St. Joseph
Catholic School

Psalm 1

R. Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life. 

Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night. 

R. Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life. 

He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper. 

R. Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life. 

Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom. 

R. Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.

From the Principal

Dear Parents ...

Parents should know that Mrs. Aymond has resigned her position and will not return. Mr. Tyler Hughes has been hired to take her place. Mr. Hughes is a graduate of Louisiana State University, has worked in the Livingston Parish School System, and is well qualified to teach science and math. He will begin November 1.

All are looking forward to Fall Fest. The weather looks fantastic. We appreciate
all who work so hard and are so generous for the students to have a good time.

The first quarter is over and the first report card is coming home. Review the marks
with your children. Be attentive to their successes as well as their shortcomings. The staff is working hard to assure success but the support of parents is most critical.

St. Joseph School’s sports teams have been very busy so far this year. The Varsity Volleyball Team will play for the NIAL Championship October 24 – 26 at Our Lady of the Lake in Mandeville. They enter the championship tournament with a 4 – 2 district record and have a chance to bring home the title! The team is lead by 8th graders Blair Atkins, Courtney Curtis, Camryn Flannigan, Alyssa Henderson, and Lydia Pevey. Last week the team took first place in the Harvest Academy Tournament and earlier this year were runner-ups in the Trafton Academy Tournament. We wish the volleyball team much luck as they finish out the season.

The hard work and dedication that our cross country runners have been putting in all summer is paying off! The Middle School Girls Team dominated their division at the S&S Sports Invitational with a perfect score of 15. Team members included Sara Lavastida, Peyton LeSaicherre, Paige Bankston, Maria Guay, and Heather Habisreitinger. At the Trafton Academy Invitational the Junior High Girls Team easily won their division. Eighth grader Lydia Pevey earned the individual win with a two mile time of 13:18. Finishing second was sixth grader Sara Lavastida with a time of 13:21. Peyton LeSaicherre, Hayleigh Habistreinger, Hannah Henderson, Leigh Henderson, Taylor Raiford, and Emily Ransom also finished in the top 15. Sixth grader Collin Thibodeaux won the Middle School Boys Division. Our Cross Country runners will compete in the NIAL Championship this Thursday, October 18. We wish the entire team well as we anticipate a strong finish! 

-- Dr. Gerard Toups
    Principal

Calendar for the Week

Thursday, October 18
Reconciliation (4th Grade)

Friday, October 19
Mass @ 8:30 - All are invited to attend.
Spirit Dress
Fall Fest
Field Trip (5th-8th)

Monday-Friday, October 22-26
Red Ribbon Week

Tuesday, October 23
Hobby Day
STA Open House for 7th & 8th Graders

Wednesday, October 24
Cheerleader/Volleyball Pictures
Magazine Sale Ends
LSU/Bama Raffle Tickets Due

Thursday, October 25
Reconciliation Grade 3
Retake Uniform Pictures

Friday, October 26
Mass @ 8:30 - All are invited to attend.
Spirit Dress (or Fall Fest Shirts)
Crusaders Announced
LSU/Bama Raffle Winner Announced
Pep Rally @ 1:30

Report Cards

Report cards were sent home on Wednesday, October 17.

Please sign the envelope and return it to school tomorrow.

The report card itself does not have to be returned.

Fall Fest on Friday, October 19

The annual SJS Fall Festival will take place on Friday, October 19, from noon until 2:00 p.m.

All students are asked to bring in one of the following:
***** homemade treat (ex. brownies, cookies, cupcakes, rice crispy treats, muffins, etc.) - treats need to be covered or in Ziplock bags.
***** juice packs
***** bottled waters

Please send in these items the week of the festival (October 15-19).

The 8th grade students will be hosting the games for the PreK-4th grade students who will be attending the festival.

Students in 5th-7th grades will be on a bowling field trip during the festival.

PreK-4th grade students will be at the festival playing games with prizes, face paitning, and will enjoy several inflatables set up in the gym. The school is selling armbands which allow these students unlimited game play and four tickets for refreshments.

STA Open House on Tuesday, October 23

St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Catholic High School in Hammond will hold their information Open House on Thursday, October 23, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Seventh and eighth grade students and their parents are invited to attend.

More information can be had by contacting St. Thomas at 985-542-7662 or by visiting www.stafalcons.org.

Cheerleader/Volleyball Pictures - October 24

Students in cheerleading and volleyball should have received an order form for pictures with last week's packet. Order forms with payment are due the day of pictures - Wednesday, October 24.

Students are asked to come to school in their uniforms so that pictures can be taken immediately after the bell. 

Cheerleaders will take pictures first.

Students will then change into their regular school uniforms for the rest of the day.

Magazine Sale Due Wednesday, October 24

Every student at SJS brought home a magazine sale paper on Wednesday, October 10.

This sale is in response to the many requests for a chance to renew magazine subscriptions.

We have changed magazine sale companies. It is hoped that this new company will be much easier to work with and more efficient with the orders and renewals. We will no longer offer the prizes like in the past, and the school should realize a bigger share of the profits because of this.

Please read through the magazine choices. If you would like to order or new magazines, please follow the directions in the paper. We hope that you'll share this opportunity to help St. Joseph School with friends, relatives, and neighbors.

All orders, renewal, and money should be returned to the school office by Wednesday, October 24.

Thank you all so very much in advance for your help and support.

Raffle Tickets Due Wedesday, October 24

We at St. Joseph have been given an exciting opportunity to raffle off two LSU v Alabma tickets including a parking pass!

We are asking that our study body get involved by selling ten raffle tickets at $5.00 each. Of course, there will be exciting prizes for the top individual sellers and the classes that sell the most.

Ticket location is in the south endzone, Section 423, Row 23, Seats 1 & 2.

The turn-in date for tickets and all money will be October 24.

The drawing for the winning ticket will be on October 26. The winner need not be present to win.

The prizes for the top three sellers are:

1st place - 16 x 20 framed photo autographed by both Billy Cannon and Coach Dietzel

2nd place - 8 x 10 framed photo autographed by Patrick Peterson

3rd place - a Jacob Hester autographed mini helmet.

The student that sells the winning ticket will receive an LSU gift basket full of LSU items!

In addition to these individual prizes, a pizza party will be awarded to the class that sells the most tickets.

Many thanks to Jeff LeSaicherre, Attorney-at-Law, for the donation of the tickets!

If you need more tickets than what is sent home, please contact the school office.

Accreditation Survey Due Wednesday, October 31

In an effort to improve system practices, schools in the Diocese of Baton Rouge involved in district accreditation are conducting surveys of professional staff, students, and parents. We value your opinion and ask that you take the time to complete this survey. Please be assured that your responses in this survey will be anonymous. Your honest opinion is appreciated. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Surveys should be completed by Wednesday, October 31.

The link to the survey is http://www.advanc-ed.org/survey/public/0868546.

Living Rosary

Hanna Bankston, third graders, with altar servers Ian Waller and Blair Atkins lead the living rosary for students at St. Joseph Catholic School.

The entire student body and many parents, grandparents, and friends gathered in the church on Monday, October 15, for a celebration of the World Mission Living Rosary.

The World Mission Rosary was created by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in 1951. Archbishop Sheen was a national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a Pontifical Mission Society like the Holy Childhood Association. He had his own television show and won an Emmy Award. Archbishop Sheen died in 1979. His cause for sainthood was opened in September 2002.

In the World Mission Rosary, each decade reprresents a different area of the world in various colors where missionaries continue to share the Good News of Jesus. Red represents the Americas. It shows the fire of faith that brought the first missionaries there. White is for Europe, home of the Holy Father, shepherd of the world. Green represents the forests and grasslands of Africa. Yellow is for the morning light of the East. Blue is for the ocean surrounding the islands of the Pacific.

In our living rosary, students stood for each bead of the rosary. Every student held a flashlight of the appropriate color which was lighted as the altar servers came around. By the completion of the rosary, every color was shining and the students had given the world a big, prayerful hug.

Other pictures of the rosary can be seen by visiting LIVING ROSARY..

City Field Trip

SJS second grade students recently visited the Ponchatoula fire station, police station, city hall, and the park. At one of their stops, they met the mayor! Seated in the picture is Ryan Ford. Standing the front row are Peyton Ellis and Aimee McLain. In the back row are Ponchatoula Mayor Bob Zabbi and Taylor Karr. More pictures of the field trip can be found by visiting http://sjscrusaders.org/photo-albums/279.html.

Yearbook Orders

We have a few extra 2011-2012 yearbooks in the office available for purchase.

If you'd like a yearbook, please send $40 to the office in an envelope with the following information:

ATTN: Cory
Student Name
Student Grade

Yearbooks orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis until we run out.

Guest Speaker

Officer Bill Moran of the Ponchatoula Police Department came to visit with the first grade classes last week. Here Officer Moran demonstrates the use of handcuffs on Mrs. Beth Elsenrath, one of the teachers. 

More pictures of the visit can be seen by visiting FIRST GRADE VISITOR.

JK Rowling Webinar

Kade Bleakley, seventh grader, stands next to the screen as author J.K. Rowling talks with students during a live webinar.

SJS students in grades 5-8 who had read the Harry Potter books were invited to attend the webinar as J.K. Rowling spoke about her books, new related websites, and upcoming projects she's planning.

More pictures can be seen by clicking on WEBINAR.

Parish News

Personnel
Rev. John Dominic Sims, O.P. - Pastor
Rev. Cayet Mangiaracina, O.P. - Parochial Vicar
Larry J. Melancon - Deacon
Mike Agnello - Deacon

Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday Vigil Mass - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Mass - 8:00 a.m., 11:00 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