Bernie's Bark
5.19.2020
Dear Parents-
 
During the Sixth Sunday of Easter we hear Jesus tell us, through the disciples, that He will never leave us and that the Holy Spirit will be with us forever. There is great comfort in that, particularly as we struggle through the pandemic. We miss coming together as a faith community to celebrate the Mass every week, but we are grateful for the efforts of our own Friars at St. Joseph Catholic Church, and for the efforts of all the pastors and parochial vicars of all the parishes represented in our school.
 
This unusual school year is starting to wind down, with the last day of school June 10. Students are encouraged to check PowerSchool and complete missing assignments, now, as the last day to submit an assignment for credit is May 29. After this date, however, teachers will still hold classes and be available to students. Additionally, the week of June 1 is the Encore Extravaganza and Spirit Week! Encore teachers are planning school-wide activities to encourage creativity, social connections and fun! Stay tuned for all the exciting details!! The week of June 8 we hope to schedule the book return and medication pick up. Details to follow.
 
Summer assignments will be available at the end of the school year, and include reading and math activities to help prevent loss of learning. This summer, in addition to reading assignments, students will complete math activities on IXL. Mrs. Hatley is in the process of setting up student accounts, and teachers are taking advantage of training opportunities. Students have already had some experience with IXL, and the teachers will make sure students understand summer expectations. Summer assignments will be posted on the SJS website.
 
Thank you to all parents who participated in our Distance Learning Survey. The survey is now closed so that we can begin to disaggregate the data. Our sample size is significant enough to give us a confidence level of a 90% likelihood that our sample represents the opinions of our community, with a margin of error of 5%. For our purposes this is awesome, so again, thank you. Students in grades 5-8 are participating in a survey of their opinions about distance learning as well, and that survey remains open for another week.
 
By way of reminder, if required for your child, please consider making your pediatrician appointments now, complete the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL ENTRANCE HEALTH FORM, and update immunizations if necessary. This form will not apply to everyone, but does apply to new students and provides documentation of immunization. Use this link to access the form, or visit the nurses page on the SJS website.
 
Please consider attending Mass on Friday, May 22 at 8:00 as our school Mass. Mass is live-streamed on Facebook.    https://www.facebook.com/stjosephherndon
 
Stay well, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Welcome one another....as Christ welcomed you!
                                                                                 (Rom 15:7)
 
Denise Rutledge
Principal

  Building Wisdom and Faith Through Service to God
Early Dismissal and No School
Reminders

Friday, May 22 - Distance learning will end at 11:30am for the day.


Monday, May 25 - NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day)
School Supply Kit Orders
I know it's hard to think about school supply shopping, especially right now. However, we are happy to work with our continued partner, 1st Day School Supplies, to provide you with the convenience of ordering supplies online! You can make your purchase right now by clicking the button below! Deadline to order supplies is June 15, 2020.
Nurse's Corner
The VDH/VDOE are reminding schools to have parents start now to schedule their child's required immunization appointments as well as their commonwealth school health entrance physicals as appropriate. Please click here for the school physical form. It is also a good idea to ask your child's pediatrician when you can schedule an appointment for an evaluation to have your child's emergency medical forms such as for Epipens, Inhalers etc completed. Additional forms can be found on the Nurse's page .


Please read the May 95210 letter:  
Click on the video below on handwashing as well as
important safety measures
before riding your bike which was completed with the help of a friend.
Child Compliance
All Adult Volunteers for St. Joseph Catholic School should have received an email from Beth Covert regarding acknowledging the new Child Compliance Policy from the Arlington Diocese. If you haven’t received this email, please check your spam/junk file for email from [email protected] . If it is not there, please email Beth and she will forward the form to you to complete and acknowledge.
 
The Diocese has also scheduled Zoom Virtus seminars for those that still need to complete the seminar portion of the Child Compliance Program. You must register for the sessions as spaces are limited. Please go to virtus.org to find these seminars and to register.
Welcome Saints!
Volunteers Needed
Starting at a new school can be overwhelming, not just for the students but for the entire family. To ease the transition for our new families, and make their experience positive from day one, we are asking for volunteers to become part of our "Welcome Saints" program!

As a veteran SJS family, you will be paired with a new family and help address questions they may have as well as share your experiences with them! You will very likely have many questions - about the uniform, carpool, the dining hall, the extended day program, recess, textbooks, supplies, etc.

We pride ourselves on the many warm welcoming families we have at SJS - why not share that hospitality with our new families? Interested? Please contact
JoEllen Mountcastle at [email protected]
Let Us Support You!
Many of our SJS families and alumni who own or are employed by a local business have suffered the impact of COVID-19.
Any SJS family or alumni family that has a business or is employed by a business that is still open and would like to share your business name,
please email [email protected]
We will compile a directory of businesses to share so that people can support you!

We care about our SJS community!
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Stay Connected!
SJS Mobile App, Twitter and Facebook


Don't forget to follow the official St. Joseph Catholic School Facebook page (sjschoolva), Twitter account (@sjschoolva), and download the mobile app from the App Store (St. Joseph Catholic School, VA)
Weekly Saints Quote
750 Peachtree Street, Herndon, VA 20170
Tel: 703-880-4350 Fax: 703-880-4320