Greetings SJLES Families,

As part of our school system’s commitment to equity and inclusion, we continue to focus on building community and creating welcoming environments for all students. While we recognize that Halloween activities held during the school day have been a long standing tradition at many HCPSS schools, including SJLES, a decision has been made to not offer Halloween activities during the virtual instructional day across HCPSS this school year. While Halloween is not part of our HCPSS curriculum, the greater concern is that the virtual environment does not easily allow students to refrain from Halloween-related activities and still be engaged in school. 

Our PTA President Mrs. Diana Choi and I have already begun discussions regarding the possibility of offering a PTA-sponsored after school activity for interested students that would be engaging and safe. Mrs. Choi, our PTA, and our school leaders will brainstorm ideas of what an after school Halloween-themed activity could look like during this time of COVID-19 and social distancing. We will share updates with our school community throughout this process.  

We are hosting a Virtual Coffee and Conversation with Administration in just a few short minutes (4:00 PM) where we will discuss this topic and any other school-related topics of interest. The Google Meet code is SJLESCoffeeWith. As always, I hope your family is well, I thank you for your ongoing support of our school community, and please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions at dnotari@hcpss.org.  

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal