Greetings SJLES Families,
We hope this communication finds you and your family well! It was another great week of school at “The Lane.”  Our Jaguars continue to settle into routine, they are attending school at a rate close to 99%, they are engaged and participating during their lessons, they are completing their asynchronous assignments, and they continue to smile and build classroom community. We are very proud of our Jaguars!  Mrs. Redd and I are enjoying our time meeting with each grade level team to share student expectations and responsibilities, celebrations, and words of wisdom to ensure a great school year for each and every Jaguar. Our first Virtual Coffee and Conversation with Administration was well attended not only by our families, but our staff, as well. Our teachers provided helpful insights to our families and I continue to be so proud of who they are, their efforts, and their service to our students and families. We enjoyed connecting with our families on Wednesday and will continue to offer this Coffee & Conversation forum to our families throughout the year. As always, please feel free to reach out to me (dnotari@hcpss.org), Mrs. Redd. (alexcia_redd@hcpss.org), our School Counselor Mrs. Poirier (rebecca_poirier@hcpss.org), or your child’s teachers if we can be of service to your family in any way. Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend, SJLES!

Sincerely,
Dan Notari
SJLES Principal

NEW NEWS
Family File Update
As of today, 75% of our families have completed/updated their student’s Family FIle.  We need your help to get that number to 100%! We still have 167 students who need to update the following important information in Family File...
 Student Information
 Parent/Guardian Contact
 Emergency Contacts
 Medical Information
 Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
 Photo Approval
 Data Confidentiality
 PTA/PTSA Directory
Please remember, regardless of virtual or in-person learning, parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child. Parents/guardians can complete Family File by logging in to HCPSS Connect selecting the More Options tab on the left and then selecting Family File in the center column. Resources on how to access Family File may be found online, including instructions on how to reset passwords. If you need additional assistance, please complete this Connect Help Form.

Hispanic Heritage Month
This month (September 15th-October 15th) we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. These dates were chosen because eight Latin American countries celebrate their independence days during this month. This is the perfect time for us to learn more about the Latin American culture, history, and traditions.

To give students the option to learn more, there is now a module in our Language Arts page titled "Hispanic Heritage Month." All the activities are optional for students, and they will be available throughout the entire month of October! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Liaison Mrs. Blake at Natalie_Blake@hcpss.org.

SJLES Spirit Day Schedule
Please click on the link below to download our SJLES Spirit Day Schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. Our teachers will remind our Jaguars weekly of our spirit day theme. This schedule is also posted on our website for your convenience.
SJLES Spirit Day Schedule - 2020-2021  
MAP Updates
On Wednesday October 7 and 14, students in grades 2 - 5 will take the Measured Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. The MAP assessment is an online tool that will help teachers gauge where your child is starting the year academically. The assessment is designed to adjust the difficulty of the questions based on student response. Be aware that, at times, it may appear that the test is too hard or too easy for your student. However, as they progress, the test questions will be geared more towards their level. It is normal for students to only answer about half the questions correctly. To learn more about the MAP assessment, please go to THIS WEB PAGE.

During testing, we encourage all students to have their video camera on. Teachers will be monitoring the test and assisting students when needed for things like technology issues, test stress, and noticing when a student may need some encouragement to do their best. Having the camera on allows them to properly monitor and help their students.
Testing will occur at two different time blocks on these days. Your child’s teacher will let them know which session to attend. Those sessions will be:
Wednesday, October 7th 9-11am OR 1 - 3pm for the Reading MAP assessment
Wednesday, October 14th 9-11am OR 1 - 3pm for the Math MAP assessment
Our goal is to have 100% attendance during these times. If your child is unable to attend, makeup testing will be offered during asynchronous learning times.
Due to MAP testing on October 7 and 14, the following adjustments will be made to asynchronous assignments for students in grades 2 – 5 ONLY:
No Dreambox assignments will be assigned on the above Wednesdays
No Lexia Core5 assignments will be assigned on the above Wednesdays
No mathematics task will be assigned on the above Wednesdays
No changes will be made for related arts and science asynchronous assignments on the above Wednesdays
Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions. They will share the Google Meet information and your student’s testing group as we get closer to the Oct 7th date.

The Council of Elders (TCOE) & HCPSS Workshops
TCOE and HCPSS have partnered to sponsor a parent workshop series. There will be a total of four workshops offered and each session will be held virtually.  The flyer is attached and can be shared with families in your school community.
Save the Date-Council of Elders-1.pdf
Free Food Distribution Site
Saturdays in October families can pick up free food at Ducketts Lane Elementary School in Elkridge. See details below & flyer for more information. Click Here for Flier
Each car/family will receive a 36lb box of food that includes fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy
No documentation or income requirements
Anyone is welcome, individuals do not need to have children in HCPSS
Every Saturday in October 10:00 AM at Ducketts Lane Elementary School

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
All dates will be posted on our SJLES Public Calendar.
10/2 - Super Hero Day:  Dress up as your favorite superhero to celebrate our super first month of school at SJLES!
10/7 - MAP Reading: Seatings @ 9:00 and 1:00
10/9 - Sports Day: Grab your jersey, t-shirt, medal, or trophy to show us your favorite sport!
10/14 - MAP Math: Seatings @ 9:00 & 1:00
10/16 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early
10/16 - #JaguarPride: Celebrate our SJLES Pride and wear your Spirit Wear or school colors
11/1 - Daylight Saving Time Ends
11/3 - Election Day - Schools and Offices Closed
11/6 - End of First Marking Period
11/6 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early
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
REPEATED NEWS
Face-to-Face Supports to Small Groups of Students
In the coming weeks, HCPSS will begin providing face-to-face support to small groups of students. Identified students and staff have been invited to complete an interest survey.  If you did not receive a survey, it is because your child has not yet been identified for in-person support.  

All students who receive special education services will receive an email with directions to complete a survey.  If your child receives special education services, and you have not received an email by Friday, September 25, then please reach out to Ann Scholz (ann_scholz@hcpss.org) from the Office of Special Education Compliance, Non-Public Services, and Family Support.  More information about the HCPSS In-Person Support initiative can be found here: https://www.hcpss.org/2020-2021/small-groups/ .

HCPSS Halloween Update
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 Mr. Notari  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.  

Canvas Announcements
In an effort to reduce the number of Canvas announcements families are receiving to start the week, Related Arts teachers will not be sending out a weekly announcement. Instead, Related Arts schedules will be posted on ELA Canvas pages.
Did you know that you can change your notification settings in Canvas to make sure you still receive all the information you need while minimizing the number of Canvas messages in your inbox? Click here to learn more!  If you need to find a past announcement, they are all archived in the course’s Canvas page. Click on “Announcements” from the list on the left side of the course homepage.

Asynchronous Assignments Overview
As we navigate asynchronous work, we hope you will find a chart that provides an overview of the number of necessary assignments to complete each week helpful.

Things begin to change depending on whether we are teaching Science, Social Studies, and/or Health.  We realize that there may be some slight adjustments, but here is an overview we hope proves to be helpful. Just a reminder, that you will see the list of asynchronous lessons your child(ren) should be completing each week at the top of their ELA home page.
Asynchronous (anytime) Assignments:
Math:  1 Assignment a week posted on Monday due on Sunday
Math Dreambox:  1 Lesson per school day
ELA Writing: no asynchronous assignments (this is a new change)
ELA LexiaCore:  70-100 minutes per week Monday to Sunday
Science:  2 lessons a week when Science is being taught:
K,2,4:  posted on Monday and Thursday afternoon due by the next science class
1, 3, 5:  posted on Tuesday and Friday afternoon due by the next science class
Social Studies:  2 lessons a week when Social Studies is being taught:
K,2,4:  posted on Monday and Thursday afternoon due by the next SS class
1, 3, 5:  posted on Tuesday and Friday afternoon due by the next SS class
Health:  1 lesson/assignment a week starting on 10/5 posted on Monday due Sunday
Related Arts: 2 or 3 lesson/assignments if not seeing them face to face  
Where to find Asynchronous Assignments:
All Assignments can be found on your child’s Canvas Pages
Science on the science page, Health on the Health page, etc…
Assignments can be accessed by:  
Clicking on the Lessons and Tasks  Link after scrolling down the main page
Clicking on the Assignments Link on the left hand side of their canvas page
Viewing the Asynchronous Event on the Calendar
Seeing it listed as a To do item from the grade book  (however it may be listed on the date due, not the date assigned or to be worked on)
Gifted & Talented Program Updates
GT Back To School Night Follow-Up: Thank you to all who were able to attend the GT Back to School Night session! All families can access the GT Presentation below.
GT Back to School Night Presentation
GT Instructional Seminars: We are excited to offer Instructional Seminars once again to students at St. John's Lane! Instructional Seminars are interest-based and open to all students. This year we will be offering seminars in grades 2-5. Seminars meet once a week synchronously and may have follow-up activities for students to complete asynchronously. Within these seminars, GT teachers provide advanced-level instruction in different content areas and engage children outside of the regular classroom. Please access the video below for more information on this year's GT Seminars. If your child is interested, please complete and submit the Seminar Interest Form by Friday, October 2nd, indicating your child's name, grade, and homeroom teacher. Students must be logged into their HCPSS Google account to access the interest form. Students enrolled in seminars will be contacted via Canvas Inbox with more information.
VIDEO: ​SJLES GT Seminars 2020-2021
SJLES GT Seminars Interest Form/Sign-Up
Kindergarten & 1st Grade Primary Talent Development (PTD): During Quarter 1, the GT program is offering optional asynchronous Primary Talent Development enrichment lessons in Kindergarten and 1st Grade. Beginning in Quarter 2, K and 1st students will engage in Primary Talent Development lessons facilitated by Ms. McErlean and homeroom teachers. Access the video below for more information, including where to locate the asynchronous enrichment lessons in Canvas.
VIDEO: SJLES K & 1st Primary Talent Development Enrichment Lessons
We look forward to learning with you this year! Please reach out to us via email with questions regarding the GT program.
SJLES GT Team
Mrs. Cintron (eun-chung_cintron@hcpss.org)
Mrs. Miles (holly_miles@hcpss.org)
Ms. McErlean (madeline_mcerlean@hcpss.org)
Free Flu Clinics
HCPSS, the Howard County Health Department and the Maryland Partnership for Prevention again this year will offer flu clinics at no cost for both students and staff. Students/staff do not have to go to a clinic at their home school and may attend any clinic. For additional information please click the link below…
https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2020/09/hcpss-free-flu-clinics-october...
LAST LAST FINAL CALL: Remaining Student Materials
We are currently reaching out to families who did not pick up a Chromebook and instructional materials. If you are still in need of collecting your student’s personal items from last year please email Kathleen_Newberry@hcpss.org to schedule a mutually convenient time to pick up the materials. In the email please include your student's first and last name and last year's homeroom teacher.

PTA Membership & Spirit Wear
Support the SJLES PTA by becoming a PTA member today! This year, you can purchase PTA membership, make donations and buy your Spirit Wear online.

Your donation helps us reduce fundraisers and increases the quality of our events throughout the year. As always, your donation directly benefits our teachers, staff and students. Our approved 2020-2021 budget outlines the ways your donation will support our school.
St John’s Lane Elementary School PTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 52-1333666). All donations are 100% tax-deductible. Your store receipt will be your donation receipt.

Buy SJLES Spirit Wear! Get your paws on the 2020-2021 SJLES Spirit Wear. All Spirit Wear is in SJLES colors (blue with yellow print). You can order now through October 15th. All orders will be delivered to your door (contact free, of course!).

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: sjlesptamail@gmail.com. GO JAGUARS!