As St. Joe transitions into the new year and semester with new classes, new teachers, and different schedules, it’s important to check in with the students and see how their first semester went. The freshmen are now halfway through their first year as high school students and the rest of the school year will fly by. 

Starting in August, the newest St. Joe students were “welcomed to heaven” on Freshman Day as they did fun activities around the school with the seniors and learned some of the norms at their new home. Right after that, the school was a sea of pink as the freshmen rocked their cowgirl hats for their Barbie-themed Welcome Week. As the freshmen settled into their new classes, fall sports, and joined their favorite clubs, they attended events like the Villa vs. St. Joe field hockey game and experienced what it’s like to be an Angel when the school has a big win. 

The community is one of the biggest assets at St. Joe. When a new class arrives, the whole school works to make sure everyone feels welcomed and loved. “Everyone is so welcoming, and I loved getting to know my classmates,” freshman Caroline Schibig said.  

St. Joe always has opportunities for bonding within classes, so it would be harder not to know anyone than to know everybody. A little bit later in the first semester, the freshmen went on a retreat to the CSJ Motherhouse and were able to get closer to many of their classmates. During Mission Week, the freshmen were also able to bond with their classmates by going to the freshman hangout fundraiser. 

For many students, Mission Week is the best week of the school year, but the freshmen had a particularly special week. Even though it was their first Mission Week, the freshmen were selling homemade baked goods and raising money like professionals. 

Mission Week has many different components to it, but there are some events that the students love the most. “Mission Week was by far the most fun thing we have done at St. Joe. With so many different events we had during the week, it’s hard to choose my favorite but it would either be raising tremendous amounts of money for Peru or beating the sophomores, ” freshman Madelyn Emge said. 

Overall, it has been a great first half of the year for everyone. The freshmen have been loving SJA and can’t wait for what lies ahead in the next three years.