January 19, 2024

Weather Delays or Cancellations

St. Joseph Catholic School follows Fairfax County Public Schools with regard to a delayed opening, early closure, or cancellation of school due to inclement weather.  An email, text, and phone call notification will be sent to parents and a message will be placed on St. Joseph Catholic School website, Twitter, and Facebook page. If school is dismissed early or cancelled, all after school activities are also cancelled.  

Submit Yearbook Photos!

Do you have pictures from school events, sports, or activities? Please use the yearbook portal to submit pictures for the yearbook!


If you don’t want to put names on the photos, please put the grade level. All pictures will be considered but submission is not guaranteed.


Yearbook Sales are Coming!

Upload Photos HERE

**If you are prompted for a UserId, please use: 0zHjQKZiCphgyfMhkwsm1_g

February Pizza Friday

Click HERE to Order Pizza

Annual Dinner and Auction

April 20, 2024

Click HERE to donate!
Click HERE to Become a Sponsor!

Welcome, Brother Kevin!

Brother Kevin is a Franciscan TOR from Florida. He has a passion for teaching and evangelization. Brother Kevin professed his solemn vows with the TORs and was ordained a deacon in 2023 and will be ordained a priest in June 2024. 

 

Years of service: Brother Kevin entered the TORs in 2017 after graduating from college and working for a year. Brother Kevin has worked in ministry doing catechesis, service to the poor with the Missionaries of Charity, teaching at St. Francis University, and working in Student Engagement at St. Francis University. Brother Kevin will be finishing up his studies at Catholic University in DC while also helping out at St. Joseph's. 

 

Faith Journey: Growing up, I did not enjoy going to Mass and thought of my faith as a chore and an obligation. At a very impactful retreat during high school, I encountered God and His love for me which led me to see the Catholic faith less as an imposed obligation, but more as the key to all of life's major questions. I continued to grow in my faith and be challenged by a fantastic college campus ministry at Florida State and eventually was inspired to give my life totally to God in the Franciscans. 

 

Inspirational Bible verse: "You my child shall be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins." Luke 1:76-77


Nurse's Corner

95210 Health Initiative for the month of January:

“Eliminate (0) or minimize consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages” daily 



The Centers for Disease Control defines sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), as any liquids that are sweetened with various forms of added sugars like brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose. Per the CDC, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) or sugary drinks are the leading sources of added sugars in the American diet.

 

The frequent consumption of these sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain/obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, and gout, a type of arthritis (CDC). High amount of sugar in our diet typically results in an increase of toxins which when broken down produce inflammatory messengers which may result in arthritis or other forms of inflammation. Research has shown that when the consumption of the SSBs is decreased, people are able to maintain a healthy weight and have a healthy diet. Click HERE to read more!

Take Back Day


If you missed DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, you can still take advantage of the nearly 17,000 year-round drop-off locations.


DEA has launched a new campaign – Every Day is Take Back Day – to encourage the public to utilize year-round disposal sites across the country between biannual Take Back Days.


Clean out your medicine cabinets and help prevent dug misuse before it starts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts 14,675 people died last year of prescription opioid poisoning or overdose.


You can drop off your old, unneeded, or unused medications at one of the pharmacies, hospitals, and businesses, working to help clean out medicine cabinets throughout the year. In addition, many police departments provide year-round drop boxes.


To find a location, click HERE.

Myopia: Children Need Time Outside (even when it's cold out)


Did you know that the increasing rates of myopia (nearsightedness when vision is clear at near and blurred at far) is considered an epidemic? The Vision Council released a new research report in December 2023 highlighting parents’ awareness and experiences with childhood myopia. They found a significant gap in parental understanding regarding childhood myopia, which provides an opportunity for all of us to educate families about preventing or slowing the progression of myopia and keeping children’s eyes healthy.


Advice from the report: “Spending time outdoors and limiting screen time are well-researched strategies for preventing myopia in children, but it needs to happen before a child becomes myopic, so early awareness is important. Click HERE for more information.


Click HERE for information on Children's Vision Digital Screen Tips.


Prevent Blindness observes 

National Glaucoma Awareness Month in January

to raise awareness of the “Silent Thief of Sight.” 

Volunteer Corner

**All volunteers must be compliant through the Child Protection Program. For more information, please contact Beth Covert at bcovert@sjcherndon.org

Volunteer for Lunch and Recess!

St. Joseph Catholic School will implement a 12-hour family service requirement, effective with the 2023-2024 school year. All families are encouraged to participate, and many opportunities exist to volunteer time, talent, or treasure, including class field trips, parties or other classroom help, cafeteria, recess and hands-on activities such as art or outdoor classroom activities. The PTO also has numerous opportunities such as the auction, Donut Sundays, etc.  All volunteers must be compliant through the Child Protection Program if they will have substantial contact with students. Families that do not participate in the service program will be charged a $120.00 fee, or partial fee of $10 per hour for hours not volunteered.

Log Volunteer Hours Here

High School News

Festival of Praise

Knights of Columbus Free Throw

Knights of Columbus

Good Samaritan Council #6175

2024 Youth Free Throw Championship


All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2024 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship on Friday, February 9th from 6-8 pm at the St. Joseph Catholic School gymnasium. Click HERE for more information and how to register.

Prayer Leaders

January 22: Pinto, D.

January 23: Plante, K. and D.

January 24: Plourde, J. and C.

January 25: Plummer, A., V., and M.

January 26: Porcelli, M. and V.


January 29: Portales, S.

January 30: Portillo, B.

January 31: Power, J., K., and M.

February 1: Preising, A. and R.

February 2: Quinn, P. and A.


Prayer leaders are to report to the library no later than 7:50 AM in order to appear on the morning news show. 


**At this time, parents will not be able to watch the taping of the news.

Upcoming Events

JANUARY



January 19: School Mass

January 19: Interims

January 22: NWEA Testing Week

January 26: School Mass

January 28: Catholic Schools Week

January 29: NWEA Testing Week


FEBRUARY

February 2: School Mass

February 4: PTO Donut Sunday

February 9: School Mass

February 14: School Mass (Ash Wednesday)

February 15: First Penance

February 16: NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

February 19: NO SCHOOL (Presidents Day)

February 21: Stations of the Cross

February 23: School Mass

February 24: Confirmation

February 28: Stations of the Cross

Stay Connected!





Don't forget to follow the official St. Joseph Catholic School Facebook page (sjschoolva), and Twitter account (@sjschoolva)

St. Joseph Catholic School

750 Peachtree Street

Herndon, VA. 20170

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