About Us

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of St. Joseph School is to teach as Jesus did, challenging students to embrace the gospel message, to achieve their academic best, and to make a positive difference in the world.

ACCREDITATION

St. Joseph School is accredited by the Kentucky Non-Public School Commission (KyNPSC) and the National Council for Private School Accreditation. During the 2011-2012 school year the faculty, staff, and school council conducted a year of self-study for recertification. In March of 2012 a site-visit was conducted by principals of other Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro.

In July of 2012 notification from the KyNPSC and the Kentucky Board of Education was received for full certification for SJS until 2017. The letter received stated: "During the accreditation site visit conducted this school year, your faculty, staff, students, parents and support community demonstrated their high caliber and dedication. It is apparent to our accreditation review committee that your school meets the highest standards in regard to providing a solid and full educational experience for your students."

CATHOLIC IDENTITY: SJS strives to teach as Jesus did, challenging students to embrace the gospel message......

Each February our 5^th and 8^th grade students take the NCEA Acre Test (Assessment of Catechesis / Religious Education).

This program was developed by the National Catholic Educational Association to:

• Serve as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of catechetical / religious education programs;
• Provide information about areas of strengths in catechetical / religious education programs as well as areas that may need additional attention or improvement;
• Offer a picture of where our 5^th and 8^th grade students are in terms of their basic religious knowledge;
• To assess the religious beliefs, attitudes, practices, andperceptions of students in these grades.

SJS scores in the Four Pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

5^th Grade Score Summary

8^th Grade Score Summary

Religious Education at SJS includes:

• Daily religion class based on Diocese of Owensboro Religious Education Curriculum
• Weekly Eucharistic celebration
• Celebration of the Holy Days of Obligation
• Morning assembly and prayer
• Classroom prayer and school-wide prayer services
• Integration of Catholic Christian Values into all subject areas
• "Prayer Days" / Retreats for each grade level
• Ministry formation by training students to be lectors, altarservers, and ministers of music
• Catholic traditions of praying the Rosary and Stations of the Cross
• Communal Penance services for our students
• Blessing of the Pets
• Service projects to help the school, parishes, community

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: SJS strives to challenge our students to achieve their academic best......

SJS follows The Diocese of Owensboro Curriculum Guidelines: The curriculum framework reflects goals, state and national standards and assessment strategies for instructional purposes. The curriculums are designed to develop the individual student's abilities, interests and talents in order to enable the students to assume responsibility to self, home, community, and the world.

The Diocesan Curriculum covers Language Arts, Mathematics, Religion, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, Technology, and Spanish. Each subject area is revised on a 5 year cycle.

At SJS we have weekly classes with teachers certified inthese areas for library science, computer education, music, art, and physical education.

During the spring semester each year the preschool teachers administer the Scholastic Kindergarten Readiness Test to all of our Four-year old preschoolers and then conference with each child's parents to discuss the results.

In the spring of 2010 St. Joseph Preschool had an OUTSTANDING100% of students who scored at "Above Average" and "Average" readiness levels. Nationwide, only 78% of students scored Above Average and Average. As well, St. JosephPreschool amazingly had 0 students who scored "Marginally Ready" and "Not Ready", compared with the National Average of 22% who were Marginally Ready and Not Ready.

St. Joseph School and all Catholic schools in the Diocese of Owensboro administered the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for the first time in April of 2010. This comprehensive and rigorous test is used to measure the skills of our students while allowing us to compare our performance to the performance of students throughout thecountry.

The scores are reported in percentiles. A percentile shows the percentage of students who fell below a particular score on the test. For example, a percentile of 75 would show that the average student in our school scored equal to or better than 75 percent of all students who took the test. These scores are for the testing that was completed in April of 2010.

In December our 8^th grade students took the Explore Test. Exploreis part of the college readiness program for 8^th and 9^th graders from the publishers of the ACT test. ACT conducts national studies in which the EXPLORE tests areadministered to 8^th-grade and 9^th-grade students in schools across the US. Data from the study are used to create norms, or cumulative percents. The following chart shows our current 8^th grade scores and a comparison with the national norms. The scores reported are scale scores that range from a low of 1 to a high of 25.

SERVICE, LEADERSHIP, TALENTS: SJS strives to challengeour students to make a positive difference in the world (their school, parish, community)......

Co-Curricular, Extra-Curricular, Student Services that help our students to build leadership and enhance their gifts and talents:

• National and Presidential Physical Fitness program
• Accelerated Reader
• Duke University 4 ^th Grade and 7^th Grade Talent Search
• Knights of Columbus Flag Day Essay Contest
• The President's Award for Educational Excellence and Educational Achievement
• Knights of Columbus Citizenship Award
• Title One and Resource Program for students needing extrahelp in core subjects
• Speech Therapy
• LaConnexion: After School Homework Help for ESL students
• Quick Recall and Academic Teams
• Speech Team and Drama Club
• Future Problem Solving Team
• Kentucky Youth Assembly
• Student Council Executive Committee
• Band and Choir
• Christmas Program at VanMeter Auditorium
• Spring Art & Music Programs
• Middle School "House" System
• Lectoring at School Masses
• Altar Servers
• Music ministers for school masses
• Safety Patrol
• Library Club
• 4-H
• Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts
• Cheerleading
• Cross Country
• Volleyball
• Basketball
• Soccer
• Yearbook
• Spelling Bee & Geography Bee
• Honor Roll
• Halloween Talent Show
• Junior Achievement
• Country Peddler "Design an Ad"
• Service Projects:
• Food Drives for St. Vincent DePaul
• Christmas Toy Drive for St. Vincent DePaul
• Talent Show (money raised for charity)
• Placemats for Holy Spirit Koinonia Retreat
• St. Jude Math-a-thon
• St. Joseph Church Clean-Up program
• School Grounds Clean-Up Program
• School-wide Recycling
• Letters, Cards, and Care Packages for Troops
• Christmas Caroling to Shut-Ins
• Delivery of meals for the Interfaith M.E.A.L.S. Program
• School Supplies collection for Diocese of Mandeville in Jamaica
• Reading Buddies
• American Cancer Society "Relay for Life"
• Delivering treats and cards to neighbors around the school
• Family Enrichment Center "Buckets of Hope"
• Backpacks for Barren River Area Safe Space
• Letters and Cards to parishioners in nursing homes

TOP 10 REASONS TO CHOOSE ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL

1. Catholic tradition and a faith-based education
2. Academic excellence with a challenging curriculum
3. Emphasis on moral development, service to others and leadership skills
4. Strong preparation for further education
5. Safe and disciplined environment
6. Exceptional faculty and staff who help students reach their highest potential
7. Individualized attention (low pupil/teacher ratio)
8. A caring environment with a family atmosphere
9. Commitment to technology use to enhance education
10. Good stewardship of resources