As I write this, it is Sunday, November 25, one month until . It is also the Feast of . This marks the last Sunday of the . One person described this feast as Super Bowl Sunday or the Final Four Championship. As a little background, the Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI, in 1925, during a time of totalitarian governments. Here is some helpful information to help understand the significance of this feast.

“Instituting this feast, Pope Pius XI proclaimed: “Pax Christi in regno Christi” (“The peace of Christ in the reign of Christ”). This feast was established and proclaimed by the Pope to reassert the sovereignty of Christ and the Church over all forms of government and to remind Christians of the fidelity and loyalty they owed to Christ, who by his Incarnation and sacrificial death on the cross had made them both adopted children of God and future citizens and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Feast was also a reminder to the totalitarian governments of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin that Jesus Christ is the only Sovereign King.”

Christ is our spiritual King and Ruler who rules by truth and love. We declare our loyalty to him by the quality of our Christian commitment, expressed in our serving of others with sacrificial and forgiving love, and by our solidarity with the poor. Although emperors and kings with real ruling power exist today only in history books, we nevertheless honor Christ as the King of the Universe and the King of our hearts by allowing him to take control of our lives. In thousands of human hearts all over the world, Jesus still reigns as King. The Cross is his throne and the Sermon on the Mount, his rule of law. His citizens need obey only one major law: “Love God with all your being, and love others as I have loved you.” His love is selfless, compassionate, forgiving, and unconditional. He is a King with a saving and liberating mission: freeing us from all types of bondage, enabling us to live peacefully and happily on earth, and promising us an inheritance in the eternal life of heaven.”

As we end this liturgical year and prepare for the new year with the coming of , let us take comfort and hope in this great feast. Let us be empowered, encouraged, and energized to be the committed Christians that we need to be in our world today. We need to spread the Good News of Christ’s unconditional and forgiving love, beginning with our families, our school and communities, then extending to our country and our world. In doing this, then surely “The peace of Christ in the reign of Christ” will surely prevail! Words in italics retrieved on November 25, 2018, from https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-11/sunday-reflections-25-november-2018.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Dear Parents, November 25, 2018

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your family and friends. I hope you were able to do some fun things during the break and even relax a bit. I can tell you that I did!

We have a lot of great events taking place this month, beginning with our Secret Santa Shop. Please take time to review all of the details in the Weekly Word and on the Principal’s Page. We hope to see you at many of the special concerts, pageants, etc.

Have a great week! God bless you! Sister Catherine Irene, IHM Looking Ahead November 26 Classes resume! November 28 Open House, 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. November 29 Secret Santa Shop December 2 First Sunday of Advent December 3 Tobacco-Free Coalition makes presentation to Grades 7 and 8 December 4 Picture Make-Up Day December 6 St. Nicholas Day! School Confessions at 10:00 a.m.; Uniform Exchange at 7:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria December 7 School Liturgy at 10:15 a.m.; FIRST TRIMESTER ENDS December 11 Open House and Tours, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. December 12 Band and Strings Concerts, 1:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. December 13 Kindergarten Christmas Pageant; December 14 Report Cards; Middle School Mixer December 16 Open House from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm. Chorus Christmas Concert in Chapel at 7:00 p.m. December 18 Pre-K 3 Carols; HSA Christmas Luncheon in the PMC December 19 Pre-K 4 Christmas Pageant in the PMC December 21 Christmas Pageant at 1:30 p.m.; FULL DAY of SCHOOL; NO CARES December 24 Christmas Vacation December 25 Merry Christmas December 26 – Jan. 2 Christmas vacation January 3 Classes resume January 27 – Feb. 1 Catholic Schools Week! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Open House: We will begin having Open Houses and Tours this month. We will have one on Wednesday, November 28, at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. We will need our Student Council officers and some of our representatives to assist with the tours. Our other dates include December 11 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. and Sunday, December 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm. I thank our Student Council in advance for their assistance in this area! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Financial Aid Opportunities: St. Joseph School uses the FACTS Financial Aid Application to process all financial aid decisions and awards. We ask all families who might need financial assistance to submit the Financial Aid Application.

Aid for the 2019-2020 school year will be processed by FACTS Grant and Aid. The application is now open. If you need assistance with your application, or have any questions, please contact Sister Catherine at this time.

Needs-based financial aid awards are available through BLOCS, the Foundation for Catholic Education and the Henkels Foundation. These funds are a result of the PA EITC/OSTC program. For the 2018-2019 school year, St. Joseph School awarded over $125,000 in EITC funds!

All need-based awards will be contingent on reception of the most recent tax return and must meet income guidelines. The guidelines for the EITC /OSTC programs are as follows:

 Household income: $85,000  One dependent: $100,608  Two dependents: $116,216  Three dependents: $131,824  Add $15,608 for each additional dependent +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lunch and Recess Help: As we get closer to Christmas, I know that it will be more challenging to get help for recess and lunch. I ask that you check your schedules again. We really could use more help supervising the children in the Cafeteria and at recess, most especially at recess. If one of our regulars has to call out for sick children or his/her own appointments or sickness, then we can be really short- handed. I know that MANY of our parents work outside of the home and have very little flexibility in their schedules. Perhaps if you are scheduling a vacation day to help with your Christmas planning, you might be able to arrange an hour or so for lunch and recess time. WALKINS are welcome, as long as your clearances are up to date. You can also sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a49a5a72daaff2-lunch Thank you for considering this request. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Science Fair, 2018: January 27 – 29: Our annual Science Fair for Grades 4 – 8 will take place during Catholic Schools Week. All projects will be ready for display during our Open House following the noon . ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES 4 TO 8 are invited and encouraged to participate. While it is mandatory for students to participate in either Grades 7 or 8, it is still a wonderful opportunity for all students to share their scientific talents AND interests with their classmates and our families. Please encourage your children to participate. All of the forms and requirements are posted online. The link is https://sites.google.com/stjosephrc.org/sciencefair/home. We have had some great successes in the past and it is a perfect time to let our St. Joseph School student scientists shine!!!! Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Brunner or Ms. Polselli if you have any questions. Thank you!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Musical Accomplishments: We congratulate the following students who will represent St. Joseph School at the Archdiocesan Festival and Honor Band Concerts: Olivia Kurpinski – Flute, Owen Mullin - Tenor Saxophone , Kiera Walsh – Mallets and Zoe Moles, Maggie Shannon, Sam Tatum, and Matthew Waterman – Trumpet We congratulate the following students who will represent St. Joseph School in the Archdiocesan Choral Concerts: Regan Brady, Lily Norcia and Liam Corrigan. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Safety Reminder: We have reminded the students that they should not open the school doors for anyone. If an adult is coming to school, please go to the buzzer by the main entrance. Please buzz, identify yourself, and your purpose to coming to school (drop off a lunch, an appointment with a teacher, a mystery reader, etc.) and then wait to be buzzed in. Please do not push the button and talk at the same time for all we hear is the buzzer. Please do not ask a student to open the door for you and if a student tries to open the door, please say no. I also ask you to remind your children of that at home. If you remind them at home and we remind them in school, then our students will remember better. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CLOSING MSP FOR THE END OF THE TRIMESTER

End of the Marking Period: The first trimester will end on Friday, December 7. In order to properly plan and pace out the end of the marking period, we will close My Students Progress (MSP) on Friday, November 30. This will allow time for the teachers to enter marks and to gather make-up work, if necessary, before they finalize the grades for the report cards. If you are concerned about grades, please contact your child’s teacher(s). Thank you!

CAMPUS MINSITRY SERVICE SATURDAY at St. Martha Center on November 17, 2018

Mission Day Update: We thank Mrs. Gannotti, Ms. Billone, Mr. Huffman, and the Student Council for all that they did to coordinate our Mission Day on November 20. So far, over $1600 has been collected!!! I will give you more details in our next Weekly Word!!