Tomorrow is December 1st! Wow has this year flown by. We had an terrific open house in November. The parents were very excited about what St. Joseph School had to offer. The teachers were teaching and the Student Council served as hosts and everyone seemed to be very happy. It was a great night and hopefully help parents make the decision to send their child to STJ.
We are preparing for Christmas now. The school is all decorated and the students are getting very excited. Our basketball teams are in full swing and the ski program is getting organized as I write. The cheerleaders are working hard on their sidelines and plan on cheering at this week's varsity game.
We have all kinds of events planned for this month. Our Student Council is very busy. Last month they sponsored an "all the fixin's" food drive. We have traditionslly collected turkerys but had nowhere to store them this year, so they decided to have a food drive to provide all the other foods served on Thanksgiving. Mrs. Hamel brought box after box of food to the Food Bank.
They are also sponsoring a pajama drive in conjunction with Scholastic Books. Every pair of pajamas we collect will be paired up with an age appropriate book to donate.
The Council is meeting this week to plan the Christmas Basket Raffle. They still have to decide what charity will benefit.
So busy--- but we are always reminded --- the reason for the season. Jesus is why we are here, why we celebrate and what this is all about. We are proud to have as our patron, the man God felt was worthy of raising our Savior.
Have a great season --- will be back soon!
November 30, 2010
October 25, 2010
Open House!
We just had our first dance and it was terrific. About 80% of the school attended and it looked like most of the kids had a very good time. Plans for the Christmas dance in under way already.
We are in the throws of planning our open house --- November 18th! Please pass the word on to anyone who might have a teenager in the family. Let's let the world know about the great experience you can have at STJ. It all starts in the community center at 7:00 PM.
We just finished our Student Council elections. Mike Salvato is our new president, Will Bemiss our new vice-president. They are very excited about getting to work. It looks to be a very good Student Council year.
Alumi, you know that you are welcome anytime. Be on the lookout for our annual appeal. You may recognize some of the people on the front!
We are in the throws of planning our open house --- November 18th! Please pass the word on to anyone who might have a teenager in the family. Let's let the world know about the great experience you can have at STJ. It all starts in the community center at 7:00 PM.
We just finished our Student Council elections. Mike Salvato is our new president, Will Bemiss our new vice-president. They are very excited about getting to work. It looks to be a very good Student Council year.
Alumi, you know that you are welcome anytime. Be on the lookout for our annual appeal. You may recognize some of the people on the front!
October 05, 2010
New Sign!
Our new sign is up outside the building! St. Joseph has a beautiful garden thanks to the Duffleys! Our art classes have been very busy! Where can you see all of this! Yes, you can drive by or stop by (and you are more than welcome anytime) but you can see them on our website (http://www.stjoesjrhs.org/). Mr. Powell has added some wonderful new pictures to our home page. Please check them out --- it'll make Mr. Powell feel good!
September 28, 2010
The First Month In Our New Home
It's hard to believe we have only been here a month! The St. Anthony teachers have been great, the lunch ladies are awesome and Mr. Bergeron has been wonderful. The students, of course, have just fallen into a new school as we would expect students to do. The most common sentence --- "It even looks like St. Joe's!"
We are all pretty settled in. Our sports teams are off and running, in fact we have more students playing soccer this year than last year. It must be the beautiful ORANGE jerseys that are inspiring them.
Classes are going very well and we are now gearing up for our first fundraiser --- PIES. They will be coming in in early November, just in time for the holidays. This is perfect for those of us who believe that if someone does it better (like Betty Crocker) why do it yourself?
We are all looking forward to a beautiful fall. The cooler weather is a blessing!
We are all pretty settled in. Our sports teams are off and running, in fact we have more students playing soccer this year than last year. It must be the beautiful ORANGE jerseys that are inspiring them.
Classes are going very well and we are now gearing up for our first fundraiser --- PIES. They will be coming in in early November, just in time for the holidays. This is perfect for those of us who believe that if someone does it better (like Betty Crocker) why do it yourself?
We are all looking forward to a beautiful fall. The cooler weather is a blessing!
August 15, 2010
We're in!!
We're in! Last week was all about moving. Now that all the furniture is in and the lockers are in, we are feeling like a junior high. The teachers are busy opening boxes and decorating their new rooms. It looks great and we can't believe that we are only one week away from open house --- WOW.
As we get ready for a new year, we like to remember some of the students who will be making a splash in high school. Of course, we are very proud of the STJ graduates who were valedictiorians --- John and James Strampfer (Trinity) and Ariana Vailas (Central). What an accomplishment. Best of luck and best wishes to them and all the class of 2006 as they head to college.
We also wish the best to Cam Boucher (student council president -- Central) and Ryan and Abby Mitchell ( student council president and vice president --- Trinity). We're sure they will do a great job as all three did a great job at St. Joe's.
One week to go --- rest up, we have a great year ahead!
As we get ready for a new year, we like to remember some of the students who will be making a splash in high school. Of course, we are very proud of the STJ graduates who were valedictiorians --- John and James Strampfer (Trinity) and Ariana Vailas (Central). What an accomplishment. Best of luck and best wishes to them and all the class of 2006 as they head to college.
We also wish the best to Cam Boucher (student council president -- Central) and Ryan and Abby Mitchell ( student council president and vice president --- Trinity). We're sure they will do a great job as all three did a great job at St. Joe's.
One week to go --- rest up, we have a great year ahead!
August 04, 2010
The way things look
Here are some photos of what's happening at our new home. In a lot of places, St. Anthony's is looking pretty messy. Rooms have been cleared of desks and tables and the gym is like a mountain range of stacked furniture! All the same, you can definitely see the work that is being done to get the school in great shape for when students arrive later this month. Take a look at what's happening in these pictures.
Some rooms are getting a total rehab, like these classrooms in the lower level by the gym. |
That's a lot of stuff! Desks and other classroom necessities will be heading back into classrooms once they're ready to go. Don't worry! They're taking care not to damage the gym floor. |
A classroom after a fresh wax and paint job. |
Some places are looking pretty spiffy already! |
We're getting some great help! Thanks to everyone for helping make the building look awesome! |
July 21, 2010
Back from vacation and on the move!
Slowly but surely the faculty and staff are coming back from a couple of weeks of vacation. Most of the building is packed and it looks like we will be moving sooner than expected! We will be moving the first week of August, so everyone is finishing up.
It will be great to be in earlier so we can have more time to make all our classrooms pretty. The rooms have all be painted and they look great. The office is sage green and I am thrilled. Everyone will have to come to the open house in August to see! (More about this to come.)
Mr. Bergeron and I have been hammering out the nuts and bolts items: schedule, drop off, pick up, sports, lunch program, etc. Everyone will be getting a letter soon with all these details.
Homeroom letters will be going out in the next couple of weeks. It will be fun for the students to try and figure out who their homeroom teacher will be since they have no idea who is in what room! What a mystery..........
Back to work. Have to finish packing the office so I can go clogging. Have a good week!
It will be great to be in earlier so we can have more time to make all our classrooms pretty. The rooms have all be painted and they look great. The office is sage green and I am thrilled. Everyone will have to come to the open house in August to see! (More about this to come.)
Mr. Bergeron and I have been hammering out the nuts and bolts items: schedule, drop off, pick up, sports, lunch program, etc. Everyone will be getting a letter soon with all these details.
Homeroom letters will be going out in the next couple of weeks. It will be fun for the students to try and figure out who their homeroom teacher will be since they have no idea who is in what room! What a mystery..........
Back to work. Have to finish packing the office so I can go clogging. Have a good week!
July 01, 2010
The First Balloon Has Fallen!
The first of 13 balloons has finallly come down from the ceiling of the auditorium. It was nice to revisit the wonderful dinner dance we had that night --- seems like months ago. 350 people enjoying chicken tenders, french fries and pizza and a million other dishes brought by parents. It was a great night and the start of a new tradition.
Speaking of new traditions, Mr. Powell has finished removing all the name plates from the hundreds of trophies we have here. We hope to get them organized and put them in a memory box like the beautiful gift the class of 2010 presented to the faculty. It will be a great puzzle for the class of 2011.
The class of 2011 will always be very special because they will be the class who will be making all kinds of new traditions. What a great opportunity for these 8th graders...and the 7th graders will be setting the 2 year bar for all who follow. What a gift these two classes could pass on to posterity!
We are almost all packed. Everyone is now going on vacation, but when we get back, the work at St. Anthony and the movers won't be able to move fast enough for us. When this faculty gets moving, get out of our way ---- we may be mature, but we can still motor with the best of them.
Have a great vacation --- be back soon!
Speaking of new traditions, Mr. Powell has finished removing all the name plates from the hundreds of trophies we have here. We hope to get them organized and put them in a memory box like the beautiful gift the class of 2010 presented to the faculty. It will be a great puzzle for the class of 2011.
The class of 2011 will always be very special because they will be the class who will be making all kinds of new traditions. What a great opportunity for these 8th graders...and the 7th graders will be setting the 2 year bar for all who follow. What a gift these two classes could pass on to posterity!
We are almost all packed. Everyone is now going on vacation, but when we get back, the work at St. Anthony and the movers won't be able to move fast enough for us. When this faculty gets moving, get out of our way ---- we may be mature, but we can still motor with the best of them.
Have a great vacation --- be back soon!
June 29, 2010
A packing we will go!
We are just packing machines!! Ms. Lauze and Ms. Goodno could open their own moving company --- they have this packing thing down to a science. Today, with the help of Mr. Powell, they packed the computer room and all the computers in the library. What a job.
We have also filled the dumpster. Tomorrow we are having a "dump and return" -- in waste removal lingo.
The hot weather may have slowed us down a bit, but the spirit in alive and well and we all look forward the the next two weeks --- VACATION.
We have also filled the dumpster. Tomorrow we are having a "dump and return" -- in waste removal lingo.
The hot weather may have slowed us down a bit, but the spirit in alive and well and we all look forward the the next two weeks --- VACATION.
June 21, 2010
Packing,..packing...packing!
We have so many boxes we are considering building a fort in the auditorium and re-enacting the attack on Fort Sumter! We are getting a good handle on the work and we have a new found respect for the teachers at St. Anthony who had to do this in a couple of days!
We are very proud to anounce that we heard from the National MS Society and we were the second highest school team in the state, just behind Pembroke Academy. Our "Coach's Team" raised over $800 and we had a great time together. Of course we were very appropriately dressed --- the color for the MS Society is ORANGE! We wore our colors proudly and fit right in.
Our numbers are creeping up ---- looking very optimistic. But for now --- you guessed it --- back to packing!
We are very proud to anounce that we heard from the National MS Society and we were the second highest school team in the state, just behind Pembroke Academy. Our "Coach's Team" raised over $800 and we had a great time together. Of course we were very appropriately dressed --- the color for the MS Society is ORANGE! We wore our colors proudly and fit right in.
Our numbers are creeping up ---- looking very optimistic. But for now --- you guessed it --- back to packing!
June 15, 2010
STJ GRADUATION
What a beautiful night. The graduates were awesome and the ceremony was touching. Fr. Joe gave us great words to live by as did our student speakers.
Carson Viscarello (our Student Council Vice President) said it best --- "I would like to wish all the members of the St. Joe's community good luck with their move to St. Anthony's. After all, it is not the building that makes St. Joe's what it is today, it's the teachers, students and staff." From the mouths of babes.......
We have been working with Jr. Joe and he assured us that we are ALWAYS welcome to come back for Masses, church tours, visits with Emit and Josie and of course graduation. He is committed to a continued relationship with St. Joseph Jr. High.
The 7th graders are cleaning their lockers today. They are scrubbing them shiny so when we take them to St. Anthony, they'll look marvelous.
Back to packing. More news to come.
Carson Viscarello (our Student Council Vice President) said it best --- "I would like to wish all the members of the St. Joe's community good luck with their move to St. Anthony's. After all, it is not the building that makes St. Joe's what it is today, it's the teachers, students and staff." From the mouths of babes.......
We have been working with Jr. Joe and he assured us that we are ALWAYS welcome to come back for Masses, church tours, visits with Emit and Josie and of course graduation. He is committed to a continued relationship with St. Joseph Jr. High.
The 7th graders are cleaning their lockers today. They are scrubbing them shiny so when we take them to St. Anthony, they'll look marvelous.
Back to packing. More news to come.
June 14, 2010
Wow, what a weekend we had here at STJ! Last Friday we had our awards assembly and celebrated the academic and athletic achievements of our students.
Sunday night was incredible--- we had the Class of 2010 dinner dance. 350 people gathered in the auditorium for chicken tenders, fries and pizza. Moms got to dance with their sons and dads with their daughters. It was wonderful and after we sent the parents home, the graduates tore it up until 10:00 PM.
Today we had the 8th grade breakfast and had losts of fun and lots of food courtesy of the 7th graders.
Tonight we graduate!!!
Meanwhile, we are getting ready and excited about the move. We met with the faculty of St. Anthony and had a very productive exchange. It helps when some of those teachers are STJ grads and we can threaten them with changing their permanent record.
We discussed schedules and gym time and lunches and all kinds of other things you will all hear about this summer when all is finalized.
Ms. Cuff and Ms. O'Donnell have been working diligently putting together next year's homerooms. This information will be going home in August. It'll be a great surprise to look forward to!
So tonight we graduate, tomorrow we say "see you later" to the 7th grade and then we jump into boxes!
Sunday night was incredible--- we had the Class of 2010 dinner dance. 350 people gathered in the auditorium for chicken tenders, fries and pizza. Moms got to dance with their sons and dads with their daughters. It was wonderful and after we sent the parents home, the graduates tore it up until 10:00 PM.
Today we had the 8th grade breakfast and had losts of fun and lots of food courtesy of the 7th graders.
Tonight we graduate!!!
Meanwhile, we are getting ready and excited about the move. We met with the faculty of St. Anthony and had a very productive exchange. It helps when some of those teachers are STJ grads and we can threaten them with changing their permanent record.
We discussed schedules and gym time and lunches and all kinds of other things you will all hear about this summer when all is finalized.
Ms. Cuff and Ms. O'Donnell have been working diligently putting together next year's homerooms. This information will be going home in August. It'll be a great surprise to look forward to!
So tonight we graduate, tomorrow we say "see you later" to the 7th grade and then we jump into boxes!
June 02, 2010
Cranking up for the end of the year and our summer move
We are back from our beautiful three day weekend and are now getting ready for all the wonderful end-of- the-year activities. The 8th graders are singing and dancing, preparing for the talent show tomorrow.
In the meantime, we are looking forward to our meeting with the St. Anthony faculty to continue working on all those nuts and bolts things that need to be taken care of.
Of couse one of the events we will be working on is the open house/BBQ on August 24th. It will give everyone a chance to visit and see the schools and share some food (always a plus with our faculty members.) Be sure to mark the date on your calendar. More details to come!
In the meantime, we are looking forward to our meeting with the St. Anthony faculty to continue working on all those nuts and bolts things that need to be taken care of.
Of couse one of the events we will be working on is the open house/BBQ on August 24th. It will give everyone a chance to visit and see the schools and share some food (always a plus with our faculty members.) Be sure to mark the date on your calendar. More details to come!
May 21, 2010
May 12, 2010
Welcome to our new blog!
Yes! We are finally entering the 21st century! We have started this new blog as a way to help us keep you informed and give you a chance to stay in touch with your STJ family.
We’re a school on the move and the planning is at warp speed! Our faculty is ready for the challenge --- for junior high teachers, this will be a piece of cake.
Seriously, our faculty is more dedicated than ever (if that’s even possible.) We have been talking and meeting and sharing all kinds of ideas about our new “digs”. Ms. Duhaime is very familiar with the St. Anthony School building having taught there a while ago and she has been helping us all “see” our new campus.
The entire faculty is planning to return and is thinking about what to bring to our new location. After years and years of teaching, it will be good to go through our “stuff” and decide what should make the trip and what should go into the circular file. Where are we going to put that dumpster?
We will all be visiting our new home this week. Mr. Jerry Bergeron (the principal of St. Anthony) has been wonderful. He and Fr. Richard Dion (the pastor) have worked very hard to make us feel welcomed. We have met many times to discuss the “nuts and bolts” of the operation. We have made great strides and are still working hard to be sure everyone’s needs are met. We have also met with the project manager, the architect, the building manager and the associate superintendent. All are striving to make the move as painless as possible. In fact, we are excited about a new look for STJ!
Before any more news, it’s necessary to extend our gratitude to the families of STJ. We are very grateful to those families who have stood by us and become part of our bigger STJ family. To all who have make our professional lives a joy, our sincere gratitude and our hope that you will continue to be a part of our lives.
A quick reminder: You should have received a postcard in the mail welcoming you to a May 19 meeting at 7 PM at St. Anthony School’s gymnasium. The school is located at 148 Belmont Street in Manchester. This will be an opportunity for all parents to see the school building, meet parents of the St. Anthony community, and get some solid information about the layout of the two schools, the logistics of the move, and information about budgets and tuition. I hope you will all be there for that meeting! Also, if you ever want to refer to the previous information that has come out so far on the relocation, please visit our website and click on “Relocation”.
Our summer plans are set --- and I was wondering what I was going to do after watching “Ellen” everyday. Mr. Bergeron and I have each other on speedial and are ready to continue our collaboration to be sure both schools will continue to live up to each school’s mission.
That’s the news for now --- so much more to come. I’ll be in touch regularly with you about everything that is happening.
Ms. Martineau
Principal
We’re a school on the move and the planning is at warp speed! Our faculty is ready for the challenge --- for junior high teachers, this will be a piece of cake.
Seriously, our faculty is more dedicated than ever (if that’s even possible.) We have been talking and meeting and sharing all kinds of ideas about our new “digs”. Ms. Duhaime is very familiar with the St. Anthony School building having taught there a while ago and she has been helping us all “see” our new campus.
The entire faculty is planning to return and is thinking about what to bring to our new location. After years and years of teaching, it will be good to go through our “stuff” and decide what should make the trip and what should go into the circular file. Where are we going to put that dumpster?
We will all be visiting our new home this week. Mr. Jerry Bergeron (the principal of St. Anthony) has been wonderful. He and Fr. Richard Dion (the pastor) have worked very hard to make us feel welcomed. We have met many times to discuss the “nuts and bolts” of the operation. We have made great strides and are still working hard to be sure everyone’s needs are met. We have also met with the project manager, the architect, the building manager and the associate superintendent. All are striving to make the move as painless as possible. In fact, we are excited about a new look for STJ!
Before any more news, it’s necessary to extend our gratitude to the families of STJ. We are very grateful to those families who have stood by us and become part of our bigger STJ family. To all who have make our professional lives a joy, our sincere gratitude and our hope that you will continue to be a part of our lives.
A quick reminder: You should have received a postcard in the mail welcoming you to a May 19 meeting at 7 PM at St. Anthony School’s gymnasium. The school is located at 148 Belmont Street in Manchester. This will be an opportunity for all parents to see the school building, meet parents of the St. Anthony community, and get some solid information about the layout of the two schools, the logistics of the move, and information about budgets and tuition. I hope you will all be there for that meeting! Also, if you ever want to refer to the previous information that has come out so far on the relocation, please visit our website and click on “Relocation”.
Our summer plans are set --- and I was wondering what I was going to do after watching “Ellen” everyday. Mr. Bergeron and I have each other on speedial and are ready to continue our collaboration to be sure both schools will continue to live up to each school’s mission.
That’s the news for now --- so much more to come. I’ll be in touch regularly with you about everything that is happening.
Ms. Martineau
Principal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)