Good afternoon St. Joseph’s Families,

Happy Thursday to all! Tomorrow, April 30th, is our last teacher workday for the school year – students do not have school. Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week!

It is hard to believe that next week is the first week of May and that students only have 18 days of school left. This is the time of year when we do MAP testing with our 2nd – 8th grade students (please see more information below). It is also a remarkably busy time as we are teaching the remaining content and skills necessary for the school year. If possible, please do not schedule appointments during the school day.

Living our Faith

Our 2nd grade students received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Saturday, April 24th. It was a beautiful Mass. Congratulations to our First Communicants!

All our 2nd-8th grade students took the ARK test in April. ARK stands for the Assessment of Religious Knowledge. The Diocese of Boise Catholic schools are piloting this test. The results will help us know where we can improve our religion instruction.

As we are in the Easter Season:

Tuesday, May 4th is our school Mass day and the crowning of Mary or May Crowning. Our Kindergarten, 2nd and 8th grade students will be in the Cathedral. We will maintain 3ft social distancing. Mass dress is required for those attending Mass in person.

Academic Excellence

Monday, May 3rd through Thursday, May 13th our 2nd – 8th grade students will be taking the MAP test. The MAP assessment measures achievement and growth in math, reading, language usage, and science. The results of this test help us determine academic growth made throughout the year. St. Joseph’s students continually score well above the national and state average in all areas. Please make sure your student gets plenty of rest and eats a good breakfast including protein– this helps improve brain function and focus! Here is the testing schedule for the next two weeks:

• 2nd grade schedule: Wed., May 5th – Reading; Mon., May 10th – Language; Thurs. May 13th – Math
• 3rd grade schedule – Tues., May 4th – Reading; Fri., May 7th – Language; Tues. May 11th – Math
• 4th grade schedule – Mon. May 3rd – Reading; Wed. May 5th – Language; Mon., May 10th – Math
• 5th grade schedule – Tues., May 4th – Science; Fri. May 7th – Language; Mon. May 10th – Reading; Thurs., May 13th – Math
• Middle School schedule – Mon., May 3rd – Reading; Wed. May 5th – Language; Fri., May 7th -Math; 7th grade – Mon. May 10th – Science

St. Joseph’s Advisory School Board Elected Position

The St. Joseph’s Catholic School Advisory School Board will be holding an election for two positions on the board.  The standard term is three years.  If this is a position you are interested in or want to nominate someone for, please contact Anita Miller (millera@stjoes.com) and provide her with a brief bio. All those interested must be nominated by someone in our St. Joseph’s community.   If nominating someone, please provide the name and brief reason why they would be a good member for the school board.  We have extended nominations for one more week – Please communicate nominations to Anita Miller by April 30, 2021. We will have our St. Joe’s community vote on nominees in May.

School Fun Run – May 14th 

I am excited to announce that we will be able to have a modified version of our school Fun Run on Friday, May 14th. This has always been a tradition here at St. Joe’s and we want the kids to have some fun!  We have a matching donor for all pledges – all donations will go to fund our Playtopia – playground remodel! Please look for more details in this week’s school bulletin.

Summer Tutoring

Please reach out to Christy Porter at porterc@stjoes.com if you are interested in summer tutoring for your child. We have a list of St. Joseph’s teachers and staff who are available over the summer. The St. Joe’s faculty and staff are familiar with our academic curriculum and can look at our MAP data and help fill in learning gaps your child may have.

School Uniform

We have made a few changes to our school uniform for the 2021-2022 school year. Both boys and girls will be required to have our St. Joseph’s school logo on white shirts for Mass. In addition, all boys (K-8) will be required to wear a St. Joe’s plaid tie to Mass. Also, we have added the dri-fit option for polo shirts. We have two uniform vendors, Educational Outfitters (local store here in Boise) and Lands’ End.

As we finish out the school year, please remember that shorts and skirts should be no more than 3 inches above the knee. Pants and shorts need to be uniform style.

Important Reminders/Information:

• Friday, April 30th – Teacher workday – no school for students
• Friday, April 30th – Kindergarten Screening
• Tuesday, May 4th – May Crowning of Mary at Mass
• MAP testing – May 3rd – 14th for 2nd-8th grades
• Monday, May 24th – Middle School Academic Assembly and National Junior Honor Society recognition
• Tuesday, May 25th – 8th grade Graduation Mass at 2:30
• Friday, May 28th – School Mass at 8:15 – Last Day of School – 10:00 am dismissal

COVID

We will continue to monitor and adjust as we see best for the health and safety of our school community. Thank you all for your support and patience!

With five weeks left in the school year, we have zero positive cases of COVID-19. Thank you for helping us keep our school open and our illness numbers low.

Current COVID tracking information for St. Joseph’s HERE.

• If your family has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please keep all children home. If anyone in your family is being tested for COVID-19 keep all children home.
• If any immediate family member is experiencing any illness symptoms- keep all children home – siblings must stay home as well per our safety protocols

Hiring for the 2021-2022 School Year

For the 2021-2022 school year, St. Joe’s will be hiring a music teacher, a Development/Marketing Director, a 5th grade teacher (English, Social Studies, Religion), and one full time and one part time instructional aide. These jobs are posted on our school website and the Diocesan website. If you know of someone who would be a great fit for our school, please refer them to one of these sites.

Thank you for partnering with us as we fulfill our mission, . . to provide all children with an opportunity to develop spiritually, academically, morally, emotionally, and physically, in an environment of Christ-centered attitudes and values.

God Bless you – enjoy your weekend!

Blessings,

Tammy Emerich