St. Joseph
Catholic School

Psalm 19: 2-3, 4-5

R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.

R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.

R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

From the Principal

Dear Parents,

The first grade students have noticed a new person in their classrooms offering a hand. Mrs. Stacey Perrin was hired to assist first grade teachers Mrs. Caliva and Mrs. James during the school day in the classrooms. She has some clerical duties but spends most of her day assuring that students are attentive to the tasks that are being assigned to them in the classroom.

Mr. Tommy and Mr. Joe were busy today reconfiguring the playground. The new configuration will be completed with the introduction of a substantial addition and upgrade to the wood chips. Also, plans include planting trees that will eventually offer shade for the playground.

I thank you for your cooperation in the carpool line. A whole week went by without a single complaint.

Stay tuned we will soon have an offer that will interest all Saints fans. 

-- Gerard Toups, Ph.D.
SJS Principal

Calendar for the Week

Thursday, September 22
Reconciliation - 6th Grade
Retreat @ STA - 7th Grade
Fall Fest T-Shirt Order Forms Due
Presentation by PHS for 8th Grade Parents 

Friday, September 23
Mass @ 8:30 - All are invited to attend.
Spirit Dress
Crusaders Announced
Visit to STA - 8th Grade
Back-to-School Bash for Grades 5-8

Tuesday, September 27
Vollebyball Pictures

Thursday, September 29
Reconciliation - 7th Grade

Friday, September 30
Fair Day Holiday - No School Today 

See more plans for the year at Calendar

Fall Fest T-Shirts Orders Due

This is the last chance to order Fall Fest T-Shirts. All payments and orders are due Thursday, September 22.

Students ordering t-shirts may wear them each Friday during the month of October with their blue jeans, crew socks, and uniform shoes.

Youth sizes are $12 each. Adult sizes are $14 each.

T-shirts may be ordered by clicking on the link below, filling out the form, and returning the form with payment to the office by Thrusday, September 22.

Fall Fest T-Shirt Order Form

Back-to-School Bash

St. Joseph students in the 5th – 8th grades are invited to participate in our first sock hop of the school year. Join us on Friday, September 23, from 7 – 10 pm.

Admission is $10. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Pictures are available in $5 or $10 packages.

Wear your Sunday best (no shorts or spaghetti straps). You may bring one guest. That guest must be in 5th-8th grades. All students and guests must be signed in by an adult and signed out by an adult.

For Parents of 8th Grade Students

Parents of eighth grade students are invited to a meeting on Thursday, September 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the school library.

At that time the Ponchatoula High School counselors will present topics of interest to include: graduation requirements, TOPS, Areas of Concentration, Five Year Plans, and LEAP Testing.

Knowing about these topics ahead of time makes transition into high school easier for both parents and students. We hope to see lots of parents there.

Papa John's Pizza Night Success!

James Atkins, owner of the Papa John's Pizza at 201 West Pine Street in Ponchatoula, presented St. Joseph Catholic School a check for $328.76 as part of the fundraiser on St. Joseph Night at Papa John's Pizza last week.

Mrs. Dufreche's second grade class, the class with the most orders that evening, will receive a pizza party for their efforts. Mrs. Dufreche's class was followed closely by the PreK classes and Mrs. Mercer's seventh grade.

In the picture, from left to right, are members of the winning class: Brayden Thompson, Ashton Vining, Hanna Bankston, James Atkins from Papa John's Pizza, Sadie Bohning, and Ali Foster.

St. Joseph will have another Papa John's Pizza night - and give other classes a chance to win a pizza party - on Tuesday, October 4. Mark your calendars!

What We Did in Science Class

Kodi Golden, left, and Kali Lowery, are busy dissecting owl pellets in order to classify bones as part of their seventh grade biology class.

To see more class pictures of this science activity, please visit the Photo Albums on this website.

StoryTown Online

The StoryTown reading series for grades 1-5 is set up for student use. Please follow the steps below to access the text as well as practice materials related to the series.

Grades 1-5 ..... Harcout 2008 ..... Storytown series
Log-in information:
State - Louisiana
District - Diocese of Baton Rouge Ed. Off. Baton Rouge, 70821
School - St. Joseph School, Ponchatoula 70454
User Name - same as A/R log-in or school computer log-in
Password - reading
Click on "My Library", choose textbook, practice book, or reader collection (extra practice) 

The same steps are listed on the website under the Textbooks Online tab.

Math-a-Thon

Last Friday, students who had participated in last year's Math-a-Thon were able to wear last year's t-shirts to school. These students are to be commended to earning a total of $4032.14 to benefit the patients at St. Jude Children's Hospital. Way to go, Crusaders!

Sports News

CROSS COUNTRY 

Our Cross Country Team competed last Thursday in the Trafton-Holy Ghost-SJS-Sumner Four Way Meet. This was a meet for these four local schools only. St. Joseph Runners earned lots of medals and had some awesome finishing times.

Carson Thibodeaux was the Sub Elementary Boys Champion posting a first place finish in 3:29. Jack Brothers brought home a medal for St. Joseph in the Elementary Boys Division with a 4th place finish (7:49). Logan Henley finished in 18th place with a time of 9:30. Collin Thibodeaux and Grant Amerson had a very impressive finish in the Middle School Boys Division with a 2nd (Thibodeaux 7:05) and 3rd (Amerson 7:10) place score.

Hanna Bankston was the top runner in the Sub Elementary Girls Division; placing 5th with a time of 3:48. Crista Wolfe followed in 7th (3:50) place along with Jadyn Richard (8th - 3:52), Hannah Habisretinger (10th - 4:04), Marley Richard (13th - 4:23), and Taylor Karr (18th - 4:59). Paige Bankston led the Elementary Girls with a 4th place finish in 7:32. Brilee Broussard took 5th (8:01), followed by Krislyn Dapprich in 8th (8:10) and Heather Habisreitinger in 9th (8:31). All of the Elementary Girls earned medals and finished in the top 10. Sara Lavastida and Peyton LeSaicherre had a one, two finish in the Middle School Girls race. Lavastida was the champion with a time of 6:41 and was closely followed by LeSaicherre who posted a 7:05 finish. Lydia Pevey won the Junior HIgh Girls Division with a time of 6:43. All of the Junior High Girls earned medals with the following times: Lauren Hebert (7:05), Haleigh Habisreitinger (7:29) and Holly Guay (7:29).

Varsity Girls competed in a HUGE meet in Baton Rouge on Saturday. The Episcopal Round Table Invitational Junior High Girls Division had 242 runners competing in the two mile race. The Junior Varsity Girls came in 8th place out of 23 teams. Sara Lavastida and Lydia Pevey earned medals; finishing in 13th (Lavastida) and 15th place (Pevey). Lauren Hebert, Peyton LeSaicherre, Haleigh Habisreitinger, Holly Guay, and Maria Guay posted great finishing times to earn 8th place in this very competitive race. Way to go, girls! 

We have a meet this Thursday for the lower grades and our varsity girls will be competing in Loranger on Saturday at another large meet.


VOLLEYBALL 

JV is still undefeated. 5-0

Varsity lost a tough one against Trafton but came back with a win against Christ Episcopal to bring their record to 3-1. Varsity will play Ponchatoula Junior High next Wednesday, 9/28/11, at St Joseph at 4:30.

Varsity and Junior Varsity will play Lake Castle at home next Thursday, 9/30/11, at 4:00 and 5:00.

Community News

PONCHATOULA YOUTH BASKETBALL

Registration forms for Ponchatoula Youth Basketball are available in the school office.

Boys and Girls ages 5-17

Registration date: September 24 (9:00-noon) @ Ponchatoula Recreation Park on North Hoover Road

Registration fee is $65. Only checks or money orders will be accepted.

For additional information, please email PYB at ponchatoulayouthbasketball@yahoo.com.

 

ST. STANISLAUS

St. Stanislaus School will hold informational sessions around the area in the coming months. At each info session, prospective parents and students will hear presentations from St. Stanislaus administrators, parents and students. Attendees will learn about the structure, discipline, religious formation and academic and athletic excellence that St. Stanislaus offers. With weekend transportation to and from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington, St. Stanislaus is a convenient option for parents who are looking for a boarding school that can help their sons grow emotionally, academically and spiritually. We ask that parents RSVP at our website, www.ststan.com.

Dates, Times & Locations:

- October 4, 2011 from 5 – 7 PM in New Orleans at the Hilton New Orleans Hotel (333 St. Charles Ave.)

- October 5, 2011 from 5 – 7 PM in Baton Rouge at the Capitol Park Welcome Center (702 N. River Rd.)

- October 6, 2011 from 5 – 7 PM in Covington at the Greater Covington Center (317 N. Jefferson Ave.)

- October 11, 2011 from 6 – 8 PM in Metairie at the Sheraton Metairie Hotel (4 Galleria Blvd.)

Title I Parent Center Parent Activities

Title I Parent Center Parent Activities

2011-2012

Note:
Individual consultations are given daily to parents seeking guidance in improving their children’s academic skills.

Call 985-429-9043 for more information. Limited seating in computer lab sessions.

September 23 9:00 – 11:00
Intermediate Windows Part 1 – Jump Drives
Technology Dept. Lab
Technology Resource Teacher & Scanners
Hammond Jr. High

October 7 9:00 – 11:00
Intermediate Windows Part 2 - Cameras, CDs
Technology Dept. Lab
Technology Resource Teacher

October 14 9:00 – 11:00
Internet Basics – Part 1
Technology Dept. Lab
Technology Resource Teacher

October 21 9:00 – 11:00
INTRODUCTION TO TANGI SCHOOLS WEB SITE
Technology Dept. Lab
Learn to Use Parent Command Center
Learn to Use Parent Resources
Hammond Jr. High
Technology Resource Teacher

October 28 9:00 – 11:00
Harcourt Math and Reading Resources
Tech. Dept. Lab
Hammond Jr. High
Technology Resource Teacher

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 


MARRIAGE MINISTRY EVENTS:

1) Theology of the Body.

This 8 week program parallels the LifeTeen Theology of the Body. The sessions will be held on Sunday evenings September 18, 25, and October 2, 9, 18, 23, 30, from 6:30-8:30.

To register, please contact Lisa McGill at 985-817-0995 or Julie Hanks at 985-467-4402.