School Spirit Thriving At St. Joe’s

by Parker Manktelow - St. Joseph's Catholic HS

The Board theme for this school year is “Celebrating God’s Family” and we are reminded of the “importance of cherishing diversity, acceptance and inclusion as brothers and sisters created and loved by God” by our Director of Education Mr. Brian Beal.

September is always a busy and exciting month at St. Joseph’s as we prepare for everything the upcoming year has to offer. Although our school is small in numbers, we are packed with special events that showcase how each of us are united and proud Jaguars. After our theme for this year was announced, everyone was celebrating the uniqueness of each student, the diversity of our school community and fostering relationships that will last beyond our high school years.

The school spirit this month has been a testament to our inclusive celebratory vibe here at St. Joe’s. With the start up of many sports teams like football, basketball, tennis, cross country, and soccer, opportunities to encourage our athletes to play hard were numerous.

St. Joe’s football fans united in gold and maroon to cheer on our team during our annual Tuesday Night Lights. Students filled the bleachers at the Midhurst Sports Complex sporting face paint and homemade signs. Although the score wasn’t in our favour, the celebration was still obvious as the students swarmed the field to congratulate the team on their effort.

St. Joseph’s High School also celebrated God’s family when our student council and leadership classes were busy planning and organizing events to make our students feel welcome and included. To encourage the Grade 9 students to embrace everything that our high school offers, school leaders held a Fun Day – all the new students played games, cheered for their team members, and participated in friendly competition and rivalry. Singing, dancing, and high fives all around were all evidence of a great celebration at St. Joe’s!

Family by definition are the ones who accept you for who you are. At St. Joseph’s we celebrate all of our students and their God given gifts. We recognize that everyone is on a different leg of their journey and that we all have a voice and something to contribute, whether in Grade 9 or 12 or somewhere in between. The celebration of this year’s theme will continue to be our school’s guiding light as we journey through the coming months together.

If this is what St. Joseph’s Jaguars can accomplish in one month, imagine how much unity, uniqueness, and diversity we can celebrate in a full year!