News from our Principal

September 12th, 2022 Update

Hello Friends, 

It’s good to be back in school again! We have welcomed 4 new staff members and 77 students to our wonderful school. We welcome Julie Cruz (marketing and kindergarten aide), Lisa Pelegrino (PreK3 aide), Lisa Rounds (junior high English Language Arts teacher), and Adrienne Scott (lunch/recess aide and front office personnel). Each day is a new opportunity for us to get to know them better and learn more about who they are. We are very excited that they have decided to join our school family on our journey together this year!

Facility Updates

As you may already know, we spent the summer updating our facilities, cleaning out forgotten areas, and scrubbing everything down for our return. The additions of our air conditioning throughout the building as well as our wonderful new PreK-K playground have made our days delightful. Students were thrilled with the updated bathrooms (cafeteria, gym, and main boys’ and girls’ bathrooms) as well as the new lights in the gym and freshly painted gym foyer. Our Readathon Committee picked out a new, giant-sized tree and book vending machine for our library so that it is a special place to hang out. Mrs. Johnson has also worked diligently to prepare our new STEAM lab. We’d love to have you stop in some time so that you can witness our spectacular facilities. Give Diane Klupchak a call (708-799-5200 x 204) or send  her an email (dklupchak@ijpschool.org) to arrange a tour. 

Academic Progress

Along with updating our facilities, we have worked hard to step up our academic programming. Teachers have created year-long plans to be sure that all students are mastering standards throughout their academic subject areas, and we have updated the curriculum in math and reading to better meet the needs of all students. What I Need (WIN) time was added daily to remediate and enrich the learning of our students including working through an online foreign language program. Students will also work in our aforementioned STEAM lab in partnership with the Pathways to Adventure from the Boy Scouts of America, work with our reading interventionist, or visit one of our counselors as needed. Students are currently taking their diagnostic tests in reading and math so that we can plan out our learning for each student. Field trips are back and our 8th graders have started making plans for our return to Washington, D.C. Our house system is underway, and we sorted our new students into their houses. We have exciting plans for creativity, communication, collaboration, and service. 

Faith Building

Other exciting plans for our school community include growing in our faith and furthering our relationships with God! Homeroom classes continue to lead our all school Masses on Wednesdays where our Kingsmen Choir fills our hearts with song. 8th graders Chase and Casey lead us in prayer every morning. During our Marvelous Monday all school assemblies, we discuss the previous day’s Gospel and how it applies to our lives. This year we are focusing on learning about the Beatitudes when we meet once a month in the church. We will dig in and consider how to use them to guide us as we challenge the way we live our lives knowing that pure happiness comes from our relationship with God. 

Know that you are in our prayers! Please keep all of us in yours. We appreciate all of your support and hope that you’ll come and see what we’re all about. We celebrate Mass together on Wednesday mornings and would love to see you there. 

Many blessings, 

Charlotte Kelly

Principal