DECEMBER 4, 2013

Letter from the Principal Dear Parents, I cannot believe that it is already December. The Advent season is upon us. During this time of waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus, we think of how fortunate we are and how we can help others who are less fortunate. The school is preparing and waiting for Jesus’ coming by providing service to others. The students and teachers have come up with different ways to provide service to others. Ask your child how they and their classmates are helping to serve others. I have exciting news. We have a new K4 student starting today. Her name is Angelica Baum. Please welcome the Baum family into our community. If you are in the school, please visit the bulletin board around the corner from the bathrooms. The board has been turned into a giant advent calendar. The 7th and 8th graders have prepared original prayers based on the daily readings for the entire month of December. Each day a prayer is read during announcements and then the window is opened. I want to make you aware of a mass change. The students will be attending mass on Monday, December 9th for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. You are more than welcome to attend with the students. Because prayer is very important, especially during Advent, we will also be having a prayer service on Friday, December 13 at 8am that you are also welcome to attend. Mark your calendars. On Tuesday, January 7th at 6pm we will be having a Town Hall Meeting in the Parish Hall. This meeting is meant to provide an overview of some of the things we have done this year, how we are doing on our school improvement goals, some of our goals for the rest of the school year, future goals, and an overview of curriculum. Please plan to attend this informative meeting. And last, but not least. Here are the Knights of the Round Table winners for the month of November: Dylan Wehrheim, K5 Hannah Koeferl, 3 Braeden Neu, 2 Lucas Schanen, 4 Ava Schkeryantz, 2 Logan Pokorny, 4 Izaak Haftarski, 2 Michael Sutherland, 6 Owen Apriesnig, 3 Natalie McLeod, 8 As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your teachers or myself. Have a blessed Advent season. Jan St. Louis

Dates to Remember Friday, December 6th - NO SCHOOL Teacher In Service Day Tuesday, December 10th - Christmas Concert at 6:30 p.m. in the Church Friday, December 13th - Secret Santa Shop Monday, December 16th - Birthday Party for Jesus at 6:00 p.m.

Gathering After Christmas Concert Celebrate the warmth of the Christmas season and make plans to join us in a school community celebration following our Annual Christmas Concert on December 10, 2013, in the Parish Hall. We will have cookies, apple cider, milk and coffee all to satisfy that sweet tooth and celebrate the hard work our children put into preparing for the concert. If you wish to help, please consider donating a dozen cookies or bars for this fun event. If you are able to help contact Tina Wagner at [email protected] or 662-3491 by December 8th. We thank you in advance for your support.

ASK Needs Your Help Do you like working with children? We are looking for someone, or maybe a couple of people, to help with our ASK program. This would be an on call position with days varying with the times between 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. You must have or be willing to complete Safeguarding All God's Children and have a Background Check done. If you are interested, please call the School Office at 262-662-2737.

Science Fair The Science Fair for grades 5-8 is underway this year, and it's fascinating to see all the great ideas the students have. We will have all the science fair projects on display at the Catholic Schools' Week Open House in January. Science Fair display boards are available for $5.00. We have a limited supply of colored boards, so act quickly if you would like a particular color. Boards are available from Mrs. Caporale. Thanks!

Ski Club News!

Parent Breakfast Mass Schedule January 21

Grade 2

February 25 Grade 8 March 18

Grade 1

April 8

Grade 5

June 3

Grade K5

June 10

Grade K4

We have our first ski club outing this Friday, December 6th. Plan to meet in the Alpine Valley lodge by the fireplace starting at 4:00. Student club cards are available from Mrs. Caporale for $15.00. All students must have their paperwork in before club cards are distributed. Forms are available in the school office or from Mrs. Caporale. Please do let us know if you plan to attend ski club each week by noon Friday.

Winter is Coming! With winter coming and the temperature dropping, remember to send warmer coats, hat and mittens with your child(ren). Once the snow starts falling, boots and snow pants are mandatory. An extra pair of mittens and socks are also recommended, especially for the youngers students. The upper grades (5th—8th) need to have an extra pair of shoes to change into after recess. Boots are required if they are going to play in the snow.

Mukwonago Midnight Magic Please join us in walking in the Mukwonago Midnight Magic Parade on Saturday, December 7th. The line-up is at 2pm and parade begins at 3pm. This is a great opportunity for our St. Joe's families to let Mukwonago know what an awesome school we have. We will be handing out candy as well as info about our upcoming Open House in January. We'd really love to get a BIG group together. Anyone interested in participating please contact Kristen Schkeryantz at [email protected] or 414-940-0884.

First Annual “Christmas in Vernon!” Town of Vernon Family Holiday Event Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa Claus is comin’ to town…on a fire truck! Your invited to join Town of Vernon families, friends and neighbors as we gather to celebrate our first annual "Christmas in Vernon!" family holiday event on Sunday - December 8, 2013, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Town of Vernon Fire Station #1 (located at Hwy164 & I-43). Enjoy holiday activities, holiday treats and even welcome Santa Claus when he arrives on a fire engine! We will also be collecting non-perishable food items for local area food pantries, as well as items for our Military Veterans at the Wisconsin Veterans Home – Homeless Veteran Project at Union Grove, Wisconsin. At 4:30pm join Santa and all the children when they magically illuminate our beautiful town tannenbaum with an official outdoor tree lighting ceremony welcoming in the holiday season! For additional information and/or to help sponsor our event contact the Town of Vernon at 262-662-2039. We hope you’re able to join us!

“Keep Christ in Christmas” Poster Contest The Knights of Columbus “Keep Christ in Christmas” Poster Contest is going on now through Wednesday, December 18th. The details are as follows: 

Poster must reflect the theme of “Keep Christ in Christmas”. Do not put the words “Keep Christ in Christmas” on the poster.

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Must be original work of the child.

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Must be on 11 x 17 paper, which the student can get through school. If pastels, chalk or charcoal are used the poster must be laminated or covered with clear plastic. Do NOT fold the paper.

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Open to any student age 5—14.

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Print your name and age on the back side of the poster. (Make sure you do not put it on the front.)

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All entries become the property of the Knights of Columbus. Posters will not be returned.

Posters must be in the School Office by 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 18th.

Christian Action Hours Don’t forget to update your volunteer hours. The Christian Action Form can be accessed from the parish homepage. The direct link is: http://www.stjoesbb.com/parish/volunteer.php.

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Home & School Community News Secret Santa Shop It's almost that time of year again for shopping, bargains, wrapping and all the fun of gift giving! Let us help your kids get some of their shopping done at the Secret Santa Shop on Friday, December 13, 2013. Most items are $5 and under. As always, we will help your kids with their selections and wrap everything for them. In order to make this day a success, we could use some extra help and the following donations: - all sizes of Christmas gift bags - Christmas gift wrap - tissue paper in white and multi-colored - clear tape for wrapping - labels or tags Please send items to the school office and mark them for Secret Santa. And if you like to shop, we are in need of more items for this event, especially men’s, boys, and unisex gift items. Please keep the amount to $5 or less. You can submit a receipt and reimbursement form, but we welcome donations as well. Please contact Stacy Abraham at [email protected] or Angela O'Boyle at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to help (we need help with set-up the day before and on the day of the event).