“Catholic Schools afford the fullest and best opportunity to realize the fourfold purpose of Christian education, namely to provide an atmosphere in which the Gospel message is proclaimed, community in Christ is experienced, service to our sisters and brothers is the norm and worship of God is cultivated.” USCCB 2005
From the principal’s desk…
St. Joseph Catholic School was founded in 1950 with the mission of offering a Catholic education which incorporates faith, academic excellence and service. We proudly continue this mission for our students and their families.
Catholic schools are not like public schools, nor are we like private schools. Catholic parents and teachers know and understand the link between faith and education. We know that our actions and words serve more than our personal needs and wants. Catholic schools exist for and within a community far beyond the schoolyard. At SJS we are forming children who will serve as the parents, teachers and leaders in tomorrow’s world.
SJS students consistently score highly on Catholic High School entrance tests, annual standardized tests and are accepted at the very best colleges and universities. Results also show that the longer a child attends SJS the better the trajectory of these scores. Our children perform strongly against other Catholic elementary schools in academic and sports competitions. We offer a range of after school sports through CYO as well as Music and other after school activities that is unavailable in other school systems. Simply put, SJS students do more and go farther!
The USCCB document “Renewing our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium” explained what investing in a Catholic school means:
- Closing the gap for poor and minority students
- A lower drop-out rate (3.4%) than both public (14.4%) and private schools (11.9%)
- 99% of Catholic High School students graduate
- 97% of Catholic High School students go on to post secondary education
A study by Harvard University reported that Catholic school students outperform all other students on the three basic objectives of civic education, the capacity for civic engagement, political knowledge, and tolerance. We are the volunteers in community service, we use our learning and civic skills, and we respect the opinions of others.
So, when we choose Catholic school it is not just selecting another school. We are blessed here at SJS that we have deep roots, our traditions and our heritage. We at SJS school are indebted to this community for the continued support of the students and families. We are confident that with this support we are securing a bright future both for these children and our society.
