weekly newsletter is expensive and labor intensive and the funds saved will be used for the betterment of the program and the school environment. Mrs. Little does an excellent job of keeping the newsletter up to date, and it is the best means the school has of communicating with you, our parents.

Again, we appreciate your support and thank you for entrusting your children to our care.

-- Gerard Toups, Ph.D.
    Principal

Calendar for the Week

Friday, August 12
Mass @ 8:30
Spirit Dress
PreK Small Group A 
Kindergarten Testing
Pep Rally @ 1:00

Monday, August 15
Feast of the Assumption of Mary
PreK Small Group B
Kindergarten Testing

Tuesday, August 16
PreK Small Group C
Kindergarten Testing
Back-to-School Night Grades 1-4 @ 6:30

Wednesday, August 17
PreK Small Group D
Kindergarten Testing

See more calendar for the entire year at Calendar.

FaceBook

St. Joseph School is now on FaceBook. You can find us and like us on FaceBook. It's a great way to keep up with the happenings at school through your iphone.

Home & School Association

The Home and School Executive Committee proposes the following amendment to its Bylaws.

Section VI (Officers) , Part 5(Treasurer), Subsection E

Make disbursements as authorized by the Executive Committee or membership in accordance with the budget adopted by the membership. No check is to be written over Three hundred fifty dollars ( $350.00) without getting prior approval from the Executive Committee in a vote.

The change will allow the treasurer to respond to the day to day needs of our children. The current limit is $50.00 which requires the committee to constantly vote on funding for even the most basic of events.

Back-to-School Night

Teachers in Grades 1-4 will hold their annual Back-to-School Night on Tuesday, August 16, beginning at 6:30. 

At this event parents will have the opportunity visit the classrooms, meet the teachers, and learn about plans and expectations for the upcoming year.

This is an event for adults only. Our teachers are looking forward to meeting the parents of their students.

Pep Rally

Here are the St. Joseph cheerleaders for the 2011 - 2012 school year.  We are so proud of their hard work during their training camp this summer.  Get ready for an exciting new year.  They can't wait to show off their new moves at the first pep rally!   

The cheerleaders will have a short welcome back to school pep rally on Friday, August 12, at 1:00 in the gym. Parents are welcome to attend. Please get a visitor's pass in the office upstairs before going to the gym.

New Library Website

Check out the brand new St. Joseph School library website! The site allows a visitor to search for a book in the school library and learn all kinds of information about the book as well as interesting links to other book-friendly places. 

The website still has information being added daily. Be sure to visit to learn more about the SJS library!

SJS Library

Parish News

Personnel
Rev. John Dominic Sims, O.P. - Pastor
Rev. Cayet Mangiaracina, O.P. - Parochial Vicar
Rev. J.D. Logan, O.P. - In Residence
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