SJLES Updates 10/15/2020

Thu, 10/15/2020 - 10:28am

Greetings SJLES Families, 

I hope this communication finds you and your family well! Tomorrow, Friday 10/16, is our first three-hour early dismissal of the school year. The school day will end at 12:45 for students on these virtual learning three hour early dismissal days. You can access your child’s schedule by clicking here. Additional details are listed below in the NEW NEWS section.

I constantly remind our staff how proud I am of their work during this time of virtual learning. Today, I am happy to share another proud principal moment with our community regarding one of our outstanding staff members. Recently, 14 HCPSS school nurses earned their National Board Certification for School Nurses. This credential reflects incredible competence and professionalism. To earn this certification, a nurse must demonstrate a high level of education, clinical practice experience, and knowledge. The 14 nationally certified school nurses were recognized at the October 8, 2020 Board of Education meeting including our very own Mrs. Florence Hanssen. Mrs. Hanssen is a great support to our students, staff, and families and a key member of our Student Services Team. We thank you for your service to our school community and celebrate you today, Mrs. Hanssen! 

Families, as we navigate this world of virtual learning together I want to uplift two items that can be found in our REPEATED NEWS section. Those two items are HCPSS Google Meet Engagement & Behavioral Expectations and HCPSS Privacy Guidelines for Parents/Guardians. These two items provide a framework for student engagement and guidelines and best practices for our families to best support our students’ learning while protecting their privacy during virtual learning. I would very much appreciate it if you would please take a moment to review each of these guidelines which are also posted on our SJLES website. As always, please feel free to reach out to me or Mrs. Redd at any time if you have questions or if we can be of service to your family. Thanks again for your continued support and collaboration and keep up the great work, SJLES!  

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

NEW NEWS

Schedule Adjustments for Scheduled Early Dismissal Days 

The HCPSS 2020-2021 calendar includes four scheduled 3-hour early dismissal days: 

  • Friday, October 16, 2020 

  • Friday, November 6, 2020 

  • Monday, November 23, 2020 

  • Tuesday, November 24, 2020 

Our virtual schedules have been adjusted for these scheduled early dismissal days to provide students with synchronous learning for each class. Our K-5 Schedule is below and please click on the link for additional details…

K-5 Principals’ Lunch Bunch

Mr. Notari and Mrs. Redd are excited to offer a Virtual Lunch Bunch with each grade level team in the coming weeks. We truly enjoyed our virtual summer lunch bunches and wanted to continue providing opportunities for our Jaguars to engage with their administrators, friends, and some special surprise guests. Hope to see many of our Jaguars at our lunch bunches! 

Virtual Summer Lunch Bunch Schedule & Google Meet Codes: 

  • Kindergarten: Wednesday, 10/21 @ 12:00/ Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunchK

  • 1st Grade: Wednesday, 10/21 @ 12:30 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch1

  • 2nd Grade: Wednesday, 10/28 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch2

  • 3rd Grade: Wednesday, 10/28 @ 12:30 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch3

  • 4th Grade: Wednesday. 11/4 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch4

  • 5th Grade: Wednesday 11/4 @ 12:30 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch5

Coffee & Conversation with Administration 

SJLES Families, please mark your calendars for our next Virtual Coffee & Conversation with Mr. Notari, Mrs. Redd, and several SJLES special guests on Wednesday 11/11 @ 12:00. During this time our families can ask questions and gain insights from Mr. Notari, Mrs. Redd, and guests regarding all aspects of our school community.

Click here to RSVP and provide us with insights to topics you would like to discuss. You do not have to RSVP to attend, but we appreciate you doing so to help us prepare for our time together. The Google Meet code is SJLESCoffeeWith. Looking forward to our next time together!

Reading Interventions - 10/19-10/23 

Just a reminder that all reading intervention groups with our Reading Specialist Mrs. Taylor will be canceled the week of Oct. 19-23 due to a weeklong county training for all HCPSS Reading Specialists. 

MAP Score Access

Thank you for supporting your child during MAP testing. To access your child’s Reading MAP score, you will need to log in to HCPSS connect as a parent. Please click on the link below for directions.  A more detailed home report will be available in Synergy by early November.  

If you have any questions about MAP testing, please contact our assistant principal, Alexcia Redd, at alexcia_redd@hcpss.org. 

Academic Supports for Elementary School Students through Evening School

Starting October 13, virtual academic support sessions for Elementary School students who are struggling with virtual attendance and/or finding academic success were made available through the Evening School Program. Sessions are grade level and content specific and home schools will have a primary role in recommending and monitoring student participation.   

For students in grades K-5 with active HCPSS accounts, nightly sessions are available on Google Meet. Two one-hour sessions, starting at 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm respectively, will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays beginning October 13. For these sessions, parents are invited and encouraged to attend with their children.  Sessions will provide 20-30 minutes of direct support for mathematics and/or language arts to small groups (10-20) of students.  After the provision of the instructional portion of the session, students/parents will have the opportunity to ask questions.  Space will be limited per session, however all students recommended or opting to participate should have the opportunity to do so. 

Should a student be recommended to participate, the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the recommended student will be contacted directly for agreement of participation and so that further logistical information may be provided.  

For any parent/guardian who feels their student would benefit from participating in these additional academic supports and would like to request that they do so, please contact Mrs. Redd at alexcia_redd@hcpss.org

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

All dates will be posted on our SJLES Public Calendar.

  • 10/16 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early 

  • 10/16 - #JaguarPride: Celebrate our SJLES Pride and wear your Spirit Wear or school colors

  • 10/21 - ORANGE DAY: Wear as much orange as you can to raise awareness about bullying prevention 

  • 10/21 @ 12:00 -  Principal Lunch Bunch for Kindergarten (code: PrincipalBunchK)

  • 10/21 @ 12:30 -  Principal Lunch Bunch for Grade 1 (code: PrincipalBunch1)

  • 10/23 - Basketball Friday: wear your favorite basketball team colors, jersey, or hat

  • 10/26 - Virtual Scholastic Book Fair Begins 

  • 10/28 @ 12:00 -  Principal Lunch Bunch for Grade 2 (code: PrincipalBunch2)

  • 10/28 @ 12:30 -  Principal Lunch Bunch for Grade 3 (code: PrincipalBunch3)

  • 10/31 - Submissions due for PTA Pumpkin Decorating Contest 

  • 11/1 - Daylight Saving Time Ends

  • 11/3 - Election Day - Schools and Offices Closed

  • 11/4@ 12:00 -  Principal Lunch Bunch for Grade 4 (code: PrincipalBunch4)

  • 11/4 @ 12:30 -  Principal Lunch Bunch for Grade 5 (code: PrincipalBunch5)

  • 11/4 @ 6:30 - Virtual PTA Meeting

  • 11/6 - End of First Marking Period

  • 11/6 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early

  • 11/8 - FInal Day of Virtual Scholastic Book Fair

  • 11/11 @ 1:00 PM - Virtual Coffee & Conversation with Administration 

  • 11/16 - Report Cards Issued

  • 11/16 - 11/20 - American Education Week

  • 11/23 & 11/24 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early - Parent/Teacher Conferences

  • 11/25 - Schools Closed for Students - Parent/Teacher Conferences

  • 11/26 & 11/27 - Thanksgiving Holiday - Schools Closed

  • 12/2 @ 6:30 - Virtual PTA Meeting

REPEATED NEWS 

Privacy Guidelines for Parents/Guardians

To maintain a positive, productive learning environment and assure confidentiality for students and teachers during distance learning, all parents/guardians are asked to follow the following privacy guidelines.

  • Google Meet virtual instruction is designed for students. To prevent disruptions to the learning environment, parents/guardians should not actively participate in check-in sessions, although parents/guardians may assist their child with technology and/or remain nearby.

  • Do not video record, audio record, photograph, live stream, or transmit in any other way any part of a Google Meet, including not posting on any social media platform.

  • Any confidential or personally identifiable information related to students participating during Google Meets should not be collected, discussed or shared.

  • Parents/guardians should not engage with students during Google Meets. If you need to speak with your child during a check-in session, first mute your child’s microphone.

  • If a parent/guardian has a question, please email your child’s teacher.

Parents/guardians should email your child’s principal with any questions or concerns regarding privacy or virtual classroom expectations. Thank you for your support and cooperation in ensuring that virtual learning is a positive, productive and enjoyable experience for all participants.

HCPSS Google Meet Engagement & Behavioral Expectations 

  • Adhere to HCPSS Policy 8080 Responsible Use Technology and Social Media and other relevant HCPSS policies.

  • Follow the school’s values (ex. Be Safe, Act Responsibly, Respect Self and Others, Keep Focused)

  • Students will only be permitted into a Google Meet session with a HCPSS email account.  All students can be identified through their HCPSS email account.

  • Inappropriate/offensive/threatening comments, misrepresentation of identity, and/or disruptive participants (invited or uninvited) during Google Meet sessions will not be tolerated.

  • Sharing login information violates the confidentiality rights of other students and places them at risk of having to witness disruptive behaviors from students who are not members of the class or school community. 

  • Students who are disruptive and/or “trespass” Google Meet sessions will be immediately reported to administration and will receive appropriate consequences in accordance with the HCPSS Code of Conduct.  Consequences may result in temporary or permanent loss of technology access, which will also result in a student's inability to participate in Google Meet sessions; arrangement for receiving instruction and assignments will be established by administration communicated and arranged with parents.

Additional information can be found in the  Safety Measures During the Google Meet Session on 20-21 HCPSS Virtual Teaching and Learning Page

SJLES Technology Support Form

Please find below information regarding technology support for fall virtual instruction that includes both self-help resources and how to request technology support.

If after reviewing these resources, your family continues to need support, please complete the Student and Family Technology Support Request Form and one of our staff members will reach out to you as soon as possible. If you cannot access the online form for any reason, please call the school at 410-313-2813. 

Staff will attempt to resolve the issue, and if unsuccessful will provide directions for exchanging the broken device for a working one at the school system’s Onsite Technology Center. This information is also posted on our SJLES Website 

Monitor Donations

Many teachers have discovered that using a second computer monitor can enhance their ability to teach virtually.  If you have a computer monitor that you are not using and would like to donate to our staff, please feel free to drop it off at SJLES.  You can do this by bringing it to our school Monday - Friday  between 8:00 - 4:00 and leave it inside our front entrance vestibule. Please wear a mask and follow all social distancing protocols. Thank you very much!

PTA Pumpkin Decorating Contest 

This year we’ve had to get (even more) creative in how we celebrate and enjoy Halloween as a school community. So, what better way than a spooky, festive, mucky, funny pumpkin decorating competition! Decorate a pumpkin and submit your photo by October 31st. Winners will be decided by our SJLES teachers and prizes will be awarded. Click HERE for details

Virtual Book Fair

Our school is hosting a Virtual Scholastic Book Fair from October 26th - November 8th, 2020. The Virtual Fair is a fantastic way to get books in the hands of your students now to keep them reading at home, AND orders placed over this period will be sent to you just in time for the Holidays! More details HERE

Virtual Parent Cafés

  • Virtual Parent Cafés are a free, safe space for parents to have meaningful conversations with other parents. The structured conversations give parents an opportunity to talk together about things that matter to them. They’re a great way to help us stay connected and keep our families strong during these difficult times.

  • A parent in a recent Virtual Parent Café shared “Parent Cafés help me talk about things I need to talk about and realize I’m not alone.”

  • Maryland Family Network is providing Virtual Parent Cafés for parents of children birth through age five. Please share information about these Cafés with your families!

  • Below are the links which can be forwarded to parents, or posted on social media sites.  Advance registration is required – just click on the link for the Cafe you want to attend!