NOTES FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents,
Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed time with your family and friends celebrating the birth of Christ and ringing in the new year.
Our first all-school Mass of 2022 was an extraordinary occasion. Fr. John Nahrgang from the Diocese of Phoenix concelebrated today’s Mass with Fr. Manasseh and focused on the origins and blessings of The Miraculous Medal. The entire student body, staff, and parents were thoroughly engaged as Fr. John recited historical events associated with Sr. Catherine Laboure. Just prior to the final blessing, Fr. John, Fr. Manasseh, Deacon Ed, and Mrs. Bescak presented every person in attendance with their very own blessed Miraculous Medal! What an unbelievable way to cap our first all-school Mass of the new year.
After careful consideration, I am also very pleased to announce that I have hired Mrs. Madeline Snyder as a Preschool 3s Teacher. Madeline will work alongside Mrs. Krissy Bileski and together they will provide a quality Catholic Education to our littlest learners.
Next week we will be back to business with benchmark testing. Our K - 2nd-grade students will begin DIBELS assessments in Reading and Math while 3rd - 8th-grade students will complete MAP assessments in Math, Reading, ELA, and Science. Please make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and is on time for school each day.
Finally, we continue to monitor the trends of COVID within our SJB community and surrounding areas. I want to express my appreciation to all in our community for your support and participation in our current mitigation plans as we await further information from the Maricopa County Health Department and the Diocese of Phoenix. In the meantime, we highly recommend ALL individuals wear a mask while indoors at all times. And we are grateful to parents for keeping children home with any signs of illness; this has proven to be a very effective mitigation strategy.
Joyful blessings,
Jamie Bescak, Principal
Do everything in love.
SCHOOL NEWS
Thank you SJB Families ❤
On behalf of the SJB school office personnel, please know how grateful we are for your generous Christmas gift. We were positively overwhelmed by this show of kindness for us behind-the-scenes worker bees. Such a gesture was totally unnecessary but thoroughly appreciated. May God bless you abundantly!
2021 Christmas Program Lives On
Thank you for attending SJB’s Christmas Program. To enjoy it again or download it, click the following link: Christmas Program 2021.
Best of Ahwatukee Survey
Please show your support for St. John Bosco Preschool and Teacher/Librarian extraordinaire Mrs. Harvey! (#83 & #85 on the list of survey items). VOTE SJB for Best Preschool and Mrs. Harvey for Best Teacher. Vote every day through February 1 using this link: Best of Ahwatukee Survey No registration needed to start voting now.
Nurse’s Notes
Welcome back! It's been a busy first week with robust germs flying around in this cold weather. The good news is that the children are wearing their masks and drinking lots of water. The bad news is that our supplies of both are depleted. As such, we would be truly grateful for any donations of masks (adult and child), water, and children's ibuprofen.
FYI: Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA will be hosting a COVID-19 vaccine event on Monday January 24th. This event is FREE and open to the public. The following vaccines will be available: Pediatric Pfizer (5-11 years old), Pfizer (12 years or older), Moderna (18 years and older), boosters and flu vaccines. Minors 5 -17 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. No appointments are needed; walk-ins are welcome. Please see attached flyer for more information or call Maricopa C.A.R.E.S at 602-506-6767 with any questions. FREE VACCINE EVENT
Below is a snapshot of COVID-19 since Nov. 19th. Please Note: Data was not collected between Dec. 3 and Jan. 7.
Save the Date: February 26, 2022
Bosco Gala: “Celebrating 20 years of Academic Excellence, Faith and Service”
One of the most exciting events here at St. John Bosco is approaching! The 20th Annual Bosco Gala will be held at Four Points by Sheraton off Elliot & 48th Street. Our silent auction will open on Monday, February 21 and run throughout the live event on February 26. Stay tuned for more details and a link to purchase tickets in the next Bulldog Bite.
It takes our whole community to make this event a success! We are looking for live and silent auction items. Do you own a business, know a celebrity, or have an item, timeshare/vacation home, sports tickets, or gift cards that you would like to contribute? Please reach out to Erin Gonzales; you will receive 1 service hour for each $10 donated.
You may also purchase Scrip gift cards to help fund our event; you will earn service hours AND Scrip dollars. Please click this link to sign up to purchase via the Raise Right App.
2022 Extra-Curricular Fun
The new year has ushered in a plethora of after-school clubs, sports, and classes for students of various grade levels. See below for a wide variety of opportunities for those that just can't get enough activity.
Choir Club
This is an extracurricular activity held Thursdays after school beginning January 27 and open to 4th - 8th grade students.
Directed by Dr. Luis Rodriguez, students in this choir will explore preparing songs in both unison and parts in a variety of musical styles. The choir will participate in several school-related activities, and will also sing once a month in the Sunday morning Masses at St. Benedict. Click the following link to complete the registration form: After School Choir Club 21-22
Sports Info From Coach Caradonna
Boys and girls in 7th- and 8th-grade have an opportunity to play in a double-elimination soccer tournament. The tournament runs from January 29 to (potentially) February 11. We will have one boys team and one girls team. Parents will need to contact me to sign up. All CYAA forms are required if not turned in already. The deadline to sign up is January 17.
Also, spring sports sign-ups are fast approaching. Spring sports include baseball (boys) and basketball (girls), and I am actively seeking coaches. The registration deadline for spring sports is February 4. Students who have not played a sport will need all CYAA forms turned in by the deadline date.
Irish Dance Lessons
The Bracken School of Irish Dance is happy to offer an introductory class to St. John Bosco students. Taught by SJB alumni, classes are open to boys and girls in grades K - 8. Classes will be offered on Wednesdays 3:30 - 4:30pm in the music room, beginning on January 19. Please see the following link for a video of beginning Irish dance and the flyer for more info and to register. Beginning Irish Dance Video
Bricks4Kidz
A new session of after-school learning fun with Legos is starting next week. See flyer below for details and click here to register.
Chess Club
See flyer below for all details and register at Chessemporium.com/clubs.
Trivia Night!
Grab seven of your smartest friends and come participate in the Dads’ Club 15th Annual Bosco Trivia Night. Teams of eight will compete in ten rounds of 10 questions and games and have tons of fun. BYOB and your own food. Dress warm and comfy; we will be playing on the back courtyard this year under the stars and with heaters between each table. Don't miss it!
Ten sponsorship opportunities are available for $150. Sponsor a round of trivia with your logo displayed on the screen and company recognition. Contact Brian Wiscombe to sponsor.
All Pro School Pictures
We heard you! We understand your frustration with the school picture experience this fall and would like to make it up to you. Lou Coopey’s All Pro School Pictures is offering to retake individual school photos. Picture Day is Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Order forms are available in the school office or you may visit loucoopey.com and click on the green Prepay Online icon. More information is available at (480) 830-5667.
Scrip Shop
Please note the following January 2022 events:
- Jan. 7 @ 6pm: St. Benedict Parish Bingo Night
- Jan. 10 - 14: DIBELS & MAP Assessments
- Jan. 17: MLK Day; No School
- Jan. 22: Trivia Night
- Jan. 25: School Picture Retakes with All Pro Photography
- Jan. 30 - Feb. 4: Catholic Schools Week
- Feb. 2: Open House, Science Fair, Art Show
PARISH NEWS
Bingo Night!
Save the date for the 2nd Annual St. Benedict Bingo night! Friday, January 7, 6 – 8 PM in the SJB MPR. If you didn't make it last time you missed an all ages night full of pizza, baked goods, BINGO, and over 100 prizes!
We are always looking for prizes, so if you have gift cards or new items you are not using, or you received a Christmas gift that's not your style, donate them for BINGO prizes! Sign up on the St. Benedict website today! Email events@stbenedict.org with questions and prize donations!
Save the date for the 2nd Annual St. Benedict Bingo night! Friday, January 7, 6 – 8 PM in the SJB MPR. If you didn't make it last time you missed an all ages night full of pizza, baked goods, BINGO, and over 100 prizes!
We are always looking for prizes, so if you have gift cards or new items you are not using, or you received a Christmas gift that's not your style, donate them for BINGO prizes! Sign up on the St. Benedict website today! Email events@stbenedict.org with questions and prize donations!
COMMUNITY NEWS
See flyers below for two FREE winter sports opportunities from Seton Catholic Prep and Benedictine University. Questions may be directed to Ms. Hutchison or Ms. Evans in the SCP Athletic Dept. 480-963-1900 X 2021.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Stay up to date on classroom happenings by following us on Instagram @sjbbulldogs or Facebook@stjohnboscocatholicschool. We also encourage families to tag SJB on any photos or videos they post of their child(ren) from their personal social media accounts.
Until Monday...
Below are helpful links to information over the weekend:
School Website: https://sjbosco.org/
School Calendar: https://sjbosco.org/calendar
Faculty & Staff Contacts: https://sjbosco.org/faculty-staff
School Lunch Program: https://sjbosco.org/school-lunch
Parish Website: https://stbenedict.org/
The Bulldog Bite: Dr. Teri Pistacchio Aguiar, editor
Upcoming events are always available on our website events page.
For a more detailed list of yearly events, check the SJB website online calendar.
