01/27/08

  A Note From the Principal - Friday, September 7, 2007

So Far!  So Good!  We are ending the second week of school and we have not had any major difficulties.  Our new students all appear to be happy and enjoying making new friends.  Along those same lines, I invite you all to come to our Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 12th at 7 p.m.  We will meet in the church; have a brief introduction by either Father Chris or Father Nick, a few brief words from our Home School Association President, Vera Blade, and finally a brief introduction by me of all of our faculty and staff.  We will then all come across the sidewalk to the school where each teacher will present a summation of the curriculum maps that are being used throughout the diocese and invite you to sign up for any of the numerous volunteer opportunities that are available during the coming months here at St. Joseph's.

Our first Home School Meeting of the year will be held on Monday, September 17th at 7 p.m. in the Holy Family Room here in the basement of the school.  Children earn a "dress down day" if their parents attend this meeting and stay to the end.  Again, this is your opportunity to meet new friends, volunteer for any available "jobs" and learn more about the $350 assessment and how you can best take care of it.

We started the "Lunch With Mrs. Clancy Program" already.  I wanted to give our new students the opportunity to share their impressions of the school with me and make sure that they are all having positive experiences.  As the year progresses I will meet with every student in a informal setting at my conference table.  It's a learning experience for all of us. 

We have a number of new faces on the faculty this year.  Joining us as the PreK  teacher is Mrs. Deborah Kraynak, who comes to us with extensive experience at St. Mary/St. Michael, Derby, and St. Joseph School, Ansonia.  Mrs. Kraynak has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from S.C.S.U.  Our new Computer Teacher is Mrs. Pamela Delaquilla.  Pam has her Bachelors and Masters from Iona College and is also certified to teach Math.  Mrs. Meg Perez, our Spanish teacher has a Bachelors Degree from Southern Connecticut State University.  Meg's oldest daughter graduated from our school and is a student at Laurelton Hall High School.  Her second daughter, Gabriella, is in our Seventh Grade.  Teaching music to all the grades is our parish organist, Michelle Fraser.  A talented musician, Michelle has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  She has extensive teaching experience in Virginia.  Helping us in the Physical Education area is Mrs. Deborah Webster, a certified Physical Trainer.  Mrs. Webster has been associated with the school for a very long time, as the cheerleading coach and a parent of two daughters who graduated from our school and now attend St. Joseph High School. Our veteran sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Roberta Glorioso had to request emergency family leave for the month of September and we are blest to have Mrs. Robin Ball as her substitute.  Mrs. Ball has her degree from Southern Connecticut State University and has extensive corporate experience as well as being part of the Plumb Memorial Library staff for several years.

Eighth Graders are already preparing to take entrance exams for the various Catholic High Schools.  Open Houses are being announced almost daily so families are busy on weekends visiting and deciding what is the best place for their children for the next four years. 

We have only one space left in PreK 4.  Mrs. Kraynak and Mrs. Jacabacci are having a wonderful time with all these enthusiastic little ones.  We are grateful to have Meghan, our high school post grad helper and her Job Coach, Miss Jen, assigned to the PreK class. 

Father Chris is doing well following his back surgery and we expect to see him popping into school in another two weeks.

Have a great weekend.

Love and prayers,

Arlene Clancy

SCHOOL NEWS :

(taken from St. Joseph Bulletin - 9/9/07)

"Forgive me for referring to the 'lockers' again but I must apologize to one dad whose name I left out of my thank you from last week.  Bill Webster was right in there every night putting them together and getting them up on the wall.  Sorry Bill!

A friend of mine, in cleaning out 'stuff' from her mother's home, found an original dedication booklet from the 1928 celebration of the school's opening.  What a tribute to the wonderful parishioners of St. Joseph Church.  Every donation is listed, by name and by the street that they lived on.  Through the magic of modern day copying machines.  I am making copies to share with anyone who would like to see it.  I think we should plan a 'Birthday Party' for May, 2008.  Do we have any ALUMNI out there who would like to be on a committee to plan such a great event?  Call the school at 924-4669 and we will get started on the plan.

This second week of school included the start of school for our 23 pre-K children.  Believe it or not, there were only two tearful ones and the tears were gone almost before their parents were out of the parking lot.  We are happy to welcome Mrs. Deborah Kraynak as our new pre-K teacher.  She comes to us from St. Mary/St. Michael's in Derby and has wonderful experience to share with our 'babies'.  She is ably assisted by Mrs. Darlene Jacabacci who has been part of our staff for the past eleven years.  This promises to be a great year for all of our students.

                                                                   Love and prayers,

                                                                   Arlene Clancy"

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