"For ​three weeks in June many students came back to St. Joseph Mission School to continue their learning through project base lessons. These lessons were designed to use all of their senses of sight, taste, feel, hearing, and smell.  What better way then to have classes outside in our local area.  We didn’t need a trip to the Grand Canyon, instead our students visited Guadalupe Vineyards, San Jose de la Cienega Reservoir, San Jose Acequia system as well as the outdoor experience of school itself. Student learning was project based within our local watershed in San Fidel.   This meant that our pupils went from classroom learners to research scientists making observations of the ecosystems along the acequia/ditch in San Fidel, figuring out calculations of water flows, different plant heights, and measurements of different soil levels in the arroyos.

When they were at Guadalupe Vineyards they were able to take water samples from the irrigation pond and under the microscope were able to discover animal life as small organisms that helped in the biosphere of birds, reptiles and insects...  Outdoor learning show students how water brings all types of life to a given area.   

When the students went to the San Fidel reservoir they learned about the history of how the community built a 10 acre reservoir to help plant crops.  Leon Tafoya, mayordomo of the Acequia, spoke about water as sacred for all communities. So instead of taking pictures of the area, students were asked to draw and paint pictures of what they saw.  In drawing the pictures of trees, insects, water, plants, land formations and sky, students imprinted the images in their hearts. From knowledge at a clinical level they moved their knowledge to an artistic level of meaning...

...Students were treated to a beehive demonstration by one of our local villagers. Marty Vigil, who lives up the road from the school, was more than happy to bring one contained bee hive and show the students the miracles of bees who pollinate all the flowers and fruit trees in the world as well as produce food in the honey we eat and the wax for the candles we use.  Students learned that bees like water are necessary for the survival of the world.
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At the end of the Summer program students gave presentations in a program called University Day.  Students led these presentations as if they were professors at a College or University . As budding artists, poets, writers, and scientists they were now becoming instructors with their knowledge and wanted to share with their fellow students, friends and families. They were now teachers. The success of any school is when a student is able to articulate what they have learned and share it with the world.  And so, our summer program at St. Joseph Mission School was truly a success that many of students shared knowledge that many people who came to listen learned through the minds of our children professors..."

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​We are looking towards crowd sourcing support and ideas to more impactfully celebrate our 100 year anniversary of the school’s founding. 

In July 2022, we held a small gathering with a dinner, live band and door prizes. 
Are you registered with the school as an alumni? Want to hear about more event like this? Please fill out the following form, so we can gather interest for another event we can hold.

​The weekend of the gala is filled with fond gatherings of supporters to the school, and the finishing up of the final logistics of the event. It is a very prayer filled event, as this year the event fell on the Feast Day of St Hildegard and also of St Robert Bellarmine, two of our doctors of the Church. 

The nature of the event is to have a night dedicated to telling the story of the school, sharing our successes and also our needs, so as to be able to request monetary support for our students and the future of the school. We could never have envisioned that the event would become so beloved so as to be regarded as an annual community tradition, for beloved patrons to meet and share the impacts of this school. 

St Joseph Mission School holds the charism of being a school of the heart. Our mission as a Catholic school extends beyond sisters and brothers of a common spirituality, and reaches into the interest and dedication of so many as we recognize we live in a world that we desire to be more kind, more just, and more peaceful. 

Thank you from the 2022 Gala Committee, we are so grateful for the support at our 12th Annual Gala Under the Stars at St. Joseph Mission School. We enjoyed an in-person event of guests that participated in a silent auction, live bid auction, and raffle events. Further, we extended the festivities for asynchronous participation through silent auction bidding on our event website. 
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A special message from our Committee Chair, Penni Lovesee: “I am so happy with the patrons who continually attend and support the annual gala. Our 12th 'Night Under the Stars' was a huge success due to our generous patrons & fabulous Gala Team! Looking forward to the 13th Annual Gala celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of St. Joseph’s Mission School. God Bless.”