Welcome to March,

I am so thankful to be moving to more outside playtime, warmer weather, and more daylight. With Ash Wednesday this week I would like to reflect on our 2021 school year. Our students continue to make progress academically and our 2nd graders will be completing the sacrament of 1st Reconciliation this weekend. I am thankful and blessed to be a part of our students growth and development academically and spiritually. SJS continues to maintain low numbers of COVID cases and will continue to monitor and renew guidance as needed throughout the school year. I will pray that this Lenten season allows all of us to pause, reflect, make positive change, and grow in our love of the Lord.

Don't miss out on our lower registration fee enroll your students today for the 2022 school year. Login to Family Access through RenWeb , Enroll , Complete enrollment packet and submit. Our school greatly appreciates early enrollment to make plans for supplies and materials in the 2022 school year.

Hello Saint Joseph School Families,

As you may know, SJS became eligible last year for the Caterpillar Foundation Matching Gifts Program. This program matches monetary donations made to the School by a Caterpillar employee or retiree.

Through the generosity of our Caterpillar Parishioners and School Families, combined with the Caterpillar Foundation, the 2021 program was a huge success! The funds received through this program will enable our School to replace 2 of 12 Smart Boards as well as provide additional scholarship options for new families interested in sending their children to SJS.

The Matching Gifts Program is continuing for 2022 - please spread the word to any Caterpillar employee or retiree you may know. I’ve included the Caterpillar Foundation website below, as well as the information you’ll need to reference for verification purposes. This is a very easy process, but please feel free to reach out, I’m happy to help if you have questions.

Thank You,

Daniel Brian

President, SJS Education Commission

daniel@thebrians.com

URL: caterpillar.com/matching-gifts

Organization Name: St. Joseph Catholic School

Organization Contact Person: Ann Hart, ahart@stjosephpekin.org

Lego League is off to a great start : any student from 2nd grade - 8th grade was invited to participate in our Lego League Extra Curricular activity. Meetings have begun with an introduction, building bridges, and much more to come. Below are some pictures of our leaders, coaches and students at a Lego League meeting in February.

If your student is interested in joining track practice will begin directly after school March 7th. At that practice parents will be provided information on the practice and meet schedule. At this time we Co-op with Georgetowne for this athletic season. Practices take place at Georgetowne Middle School this is available for all 5th-8th grade students. Have questions please email mstambaugh@dist102.org Myles Stambaugh

Beginning March 1st our students will have the opportunity to participate in our school's healthy plate challenge. Students will have a chance to earn a sticker each day at lunch if they have a healthy plate. At the end of the month the top 3 sticker earners will get a gift certificate towards a healthy activity. Students can earn a sticker when eating both sack and school lunch if their lunches include whole grains, proteins, vegetables, and fruit.

Remember that the Before / Aftercare program is open to all school families. Parents have the option to commit to a certain number of days for both programs or take advantage of our punch card program . If you purchase 1 punch card for $75 your student can drop into before or aftercare whenever you need. Running late from work, need to stop somewhere before you pick up your student, have something unexpected pop up just purchase a punch card and your student will be taken care of till 5:30pm. If you would like to join please complete the information in the following link : https://forms.gle/CSaYGvLZczraxkZ67

Are you interested in helping out your school? Did you attend our 2021 Family Fun day and have ideas that you would like to share to improve the event? Are you open and willing to participate in our planning meetings monthly? Are you available to be present on the day of the event to make sure everything goes as planned?

If you answered YES : we are looking for you to join our school planning team to plan our SJS Family Fun Day

Please complete the following form so we know who to contact

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/sjsfamilyfun