Purpose & Function:
The purpose and function of the St. Joseph School Board is as follows:

• The School Board is by its nature advisory to the Pastor. The function of the School Board shall be a means for the exercise of shared responsibility for the mission of Catholic education, within the context of the parish mission, at St. Joseph School, and to provide leadership, assistance, and support for the school in the fulfillment of its mission as a center of quality Catholic education.

• Mission Statement: adoption of the School's mission statement, and periodic review of its operational validity.
• Policy: the development, and adoption and review of policy for the school, as needed, within the framework of archdiocesan policy.
• Planning: the development and regular updating of a five year plan for the school; annual goal setting for the School and for the Board. The long-range plan should follow the guidelines of the Office of Catholic Schools.
• Development/Advancement: the formulation and implementation of a Development program for the school following archdiocesan guidelines, and in cooperation with the Office of Catholic Schools.
• Budget: adopting and monitoring the School's operational budget, according to the format specified by the Office of Catholic Schools; reviewing periodic reports from the Principal on the implementation of the budget.
• Appointment of the Principal: when a vacancy occurs, recommending to the Pastor from the diocesan-approved candidates the appointment of the Principal.
• Evaluation: systematically evaluating the School's mission statement, goals, and school policies; the Principal; the Board itself.

MEMBERSHIP: The School Board shall consist of no fewer than nine and no more than fifteen members. Consideration is given to diversity of membership (current parents, alumni, parishioners).

MEETINGS: School Board meetings are held on a monthly basis. Meeting times and locations are noted on the monthly School Calendar. Members of the school community may attend school board meetings. To participate in the school board meetings, the request (indicating the proposed agenda item) must be provided to and approved by the Principal and/or School Board Chairperson in advance of the meeting.

The 2012-2013 Meetings will be held:

• August 27, 2012
• September 24, 2012
• October 22, 2012
• November 26, 2012
• January 28, 2013
• February 25, 2013
• March 18, 2013
• April 29, 2013
• May 20, 2013

A Chance to Get Involved in 2012-2013

The SJS School Board has formalized 5 Sub-Committees and is seeking volunteer members from the school family community to partner with faculty and school board members.

Below you’ll find a brief description of each sub-committee. Meetings will begin in October and the number of meetings/annual time commitment will vary by committee. NOTE: If needed, activity points will be awarded for the volunteer hours spent working on sub-committee activities/projects.
 
If interested in joining, please return the form below prior to October 12^th. You will be contacted by October 22^nd with information about your sub-committee.

Proposed Sub-Committees:

Development/Advancement:

• Assist in Annual Appeal mailing/follow up
• Work with Alumni base to develop Special School/Alumni events, including the annual Spring Alumni Mass & Reception
• Develop target donors for SJS Endowment Fund
• Assist with “Founders Group” initiative

• Promote SJS to the local community through targeted press releases/articles in local papers
• Assist in publication of The Guardian (3 issues: Summer, Fall/Winter, Spring)
• Continue to develop SJS website as a marketing/information tool

• Develop comprehensive physical plant audit and multiple year plans to maintain/improve school physical plant. Committee findings will be incorporated into school budget and 5 year strategic plan.

• Assist in development of recruitment and retention plan and activities for SJS
• Develop R&R calendar for the year including various Open Houses, Orientation programs and Special Events (Children’s Parade, Chamber Home Shows, Parish Food Festival)
• Place follow up calls to prospective families and act as Guardian Angels to new families

• Offer feedback on proposed curriculum changes/enhancements
• Research grant opportunities to support new initiatives
• Continue to develop Enrichment opportunities within school community
• Develop Professional Development opportunities for Faculty/Staff

• Fr. Joe DiSciacca, Priest Director, Ex-Officio
• Mark Monnerat, Principal, Executive Director
• Robin Chiasson, Chairperson
• Terese Carlozzi, Member
• Mary Fortier, Member
• Sue Gozzo-Andrews, Member
• Mary Lathrop, Member
• Irene Melasky, Member
• Sammy Vasile, Member
• Brian Brady, Pastoral Council Representative
• Tom Courtemanche, President, Home & School Association
• Mike Samartino, CPA, Financial Advisor
• Lisa Nappi, SJS Director of Development

SJS FACTS

The past two years have been challenging years, not only for SJS but for all parochial elementary schools in the Hartford Diocese. In the face of these challenges, the St. Joseph School Community remains strong and optimistic. A few things to note:

This year Panther PRIDE is evident! Science is in the spotlight this year, with a school-wide field trip to the newly opened CT Science Museum in October and the Science Showcase Science Fair in February.

SJS continued to offer Spanish language instruction in grades Grade 6-8, with introduction to Spanish offered to grades 4 and 5. French also continued to be offered as an additional option to 7 th & 8 th grade students.

The Home & School Association and Scrip program remain strong and are on track to achieve the annual goals set for them.

SJS continues to experience stability in faculty staffing and student enrollment. Overall the school is “balanced” Pre-K to 8 th grade with enrollment spread fairly evenly among individual grades; Pre K (16%), Primary K-5 grades (59%) and Middle School grades 6-8 (25%).

Development efforts are starting to take hold. Last year was a banner year with over $50,000 raised in donations, matching grants and gifts of textbooks and classroom furniture. An annual Alumni Mass and a Founders Group was established. To date, the Annual Fund for 2009-10 has raised over $10,000 with more than five months of the Appeal campaign remaining.

SJS received a HOPES grant from the Archdiocese in 2009 and 8 SMART boards are now utilized in the classrooms as a result of this award.

SJS has received $25,000 in tuition assistance monies each year from the Archdiocese. Additionally, an alumni bequest received in late 2009 will allow SJS to provide an additional $10,000 in tuition assistance to families for 2010-2011. SJS continues to be well positioned to provide tuition assistance to our school families.

Two scholarships will continue to be given to offset tuition costs in the 2010-2011 year. The Paulette Theriault Scholarship (given to two 7 th graders entering 8 th grade) and the Fr. McDonald scholarship (to be given to two 5 th grade students entering 6 th grade) will be awarded at the June 2010 Home & School meeting.

Continued challenges remain in controlling costs outside of the control of the school; these costs include utility and fuel costs and employee benefit costs. The start of physical plant improvements to the bathrooms and the replacement of the front entrance roof are scheduled to be completed by the end of August 2010.

Based on an operating budget of just over $1,100,000, and current K-8 enrollment of 202, the actual cost to educate a student at St. Joseph School in 2009-10 was $5,033 per student , compared to the parishioner tuition rate of $2,895 . The difference continues to be subsidized by Home & School fundraising, development activities, and parish, alumni/friend and Archdiocesan support.

The most important goal of the SJS School Board continues to be ensuring the financial stability of St. Joseph School, while maintaining strong enrollment.

The tuition schedule for 2010-11 is published and available here . You'll note that the parishioner tuition rate for one child in 2010-11 will be $2,995 (an increase of approximately 3% or $100). A sibling credit of $200 will apply to families who have both a child in PreK and a child in the primary grades. For those who have more than one child in PreK, a credit of 10% of the PreK tuition rate will apply for the second PreK child (similar to the credit available to families with more than one child in the primary grades).

The Activity Fee of $250 and Scrip gift card fundraising amount of $150 will not change.

If you know that your family is not going to be able to volunteer 50 hours and/or earn the $150 scrip credit, please check the appropriate boxes on the tuition agreement to have these amounts included in your tuition payment. Your family's only required participation will then be the annual Spring Raffle.

A Tuition Assistance application for any family that would like to apply is enclosed. The deadline is April 1, 2010 . Any questions can be directed to the school office.

The registration deposit and tuition is non-refundable . The $100 deposit is will continue to be applied to your total tuition and is shown as a credit on the tuition statement.

Deadline for registration is Friday, March 5, 2010 . Please return the completed tuition agreement and $100 registration deposit prior to this date so that planning for the 2010-11 year can be completed.

Members of the School Board will be at the March 1 st Home & School Meeting at 7 pm in Guild Hall . Please plan to attend this meeting if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued commitment to Catholic Education and St. Joseph School!

Sincerely,

The SJS School Board