At John Paul II Academy:
We BELIEVE our Catholic faith teaches us to respect and value God’s creation.
We GROW the whole child, spiritually, academically, emotionally, and socially in the likeness of Jesus.
We ACHIEVE academic success by acknowledging each student’s unique, God-given gifts.
12/1-1/4 Carnival of Lights Fundraiser
12/3 9:00 Mass followed by all school Reconciliation
12/3 2:15-2:35 Breakfast with Baby Jesus Choir Practice
12/5 Ugly Sweater Day all school out of uniform with a Christmas themed shirt or red and green
12/5 2:15-2:35 Breakfast with Baby Jesus Choir Practice
12/6 First Basketball Games
12/8 Morning Advent Prayer Service
12/8 9:00 Mass -Immaculate Conception
12/8 2:15-2:35 Breakfast with Baby Jesus Choir Practice
12/10 9:00 Mass
12/10 2:15-2:35 Breakfast with Baby Jesus Choir Practice
12/10 2:30-3:00 STUCO meeting
12/11 3-8 Field Trip to Racine Theater Guild
12/12 7:45 SPA meeting
12/12 9:00 Mass - Our Lady of Guadalupe
12/13 9:00-11:00 Breakfast with Baby Jesus
12/13 Basketball games (none at JP)
12/15 morning Advent Prayer Service
12/17 Christmas Concert 1 & 6
12/18 STUCO Holiday Dress Down Day - info to come
12/19 Pajama Day, School Movie, Classroom Party
12/20 Basketball games
12/22-1/4 Christmas Break
Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 Cheer
Tuesday & Thursday 6:30-8:00 4th/5th Boys Basketball
Wednesday & Thursday 5:00-6:30 7th grade Boys Basketbal
Wednesday 6:30-8:00 and Friday 6:45-8:15 6th grade boys Basketball
Click on each button below
Scroll sideways through all of them
Click the arrow to find links to several sign up forms
Shortly before Thanksgiving you may have noticed that Ms. Lunceford (Ms. Grace) was no longer at our front desk. We wish her well as she moved away from the Racine area. With her absence we have made some shifts in our staff. With the holiday it took a bit to make the changes happen. There is a few more that will be solidified in the next few days and will be announced next week.
Ms. Pulda has accepted the administrative assistant position permanently. I think we can all appreciate the knowledge and efficiency she brings to this role.
We all have been missing Ms. Gina in aftercare, I am happy to state that she will be back with us on Friday this week. I am grateful to Mrs. Wolf, Ms. Grace, and Mr. Zinser who helped fill in during the few weeks Ms. Gina needed to heal. Your positive energy is irreplaceable WELCOME BACK!
Twas the first week of Advent and all through the school we are waiting for Jesus as we light the first candle representing HOPE! We have many traditions at John Paul II Academy that are a part of our Advent season.
Every Monday we start our week together in prayer at 7:20 in the gym as we light the candle and learn about the theme of that week. Our large Advent wreath has real candles that we use only during the prayer service.
Each classroom has their own Advent Wreath which they light daily with their battery powered candles during morning prayer.
Each classroom also receives an Advent Calendar with daily Bible verses.
Our buddy classes partake in weekly buddy activities. This week they made ornaments that will be used to decorate our school tree in the lobby.
We attend Reconciliation as a school.
Each class also has their own activities that are age appropriate for their own students.
Mr. Winters is offering private lessons. Please see the flyer below. Also mark your calendar for our Christmas concert on December 17, 2025. 1:00 will be a run through where all the students will be in the church listening as well and then our 6:00 show will be with the students dressed in Fun Festive Christmas attire. (no jingly bells)
practices are in full swing the students are sounding fantastic.
Doors will open at 12:30 for the 1:00 show and 5:30 for the 6:00 show.
Winters' Private Lessons Poster.pdf
Have you visited the Carnival of Lights. Send Dr. Manikham your receipt or a picture of you there for a casual dress pass.
If you would like to volunteer for fieldtrips or at any school event you need to sign up for the Safe Environment training through the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
We are three days into December, we've had snow and tomorrow will bring frigid cold... it isn't even WINTER. As a reminder the students do go outside to play unless the windchill is less than 10. Please send them with all their warm weather clothing. A doctor's excuse is required if your student needs to stay inside for any health reasons.
As we continue into December leading up to Christmas the excitement will continue to grow. We will continue to have additional music practices, additional buddy activities, some fun Christmas activities, and continuing our academic progress. While we balance between community building and instruction we know we have little elves watching in our school making sure we are doing our very best.
In the counseling corner this week, we are continuing our focus on the virtue of Devotion, meaning Deep Belief and dedication to our beliefs and practices. Our weekly intention is “I will reflect God's love through my actions” . This intention means that we need to be very intentional about showing kindness through our words and our actions. On our SEL lesson front, this week I am working with our younger students on focus and problem solving. We are learning that there are different sizes of problems and we can solve many of those by ourselves.
We have two of the best Title 1 teachers around do not let their Grinchy costumes fool you. The consistency Ms. Verwey and Ms. Schmoll bring to our students who work with them is by far exceptional. They know our students and have a passion for John Paul II Academy. Whether it is with reading or math our students are getting the absolute best. I love seeing them join in with our staff shenanigans this December.
John 23rd is a community program in St. Patrick's church that provides after school tutoring, homework help and enrichment events. They are taking registrations for 4-12 grade. It is a free program. Here is the link to register. 25-26 After School Registration
