Photo courtesy St Joe's CHS Facebook

By Erika Rolling

Coffee Shop

St. Joe’s Catholic School opening student run coffee shop

May 30, 2022 | 3:34 PM

A coffee shop in St. Joseph Catholic High School is having its grand opening tomorrow.

Shauna Baird, a classroom support teacher, and Victoria Baker, a Life Skills teacher both at St. Joe’s came up with the idea last October and has gone through multiple steps to get where they are now.

“Now it’s come to light with supports through everybody around and ‘Cup of Joe’s’ has came into what it is now! says Baird.

Students in Inclusive Education are all a part of the Life Skills Program and run the coffee shop as a way to earn work experience.

The work experience is part of regular school programming, Baker says “The funds created will be reinvested into the Life Skills Program and benefit students.”

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“This is a really great opportunity for the rest of the student body to see these kids on an equal basis doing jobs that you would see in a regular coffee shop… our kids are interacting authentically with these students,” Baird notes.

The coffee shop has been running for a while with a soft opening a month or so ago and will be running daily, which Baird notes “for hopefully years to come as a programming piece.”

“They’re learning skills like budgeting, working with vendors, ordering supplies as well as having authentic interactions with job skills so when they leave us they are equipped to work outside and get real-world jobs,” Baird says.

Baker says Cup of Joe’s wouldn’t be able to be where it’s at today without their community partners Coffee Gal, Wapiti Bean Co., and Water Express. “Without them… we couldn’t of even got this started.”

The Grand Opening on May 31 will be from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and after that, it will be open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.