Greetings SJLES Families,
We hope you all had a great weekend! We have several updates below in our NEW NEWS section, but wanted to uplift the first one regarding access to Google Play. Google Play has a new set of supplemental digital tools that can support our virtual instruction, but requires consent from a parent or guardian. Thank you for your attention to this item and all of the on-going information we regularly share during this time of virtual learning.
If your family is experiencing poor internet service today due to the high winds or any day due to a poor connection or power outage please email sjlesabsence@hcpss.org and copy your child’s teacher. Please include your student’s name, date of absence, and reason for absence.
As a reminder, HCPSS schools are closed tomorrow and we will dismiss at 12:45 on Friday. Here’s to another great week of learning at The Lane!
Sinserely,
Dan Notari
SJLES Principal
NEW NEWS
IMPORTANT Google Play Information
In an effort to continue expanding our authorized set of digital tools for virtual instruction, HCPSS has curated a new set of supplemental digital tools that are available only through Google’s menu of additional services. These supplemental digital tools are approved by HCPSS and comply with federal, state and Howard County Board of Education student data privacy policies. Due to Google’s settings, students must access this set of tools by utilizing Google’s menu of additional services, which requires consent by a parent or guardian.
To provide consent:
Log in to HCPSS Connect.
Select More Options from the left panel.
Select HCPSS Google Menu from the middle of the page.
Click the check box to provide consent. Changes are saved automatically.
A parent or guardian must provide consent for each student by selecting the student’s name at the top of the page.
The digital tools currently included are: Book Room, Word Work, Scratch BluBot, Scratch JR, Sketch-Up, Collector Classic, JamBoard, Google Earth and Minecraft: Education. After a parent/guardian provides consent, students using a HCPSS Chromebook can access the tools through the Google Play Store icon on the Chromebook when logged in with an HCPSS account. There may be a delay of up to three days before the apps appear in the Google menu and some tools may automatically appear on the Chromebook once consent is provided by a parent or guardian without the need to install them. If your child has not been issued a Chromebook, please make the request following the information found online.
Please note:
HCPSS cannot guarantee that apps are available on devices other than HCPSS Chromebooks.
Teachers may or may not choose to use any or all of these apps during instruction. Students will be notified when a particular app will be used for instruction.
If you do not provide consent for your student’s access to these digital tools, your student’s teacher will provide alternative enrichment activities.
In addition to these Google tools, HCPSS has approved a robust set of supplemental digital tools. Your child’s teacher will notify you of the particular supplemental digital tools being used in each class via email or on their Canvas course page.
For more information, please contact Ms. Kennedy at shannon_kennedy@hcpss.org.
Reminder: This Week’s Schedule Changes
11/3 - Election Day - HCPSS Schools and Offices Closed
11/6 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early / End of First Marking Period
The school day will end at 12:45 for students.
You can access your child’s schedule by clicking here.
Young Authors' Contest
The Howard County Literacy Association invites students in grades 1-5 to submit their original poems and/or short stories to the annual writing contest called The Young Authors' Contest. Please see the links below for information about the rules and guidelines. All entries must have a completed cover sheet sent as a PDF. Submissions must be emailed to Mrs. Taylor by December 2, 2020. (elizabeth_taylor@hcpss.org) Contact Mrs. Taylor with any questions.
Young Authors’ Contest information can be found at http://hocoreads.weebly.com/young-authors-contest.html. Howard County Literacy Association welcomes parents as members. Visit http://hocoreads.weebly.com/ for information about joining.
Residency Reminder
Even though HCPSS is currently operating in a virtual learning environment, families need to alert their school if they move, especially if they move to another attendance area. While in the spring transfers between schools were minimized, it is now the 2020-2021 school year and all students should be enrolled at the school for their assigned attendance area. Please visit our SJLES website at sjles.hcpss.org or contact Mrs. Wolfrey at robin_wolfrey@hcpss.org for more information.
HCPSS Invites Stakeholder Input on the School Resource Officer Program
The Howard County Public School System invites students, parents and guardians, staff members and community stakeholders to share their input about the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program in HCPSS schools. Feedback about the program may be provided by emailing SROinput@hcpss.org. All messages will be reviewed; however, due to the anticipated volume, individual responses should not be expected. The feedback provided will inform HCPSS' ongoing review of the roles, purpose and outcomes of SROs in Howard County schools. An update was presented at the October 22, 2020 Board meeting.
Stakeholder Input on Spring Semester Instructional Model
Parents/guardians, students, staff and other stakeholders may provide input and feedback to the Board of Education regarding the spring semester instructional model by emailing spring-input@hcpss.org. The Board will review all emails; however, due to the anticipated volume, individual responses should not be expected.
PTA NEWS
PTA Meeting 11/4 @ 6:30
The November (virtual) PTA meeting is this week: Wednesday Nov 4th @6.30pm. Please come along! The meeting information can be accessed below…
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87020551032?pwd=bTlMdU5QaUx2KzNkVEhhaWxPa1Vvdz09
Meeting ID: 870 2055 1032 / Passcode: 614511
Pumpkin Decorating Competition
We had a great response to the Pumpkin decorating competition. The judges are now making the very difficult decision on who the winners will be. Results announced on Friday! You can view all entries HERE
Virtual Book Fair
Don’t forget, the SJLES Book Fair is open RIGHT NOW. All purchases will be shipped directly to your home and we’ve been assured they will arrive in time for the holidays. This is a great way to support your school AND encourage the love of reading in our kids. CLICK HERE for the online store.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Access our SJLES Public Calendar at https://sjles.hcpss.org/calendar
11/3 - Election Day - HCPSS 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 / 12:45 Dismissal
11/8 - Final Day of Virtual Scholastic Book Fair
11/11 @ 12:00 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
4th & 5th Grade Principal Lunch Bunches
Mr. Notari and Mrs. Redd are excited to offer a Virtual Lunch Bunch to our fourth and fifth graders next week. We truly enjoyed our K-3 lunch bunches over the past two weeks and look forward to engaging with our “big kids” on Wednesday!
Schedule & Google Meet Times and Code
4th Grade: Wednesday. 11/4 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch4
5th Grade: Wednesday 11/4 @ 12:30 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch5
Updates on School Meals
Free school meals previously due to expire at the end of December, have been extended through the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Thus, HCPSS will be able to provide meals at no cost to any HCPSS student, and all children 18 and under, through the entire school year, assuming continued availability of USDA funding.
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!
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