GRADES SERVED:Grades K-8

Full and half-day PreschoolHalf-day Junior Kindergarten

FOUNDED:1952

ACCREDITATIONMANS/MNSAA

SPONSORING PARISHES:St. Joseph Catholic Church

Christ the Redeemer Church

2017-18 ENROLLMENT:355

AVERAGE CLASS SIZE:18

CURRICULUM: Religion, English, Literature,

Math, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, Music, Art, Library/Media Arts, Computer

Technology, Spanish, STEM

CYO SPORTS OFFERED:Volleyball, football, boys basketball girls basketball, baseball, softball

ALL-SCHOOL MASS:Weekly

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A Message From Our PrincipalDear Friends,

I am delighted to share with you St. Joseph School’s 2018 An-nual Report. I hope you’ll find it to be a well-rounded view of the wonderful things happening in our school and a product of our mission – to be guided in faith, strengthened by prayer, and committed to academic excellence.

In this report, you will find plenty of quantitative data – test scores, enrollment figures, extracurricular offerings, and so on – so I want to make sure before you get to that, you get a taste of the qualitative data that don’t show up in statistics. While it’s hard to describe in words, the feeling of faith and family in the hallways at St. Joseph is almost palpable. Whether it’s praying together as a school community at the beginning and end of each day, attending Mass each week, working together in charity efforts, or simply showing one another the love of Christ in the small moments of each day, the Scripture that says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their presence,” is proven continually at St. Joseph School.

This year, we are proud to commemorate our 66th year of de-livering Christ-centered education that fosters development of the whole child – body, mind, and spirit. As we look back at where we’ve been, around at where we are, and forward at what is ahead, the words of St. Paul come to mind: “I am con-fident of this – that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

May God bless all who partner with St. Joseph School in rais-ing up a new generation of joyful, missionary disciples.

Sincerely,

Joe Zmikly, Principal

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TPoints of PrideSTEMSt. Joseph School is in the second year of a new K-8 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program. All elementary students go to STEM class twice per week, and middle school students take STEM elective classes, based in part on Project Lead the Way’s (PLTW) nationally-recognized curriculum. Students as young as kindergarteners learn computer coding, engineering concepts, and robotics – and they love it! The goal of this program is to help our students use what they’ve learned in their academic classes and apply and synthesize this learning in unpredictable, real-world situations. In addition to the academic learning that takes place in STEM class, these learning opportunities build important “soft skills” that apply beyond the classroom – critical thinking, problem-solving, perseverance, collaborating, risk-taking, imagination, and curiosity.

Preschool OfferingsWe’re very proud of our outstanding preschool program, which has continued to grow year after year. It has grown so much, in fact, that the 2016-17 school year marked an expansion beyond our St. Joseph campus, to a satellite classroom at Christ the Redeemer, our sister parish in Lake Orion. This expansion allows us to welcome even more of God’s precious children into our St. Joseph School family. At our St. Joseph Campus, we offer full-day preschool up to five days per week, and at our Christ the Redeemer Campus, we offer traditional half-day preschool and half-day Junior Kindergarten. Our goal for all our preschoolers is to prepare them socially and academically to exceed expectations in kindergarten at St. Joseph School in a fun, faith-cen-tered, nurturing environment.

Technology in the ClassroomIt is one of St. Joseph School’s aims to continue to be a leader among schools in the area with regard to educational technology. Last year, we completed a four-year 1:1 Technology Initiative, where each stu-dent is issued a school-owned iPad. To implement the use of these devices in the classroom, several teachers attend the MACUL (Michi-gan Association for Computer Users in Learning) Conference and re-ceive yearly training. Next year, we will begin to offer online classes for middle school electives through Oxford Virtual Academy. One of our school’s future goals is to attain “Apple Distinguished School” status, which fewer than ten schools in the state of Michigan have achieved. Our vision is to help our students become the “best version of them-selves” in a 21st Century learning environment.

“Unleash the Gospel”Last spring, our school finalized its plan to “Unleash the Gospel,” the mission given to us by our Archbishop Allen Vigneron, by completing our most recent five-year strategic plan. Our team, comprised of our pastor, our principal, parents, teachers, and parish members, centered every discussion around the Archbishop’s pastoral letter, which sets the direction for the future of the Church in Southeast Michigan. Our goal is to continue the excellence of St. Joseph School, producing joy-ful and faith-filled disciples of Christ who achieve in the classroom and in life, as we live out our mission to be a “Catholic community that is guided in faith, strengthened by prayer, and committed to academic excellence.”

Standardized Testing Iowa Test of Basic Skills – 8th Grade Profile

St. Joseph School, along with all other Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic schools, takes the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). The test is given annually during the first two weeks of October. Students’ scores are compared to a sample of scores from across the country (the norming group) to calculate a national percentile ranking (NPR). An NPR of 50 means the student is exactly average, scoring better than half of the norming group and worse than half the norming group. Based on the content of the test questions, a grade equivalency (GE) is also calculated and reported in a “year.month” format. For example, an 8.2 GE would mean 8th grade, 2nd month. The scores listed here show the 8th grade class’s progress over a four-year period by comparing their scores on each test they’ve taken since 5th grade. This line graph (in black) is juxtaposed with a line graph (in gray) indicating the national average scores of other students who took the same test. St. Joseph School does not participate in the M-STEP, so it is not possible to offer a comparison between neighboring public schools. However, school faculty examines the Iowa results carefully to continuously improve instructional practice and coordinate student support where indicated.

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MatriculationSJS Class of 2018

31 8th-grade SJS graduates now attend:

Notre Dame Preparatory (10)

Oxford High School (6)

St. Mary’s Preparatory (5)

Everest Collegiate (3)

Lake Orion High School (2)

Marian High School (2)

Academy of the Sacred Heart (1)

Brother Rice High School (1)

Flint Powers High School (1)

We are immensely proud of our newest alumni and pray that God will bless their lives, their families and their future academic endeavors.

Co-Curricular/Extra-Curricular

ActivitiesBand

Battle of the BooksBoy/Girl Scouts

Chess ClubChoir

Destination ImaginationGirls on the Run

International ClubFIRST Team Robotics

Youth GroupNational Junior Honor Society

Safety PatrolScrapbooking Club

Spirit SquadSpring Musical Play

Student CouncilWriter’s Club

Winner’s Circle

AthleticsBOyS Gr. 5-8 (CyO):

FootballCross Country

BasketballBaseball

GirlS Gr. 5-8 (CyO): Volleyball

Cross CountryBasketball

Softball

BOyS & GirlS Gr. 3-4:Basketball (instructional)

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