NEW NEWS
Picture Day is Coming!
We are excited to welcome back Strawbridge Studios to SJLES on Friday 10/8 to photograph our Jaguars for Fall 2021 school pictures. These portraits are not only a great keepsake for your family but an important fundraiser for our school. Please look for the order form coming home with your child. If you are interested in purchasing your child's photos please send the completed form in with your child by Friday, 10/8.
Please click here to sign up to receive updates via email regarding your child's school portraits. These updates include promotions, additional deals and the ability to order more pictures at a later time. When entering student information, parents should be sure to enter the student's name as it is on file at the school.
Flu Vaccine Clinic at SJLES! You must register before Friday, 10/8/21
Our SJLES Flu Vaccine Clinic will be held on Wednesday, 10/27. Parents who wish for their students to receive this free vaccine must sign up by 10/8. Please read this flyer or click on the link for the consent form and online sign-up instructions.
Fall MAP Testing
SJLES will administer the MAP test to all students in 1st through 5th grades in Reading and Math beginning the week of 10/18. Make-up testing will occur the week of 10/25.
MAP testing is administered using your child’s Chromebook. Please send them to school each day with a fully charged Chromebook the week of 10/18. First graders will be provided with SJLES Chromebooks if their HCPSS-issued Chromebooks have not yet arrived by the time of testing.
The HCPSS website contains detailed information about MAP testing here. If you have questions about MAP testing at SJLES, please contact Erin Coleman at erin_coleman@hcpss.org.
Assigned Seats on Busses
As we are a month into the school year, and some bus rosters have changed due to stop changes or changes to how students travel to and from school, we will be confirming bus lists and seating charts. For your awareness, SJLES provided drivers with a seating chart for each bus at the beginning of the year. Siblings were seated together and then single students were assigned two to a seat by grade, with the youngest near the front and oldest near the back.
We understand that on some busses, not all students have maintained their assigned seat. We also realize that our drivers are doing their very best to complete their (sometimes multiple) routes on time and this can be a barrier to implementing a seating chart for each ride. To support our drivers and provide clarity to students, to we will be personally assigning seats to students on each bus.
The drivers will be provided with a new chart to reflect each child's assigned seat for reference as well. Please help us reinforce the importance of sitting in assigned seats with your child. Please contact erin_coleman@hcpss.org with any questions.
HCPSS Student & Parent Handbook
The 2021-2022 Student and Parent Handbook is now available on the HCPSS website. This resource is helpful for navigating the school year and includes information about HCPSS practices, policies, and services available to support and enrich learning. Printed versions of the handbook are no longer provided.
Earlier this school year, Mr. Notari and Ms. Coleman facilitated age-appropriate discussions with K-5 teams highlighting our students’ rights and responsibilities. The topics discussed were based on the information within the handbook and differentiated to meet the needs of each grade level cohort.
Howard County GT Program Parent Academy - 10/13 & 10/14
HCPSS families interested in the Gifted and Talented (GT) Program are invited to come learn about the advanced-level offerings available and how their students can become involved. The evening will begin with an overview of GT Education Program offerings followed by a question-and-answer session with Central Office GT Education Program staff. Elementary and Secondary programs will be covered on separate days. Families may attend one or both nights. Registration is required for these events.
Elementary Focus: Wednesday, October 13, 7 – 8:00 p.m., being held virtually via Microsoft Teams
Secondary Focus: Thursday, October 14, 7 - 8:00 p.m., being held virtually via Microsoft Teams
For more information and to register, please visit the HCPSS GT Program Parent Academy announcement. The printable/downloadable flier has been created with event details and registration information as well.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
10/1 - Spirit Day- #JaguarPride: Wear your SJLES Spirit Wear or blue & yellow
10/6 - Walk/Bike to School Day
10/6 @ 8:00 PM - PTA Zoom Meeting
10/8 - Picture Day! Fall Portraits
10/8 - No Spirit Day due to Fall Portraits
10/15 - Professional Work Day - No School for Students
10/18 - MAP window opens at SJLES
10/22 - Rainbow Day - Wear as many colors as you can today!
10/25 - 10/29 - Quarter 1 PBIS Celebration Pumped Up Recess
10/25 - MAP Make-up window opens at SJLES
REPEATED NEWS
Breakfast Reminder
We are so happy to see so many students eating breakfast here at SJLES! If your child eats breakfast at school, please remind them that they are to go directly to breakfast when they arrive. Since instruction begins at 8:45, we are working with students to finish their breakfast on time for class. Going right to the cafeteria helps in this effort. Thank you!
Instructional Supports During Quarantine
HCPSS has implemented additional health and safety measures in schools to provide a safe learning environment; however, there are times when students and staff must quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 or being identified as a close contact. Parents/guardians will be notified by their child’s school when that child must quarantine after being identified as a close contact, or if there is a confirmed outbreak and the Howard County Health Department has instructed HCPSS to have a full class quarantine.
Comprehensive information about students in quarantine and the instructional supports available, as well as answers to many frequently asked questions on this, and other related topics are provided online at:
New HCPSS Students in Quarantine website
HCPSS Help site FAQs on:
Please note that students in quarantine will be provided with robust asynchronous instructional materials, which will differ from packets previously provided to students. The packets sent home earlier this year are an additional resource that may be used immediately after a student is told to quarantine and until they receive a device and robust instructional material packet.
Daily Health Check Reminder
Parents/guardians MUST perform a COVID-19 health check every day before your student leaves home.
Text Message Access
HCPSS & SJLES often communicate important information that we need parents to know immediately via text messages. If you receive our texts, then you do not need to do anything else! If you do not, we highly recommend that you opt-in. Here are the instructions on how to opt-in to text messaging...
Text “YES” to 67587 from the wireless device you wish to receive texts on.
You will receive an "opt in" message from HCPSS sent from SchoolMessenger.
Text Y and hit send.
You will now begin receiving text alerts from SJLES and HCPSS.
Consider having a close relative or family friend sign up for HCPSSNews alerts. This is a helpful safeguard on unexpected early dismissal days. Community members or any non-HCPSS can sign up to receive messages by visiting this sign-up page.
Umbrellas / Dress For the Weather / Dismissal Impact
Thanks for always sending your child dressed for the day’s weather conditions. When students have umbrellas and clothes to keep dry in the rain it expedites our entire dismissal process. Our goal this year is for students to dress appropriately for the weather and use their umbrellas to stay dry while waiting outside for cars, vans, and buses. Depending on the severity of the weather, we may have to dismiss student by student in the car loop, which creates a potential for additional long delays. This is only a last resort if the weather is unsafe due to the impact it has on St. John’s Lane in both directions.
HCPSS Educational Partnerships for 2020-2021
The HCPSS Educational Partnerships 2020-2021 Annual Report has just been released. Each school’s partners are listed, as well as system wide (at-large), curricular and program office partnerships. The report demonstrates how partners work to make Howard County a thriving community that cares for all of its members. SJLES is grateful to partner with the following groups: China Taste, Glory Days Grill, Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, Howard County Library Miller Branch, Salazar Catering Services Boardroom Café, & Vocelli Pizza.
Community News and Programs
Please visit the Community News and Programs page at http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/ for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.