PRINCIPAL’S CORNER

“From Ghosties and Gooolies and long legged Beasties and things that go bump in the night…Good Lord Deliver Us!”  

So goes a very descriptive prayer from Scotland that is perfect for this time of year.  I can’t say that we have ghosties and goolies running around but as a school we are definitely enjoying all that the Autumn season can offer.  Our Early Childhood Program spent a wonderful day this past week at a farm pumpkin picking. They could barely carry in all the pumpkins! Soon costumes will be the topic of discussion as everyone gets ready for the Halloween Parade on October 31st. Our celebration will continue that afternoon with the Annual Trunk or Treat in the school yard.  Each year this event grows to involve more families and activities. The decorated car trunks are a sight to behold with lights, music, fog, sometimes a misplaced hand or two and , of course, candy.  Our already costumed students and their families and friends spend lots of time collecting goodies ( not goolies) and giggling with joy and some fright at the decorations. We have costume and decoration contests as well as dancing ( we may even have a visit from our newly formed Dance Program) until it is time to pack up and go home.  It is a wonderful, safe and family oriented celebration of a day that so many children love.

All of those Ghosties are the perfect segue into our celebration of All Saints Day and the Time of Giving Thanks which is November.  Early in the month our faculty and staff will thank our families for being part of St. Joes with a soup celebration and fellowship time.  Later in the month we will be collecting food for Thanksgiving baskets for those who may go hungry without them. We also will gather for one of the high points of our year, The Thanksgiving Feast.  Yearly on the weekend before Thanksgiving the school kitchen is filled with the aroma of turkey, gravy, stuffing and other delicious items being cooked by our wonderful families and friends. On the Monday of Thanksgiving week all of our students gather as prayer partners in the cafeteria and join in a celebration of thanks with tons of home cooked food served by parents and friends.  It is an amazing, visible witness that this school is one family.

In the midst of all of this our students are busily learning.  Our new reading program continues to engage our students turning them into knowledgeable, happy readers.  Our hallways are filled with reading projects that were done for the October Reading Fair. Students in grades 3-5 are experiencing a pilot testing program called MAPS that is computerized and so far very informative and stress free. If you are familiar with standardized testing the concept of testing being stress free is astounding.  On the playground our Playworks program has turned our recess periods into exciting organized periods of team play and cooperation.

Life at St. Joseph is, as always, amazing.  As we hear over and over again by parents who have made the switch that they are so satisfied with what and how their children are learning and growing.  Their children are truly a part of their classes already. A St. Joseph’s education is the best gift a parent can give their children. If you haven’t already done so please come in for a tour and we are sure that you will want to stay for an education!

Peace