St. Joseph High School News 9/14/20 - 9/18/20
St. Joseph High School News
Welcome Back!
Welcome back to face to face instruction at SJHS! We are excited to have everyone back in the building
and providing a school experience in the capacity that we know we are GREAT at providing! The first
week of phase in at 25% was a perfect way to re-engage with students, build confidence in new
protocols, and work out some of the kinks. We are expecting similar results this week as we work with
50% of our students each day. Friday Sept. 18th is our remote learning day to establish online
connectivity with our students and teachers in the event that we are forced into remote learning at some
point during the school year. Mon. Sept. 21st will be our first full day together with 100% capacity and
we feel we are well prepared and ready to go! I am looking forward to working with all of you during
this unprecedented time, but if we continue as we have started, I am confident we will work through this
challenge effectively together! Please don’t hesitate to contact us or me directly if you have any
questions.
GO BEARS!
Mr. Blomgren
Back to School Night - Virtual Event
We will be hosting our back to school night event virtually this evening. Our teachers have been
working to prepare screencasts for all of you to view. You will be receiving an announcement this
evening with a link and instructions on how to click on the link to view each of your student’s teachers.
This is a first, as will be many things we do this year, but this will provide an excellent opportunity for
you to meet and see each of your student’s teachers, hear about the class, and learn important
information about each class. I would encourage you to set aside some time tonight to watch and listen
to each of your student’s teachers “Back to School Night” messages. Please note, the screencasts have
been recorded and will be posted for you to access at any point.
Guidance Office News:
2020 Testing:
Seniors: SAT only, Oct 14, 2020
Juniors & Sophomores: PSAT, Oct 29, 2020
Freshmen: PSAT, date TBD
Parents, complete details will be coming soon, but we wanted you to have these dates
on your calendar.
Schedule Changes:
The Guidance Office will NOT be making any schedule changes at this time unless we have incorrectly placed your student in a course that has already been successfully completed, a missing hour, or there is a needed course required for graduation. Counselors will be taking these schedule changes up until September 25, 3pm.
THE PROCESS FOR ALL OTHER REQUESTS: You must pick up a drop/add form from the teacher/class you are wanting to drop. Completed and Signed Forms can be dropped off in the Guidance Office. No schedule requests will be accepted after Sept. 25, 3pm. Schedule changes that can be accommodated will be handled on a first-come, first-serve basis and if a class is full your name will be added to a wait list.
College Fairs:
NACAC is offering four virtual college fairs to provide information and resources to students this Fall:
Sunday, Sept. 13 from 12 - 8 p.m. ET
Monday, Oct. 12 from 1 - 9 p.m. ET
Sunday, Oct. 18 from 12 - 8 p.m. ET
Sunday, Nov. 8 from 2 - 10 p.m. ET
Students and parents register for these fairs at https://www.nacacfairs.org/attend/attend-virtual-college-fairs/students/
Dual Credit Information:
DUAL CREDIT for 2020-21 School Year
REMINDER if you have signed up for a Dual Credit class for Fall 2020 school year there is testing requirements:
DEADLINE for Accuplacer testing has been extended
until Sept. 24, 2020
(No exceptions!)
To Register for Accuplacer:
LMC is currently offering the assessment virtually. To set up your appointment, email assessmentcenter@lakemichigancollege.edu at least one week in advance to ensure there is still time slots available.
LMC to visit classrooms VIRTUALLY on Sept. 14 and 15, 2020:
SJ teachers will distribute registration forms in class during the above days
(you must be a SJHS in-person student in order to receive dual credit)
Deadline for Dual Credit Paper Registration:
Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 by 3pm
(turn into SJHS Guidance Office)
No exceptions!
For complete information on Dual Credit and Accuplacer testing and requirements visit our website link below.
Note: Juniors with an unweighted 3.0 GPA or higher and SENIORS with an unweighted 2.6 GPA or higher will meet the E and R requirement and will not have to take the Accuplacer requirement for 20-21 school year only. Students not meeting this threshold and courses with math pre-requisites will follow the existing policy.
https://sjschools.org/guidance/direct-credit-early-college-guidance/course-offerings-handout
Bears of the Month:
September Bears of the Month!
Congratulations to Sam Adkins & Reese Uzelac for being recognized as our
September Bears of the Month at SJHS!
Chromebook: 1 to 1 Laptop Information
SJHS is transitioning this year from a BYOD environment to a district-provided Chromebook school.
As mentioned previously, our Chromebook shipment has been delayed. Therefore, all students are
encouraged to bring their own device from home until the Chromebooks arrive later this fall. Any
student who does not have a device to bring from home can check one out from the Media Center.
Please work with your child to make sure he or she has a device to use at school and home. We are
happy to check one out to your student if needed. Thanks for your patience and understanding with this
process.
SJPS has a new LMS (Learning Management System) for 2020-21. All teachers will be using Google
Classroom this year. Our old system, itsLearning, has been phased out. All teacher/student
communication will occur through Google Classroom and GMail. Please, please remind your child to
check his or her @stjoebears email each day! This is an important habit to establish, and it will be a
critical component for students to receive communication regarding classwork and school
announcements. Support for students and parents regarding SJPS technology can be found at the
following website: SJPS Parent/Student Digital Handbook.
Key Club:
Student Senate News:
Student Senate Representatives 2020-2021
Attention Freshman: Student Senate wants YOU!
If you are interested in running for Freshman Student Senate Representative, please email Mrs.
Wallace to get your name added to the ballot. Please reach out to Mrs. Wallace with any
questions! awallace@sjschools.org
Yearbook:
Yearbook updates:
The 2019-2020 yearbook is on its way, due to arrive the week of September 21. Distribution details will
follow. A limited number of extras will be available for $70.
Reservations for the 2020-2021 yearbook are now available. We are a fall delivery book, so the 2021
book will be distributed in September of 2021.
Media Center News:
Reminder that if you have any textbooks or library books or materials out from last year to please get
those returned and checked in.
NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
Parents – A reminder that spectator limitations are in place at all Home/Away games. Current athletes will be given pre-tickets for both Home/Away games which should be turned in at the ticket gate in order to purchase tickets. Tickets will only be sold to those that have the applicable pre-ticket. Currently we are allowed only 2 spectators per student athlete.
All spectators MUST wear a face mask and follow the social distancing rules
requirement. We want our student athletes to be able to participate in sports in all
three seasons this year – please do your part so we can make that happen!
Time to think about Spring Sports! If your student/athlete is planning on participating in a Spring sport, please have them send an email to the applicable Coach to announce their interest so they can receive correspondence regarding any meetings/workouts: Baseball – Josh Mandarino – jmandarino@stjoebears.com Softball – Joe Spitale – jspitale@stjoebears.com Men’s Golf – Kevin Guzzo – kguzzo@stjoebears.com Women’s Soccer – Chris Froelich – cfroelich@stjoebears.com Women’s Tennis – Raelyn Althoff – ralthoff@stjoebears.com Men’s Track – Todd Rose – trose@stjoebears.com Women’s Track – Mike Mahler – mmahler@stjoebears.com
- There is NO general admission to events.
- Only two spectators per participant will be allowed entry into the venue.
- Spectators must have a pre-assigned voucher to be able to enter. No voucher = No Entry
- Vouchers are given to players to be given to their family members.
- All spectators with vouchers must pay the $5 admission fee.
- Please try to pay with exact change.
- All spectators must wear masks while attending the event.
- At the moment, there will be no concessions available.
- Please maintain social distancing at all times.
- We will livestream some of our events via the NFHS Network. Look for information on those via Twitter (@sjbearssports) one to two days prior to the event.
How to watch football and soccer live from the comfort of your home: www.nfhsnetwork.com Search for St. Joseph High School (MI) There is a charge to watch these events – you can subscribe monthly ($10.99/month) or purchase a yearly pass ($69.99/yr)
Athletics:
Monday:
3:30 Varsity Golf @ West Division Jamboree/The Moors
Tuesday:
5:00 JV/Varsity Soccer vs. Mattawan
Wednesday:
3:30 JV Golf @ Blossom Trails
4:00 Varsity/JV Tennis @ Gull Lake
5:30 9th/JV Volleyball vs. Mattawan
6:30 Varsity Volleyball vs. Mattawan
Thursday:
5:00 JV/Varsity Soccer @ Portage Northern
6:00 Swim vs. Mattawan
Friday:
9:30 JV and Varsity Golf @ Coldwater Invite
7:00 Varsity Football vs. Kalamazoo Central
Saturday:
9:00 Varsity Tennis @ Rockford Quad
