St. Joseph
Catholic School

Psalm 147

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. 

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you. 

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. 

He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes. 

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. 

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. 

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Calendar-at-a-Glance

Thursday, March 12
Exams (grades 6-7-8) Math

Friday, March 13
Third Quarter Ends
Spirit Dress
Stations of the Cross

Saturday, March 14
STA Placement Test
First Communion Retreat (2nd grade)

Tuesday, March 17
Field Trip (7th grade) 
Last Day to Nominate for Advisory Council

Wednesday, March 18
No School Mass
Report Cards

Thursday, March 19
St. Joseph Feast Day
Mass
Food Drive 
Alumni Reception

Friday, March 20
Spirit Dress
Field Trip (7th grade)
Stations of the Cross 
Crusader Dads Gathering

Saturday, March 21
District Literary Rally

Tuesday, March 24
ACRE Test (grades 5 and 8)

Wednesday, March 25
Mass
Food Drive
Crusaders of the Month

Thursday, March 26
Spring Pictures
Mandatory Cheer Parent Meeting

Friday, March 27
Spirit Dress
Stations of the Cross
Drama Production - The Wizard of Oz

Saturday, March 28
Drama Production - The Wizard of Oz

Monday, March 30
Field Trip (3rd grade)

Tuesday, March 31
8th Grade Retreat

Rice Bowls

“Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty.” – Pope Francis

Dear Families,

This Lent our school is participating in CRS Rice Bowl, a faith-in-action program that helps families experience Lenten spirituality by living in solidarity with people in need around the world. Here are three simple ways to bring Lent to life in your home.
• Place your CRS Rice Bowl in a prominent place in your home and use it to collect your Lenten sacrifices.
• Read the Lenten calendar reflections each day as a family.
• Visit RICE BOWLS to find videos and family activities, or take Lent outside of the bowl and download the CRS Rice Bowl app on your mobile device.

Rice Bowls were sent home with students on Wednesday, February 25.

We will be collecting Rice Bowls at the end of Lent, so stay tuned to learn more. Thank you for using CRS Rice Bowl with your family this Lent.

Last Exam - March 12

The exam schedule for students in grades 6-7-8 is as follows:

Monday, March 9 - English and Social Studies
Tuesday, March 10 - Reading and Science
Thursday, March 12 - Math.

Stations of the Cross - March 13

St. Joseph students and faculty in grades 1-8 will follow the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. Our next Stations will be on Friday, March 13. The devotional will begin at 1:45 in the church. All are invited to join us.

If 1:45 is not convenient, St. Joseph Parish has Stations of the Cross again at 7:00 P.M. each Friday of Lent.

To learn more about this devotional, please visit STATIONS of the CROSS.

Feast of St. Joseph/Alumni Breakfast - March 19

We will not have a school Mass on Wednesday, March 18. That Mass has been moved to Thursday, March 19, so that our students may celebrate our patron saint on his feast day.

St. Joseph Catholic School would like to invite all of our alumni to join us at Mass on Thursday, March 19, at 8;30 for a St. Joseph Feast Day celebration. A short reception for our alumni will follow in the Parish Ministry Building. 

Please help spread the word to all of our former students.

Advisory Council Nominees - March 17

It is time once again to nominate new members for the St. Joseph Catholic School Advisory Council.

New members must meet the following requirements:
** Be the parent of a student at St. Joseph School. At least one of the nominee's children must be currently in Grade 5 or younger.
** Be a practicing Catholic.
** Be available for monthly meetings for a three-year commitment.

Current elected members of the SJS Advisory Council are: 
Corey Berner, Stephanie Brothers, Sarah LaCroix, Jeff LeSaicherre, Raymond Mauterer, Ben Perrin, Angelique Richardson, Artie Thompson. 
Bonnie Duhon is an appointed member fulfilling the obligations of someone else's term.

Terms are ending for Corey Berner, Bonnie Duhon, and Artie Thompson. All are eligible for re-election.

Nominations for Advisory Council members will be open on EDLINE until Tuesday, March 17.

Crusader Dads - March 20

The next gathering of the SJS Crusader Dads will be on Friday, March 20, at Warehouse 140 beginning at 7:00 P.M.

Please RSVP Jerod Breaux at jerod.breaux@mckeeson.com.

All dads, stepdads, grandfathers, uncles, etc. are invited to attend.

The Wizard of Oz - March 27 & 28

The thespians of St. Joseph Catholic School will present "The Wizard of Oz" on March 27 and 28 beginning at 7:00 P.M. each evening.

The production will take place in the gym.

Advanced tickets may be ordered through EDLINE until Friday, March 20. Tickets will be sent home in the March 25 Wednesday packet.

Fair Prize Booth

It's spring cleaning time!

If gently used stuffed animals are found during spring cleaning, please consider donating them to the Fair prize booth. 

Stuffed animals may be sent to the office where they will be sent to their new home at the prize booth.

Community News

SLU's ROCK 'n' ROAR
Art, Baseball, and Dance Camps
Limited space.
All registrations are due by March 19.
The registration form is in the school office or at SLU FORM.



SPORTSPLEX KIDS NIGHT
Sportsplex will be having another Kids Night on Friday, March 13, from 6:00-9:00 P.M. 
Price is $20 for the first child. Each additional child is $10. 
They will have cheese and pepperoni pizza along with organized activities and blow-up slides. 
For for information, please visit SPORTSPLEX.  

Lenten Confessions Schedule

Besides the regularly scheduled confession times at each Church in the Northeast Deanery of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, confessors will be available at the following locations and dates, starting at 6:00 P.M. until the last penitent's confession is heard:

Wednesday, March 4 - Holy Ghost Church in Hammond and
ST. JOSEPH CHURCH in PONCHATOULA

Wednesday, March 11 - Holy Ghost Church in Hammond
and St. Joseph Church in French Settlement

Wednesday, March 18 - Holy Ghost Church in Hammond
and Mater Dolorosa Church in Independence

Wednesday, March 25 - Holy Ghost Church in Hammond
and St. Margaret Church in Albany

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