Our Mission
Our mission at Saint Joseph Grade School is born out of the spirituality of the tradition of the Congregation of Holy Cross, which founded our parish and has remained its faithful steward for over 160 years. Five core principals – mind, heart, zeal, family, and hope – define a Holy Cross education and ultimately shape our students.
A Holy Cross education begins with a rigorous and full development of the mind. Yet, the essence of our mission is the cultivation of the heart and the soul, on which good values depend, in order to prepare our students with the knowledge that can guide them to the totality and completeness of the Christian life.
“Zeal” expresses the virtue that actualizes the development of our minds and the cultivation of our hearts for the good of others. It is the passion to act upon what we have witnessed and learned in classrooms and in our experiences outside of them. In the words of Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, “zeal is the great desire to make God known, loved, and served, and thus bring knowledge of salvation to others.”
The theme of family, modeled by the Holy Family, is woven throughout the charism of Holy Cross, and recognized wholly as part of the educational mission at SJGS. Embracing Christian community as the context for lifelong formation, values such as hospitality, compassion, gentleness, and patience form the foundation of our family spirit.
The principles of mind, heart, zeal, and family would have little distinctive Christian purpose apart from hope in the cross of Christ – faith in God’s promise of the kingdom. For all our learning, we seek a deeper wisdom. Trusting in God’s power and goodness, in the fundamental good in the human nature of children, we believe there is no failure the Lord’s love cannot reverse, no humiliation He cannot exchange for blessing, no anger He cannot dissolve, no routine He cannot transfigure – He has nothing but gifts to offer. It was Moreau’s hope for his students, and our hope for ours, that they persevere in faith once they graduate and enter upon their long journeys back to the Father.
2023-2027 Strategic Plan
While this plan is an essential step in building the future of the Saint Joseph Grade School family, it remains only a springboard into the real work of actualizing the vision. May these pages serve as an invitation to all to collectively work in joyful hope of a community worthy of the name of Saint Joseph, whose entire life was devoted to making Christ known, loved, and served.
