St. Joseph
Catholic School

Psalm 105

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds. 

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever. 

Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly. 

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever. 

You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail. 

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever. 

He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac. 

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Calendar-at-a-Glance

Friday, January 16
Spirit Dress

Monday, January 19
MLK Holiday - No School

Wednesday, January 21
Mass @ 8:30
Food Drive
Re-registration for Current Students Begins

Friday, January 23
Spirit Dress

Sunday, January 25
Mother/Son Tailgate Party

Sunday, January 25-Saturday, January 31
Catholic Schools Week

Tuesday, January 27
Religion Fair
Home & School Meeting @ 6:30

Wednesday, January 28
Mass @ 8:30
Food Drive
Crusaders Announced

Friday, January 30
Spirit Dress

Saturday, January 31
SJS/SLU Basketball Night

Report Cards - January 14

Report cards for the second quarter will be distributed on Wednesday, January 14.

Parents may keep the report cards at home for grades 1-8. Please sign the report card envelope and return it to school.

Parents of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students are asked to follow directions as set forth by the teachers regarding returning of report cards.

Holiday - January 19

St. Joseph Catholic School will not have classes on monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Enjoy the day off!

Circles of Care - January 20

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People requires that all children enrolled in Catholic Schools and Parish Schools of Religion receive Safe Environment training. The Diocese of Baton Rouge will provide such training for grades K-12 utilizing the program Circles of Care.

The Circles of Care lesson for your child's grade level is scheduled on Tuesday, January 20. Parents have the right to opt their children out of receiving the Safe Environment training. If you choose not to have your child participate in the training, it is required that you sign and submit the form below to the school office by Friday, January 16. You may FAX the form to 985-386-0560 or submit the form in person. It is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to ensure that School/PSR personnel are in receipt of this form.The Circle of Care lesson plan for your child's grade level may be reviewed at www.diobr.org. You need only sign and return the form if you do not want your child to participate in the safety lesson.

OPT OUT FORM

PARENT SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING

Mother/Son Tailgate Party - January 25

Come have a great time at the annual Mother/Son Tailgate Party on Sunday, January 25, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Boys from all grades and their mothers are invited. There will be games, inflatables, food, and drinks available. Pictures will be taken by Wendy LeSaicherre. Price for pictures is $10, to be paid the day of the tailgate.

Early Bird Price for the tailgate is $20 which admits one mom and one son.
Each additional son is $5.
At-the-door prices will be $30 per mom/son.
Each additional son will be $5.

Special circumstances permit another female figure in the student's life. This may include grandmother, aunt, etc.

Please register for the tailgate on EDLINE, then send the money to school in a well-marked envelope.

SJS/SLU Basketball Night - January 31

St. Joseph Night with Southeastern Louisiana University Basketball will be Saturday, January 31, when SLU plays Northwestern State.

6:00 p.m. Pre-game Reception for SJS
Reception at the arena will include refreshments and the SLU basketball coach will speak 30 minutes before tipoff.

7:00 p.m. Game Starts
Our group will sit together in the arena. What a fun night to spend with your family! Some of our SJS student athletes will be participating throughout the game and at halftime. Those athletes will be given details from their SJS coaches.

Tickets are $5/person.
Order tickets on EDLINE and send payment to the office in a well-marked envelope. 
Deadline to order is January 28. Tickets will be available to pick up from the school office on January 29 and 30.

Open House for Prospective Parents

We're looking for a few good families.

If you have friends, neighbors, or relatives who might be interested in sending their children to St. Joseph School, please provide us with their names and addresses so that we may send them an invitation to our Open House.

Prospective parents will be able to see classes in session, meet and talk with the teachers, ask questions, and get a feel for ST. Joseph School at this Open House.

Our parents are our best advocates. Thank you for your tremendous support of SJS.

Flyers for prospective families were send home Wednesday, January 14. If you need another flyer: OPEN HOUSE

Track & Field News

The first SJS track and field practice will be held on Tuesday, January 20, at 4:45 at the Ponchatoula Rec Park. This will be a short practice to work on stretching and conditioning.

We have several needs that must be filled in order to make this track and field season a successful one. Please fill out the form link and return it to school if your child is interested in participating or if you are available to help. 

TRACK AND FIELD

Tuition/Re-registration Information

The Advisory Council has approved the following fees and tuition for the 2015-2016 school year:

Registration - $200 per student - paid every year

Tuition:
Parish Supporter - $4100 per student (includes $100 technology fee)
Non Parish Supporter - $4800 per student (includes $100 technology fee)
Pre-kindergarten - $4500 per student (includes $100 technology fee)

The above numbers reflect an overall increase of $100 per student from the 2014-2015 school year for parish supporters; $150 for non parish supporters.

A $100 credit on tuition will be allowed for parents with two students enrolled.
A $200 credit on tuition will be allowed for parents with three students enrolled.

• Registration fees are NON-REFUNDABLE.

• Re-registration forms with $200 per student registration fees are due by Friday, February 6. After this date, an additional $100 late registration fee per student will be charged.

• Open registration for new students will begin Monday, March 2. • Payment of tuition is due in full to the school by Thursday, April 30, or loan papers must be completed and returned to the school bookkeeper by Thursday, April 30.

• If arrangements are not made for payment of tuition/loan by Thursday, April 30, an additional $100 per student will be charged.

• Students dropping from the rolls after July 31 will be assessed a $200 per student drop fee.

• 8th grade ($100) graduation fees will be collected in April 2016.

K/8th Christmas Breakfast

SJS 8th graders and their kindergarten buddies met on December 18 for a gift exchange as well as to enjoy a wonderful breakfast prepared by the cafeteria staff.

In the picture, Dane Schmitt and his buddies Braegan Smith (left) and Brandon Thompson share a hug after opening gifts in the gym.

To see more pictures of our 8th graders and their buddies, please visit BREAKFAST.

Jesse Tree Decorations

Students from 8A did a spectacular job decorating the Jesse Tree in church on a Wednesday monring during Advent, all the while maintaining quiet out of respect for those people who were attending Eurcharistic Adoration.

The ornaments for the trees were made by students throughout the school.

Wish Lists to Santa

Sixth-eighth grade students in Mrs. Ernst's English class wrote letters to Santa to help Macy's reach their goal of donating $1,000,000 to the Make a Wish Foundation. They were also trying to be a part of history by helping to send the longest Wish List to Santa Claus!

In the picture, Emily Wells carefully spellls out her wish list to Santa. To see other pictures of students working on letters and lists, pleast visit WISH LIST.

Christmas Program

The cast from the Christmas program are ready to perform on the last day before the Chistmas holidays.

Be sure to see all of the Christmas program pictures at PROGRAM.

Live Nativity

Eighth grade students portrayed their traditional Live Nativity on the last day before the Christmas holidays. The students did a great job telling the Christmas story to the younger students with this enactment.

All of the Live Nativity pictures can be seen at NATIVITY.

Crusader Dads Christmas Project

Look how many SJS families showed up to deliver Christmas gifts and cheer to less fortunate children on Christmas Eve.

This Crusader Dad project was able to "adopt"seven familes thanks to generous donations. It's a wonderful feeling to know how much Christmas joy was shared at this most wonderful time of the year.

To see more pictures of this event, please visit DADS.

Community News

PONCHATOULA YOUTH BASEBALL/SOFTBALL 2015 ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
@ www.pard1.com.

For more information, please call the park at 985-370-7273.

Our Parish

Personnel
Fr. Paul A. McDuffie, Pastor
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

Weekday Mass Schedule
The week day Masses on Monday through Thursday 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 beginning at 4:00.

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