St Justin School Principal's Newsletter

Spring is a time of new growth and as a parish community we will be experiencing growth as First Eucharist celebrations take place this weekend. Receiving communion for the first time is such a great experience in our Catholic faith. It is important that the children understand the importance of this day, but what is more important is that they continue to share in the Eucharist every week. It is not their First Eucharist that is the most important day in their lives. It is the receiving of communion at mass every weekend after this special day that will help them continue to grow closer to Jesus and further develop their Catholic faith. Every time we have the privilege of receiving

St. Justin School News

Eucharist and celebrating our faith, we are nourished because we have Jesus in our hearts and souls. We are able to leave Mass in peace and we can continue to grow in our love and service of Jesus.

Congratulations to all of the children and their families who are celebrating First Eucharist. May this be a day they never forget, and may they continue on their journey as a Catholic and continue to share the Eucharist as they grow closer to Jesus every day.

It is with great excitement that I introduce Travis Phelps as the new 8th grade teacher for the next school year. He comes to St. Justin School with experience as a Jr. High teacher in a Catholic grade school on the east coast. He and his wife are relocating to California and he is very excited to become a member of the St. Justin School and parish community. I know he will be a great addition to our current faculty, and I am certain he will feel the warmth of the St. Justin community when he begins his new position next fall.

After 38 years of service to the Diocese of San Jose, George Santich has decided to downsize his responsibilities at St. Justin School. Mr. Santich will continue his role as Athletic Director and Algebra teacher, and we will be looking for a part time Jr. High Science teacher. I am thrilled he will still be a part of our community, and I hope everyone will congratulate him on a job well done. There will be a reception on May 24, 2008 after the 5:00 mass to honor Mr. Santich. Please come to the mass and reception so that we can all say thanks to a teacher who is loved and respected by so many people. Way to go, Mr. Santich.

The Open House and Pasta Dinner is on May 2, 2008. There is a flyer in the envelope that requests you to RSVP for the event. Please do so as soon as possible so that PTG can plan accordingly. This will be the final social event at St. Justin School this year. Please join us for an evening of sharing food and looking at the great work the students have done. It should be a great time for everyone.

The other event is the Jamboree which is happening on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Please help your students get pledges and encourage them to participate in the wonderful day.

PTG is sponsoring a book fair the week of April 29-May 4. It will be open on Sunday, May 4 so that people can purchase books after mass. Please refer to the flyer in this envelope for more information about this great fundraiser.

Please read the information in this packet regarding Family Service opportunities for next year. There have been some changes and it is critical that everyone adhere to the new procedures. We also need you to complete your form with your preferences for volunteering so that we can compile that information to be utilized by the committee chair people. Some of the events occur in the summer so we need this information before the beginning of the next school year. Thanks for providing this important information to us.

On May 16, 2008, the entire student body will be performing songs in a Spring Concert at 2:00. Please plan on joining us on that day as we showcase the talents of our wonderful students.

There will also be a band concert on June 2 at 10:20. The band students will be performing at the school along with St. Clare and St. Joseph students. Come hear the great sounds provided by the band students at all three schools as they showcase what they have learned this year.

It’s that time of year when we are getting ready to say goodbye to our 8th graders. This is an exciting time for the students, and there are a lot of activities coming up for them. The 8th graders will be traveling to Sacramento on Friday to tour the Capitol, Old Sacramento, and ride on a riverboat. It is something they look forward to all year and should be a wonderful time for all. More information will follow in the next newsletter so stay tuned.

On Tuesday, April 22, 2008, the St. Justin students performed dances that they have learned in PE. The event took place in the gym and a lot of parents and friends were able to attend. A special thanks to Mrs. Sarsfield for all she does with our students to make dancing fun and to ensure that the students are learning at the same time. Great job!

Elections are taking place the week of April 29 for the 2008/2009 Student Council. The students will be hanging posters and giving speeches that week and voting will take place on May 2. Electing these students this year allows the new members to work with the current group and gain an understanding of their roles as student council members. It also allows the school to have student representatives at the beginning of the school year to handle a variety of activities that occur at the beginning of the year. Good luck to all of the students.

There will also be an End of the Year Rally on Friday, May 30, 2008 in the afternoon. Please join us.

We are still waiting for a few families to turn in their registration for next year. We would like to hear from everyone by May 1, 2008. If we don’t, we will assume you have made another choice for your child and that they are not returning to St. Justin School. If it is a financial issue, please contact Mrs. Shields and let her know immediately. The important piece of the registration process is the form because it assists us as we set up the tuition payments for next year. Again, please contact the school if there are any questions in regards to this process.

We are also asking you to complete the Family information form and return it to school as soon as possible. This will allow us to update information for all families over the summer.

The last hot lunch menu is in this envelope. Please return the form and payment to the school as soon as possible. The last hot lunch will be on June 6. Thanks for supporting our efforts this year. The new process has eliminated a lot of follow up issues and we are very thankful for that.

Tonight is the New Parent meeting at 6:00. I would like to thank all of the current parents that have offered to assist in this meeting, and I would like to personally thank Kathy Garrett and Julie Ybarra for their help in organizing the groups for the evening. I hope that it is helpful to the new families and that they know they are going to be a part of the great community at St. Justin School.

We are currently working on our WASC report for our visit next year, and we are making good progress. In order to give us enough time to finish the process next year, we have scheduled several additional 12:30 days into the calendar for September and October. We understand that this can be a hardship for some families and we ask for your understanding. We only go through this process once every six years, and we will need all of the time we can get at the beginning of the year to get ready for the actual visit which is scheduled for February 25-27 of 2009. As always, thanks for supporting our program at St. Justin School. We couldn’t do it without you.

We currently have openings in several primary grades and 7th grade for the 2008/2009 school year. If you know of anyone interested in any of these grades, please have them call Julie in the office to get an application.

Our annual Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, September 26th. Parents, alumni and friends of St. Justin School are welcome to attend. If you do not play golf, but wish to volunteer to help with the event, you will receive family service hours for your time.

On Saturday, September 27th, Msgr. Francis V. Cilia, Vicar General, will preside at the 5:00 p.m. Mass. Immediately following Mass there will be an alumni only reception in our large hall. We need parent volunteers to help with this event. Your volunteer hours will go towards fulfilling your family service hours!

On May 9, 2008, Michael Gasparovic will be principal for a day at St. Justin School. He is declaring a free dress day on this day. Don’t be surprised if you get a detention note or called to the office by the principal. Remember, Michael is in charge all day, so follow the rules of the school and you should be fine. Thanks to the Gasparovic family for purchasing this item at the Spring Fling and supporting our programs at St. Justin School.

On April 10,2008, our 5th graders along with St. Clare and Monticello Academy’s 5th graders graduated from the DARE program at St. Justin School. It was a wonderful ceremony, and Scott Pedley read his award-winning essay to the audience of parents and friends. A special thanks to Ms. Ferguson and Officer Green for providing such a terrific learning experience for our students. Congratulations to our 5th graders and remember the messages learned through the DARE Program as you continue your educational journey.

It’s that time of year again. The 2007-2008 yearbooks are being printed and should be ready for the students in May. Please refer to the flyer for purchasing information. Thanks to Mrs. Aguilar and the parent helpers for coordinating the production of this book. A special thanks also to the parents that provided pictures.

We have been dealing with a continual gum chewing problem this year. Please make sure that your child understands that gum is not allowed at school, and they will get a detention if they are caught with it during the school day. I would also appreciate it if they could leave the sunflower seeds at home. It is becoming a problem for clean up because they throw them all over the school grounds. Thanks for helping us with these issues.

The first batch of Savemart cards was distributed to the families that have signed up by filling out the form from the envelope last month. If you are interested in signing up for a card, please pick up a form from Miss Julie in the school office. Thanks for supporting the programs here at St. Justin School.

During the school year, our teachers will be posting homework on the website. This information is to be used as a back up for the information the students are supposed to write in their assignment books. It is not the primary source for homework assignments and the students will be responsible for any homework that is assigned even if it is not on the website. This feature will give parents a heads up in regards to what is going on in their child's classroom in regards to homework assignments. Teachers will post projects with their due dates as well for planning purposes. Again, it is not the primary source of information about homework. There may be times when it cannot be updated, so please be aware of that. We will do our best, but sometimes the teacher will be absent or the internet access may be down. That is why it is so important that your child write down their assignments every day. We hope this provides a service to our families, and you find it to be a benefit. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns in regards to this new communication tool.