Specials (Encore)

St. Joseph School Band

Our award-winning band program, began in 1986 with 40 students now has well over 160 students in five ensembles.

These groups have competed throughout the Midwest at Music in the Parks festivals since 1998. The ensembles have placed in the top ranks of their categories and won Best Overall Band many times. More significantly, the band students earned the Music in the Parks top award, the Esprit De Corps!

Since its inception, in 1986 our band program has had only 1 band director, Larry Johnson. Mr. Johnson has been a positive influence on the school and the over 1,500 children that have come through the band program stressing the importance of faith, community and building a child’s character through playing music. The band program strives to make available instrumental music to any child interested in participating and focuses on the “Gift” of music from the Holy Spirit.

Children may join the band in 4th grade at St. Joseph School and continue in various ensembles through 8th grade. Students who participate in band have class weekly during the school day, rehearse once a week after school and will perform various concerts thought-out the year depending on the grade level.

The St. Joseph School Band program is an organization independently funded through band tuition, fundraisers and donations. Band parents and students are asked to volunteer at the Fall Craft Fair, concerts, and other events for the benefit of the program. The St. Joseph School Band program is made possible by the support of the school Administration, Clergy, Band Students, and Parents.

For more information about our band program we invite you to take a look at our Band Website

School Library

Welcome to St. Joseph School’s beautiful library, the academic hub of the school. The library typically is buzzing with students, selecting books or magazines for research, recreational reading, or AR reading. All materials placed in the St. Joseph School library are reviewed for alignment with our Catholic school mission.

A certified library media specialist and a staff of dedicated volunteers assist students as they use Alexandria Researcher, the on-line public access catalog (OPAC) to locate or place a hold on books they want.

When classes in kindergarten through second grade visit weekly, a volunteer (usually a class parent) provides story time. The library media specialist teaches a short class on topics such as book care, the parts of a book, and finding information in a book. Students then select one book from the primary section and check it out for one week.

Classes in grades three through five also visit the library weekly. Along with lessons about using the OPAC, the Dewey Decimal System, and researching on databases, students and the librarian discuss books and authors and occasionally have story time. Students typically have time to select or renew a maximum of two books from the primary or fiction/nonfiction sections of the library. The check out period is two weeks.

Students in grades six through eight visit the library individually. Sixth graders select books from the fiction/nonfiction section of the library, including a number of titles designated as “sixth grade and up.”

Seventh and eighth graders may also choose titles from the Young Adult fiction and nonfiction sections of the library. Students may check out up to two books for two weeks.

Other aspects include materials such as books, magazines, and videos for teachers to use in the classroom; the annual book fair; and a “take-one, leave-one” library for adults.

The library will continue to develop to fulfill its mission to support the mission of the Catholic Church, the parish, and the school.

Come visit us at the library!

Additional Special Courses

Choir/Music

Computer

K-8 Spanish

Art

Physical Education