Greetings SJLES Families,

Happy Friday everyone! Our Update today has a lot of information, so thanks in advance for taking the time to read through each item, especially those in our NEW NEWS section. We recognize a bit of an uptick in our communication to our families and continue to attempt to strike the right balance in terms of providing the information you need to know while not overwhelming our community with multiple daily communications. Additionally, our schedule is less consistent than usual this month with holidays, three-hour early dismissals, two-hour late arrivals, and inclimate weather days. Please note there is no school for students this Monday, 1/24, due to a professional work day. Today is the end of the second quarter and our teachers will spend Monday finalizing report card grades and writing comments for our Jaguars. Stay warm, be well, and have a great weekend, SJLES!

 

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

 

NEW NEWS 

Optional Student Vaccination Status Survey for SJLES

The SJLES Health Room Staff are asking for your help to streamline our process of contact tracing by sharing your child's vaccination status. This will help us generate a central document that allows us to quickly organize and look up student vaccination status when needed. 

Participation in this survey is optional. Please click this link to complete the survey. 

Please submit one form per child that attends SJLES, even if you have already submitted your child's/childrens' vaccination cards to our health room staff. This information will ONLY be used by health room staff to confirm vaccination status as it relates to the HCPSS guidelines for COVID-19 quarantine and/or isolation. Please direct questions to Ms. Erin Coleman. Thank you!

SJLES Daily Outdoor Lunch Status 

• All lunch shifts will be INDOORS today due to low temperatures and wind chill.

• For interested families, we will communicate our Outdoor Lunch Status on our SJLES website landing page daily. Please be sure to check our website for our daily outdoor lunch status. 

• As previously shared, we remain committed to providing an outdoor lunch option as an additional mitigation effort when weather and staff coverage permit.  

• SJLES parents and guardians can complete this form to indicate their request to have their child eat lunch outdoors for the months of January, February, and March. This request will override all previous outdoor requests. 

  • Please only complete the survey if you wish for your child to eat outdoors January-March, regardless of your previous preference in the fall. Otherwise, your child will eat indoors. 

  • Please complete one form for each child that attends SJLES.

Winter Parent Teacher Conferences 

• Winter conferences with Mathematics teachers, 5th Grade GT Math teachers, and related arts teachers as necessary and will take place on Thursday, 2/10, and Friday, 2/11, following 3-hour early dismissals for students each day.  

  • Please note that our Related Arts teachers have a very limited number of conference times available in comparison to the number of students they teach. You are not required to schedule a related arts conference; however we encourage you to schedule a conference if you have a concern you would like to discuss with the teacher. If you would like to schedule a conference with a related arts teacher, please email the teacher to schedule with them directly.  Please visit our SJLES staff page at https://sjles.hcpss.org/school-staff for contact information. 

• Conferences will be held virtually via Google Meet & be scheduled in 15-minute blocks.

• On Friday, 1/28, HCPSS Connect will open for parents and guardians to sign up for winter conferences. The scheduling window closes on Friday, 2/4. Any additional conferences beyond the times offered must be scheduled after the window has closed through direct contact with your child’s teacher.

  • Please click here to find step-by-step scheduling instructions.

  • Please note that you will need to be logged in through your parent credentials in order to access the conference availability schedule.

• The HCPSS Family Engagement Committee has developed a Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Sheet to support families preparing for conferences. 

• Parents needing assistance should contact our front office staff at 410-313-2813.

Q2 Report Cards Issued 1/31

• Quarter Two report cards will be issued via Synergy on 1/31 after 5pm. 

• Directions for how to access your child’s report card can be found here: https://help.hcpss.org/grades-testing/online-report-cards

• A reference sheet has been developed to support families in understanding the Elementary School Report Card. 

Celebrating Our Friends at The Lane!

We will be celebrating the wonderful friendships our students’ have built this year at St. John’s Lane Elementary on Monday, February 14th. Classroom teachers will send home the first names of each student in your child’s homeroom class if students would like to exchange cards. Please note that this is an optional activity. Should your child choose to participate, your Jaguar should bring a card for each student in the homeroom class. Our teams are also planning for an engaging classroom activity focused on friendship. Please do not send any treats or goodie bags for this event, as we will be unable to distribute them to students. Any food products sent to school will be returned home. Thanks for your cooperation!

 

HCPSS Family & Community Resource Pages

Our SJLES families are often looking for ways to learn more about our HCPSS curriculum and for additional resources they can access to support their Jaguar at home. A great starting point is our HCPSS Family & Community Resource Pages. We wanted to uplift these pages to our families at this midpoint of the school year and hope you find the information and resources helpful. Please click on the goldenrod-colored tab on the top right corner to each page to learn more about each grade level content area. Links to each K-5 page are below…

• K Family & Community Resource Page

• 1st Family & Community Resource Page

• 2nd Family & Community Resource Page

• 3rd Family & Community Resource Page

• 4th Family & Community Resource Page

• 5th Family & Community Resource Page

HCPSS Summer Programs Preview   

Families can now view/download the 2022 Summer Programs Preview, which includes descriptions of HCPSS’ four summer programs and enrollment information. Online enrollment requests for current HCPSS students will open on Tuesday, 2/1, at 6:00 PM. 

 

SJLES MLK Dream Makers Contest: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Students in grades K-5 are invited to enter an original essay, poem, or art piece into our February 2022 MLK Dream Makers Contest! All entries should be submitted by February 18th, 2022 (see information below on how to submit). Entries will be judged by a panel of SJLES staff. Participating students from each grade could win first place for one of the two categories (essay/poem or artwork). All participating students will receive acknowledgement for their participation.

 

Essay or Poem Category - Students are asked to submit an original essay or poem (250 words max) using the following writing prompt: 

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream of what the world should be like. In his famous speech, he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. King’s dream was to have a fair, peaceful world where everyone if equal. What would your dream for our world today look like?

 

Art Category​​​​​​​ - Artists in grades K-5 may scan images or photos of their original work depicting their dream for our world today. Submitted artwork can include drawings, paintings or mixed media creations. 

Please submit your entries by February 18th by completing this Google Form:

• SJLES February 2022 MLK Dream Makers Contest Submission Form

Questions? Please email Mrs. Blake at Natalie_Blake@hcpss.org

 

Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics

Through a partnership with the Howard County Health Department and several local pharmacies, HCPSS is pleased that students have multiple opportunities to get vaccinated, including some clinics hosted in HCPSS schools.

Use the links below to register for a clinic and complete the consent process in advance. Paper consent forms will be available on-site if needed. 

 

Tuesday,1/25  @ 4:30-7:30

Deep Run Elementary School, 6925 Old Waterloo Road, Elkridge  in partnership with Soleil Pharmacy

Pfizer (5-11) first dose vaccine Schedule an appointment and complete the online consent form (Jan. 25)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

• Click here to access our SJLES Public Calendar 

• Click here to access the HCPSS Related Arts Color Schedule

• 1/21 - End of 2nd Marking Period

• 1/21 - Ocean of Blue Day: Wear as much blue as you can to celebrate kindness!

• 1/24 - Schools Closed for Students

• 1/25 - 1/31 - PBIS Spot-O-Gram Store Open

• 1/25 @ 6:00 - DMS Rising 6th Grade Orientation (Rescheduled)

• 1/28 - Spirit Day - Inside Out Day: Wear your clothes inside out!!

• 1/28 - HCPSS Connect opens to sign up for winter conferences

• 1/31 - Report Cards Issued

• 2/1 - Schools Closed for Students - Countywide Professional Learning Day

• 2/2 @ 8:00 PM - PTA Zoom Meeting 

• 2/4 - #JaguarPride Spirit Day: Celebrate our SJLES Pride & wear your Spirit Wear or school colors

REPEATED NEWS 

Safety First in the Car Loop

Thank you to all of our families who help make our car loop a safe and as efficient experience each day. Our wonderful car loop staff have noticed a few trends that we wanted to uplift to you all and ask for your cooperation to ensure safety for all students and staff. For additional information regarding our car loop procedures please click here. 

1. Please do not park in the car or bus loop lot during arrival or dismissal (8:30-8:45, 3:15 - 3:35).

2. Parents should stay in their cars while in the car loop. 

3. Students should enter and exit cars using the sidewalk. It is unsafe for students to walk in the parking lot during arrival and dismissal.

4. Please maintain a slow driving speed when in the car loop.

5. Keep pulling forward all the way.

6. If your child can independently unbuckle, please allow them to do so. Parents should remain in their cars unless their child cannot buckle or unbuckle independently. 

7. Watch out for people using the crosswalk.

Young Authors' Contest Submissions Due TODAY!

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 attached YAC Flyer Announcing Contest for information about the rules and guidelines. All entries must have a completed YAC Cover Sheet sent as a PDF. Submissions may be emailed to Mrs. Taylor by January 21, 2022. Contact Mrs. Taylor with any questions at elizabeth_taylor@hcpss.org.

Young Authors’ Contest information can be found on the HCLA website Howard County Literacy Association welcomes parents as members. Visit the HCLA Welcome Page for information about joining.

 

Essay Contest to Celebrate Ellicott City’s 250th Anniversary

In honor of the 250th Anniversary of Ellicott City, students are invited to participate in an essay contest.  

There will be three divisions:

• High School- students in grades 9-12

• Middle School- students in grades 6-8

• Elementary School- in grades PreK-5  

Contest Topic:

Over the past 250 years, Ellicott City has had a rich history.  Write an essay on an aspect of life in historic Ellicott City.  Some possible topics include, but are not limited to: the founding specific to the Ellicott’s involvement, interactions with Native Americans; B & O railroad; Thomas Isaac Log Cabin; the Civil War, the National Road, current and past restoration efforts; influence of past and current immigrants, advances in communication, transportation, or technology.

Contest Rules:

• Entries MUST address a historical aspect of Ellicott City.

• The essay must be written in English

• The title of the essay and division level should be on the top of the first page

• Length of submissions for each division are: Elementary: 1-3 pages; Middle School: 5-7 pages; High School: 8-10 pages

• For the elementary division, students may dictate and have an adult type; however, it should not be altered or edited by the adult.

• Entries must be saved in a document file or in a pdf.

• Entries must be submitted by Tuesday, April 19th.

• Entries should be submitted at: https://tinyurl.com/250-essay 

Prizes: 

• There will be three winners for each division with the following prize money:

  • Elementary School:  3-$100 prizes

  • Middle School:         3-$200 prizes

  • High School:            3-$350 prizes

SJLES Lunch and Recess Sign up Open for January & February

SJLES is ready for volunteers again and as you know they are super appreciative of our help. If you want to sign up to volunteer for lunch or recess please click here.  To help in your planning or just a fun fact, when the "feels like" temperature is below 20 degrees, SJLES will hold lunch and recess indoors.  And just a reminder, there is no recess on half days! Please email jane.gribble@gmail.com if you have any questions!! 

• Volunteer reminders

  • Please read the volunteer requirements carefully as you need to complete the PinPoint vaccination verification 5 days prior to your volunteering shift. Complete this requirement by clicking here. 

  • All volunteers must complete a Confidentiality Training Course about protecting the privacy of our students, staff, and schools, and the Child Abuse and Neglect Training about reporting any suspicion of child abuse or neglect to Howard County Department of Social Services. 

Daily Health Check Reminder

Parents/guardians MUST perform a COVID-19 health check every day before your student leaves home.

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.