SJLES Updates 3/30/22

Wed, 03/30/2022 - 1:54pm

Greetings SJLES Families, 

 

It is hard to believe that the end of the third quarter is already upon us! Tomorrow, we will celebrate our students’ Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn behaviors at our Jaguar Buddy Bingo Bonanza End of Quarter PBIS Celebration. Throughout the school year our Jaguar Buddy program facilitates activities between our primary and intermediate Jaguars (K & 3rd, 1st & 4th, and 2nd & 5th) to help foster a culture where our students see children from other grade levels as part of a family of learners who support and care for each other. Our intermediate students learn to mentor our primary students and take on leadership roles. Our primary students develop social skills from their older peers and make friends with “a big kid!” These activities are some of my personal favorites and tomorrow will be a fun one. Our Jaguar Buddies will come together tomorrow afternoon to play several games of schoolwide bingo with the opportunity for each buddy to win big prizes. All students will earn a Spot-O-Gram for playing so that everyone walks away a winner at this end of quarter celebration.  

 

Please mark your calendar for this Friday which is the end of the third quarter and a 3-Hour Early Dismissal for all HCPSS schools. SJLES will begin dismissal at 12:20 PM. 

Here’s to a great end to quarter three and to even better final quarter of the school year together. Thank you all for your on-going support, collaboration, and partnership! 

 

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

 

NEW NEWS

Chromebook Changes

Starting Monday, April 4th, we are making a shift in how and where Chromebooks are stored.  Students in grades 2-5 will be keeping their Chromebook at school. This shift will help reduce the wear and tear of the transport of devices and allow for consistent use in instruction during the school day.  Students will still be using the Chromebook assigned to them throughout the day. If a student has a specific need for the device to go home each day, special permissions may be granted. Students are expected to follow the HCPSS Code of Conduct and Policy 8080 Responsible Use of Technology. Please continue to talk with your child about the appropriate use of technology in and out of the classroom. In addition, all Chromebook chargers should be returned to school.

 

Spring MAP Testing

Students in grades 1 through 5 will take the MAP assessment in Reading and Math beginning in April. Students will need to bring their fully charged Chromebooks to school each day of testing. It is anticipated that first graders will have their dedicated Chromebooks by this time. If not, we will provide Chromebooks for them as we did in the fall. 

  • 1st grade: 4/4, 4/8, makeup 4/22

  • 2nd grade: 4/5 , 4/7, makeup 4/25

  • 3rd grade: 4/6, 4/7, makeup 4/20

  • 4th grade: 4/26, 4/28, makeup 4/29

  • 5th grade: 4/5, 4/6, makeup 4/7

Please contact your child’s teacher with any questions you may have about MAP testing.

 

Spring MCAP Testing

This spring, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will take the Spring MCAP assessment. The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is the overarching term used for all state assessments.

 

The ELA portion of the MCAP is administered in four 70-minute sessions. The Math portion is administered in four 40-minute sessions. All students will need to bring corded headphones to school for each day of the ELA portions. If your child does not have corded headphones to bring to school, please let their teacher know so we can plan to provide them. SJLES will administer the MCAP on the following dates for each grade level:

3rd grade:

  • ELA: 5/16, 5/17, 5/19, 5/20 - bring corded headphones

  • Math: 5/23, 5/24, 5/25, 5/26

  • Make-up: 5/31

4th grade:

  • ELA: May 3, 4, 5, 6 - bring corded headphones

  • Math: May 16, 17, 19, 20

  • Make-up: May 23 

5th grade:

  • ELA: April 24, 25, 28, 29 - bring corded headphones

  • Math: May 23, 24, 25, 26

  • Make-up: TBD

Please contact Erin Coleman with any questions about MCAP at erin_coleman@hcpss.org 

 

Outdoor Lunch Requests 

Due to the increase in outdoor lunch requests and the need to update seating charts indoors and outdoors to reflect each student request, all new requests to eat outdoors will go into effect each Monday. If a parent sends a request for outdoors on a Tuesday, for example, their child will be on the updated outdoor list beginning the next Monday. This allows us to appropriately plan for staffing and ensure seating is available for all students. Thank you for your patience. Please use this link to request outdoor seating for Spring.

 

Additional tip: If your child eats outside this spring, please send them to school with shoes that are OK to get muddy, as there may be wet grass and areas of mud in the outdoor eating spaces due to foot traffic over the course of this school year. 

 

Virtual Academic Supports through Evening School

Please note that the virtual academic supports being provided through the Evening School Program will conclude for this school year on April 7. 

 

HCASC Area Three Listen & Learn 

Tonight, the Howard County Association of Student Councils (HCASC) will be having their quarterly “Listen and Learn” meeting for students.  This forum provides an excellent opportunity for all students to share their ideas and concerns regarding the experiences they encounter in our schools with the members of HCASC and central office leaders.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

REPEATED NEWS 

SJLES MLK Dream Maker’s Contest

In February, we had many Jaguars submit essays, poems, and artwork for our SJLES MLK Dream Maker’s Contest! Congratulations to these students for winning among their grade level areas…

  • Kindergarten Essay: Oorja R.

  • First Grade Poem: Grant M.

  • First Grade Essay: Sanaa M.

  • Fourth Grade Poem: Bryn M.

  • Fifth Grade Essay: Saanvi K.T.

  • Fifth Grade Artwork: Muminah T.

Tentative Last Day of School

As of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, HCPSS has used four inclement weather days this school year and made up one of those days by opening schools February 21. As such, the last day for pre-K/RECC students is currently Tuesday, June 14, and for K-12 students is Friday, June 17, 2022. Full details on the calendar are available online.

Details related to end-of-year activities and information can be found online. That page will be continually updated as new information becomes available. 

End-of-Year Updates

Details related to HCPSS end-of-year activities and information can be found online. This page will be continually updated as new information becomes available.  

 

SPREAD THE WORD! Kindergarten Registration Is OPEN!

​​Parents/guardians of a child who will be five years old on or before 9/1/22 must complete an online registration to enroll their child in Kindergarten for the 2022-2023 school year.  

 

It is recommended that you work on a laptop or desktop to complete registration. 

For details about registration and enrollment, visit https://www.hcpss.org/enroll/ If you are without access to a computer or have questions please contact our teacher secretaries Mrs. Wolfrey or Mrs. Smith at 410-313-2813 for assistance in completing the registration.Please ensure you are on the screen for 2022-2023 to register for next school year.

 

The following forms are needed in addition to the online registration:

The HCPSS Getting Ready for Kindergarten page, which includes resources to support kindergarten readiness and online registration and provide additional information and resources for families. This will include the information that is typically covered in the Road to Kindergarten live event, which includes information about kindergarten readiness, the kindergarten program, and registering children for school.

 

SJLES Daily Outdoor Lunch Status 

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. 

 

Daily Health Check Reminder

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

 

COMMUNITY NEWS & PROGRAMS

Please click here to visit the Community News and Programs page for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.