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Keep The Bell Ringing 2024

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F.A.C.E.S.

Since 1923, St. Joseph Mission School shares the gospel of hope through Faith, Academics, Culture, Environment, and Service. Through our Catholic Faith and local traditions we strive to encourage the love of learning, with respect and dignity for all, and help students develop their skills to become courageous in our local communities and beyond.

The purpose of St. Joseph Mission School is to bring the message of Jesus to all peoples. "To love each other as he loves us". This core message is lived out in the daily activities and life of the school, especially in the practice and instruction of our faith.

Specifically, we do this in the following practices:

Begin each day with student led morning prayer
Daily reflection in the classroom through journaling and words of the day
Weekly Mass every Tuesday morning
Religious instruction in all grades using the series Be My Disciple
Sacramental preparation classes for First Communion and Reconciliation
Advent and Lenten Reconciliation services
Learning to pray and lead the Rosary and other Catholic prayers
Participation in the local village feast days
Involving our students in the Sunday liturgies of their local churches
Preparing and presenting the annual Christmas program.

FAITH

"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."
- Francis of Assisi

ACADEMICS

"Tell me & I forget, Teach me & I may remember. Involve me & I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin

The goal of St. Joseph Mission School is to form individuals that are life-long learners and who demonstrate responsibility for his or her learning. This begins with the primary grades and creating basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic. Once the love of learning has been created, each student is directed to solve problems through critical thinking in order to explain the strategies used. Specifically, St. Joseph's implements this process through the following activities:

Diocese of Gallup Catholic Schools Curriculum Standards
Into Math Curriculum
Journey's Language Arts Curriculum
Accelerated Reading and Math Program
Quarterly Assessments using STAR Math and STAR Reading
During school year students read over 2,500 books through our on-site Library Program
Participation in the Annual Spelling Bee and Science Fair
Specialized support from Math and Reading Interventionists
Tuition-free four week Summer Program to address learning loss
Title I program

St. Joseph Mission School has been part of a rich cultural heritage for the past 91 years. The combined traditions of Acoma, Laguna, Hispanic, Basque, German, Lebanese and Anglo are reflected in the diversity of our historical school. The gift of our different traditions helps us to see the face of God in each other and in turn unites us in values we hold to sacred in our Creator and His Son Jesus. We support the cultures of our area by the following activities:

Each person will respect the traditions of another culture
Recognize and celebrate the Feast Days of each community
Incorporate local traditions in the life of the school
Promote the different languages of each community
Invite traditional and local leaders to speak about local tradition

CULTURE

"The cross-cultural nature of the Catholic Church and the duty of Catholics to work toward cultural harmony suggests that Catholic educational leaders should make every effort to increase cultural awareness."
- Vatican II

ENVIRONMENT

"Nurturing and cherishing creation is a command God gives not only at the beginning of history, but to each of us. It is part of his plan; it means causing the world to grow responsibly, transforming it so that it may be a garden, a habitable place for everyone.”
- Pope Francis

In the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi we are called to know God through his creation. Francis called all living things his brother and sister as found n the Canticle of the Sun. At St. Joseph we strive to learn how we are connected to the environment. Specifically we do this through the following activities:

Annual school garden
Seeds planted in the classroom during the winter
Seedlings planted in the school garden during spring
Vegetables and fruits harvested in fall
Children learn about Acequia Culture of farming
Acoma and Laguna traditional leaders speak about the environment
Children learn how fresh produce, produce healthy minds and bodies

The children of St. Joseph School come to learn that how we mature as young people depends how we are able to serve others. Service demonstrates to the world community that we can make a difference in the lives of other people and nature, which in turns builds self-confidence that is necessary for maturity. Service leads our children into leadership on all levels of society. We teach that service begins:

When they themselves are responsible for all of their actions
Helping out with chores at home without complaint
Being prepared for all classes with completion of classroom assignments
Helping out their schoolmates when they are struggling
Visiting our local nursing homes
Helping out with community projects such as Earth Day

SERVICE

"Christ leads us to go out from ourselves more and more, to give ourselves and to serve others."
-Pope Francis

Important Links

+ FNS Nondiscrimination Statement: www.fns.usda.gov/civil-rights/usda-nondiscrimination-statement-other-fns-programs

+ FNS Nondiscrimination Statement (SPANISH VERSION): www.fns.usda.gov/es/civil-rights/usda-nondiscrimination-statement-other-fns-programs

+ LEP/ADA (Accessibility Assistance): fns-tagline-translations-022724.pdf