At St. Joseph High School, we offer a superior liberal arts education in grades nine through twelve, specializing in programs for students of varying abilities and interests. We provide a diverse curriculum, including a variety of Honors and Advanced Placement courses, with an emphasis in post-secondary preparation. St. Joseph High School’s broad selection of courses provides students ample opportunity to fulfill the Michigan Merit Curriculum and specialize in personal interests, while maintaining manageable class sizes and encouraging personal interaction between student and teacher.
St. Joseph High School enjoys strong community support, a high level of parental involvement, and a reputation of excellence in academics, the arts, athletics, and extra curricular activities with students gaining both state and national recognition in all of the fore mentioned areas. Our school has been accredited by the North Central Association for over 100 consecutive years; all of our teachers are highly-qualified and a majority hold Master’s Degrees or above.
We are indeed proud of our fine school, student body, staff, and community.
Jeffrey L. Runser
Principal
“Go Bears”
PRINCIPAL'S NEWS:
1. The Building Project has started. Phase 1 of the remodeling project is in process. Phase 1 will include a major portion of the central part of our building, including the following:
A new student center/cafeteria which incorporates the entire central court yard that used to align between the Principal's office and the Media Center. This will provide for 1/2 of our student population at a time to eat lunch and will also provide a wide open feeling within the building. A balcony at the front of the school and a balcony at the front of the Media Center will establish a quite impressive area of use within our school building.
A new Auditorium Lobby will be constructed in front of the existing Auditorium.
A new Main Office area will be constructed with prominent front entrance on the west side of the main level. This will include all Administration, Support Staff, Guidance, and School Nurse. Security entrances and energy efficiency are points of emphasis.
A new Band/Orchestra practice room will be constructed at the northwest corner of the Fine Arts practice area.
Classrooms attached to the center courtyard will be completely remodeled, new student furniture, and updated teacher presentation technology added.
Projected Completion of Phase 1 - January, 2013
2. Each year, public school students in grade 11 take the Michigan Merit Exam (MME). The Michigan State Board of Education recently approved new MME "cut scores" for Mathematics, Reading, Science and Social Studies. A cut score is the score that separates test takers into various categories, such as advanced, proficient, partially proficient and not proficient. The new cut scores are higher and "raise the bar" for our students. They are intended to be a better measure of student progress toward being career and college ready. While we anticipate an initial decline in the number of students reported as "proficient," we are confident this change will be temporary due to ongoing school improvement efforts and student support. We maintain high standards for our students and their test scores are consistently among the highest in the state. We anticipate this trend will continue even with the new cut scores. For more information visit: www.oaisd.org/statetests or http://1.usa.gov/statetests.
A current sports physical is required for any athlete to tryout, practice, or compete at the high school or middle school level. Once again, we are offering sports physicals at a discounted cost to parents. The dates for physicals are
Wednesday, May 29th
Monday, August 5th
Girls will start at 5:00; Boys will start at 6:00. FORMS SHOULD BE PICKED UP IN THE ATHLETIC OFFICE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL OR AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL OFFICE. FORMS REQUIRE PARENT SIGNATURES. Please bring medical insurance information.
Physicals will be performed by Dr. Chris Trigger and his associates from Lakeland Regional Hospital Emergency Room.
Cost is $30 for one child, $45 for 2 or more children in the same family.Checks should be made payable to ST. JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL.
Reserve your 2012-2013 Yearbook! An ‘early bird’ special of $55 ($60 with a name) is effective until Dec. 1. After December 1, books will cost $65 ($70 with a name). Order online at www.YearbookOrderCenter.com or call 1.866.287.3096. Our job number is 2940. Paper forms are also available in any HS office.
TARGET FUNDRAISER! Parents - a reminder local Target store has a School Fundraiser that is simple to use and provides the school much needed extra funding. Here's how it works: When parents, teachers and other school supporters use the REDcard, Target donates up to 1% of their purchases to the eligible K-12 school they designate. Each September, those funds are distributed to schools nationwide, including our High School. The Target Business Card saves you 5% on every shopping trip. Designate St. Joseph High School to help us out!
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