St. Joseph High School News - 11/23/20 - 11/27/20
St. Joseph High School News
11/23/20 - 11/27/20
Happy Thanksgiving!
This is shaping up to be a Thanksgiving Holiday like never before. I hope you still get the opportunity
to enjoy your favorite Thanksgiving foods over the next few days. I am encouraged by the news and
optimistic that we will have a vaccine in the near future and we will be able to get back to “normal”
soon. Enjoy the time away and stay safe!
Mr. Blomgren
Upcoming Remote Schedule: 11/30 - 12/4
Chromebook - Optional Insurance
Please use the following link if you would like to learn more about the optional insurance option the HS
Chromebooks:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oFSPg5Ky3J0g2h3mohvDr3NA3PofZF7VPhQal4f1dDY/edit?
Meals and Food For Students During Remote Learning:
Meal pick up is on Monday evenings from 5-6pm for the students that are remote.
Meal pick up is in the back of the HS off of Lakeview. Please email Demrhy Youngquist
(dyoungquist@sjschools.org) to reserve their meal packages.
Key Club News:
Key Club has had a busy couple of weeks! Also, students can still join Key Club this year - they just
need to bring $15 dues and complete an application. These should be brought to Peyton Wells
(president) or Mrs. Berry's room. Applications can be found on the QR codes on posters throughout
school.
Thursday, November 12, Key Club members raked leaves for senior citizens in Berrien County through
the United Way's "Rake a Difference" Day.
On that same day, Key Club hosted a blood drive at Versiti across the street from the high school. The
drive collected 13 pints - just 4 shy of our goal. A big thanks to our sponsoring club, Kiwanis, as several
of their members donated too!
Our club president, Peyton Wells, also came up with the idea to make cards for Veteran's Day. The club
made the cards and they were distributed by the Women's Service League. Lastly, our club made history
when it participated in the first VIRTUAL Service and Leadership Conference in the history of Key
Club International! The Fall Rally was held through Zoom on Saturday, November 14. SJHS District
Board members, Hannah Bogner and Katie Hokanson, helped plan and execute the break-out sessions
and opening and closing ceremonies. Clubs from all over the state of MI attended to share service
ideas, discuss best practice for creating leaders during covid times, and how best to stay connected as a
district.
Media Center Updates:
BookHub Update
You may continue to request library books from the media center during remote learning! Simply
search Destiny Discover for books and use the SJHS BookHub to place your requests. We will hold a
drive through pick-up time on November 30th (details below). To secure your library book request(s),
please submit the form by Sunday, 11/29. For help with the form, see the BookHub Screencast. If you
have questions, please email Mrs. Culver at jculver@sjschools.org. Happy Reading and Go Bears!
Library Book Pick-Up Time
Monday, November 30
1:00-3:00 @ SJHS front entrance
Holiday Send Off—Get a free book!
Would you like a FREE book? SJHS has partnered with the SJPS Foundation and Forever Books to
offer you another free book to read and keep! Peruse the Holiday Send Off Book List and submit your
request using the SJHS Holiday Send Off Selection Form. To get your free book, please submit the
form by 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 29th. If you have questions, please email Mrs. Culver at
jculver@sjschools.org. Many thanks to the SJPS Foundation and Forever Books!
Seniors: Graduation Cap and Gown Orders
Seniors: A reminder that it is time to order your cap and gown & senior gear.
You can order online at jostens.com or by mailing your order form to Jostens.
If you need an information packet, students can pick one up in the Guidance office.
Make sure to place your order by Tuesday, November 24th to ensure there are no
delays with your products.
Class Rings: Sophomores
Sophomores:
A reminder that it is time to order your custom St. Joe High School class ring. You can
order online at jostens.com or by mailing your order form to Jostens. If you need an
information packet, students can pick one up at lunch or extras in the Guidance office.
Make sure to place your order by Tuesday, November 24th to receive the
FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE promotion and $20.00 off.
Lake Michigan College - Seniors
Parents of seniors:
If Lake Michigan College is a college choice your student may be considering, the priority deadline for
scholarship consideration is December 1. By completing the scholarship application, you are not
committing, but to be considered for a scholarship in the event that you do attend LMC, please don't
miss this deadline. The link for the application:
https://www.lakemichigancollege.edu/financial-aid/pay-college/scholarships
Get help completing your LMC scholarship application:
Elaina Paulson, our LMLC rep, is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Lake Michigan College Scholarship Workshop
Time: Nov 30, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://LakeMichiganCollege.zoom.us/j/95453393901?pwd=SlU1OXNZT2poZ2c0ZHpDSGIzc2tQdz09
Meeting ID: 954 5339 3901
Passcode: redhawks
What is College Really Like:
You are Invited:
What is college really like? A virtual panel discussion with current college students (who are
St Joe alum.)
Get the real scoop from current college students and recent college graduates - and have an
opportunity to ask questions!
We have a wide array of backgrounds and experiences: students from private and public
institutions, community college, apprenticeship, military academy, medical school,
engineering, art, music, college athletics and more!
Monday, December 7 from 2-3 p.m.
Google meet link - join panel here
Chromebooks:
Chromebooks have arrived and are available and ready to go. Now that we are going remote if a student
has not picked up their chromebook yet and would like to do so, we would like to allow students to come
in and pick them up by appointment only. Please email Mrs. Edlefson at cedlefson@sjschools.org to
arrange a pick up time.
Chromebook - Optional Insurance
Please use the following link if you would like to learn more about the optional insurance option the HS
Chromebooks:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oFSPg5Ky3J0g2h3mohvDr3NA3PofZF7VPhQal4f1dDY/edit?usp=sharing
St. Joseph Virtual School Update: Mr. Pratley
I hope this email finds you and your family healthy and doing well. I want to shed some light on a few
things as we approach the end of the calendar year.
As you have discovered, virtual school differs in many ways from traditional face to face instruction.
One of the most obvious is pacing. The flexibility of the virtual course allows you to work at your own
pace, choosing to do more or less each day or week. Virtual schools use the pacing system to give
you a rough idea of where you should be at any given time. The computer doesn’t differentiate
between a Monday or a Saturday, September 25th or December 25th, it just knows the start date, end
date and the number of lessons in the class.
With that being said we do realize that many classes didn’t get started on time and some were without
teachers for a while. We also know that many feel as though the breaks are not really there. I want
you to know that we want EVERYONE to have breaks!
So, for that reason, over the next few weeks we will be going course by course to eliminate some
lessons and activities from each class. This will allow your student what is the equivalency of time
missed and allow for them to enjoy a much needed break. While this will help many students we do
know some are further behind than others and students may still need to work hard to complete
courses between now and January 29th. If you would like to continue with all content and not have
anything reduced, you may choose that option as well, you simply need to email me and we will not
reduce the lessons. No need to email me if you want the reduction as that is the status quo. This
process will take a while so please be patient as we work class by class to make this necessary
adjustment
We wanted to also let you know that for middle school students they will only be taking exams for
classes they are earning high school credits in ie Algebra 1. The rest of the exams will be removed to
match the same thing we do at Upton.
We are also going to be adding a Credit/No Credit option so that families can choose that rather than
taking a grade in a course due to so many struggles with the program.
We will continue to evaluate and work through issues as best that we can.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding as well as your partnership as we venture
through these uncharted waters in the first year of the program. Stay safe and have a great
Thanksgiving next week.
Andrew Pratley
Athletic News:
No updates from the MHSAA at this point.
Upcoming Events:
11/25 - 11/27 - Thanksgiving Break
11/30 - Monday - Remote Learning Schedule Resumes
