St. Joseph School - Amherst, OH at 175 St. Joseph Dr., Amherst, OH 44001st US

History.....Facilities.....Programs

Now in its 125th anniversary, St. Joseph School is proud of its reputation for academic excellence and strong family values.

We offer classes for grades one through eight with full-time kindergarten and preschool for three- and four-year-olds. Daycare is also available to working parents. Our campus includes a new science lab, two computer labs, a 7,000-volume library and Accelerated Reader computer program, a chapel, interactive whiteboards in every classroom, and a wireless computer network.

COURSEWORK

St. Joseph School is fully accredited and follows the course of study mandated by both the State of Ohio and the Diocese of Cleveland. In addition to our core curriculum we offer advanced courses in language arts in our Quest program for high achievers and in junior high algebra. Spanish is taught as a foreign language in all grades, and tutoring is available in instrumental music. Our choral music program also features student performances on recorders and Orff instruments.
An extension of our health curriculum is our Mental Wellness Program, which provides weekly classroom visits by a licensed social worker from the county mental health board. All subjects are integrated into our technology curriculum with weekly classes in computer.

ENRICHMENT

        Our core curriculum is enriched by band concerts, an art show, and a science fair that give students a showcase for their talents. National programs such as the Jason Project, the Stock Market Game, Junior Great Books, Young Authors, and Newspapers in Education augment our course of study. Guest speakers and performers range from bluegrass bands to scientists from NASA.
      Field trips are also part of our school’s enrichment agenda with travel to zoos, science and art museums, live theater performances, historical villages, Washington D.C., and the Gettysburg National Military Park.
    National and international commemorations bring our entire school body together to celebrate International Peace Day, Constitution Day, and a variety of patriotic and holy days.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

At St. Joseph School we believe that a well-rounded student has the opportunity to explore his or her scholarship, creativity, and physical talent through extracurricular activities. We sponsor an award-winning Academic Team, Student Council which inspires students to leadership, Drama Club now in its eighth season of production, Storytelling Club which focuses on oral recitation, Book Club for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders with a special Family Book Night during Right-to-Read Week, Spanish Club, a student newspaper, and twelve CYO sports for both boys and girls.

AWARDS

Our academic achievements are reflected in the percentage of our graduating eighth graders who received Presidential Awards for Educational Excellence and Achievement in the past three years: 100% in 2007, 79% in 2006, and 93% in 2005.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of St. Joseph School is to educate and develop the whole child: spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially within a Catholic environment centered on Christ’s values of love, truth and service. To that end our religious education begins with daily religion classes and weekly school Masses.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Students are also encouraged to think beyond their school community by offering their service in programs at migrant meals centers, homeless shelters, local nursing homes, and in classroom drives to collect food and toys during the holidays. Each class also completes a special project, such as a cleanup day in a metro park, partnering with inner-city schools, and sending packages to our military in Iraq and an orphanage in El Salvador.

STAFF

Our teaching staff consists of certified classroom teachers, special subject teachers (music, art, physical education, Spanish, library, and technology), part-time aides (preschool, kindergarten, and first grade), and auxiliary tutors (speech, math, and language arts). Our school is supported by an active volunteer program, a Parent Club, and a Principal’s Advisory Council.
St. Joseph School is a fusion of dedicated teachers, supportive parents, and hardworking students all involved in strong academics, state-of-the art technology, creative extracurriculars and religion-based values. The result is best expressed in our school motto, "Journey with Us in Spirituality and Scholarship.”

HISTORY

Our parish school was established in1883, with new facilities built in 1924 and 1956 and extensive remodeling in 2006. Beginning in 2007 St. Joseph Parish was included in a cluster of parishes that includes the villages of Amherst, South Amherst, Oberlin and Wellington. We welcome students from all these areas.

TECHNOLOGY

St. Joseph School has outstanding technoloy faciities. Recent upgrades include laptop computers, interactive whiteboards called ActiveBoards in every classroom, and a wireless networking and connection to the internet. With a ratio of one computer for every 2.5 students, our faculty is able to teach keyboarding, deskptop publishing, graphic design, internet research, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadheets, and digital photography and editing.
Available to staff and students are color printers, digital cameras, video cameras, projectors, flash memory drives, scanners and electronic keyboards.

LIBRARY

The SJS Library welcomes students with rocking chairs, floor pillows, and study tables. It has over 7,000 books, including picture books, easy readers, general fiction, biography and nonfiction. We also subscribe to 10 magazines and have 120 sets of books for reading classes and our Book Clubs. These sets of books are also shared with other Catholic schools in Lorain County through our Share-A-Book Program. Our Accelerated Reader computerized testing program has over 2,300 tests.

St. Joseph School - Amherst, OH at 175 St. Joseph Dr., Amherst, OH 44001st US - History.....Facilities.....Programs