SJLES Update 2/17/23

Fri, 02/17/2023 - 2:22pm

Greetings SJLES Families,

It has been a great week celebrating our friendships and connecting with our cross grade-level Jaguar Buddies on Tuesday and celebrating our families’ cultures last night at Multicultural Night. Our evening events this year have been so very well attended and it is wonderful seeing our families and community come together, connect, and make memories. Thanks to our PTA for their tireless efforts to engage and celebrate our school community. We are truly thankful for your efforts and support! 

Just a reminder that all HCPSS schools are closed this Monday. On behalf of Ms. Coleman and our entire staff, thank you for your continued partnership and we hope you have a wonderful long weekend! 

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

NEW NEWS

SJLES Employee Appreciation Week Shout Out

February 27th - March 3rd is Employee Appreciation Week throughout HCPSS. Mr. Notari & Mrs. Coleman are planning something special each day next week to show our appreciation for the outstanding people who make a positive and lasting impact upon the lives of our students each and every day here at SJLES.

We wanted to extend our families an opportunity to join in on the fun. We encourage our families to take a moment to recognize a staff member who has made a positive connection and/or impact upon your child and/or family. Feel free to submit this form multiple times for different staff members. We will share your message with each individual staff member. Thank you, SJLES Families, for the outstanding support and encouragement you always show our staff!

Want to Invite Classmates to A Birthday Party? Connect Kids Outside of school?

Throughout the school year our families seek to connect our Jaguars with their classmates outside of the school day for birthday parties, playdates, and other fun get-togethers. The best way for families to do this is parent-to-parent contact via the school directory in Synergy. 

We encourage our families to opt-in to the school directory and access it to connect with other parents for events. Our teachers are happy to help distribute birthday party invitations if the entire class is invited. If everyone is not invited, oftentimes this can be a distraction coupled with hurt feelings for students who are not invited. We recommend that families leverage the school directory or have students pass out invitations outside of the school day, when possible. 

How can I find the school directory?

  • Login to Synergy https://sisparents.hcpss.org/PXP2_Login.aspx using your parent credentials.  

  • Choose “More Options” from the left menu

  • Then select “School Directory” 

    • If you don’t see this as an option, it may be that the student credentials are still entered. Log out, and log back in as a parent.

Solo and Ensemble Festival - Registration due by Friday 2/24

All band, orchestra, and chorus students can take part in this year's Elementary Solo and Ensemble Festival! This event takes place on April 15th at Long Reach HS, and is specifically for students enrolled in band, orchestra, and/or chorus this year. This is a great opportunity for the SJLES musicians to perform a song and receive feedback on their performance. For more information and to register, please view these Registration Links. Please contact Ms. Kalivretenos (alexis_kalivretenos@hcpss.org) with any questions.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

  • 2/17 - Tie Dye Day: Wear as much tie dye as you can!

  • 2/20 - All HCPSS Schools Closed

  • 2/22 - 3rd Grade to Wilde Lake HS Rouse Theater

  • 2/23 - Mix It Up Day

  • 2/23 - PTA Multicultural Night SNOW DATE 

  • 2/24 - Stuffed Animal Day: Students get to bring in a stuffed animal (that fits in backpack)

  • 2/27 - Kindergarten to Miller Branch Library

  • 2/27-3/2 - Employee Appreciation Week

  • 3/2 - Twin Day: TWINNING! Find a friend to match with for the day

  • 3/8 @ 8:00 - PTA Zoom Meeting

  • 3/10 - Jaguar Buddy Reading & Storybook Character Day: Celebrate Reading Month by dressing up as your favorite character from a book and read with your Jaguar Buddy

  • 3/15 - Schools Close 3 hrs. Early - Prof. Work & Wellness Day

  • 3/17 #JaguarPride - Wear School Spirit Wear or School Colors

  • 3/20-3/24 - Book Fair

  • 3/23 - Book Fair Evening Shopping

  • 3/24 - Favorite Book Day: Celebrate Reading Month by bringing your favorite book to class! Be ready to share your book at morning meeting!

  • 3/29-3/30 -  Spring Portraits & Class Group pictures

  • 3/31 - #JaguarPride: Celebrate our SJLES Pride & wear your Spirit Wear or school colors

  • 3/31 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / End of Quarter 3

  • 4/3-4/10 - HCPSS Schools Closed / Spring Break 

REPEATED NEWS

Congrats Rehan!

Congratulations to Second Grader Rehan Syed for writing the winning entry for the Howard County Young Authors' Contest for 2nd Grade Poetry, Smile and Arise! The names of all winners are posted on the Howard County Literacy Association website. We look forward to celebrating Rehan for this AWESOME accomplishment! 

Mix It Up Day 

SJLES will be participating in Mix It Up Maryland on February 23, 2023.  Mix It Up is a lunchtime event where schools encourage students to change their seats and interact with peers they may not normally interact with. Mix It Up was launched in 2001 by Learning for Justice and has shown powerful results in prompting students to remove social barriers and expand peer connections. 

Students in all grades will be given the opportunity to move their cafeteria seating on 2/23 for the day. The hope is that they choose to sit with peers they do not know, in an effort to make some new connections. Table tent cards will be placed on all tables to help facilitate and encourage conversation. Homeroom teachers will also be pre-teaching about the event leading up to it to help encourage students to take risks and meet new people. 

Help Keeping Toys At Home 

Families, we are seeing an increase in regards to our students bringing various toys and plush toys/stuffed animals to school. At times, students may earn a special day to bring in a plush toy by cashing in Spot-O-Grams, earning a JaguarPride class reward, or on one of our spirit days. Those are the exceptions to the rule. We could very much use your help in ensuring toys are staying home so that our Jaguars are focused on learning throughout their school day. Thank you for your support!

Reminder: Families Wishing to Park & Pick Up at Arrival & Dismissal

Parents who wish to park at SJLES and walk their child to and from the school building must park in the UPPER parking lot (closest to Mt. Hebron High School). If this applies to you, please designate your child as a WALKER in the Family File and notify the homeroom teacher so your child is dismissed through the walker door in the afternoon.

G/T Advisory Seeks Nominations for Educator Recognition - Due 3/3/23

The annual HCPSS Educator Recognition Program sponsored by the Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee (GTAC) celebrates educators who demonstrate exemplary commitment to the needs of advanced-level learners and/or the Howard County G/T Education Program. Although we will not hold an in-person event this year, we still want to take this opportunity to recognize these outstanding educators.

Now through March 3, families and students have the opportunity to recognize a G/T Resource Teacher, content or classroom teacher, or administrator who has enriched the educational experience of advanced-level learners. ALL educators for whom submissions are received will be recognized.

Submissions will be accepted via an online form, which includes a minimum 150-word description of the educator’s contribution to the education of advanced-level learners. Information and submission instructions are available online. Contact hcpssgtac@gmail.com with any questions.

HCPSS COMMUNITY NEWS & PROGRAMS 

In alignment with Howard County Board of Education, the following announcements have been approved by the Public Information Office for distribution. To view upcoming events click: https://community-programs.hcpss.org/