Psalm 113

R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies. 

Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever. 

R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies. 

From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory. 

R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies. 

Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high,
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below? 

R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.

Calendar-at-a-Glance

Thursday, August 14
First Full Day of PreK and Kindergarten

Friday, August 15
Mass @ 8:30 - Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Spirit Dress

Tuesday, August 19
July Birthdays

Wednesday, August 20
Mass @ 8:30
Food Drive

Friday, August 22
Spirit Dress
Sock Hop (grades 5-8)
Cross Country Interest Surveys Due

Back-to-School Night - August 13

Our Back-to-School Night for parents of students in grades 1-3 will be Wednesday, August 13, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the school gym. Classroom visitation will follow a short meeting.

First School Mass - August 15

We usually have Mass for the student body on Wednesdays. This week, however, Mass has been moved because Friday is a Holy Day of Obligation, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our first school Mass will be held on Friday, August 15, at 8:30. Parents are always invited to join us for Mass.

Spirit Dress - August 15

We will have spirit dress day on Friday, August 15. 

On spirit dress days, students may wear the following: Crusader t-shirt - purchased at The Old School blue jeans (long, solid blue, no decorations, no holes) simple belt with simple buckle white crew socks (mid-calf length, no lace) uniform shoes. 

Spirit dress days are optional, although the overwhelming majority of students participate. If students opt to not wear spirit dress, they are to wear the regular school uniform. 

Spirit dress days are scheduled for each Friday. Parents and students will be notified when other spirit dress days are scheduled.

July Birthdays - August 19

All students at St. Joseph who have a birthday in July may come out of uniform on Tuesday, July 19.

This is the only day students with July birthdays may come out of uniform. There is no make-up day.

Out of uniform guidelines can be found on the WEBSITE.

Food Drive - August 20

As part of service to the community, students at St. Joseph School will hold a monthly food drive in order to help stock the parish food pantry. 

Volunteers at the food pantry share the food items with local families in need.

We ask that each student bring a canned, boxed, or bagged non-perishable food item on these days as part of this effort. Students place the donations in large wagons on their way into church for Mass.

Our first collection of food items will be on Wednesday, August 20. We thank you in advance for your generosity.

Sock Hop - August 22

The cheerleaders will sponsor a back-to-school sock hop for students in grades 5-8 on Friday, August 22.

The theme is Back-to-School Blues. The dance will last from 7:00-10:00. Cost is $10 per student. Cost will include snacks and soft drinks. 

Picture packages for $5 and $10 will be available for purchase.

Students attending the sock hop may bring one guest each. Guests must of the same age and follow all St. Joseph Catholic School rules, guidelines, and dress codes for sock hops.

Phone Texts

Our Sunday evening robo-call has an additional feature that allows those with text options on their cell phones to opt-in to also receiving text messages from the school.

This is a great feature for use in emergency situations.

This is also a great feature for those who desire more frequent reminders about what's going on at school during the week.

Opt-in for texts is easy. Just text the word ALERT to 22300 from the phone used to receive texts.

If at any time opting-out is required, the instructions are written at the bottom of the text.

** NOTE - The text only works if you are in our system. If you sign up and no texts are evident, please contact the office to add that number to our system.

Edline

Edline activation codes for parents new to the school have been sent home today. Please check your child's backpack for this important code.

These codes are for parents of students in grades 1-8. PreK and kindergarten parents will get their codes on Thursday, August 14.

For more information about Edline, please visit.EDLINE.

Cross Country Interest Form

Cross Country is open to students in grades 1-8. 

Please fill out the interest survey on Edline if you are interested in receiving more information about practices, meets, participation fee, uniforms, etc. The Edline survey will be open until Friday, August 22.

If you cannot access Edline, you may fill out the INTEREST FORM and return it to school by Friday, August 22.

First Day of School

Alexis Vega, left, and Alexa Ott, cheerleaders at St. Joseph Catholic School in Ponchatoula, welcome back teachers and students on the first day of school. 

Students are looking forward to a great new school year with a brand new principal, Mrs. Danette Ragusa. 

See more first day of school pictures at FIRST DAY.

Pep Rally

Crusaders celebrated the first week of school with a pep rally that involved student contests.
First grader Brady Easley and eighth grader Kole Sonnier teamed up to win the paper ball toss.
Eighth graders won the spirit stick! 

See all of the pep rally pictures at PEP RALLY. 

Our Parish

Personnel 
Fr. Paul A. McDuffie, Pastor 
Larry J. Melancon - Deacon 
Mike Agnello - Deacon Dr. M.J. "Dutch" Schanzbach - 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. 

Weekday Mass Schedule 
The week day Masses on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday will be at 8:30 a.m. 

Reconciliation (Confessions) will be available before all week day Masses at 8:00 a.m. in addition to Confessions on Saturday from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
 
Contact Information 
Address - 255 North 8th Street (P.O. Box 368), Ponchatoula, LA 70454 
Phone - 985.386.3749 
Website - http://www.stjosephsonline.com


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