| Spiritual Life Saint Joseph Elementary School is alive and well, full to capacity with 455 students, and getting stronger all the time. It has always been and continues to be the Catholic Christian identity that makes Saint Joseph’s unique. All that we do is driven by our goal to create a Christ-centered environment of learning and respect. At Saint Joseph Elementary School, we pride ourselves on a strong, traditional academic program. Daily Religion classes and school wide prayer provide a strong spiritual framework. Christian values are integrated into learning whenever possible. Our school day opens with community morning prayer over the public address system, alternately led by the principal and the students. This sets a reflected and Christ-centered tone for the day. In the reinforcement of our Catholic beliefs and values, the students are given the opportunity to see the staff and teachers who are trying to model their lives to live as Jesus lives. Through Bible reading, daily prayers and religious instruction, as well as liturgies, prayer services, recitation of the rosary and penitential services, the message of Jesus is stressed and lived. Yearly and monthly themes also highlight ways that we, as members of a faith community and as members of the body of Christ can live a more Christ-centered life. Our faith is the reason we exist. It is our hope that we are able to create a school environment rich in the love of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. A recent theme "All God’s Children", provided a wonderful forum to teach our students how to treat one another, starting right here in our school and spreading across the globe. In its profound simplicity, “All God’s Children” is a phrase that captures the essence of the essential Gospel message to love God and love one another. It is a concept that will further teach the children to be fully accepting of everyone, not in spite of, but because of our many differences and unique qualities. As an off-shoot of this theme, we developed a Charity Plan, called The Ripple of Hope, which afforded the students the opportunity to understand that they could truly make a difference in the lives of others, neighbors and strangers, through their efforts of generosity and outreach. Charity "A Ripple of Hope" - Practicing What We Preach St. Joseph’s School continues its outreach efforts with a plan to help those near and far. Jesus tells us “it is in the giving that we receive.” For students at St. Joseph’s elementary school, this teaching is the foundation for a comprehensive community giving effort that starts here in Needham and will eventually affect people in need throughout the globe. Consistent with the school’s current theme, “All God’s Children” this year’s giving plan underscores the school’s philosophy that reaching out to people near and far is critical to living a Christian life. “We pray that the seeds the children plant (through these efforts) will one day influence the choices they make to be generous, empathetic and selfless people, with an innate desire to serve the needs of others,” said Paul Kelly, Principal at St. Joseph’s. Last year, Saint Joseph’s affiliated itself with a Catholic school in a devastated section of New Orleans. Throughout the year, St. Joe’s was able to offer Saint Dominic’s school over $10,000 in donations in addition to an abundance of school materials they lost in Hurricane Katrina. This year, the school’s plan is guided by the theme that all people in the world are “God’s Children,” and that even small efforts close to home can create a ripple effect that can become a force that helps many more people in faraway places. So far this year, children supported the Needham Community Council by donating canned goods, non-perishable foods and a donation to purchase wheel chairs. The Thanksgiving food drive fed about 80 families who would otherwise go without dinner. In December, as the ripple unfolds and expands its effect beyond Needham, students will reach out to the children at Holy Redeemer School in East Boston and Mission School in Roxbury and to the homeless vets in Boston. As the year progresses, the children will provide support to children in shelters across Massachusetts who otherwise would not celebrate a birthday. Later in the spring, the outreach effort will touch the lives of people in need in Mississippi, the street children in New York City, the lepers in India, and the poorest of the poor in other parts of the world. Through its association with the Heifer Foundation, St. Joseph’s will provide small villages with farm animals – an effort which can have a powerful ripple effect of its own to people there. While the plan is ambitious, Principal Kelly is making it a priority for the school. “It’s critical that the children understand how blessed they are and that we are all called to give back,” he said. From the participation thus far, it appears that the children of St. Joseph’s are up to the task. | 
