Raffle Update!

The raffle is quickly approaching this weekend! I’m looking forward to seeing all those who were able to RSVP. Please reach out to me if you couldn’t RSVP but still want to come to the live drawing and dinner this Saturday evening at 6:00pm.

So far, we’ve sold 3,396 tickets, raising $68,250 for the school. That puts us at 75% of our goal! Please take these last couple days to sell whatever tickets you can to put us over the goal. It isn’t uncommon for a huge part of ticket sales to be turned in at the last moment, but get those tickets in!

Other Special Events

I also want to share with you another couple of special events coming up soon. First, Friday, October 29 is our All Saints Day Celebration. Grades TK-8 will give their saint speeches according to the attached schedule. For the sake of keeping classrooms from too much crowding, we’re going to have a waiting area for parents until their child is ready to present. At the waiting area, we’ll let you know when you can come into the classroom. We’ve also ensured that students aren’t presenting at the same time as their siblings.

Second, our school is supporting the diocesan White Mass, which will be on Saturday, October 30 at 10:00am. The Mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Carlsbad, celebrated by His Excellency, Bishop Ramón Bejarano, and will be followed by a reception and talk by Dr. Lauren Rubal, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist. This Mass is offered in honor of medical professionals and is sponsored by several excellent organizations (and friends of SJA): the St. Gianna Physicians Guild and Culture of Life Family Services. I hope to see you there! For High School Students: Students can earn service hours at this event. Please contact me for details.

Third, Saint Joseph Academy has a special opportunity for adults (21+) to take a private tour of Misadventure Distillery and taste local craft spirits. Anthony DeBellis, a long-time SJA parent, is an experienced connoisseur of local craft distilling and brewing. He’s offering an intriguing behind-the-scenes tour of how these craft drinks are made. I attended a similar tour that he put on my first year here at SJA and was blown away at how amazing the process is and all the intricacies and care that goes into crafting spirits. Last year we had to cancel this event due to the pandemic, but we’re excited to finally offer it! Click here for more information and to sign up.

A Final Note

In some Catholic societies (and formerly Catholic societies), there’s a tradition of celebrating one’s “name day,” or the feast day of the saint after whom you were named. In our daily announcements I’m trying to encourage our students to celebrate the feasts of the saints after whom they were named. One simple and easy way to help someone do so is to wish them “buon onomastico!” This translates from Italian to “happy name day!” I’m thankful to several students who made (very cute) cards and wished me a happy name day this past Monday.

Be bold and keep the faith!

Mr. Luke Heintschel, M.A.
Headmaster
Saint Joseph Academy