SJS NEWS

February 2, 2012

From the Principal

Dear Parents,

Can you believe we are now in the month of February? We are now half way through the school year. Report cards were sent home this week.

Congratulations to Taylor Guth. Taylor and her family attended the Breakfast of Champions Awards ceremony. Taylor was the recipient of the St. Thomas Aquinas Award. She was chosen for academic excellence and she exemplifies Catholic Values.

It was an honor to St. Joseph School because Joseph Collins, SJS alumni, was the recipient of this award from Immaculate High School.

It was also exciting to see Emily Fredette, another SJS alumni, receive the St. Sebastian Award. She was chosen for her leadership at Immaculate and she is captain of the soccer team. Our alumni continue to bring honor to SJS with their achievements and we are so proud of them.

Our Speech contest will be held this afternoon. We look forward to the competition. I will publish the winners in newsletter next week.

Congratulations to our speech finalists from grades fifth through eighth who will be presenting their speeches this afternoon. Good Luck to all of them! Our speech finalists are:

Fifth Graders; Andrea Capilupi, Jessica Garcia, Holly Fleming, Sixth Graders; Anna Oeser, Meghan Coyle, Seventh Graders; Isabella Capanna, Douglas Girardot and Eighth Graders; John Struck, Matthew Sherrick, Taylor Guth, Isabella Mercaldo and Seamus Oeser.

Tomorrow we will be attending the first Friday mass and our fourth grade children will be in charge of leading us in prayer. Following the mass, parents are invited to visit the school. There will be coffee and refreshments. Parents can visit the classes to see the great work that the children are doing.

Are you ready to see some great talent? Our annual Talent Show will take place tomorrow evening, February 3rd. Doors open at 6:30 and the show begins at 7:00 PM. This is a traditional way that SJS ends the activities for Catholic Schools Week.

One of our students has excelled in an out of school activity. Shane Klesh received his First Degree Black Belt. You may remember his performance in last year's talent show.

The gospel value for the month of February is Simplicity. We believe that Christian living includes a spirit of simplicity and humility, together with a special concern for the poor in the spirit of the Beatitudes.

Our task force committee for enrollment has been very productive as we continue to work on ways to increase enrollment. The planning and work that they did for Open House was fantastic. Everyone enjoyed the performance of the Bucket Boys! Another meeting will be held on Monday, February 6th @ 10:00 a.m. in the Day Chapel. Everyone is invited as we look ahead and begin planning other events.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for bringing back a fish fry to SJS. The Fish Fry will take place on Friday, March 2. Save the date, details will follow.

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Dear Parents,

This year's Safe Environment training provided by the Diocese of Bridgeport will continue in all of our schools using the Think First & Stay Safe. The training will take place in our school on April 9, 2012. Safe Environment training teaches students important safety skills to help them recognize and safely respond to early warning signs of unsafe situations in their environment. The Think First program is delivered by a trained counselor from Catholic Charities in age appropriate groups as we have done with great success for the last 8 years. If you have any questions about the program you may contact call Erin Neil (203) 416-1406. For more information you may also go to www.childluresprevention.com and www.bridgeportdiocese.com under Safe Environments. If you would like to preview the program in advance of your child's classroom instruction, there is information about a parent information below.

In the Diocese of Bridgeport we recognize parents as the primary educators of their children. It is important to know that classroom sessions are intended to assist you as parents by reinforcing and strengthening the safety information that you are teaching your child at home. Prior to the program, we ask that you review the safety information from your parent guide with your child. If you are new to the school this year the parent guide will be sent home to you in the two weeks. If you did not receive a guide in the past, please contact the school office. Personal safety training for children is most effective when it is taught and reinforced over time and your participation in this effort is critical.

If for any reason you DO NOT wish for your child to participate in Safe Environment training during the 2011/2012 school year we must receive the opt-out form signed by you no later than 2/15/12. If we do not receive this form by this date your child will be permitted to attend.

Thank you for all of your assistance on this important safety initiative.
Rosemarie Forte

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• College Basketball fundraiser involving points scored for 4 random teams during the Tournament which runs from Mar 15, 2012 – Apr 2, 2012 (each ticket has 4 teams hidden that are revealed by the ticket purchaser via scratch off)

• Please refer to the "6 Things to Know When Selling" for additional information, and also review the ticket's reverse side for more details

• Each family is receiving an allotment of 10 tickets to sell – Cost is $10 per ticket and your families allotment has been logged for tracking purposes* - incentive details to follow

• Sold ticket stubs and cash can be turned in conveniently to the school office or be given to Dianna Sobutka at child pick up (Dianna will also have additional tickets available should you need more to sell)

• Selling time frame: Now until March 25th – Because of the unique scratch off feature of the tickets, selling can continue up until the last week of the Tournament

• Tickets are available online. Click on the SLAM logo on the left to purchase

• Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mike Sobutka (mike.sobutka@pepsico.com)

If you choose not to participate, there is a $65 opt out – Please refer any questions concerning the opt out, to the HSA Board

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Any questions, please contact Mrs. Harron, mharron@diobptedu.org, or
Mrs. LaRoche, Jlaroche@diobptedu.org.

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Hello SJS families!

Over the break, I have spoken with Mrs. Forte and have found another way parents can help raise funds for SJS in a passive way through Coke Rewards.

Coke Rewards offers rewards to schools for athletic and other school supplies through the redemption of bottle caps for points. It works pretty much the same way the Box Tops program does. For each bottle top we earn 3 points, and for each 12 pack 10 points are earned. Mrs. Forte has had me set up an account for the school and I have already earned 1,000 points.

I have attached a flyer for you to review. To contribute you can either set up your own account through http://www.mycokerewards.com or you can send in bottle caps with my name on it and I will enter them and donate them to the school. If you have any questions you can contact Mrs. Forte or myself at summerswish07@yahoo.com. There are a couple of other programs I am also working on we can utilize to help raise funds. I will pass them along as well when I have more information.

-Heather Schlichting

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"Yes, Moms In Touch has changed its name to Moms In Prayer International! Don't you love it? The name clearly and simply says what we do. We pray! No explanation is needed. We believe this new name will bring greater unity worldwide." -Founder /President Fern Nichols

Moms In Prayer International is a group of moms, grandmothers, or any woman who is willing to intercede on behalf of their children and school through prayer. All are welcome! We meet every Wednesday at 9:30 am - 10:30am in the Day Chapel (the room to the right of the sanctuary). Attendance is not mandatory every week, please come when you can.

The week of January 23 , we will meet on Thursday, January 26 ,2012 from 9:30am -10:30am. Then the following week back to Wednesday, February 1, 2012 from 9:30am- 10:30am.

We look forward to seeing you there! Feel free to visit the website www.momsinprayer.org for more information. If any questions please call Mary Shakro at (203) 792-4077 or (203)300-8667.

A prayer request box will be in the office for prayer requests which will be checked weekly before our meetings. What is prayed in the group, stays in the group and is confidential.

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	$15			$25
	$10			$100
	$100			$25
	$25			$25
	$25			$25

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Every Family that places a SCRIP order starting Jan 20th to February 29th will receive a FREE Cascading Card File* to make organizing your SCRIP cards even easier! (*One per family)

Yes! This is conjunction with our SCRIP contest that is underway! The classroom with the most SCRIP purchases will win a Class Party of the teacher's choice!

If you have not signed up yet, don't worry, it's easy. You still have time to get your FREE Cascading Card File and contribute towards the SCRIP contest. Follow the easy steps on the SCRIP website shopwithscrip.com or contact anyone on the SCRIP committee for assistance.

As always, if you have any questions or need any help please feel free to email anyone from the SCRIP committee (emails can be found on the SJS website).

Thank you for your support!
The SCRIP Team.

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Simple Ways to Earn for Our School
at NO COST TO YOU!!!

See the Giving page for details

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Dear Administration, Faculty and Families,

As of January 1, 2012, Viridian Energy is offering a 12-MONTH FIXED RATE PLAN in each market (NY MARKET- ConEdison ONLY) so customers will receive the same rate for 12 billing periods which is available to NEW AND EXISTING RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ONLY. An early termination fee of $50 applies for customers who wish to end their contract before the term of their agreement is complete. The CT JANUARY EVERYDAY GREEN (20% RENEWABLE ENERGY) 12 MONTH FIXED RATE is 7.99 cents per kilowatt (kWh). The CT JANUARY (20% Renewable Energy) EVERYDAY GREEN MONTHLY VARIABLE INTRODUCTORY RATE for NEW QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS is 8.09 cents per kilowatt (kWh). The CT JANUARY EVERYDAY GREEN RATE for existing active customers is 8.99 cents per kWh.

The JANUARY update for the success of Viridian Energy Residual Fundraising Program is a GRAND TOTAL of $3964.55.

To sign up for the 12 month fixed rate for existing customers it is quick and easy. Grab your most recent CL&P/utility bill and go to the website www.viridian.com/sjs click on existing customers. Select your utility co. Everyday green (20%renewable energy) 12 month fixed rate-7.99 cents per kilowatt. Put in account#, service ref. #, etc. Follow the information requested of you read terms & conditions. Print them for your records. An email will come to you to confirm your transaction. If you do not have a computer please pick up a viridian form in the sjs office to fill out and then fax it in to (203) 423-4434 or call Mary and she will assist you.

We are asking you to consider switching your Electrical Supplier to Viridian Energy. This will help Saint Joseph School raise money at NO COST TO YOU. SJS has the opportunity to make CASH BONUSES just for ENROLLING NEW QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS!! Saint Joseph School has 49 customers enrolled to date and 517 indirect customers enrolled. Viridian Energy will award SJS a $250 BONUS CHECK if SJS enrolls 75 qualified customers! Another $250 BONUS CHECK will be awarded if SJS enrolls 100 qualified customers!! If 150 qualified customers enroll another $250 BONUS Check will be given. More CASH BONUSES for up to 500 customers!! In addition, Viridian Energy Residual Fundraising Program will also pay SJS residual income up of a minimum of $2 for every customer per month based on their kilowatt (kWh) usage as long as they are active customers. So encourage your family and friends to enroll!!

For you to support SJS/HSA and switch your electric bill to Viridian Energy it will be a SAFE and RELIABLE energy service. It is FREE to switch to Viridian Energy. CL&anp;P/UTILITY COMPANY will continue to bill you, service you and still maintain the service of your electrical lines. It will take 1 to 2 billing cycles to switch over once you have enrolled. GRAB your CL&anp;P/UTILITY bill it takes minutes to sign up. You may enroll from the following states CT, NJ, PA, MD, and NY (NY UTILITY MARKETS: ORANGE & ROCKLAND, NATIONAL GRID, NYSEG, ROCHESTER GAS/ELECTRIC CENTRAL HUDSON, WESTCHESTER AND CON ED) at our website www.viridian.com/sjs click on become a customer, select Rate: 12 Month Fixed or Monthly Variable EVERYDAY GREEN (20% Renewable Energy). For questions and/or referrals please call Viridian Independent Associate #1146 Mary Shakro at (203) 792 4077.

Saint Joseph School/ Home School Association encourage you to switch for FREE, SUPPORT SJS, and SAVE money on your electric bill.

THANK YOU for your support. May God Bless you.

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- October 2011