NEW NEWS

Students Fasting for Ramadan

We wish a Happy Ramadan, which begins on the evening of March 22nd, to our families who observe. We know that many of our students will be fasting during the day. If you would like to request an alternative activity (outside of the cafeteria) during the period of Ramadan please email our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Liaison, Mrs. Blake, at natalie_blake@hcpss.org with the following information by the end of the day Tuesday, March 21st.

• Child’s Name

• Grade Level

• Homeroom Teacher

Mrs. Blake will coordinate alternate activities for our students during this holiday time. 

Strawbridge Class Group Photos and Spring Individual Portraits - 3/29 & 3/30

Picture day is coming! Just a reminder that school pictures are not only great keepsakes for your family but an important fundraiser for our school. Listed below are the details for Class Photos and Spring Individual Photos. Thank you for your support! 

• Class Group Photos - Order envelopes will be sent home with students this week, however we encourage you to purchase class photos through Strawbridge’s online ordering system. Here are the steps… 

• Go to www.strawbridge.net

• Click on Order Pictures

• Enter the SJLES online code: FM397564

• Follow prompts

• Spring Individual Photos - Spring packages include several sheets of photographic prints, including a spring montage. A full package is printed for each student and sent home to families at a later date. Parents may purchase the entire package or specific photos. Purchases can be made via cash, check or online through the secure Strawbridge Studios website.  Parents can then return the unwanted packages to their school. Unpurchased images are returned to Strawbridge Studios and recycled using a secure recycling program.

Celebrating Our Jaguars!

We are incredibly proud of our Jaguars’ Kind, Engaged, Responsible, & Resilient behaviors this quarter. Our grade level teams are currently scheduling their 3rd Quarter Jaguar Huddles which will kickoff next week. As a reminder, the goals of these new Jaguar Huddles are to…

• further build community within each grade level team.

• uplift and reflect upon how our students’ successfully demonstrated our Jaguar Expectations throughout the quarter.

• celebrate achievements.

• reflect upon areas for growth and set goals for the following quarter.

• spend quality time together as a grade level team.

Our Jaguar Huddles pair with our PBIS Quarterly Celebrations to explicitly recognize and celebrate our students for all they do to make SJLES such a wonderful place to learn and grow. This quarter our students will participate in Jaguar Buddy Bingo Bonanza where they will partner with their Jaguar Buddy to have some fun playing Schoolwide Bingo and win prizes. We are happy to share that all 661 students will receive a prize for playing. We look forward to recognizing and celebrating our students in the coming days.

Indicators of Educational Equity Survey: 18 Completed Surveys Thus Far!

As part of our school improvement process, we are asking families to provide input about their equity priorities at our school. Our families’ insights shared in this survey will help shape our School Improvement Plan for the 2022-2023 school year. 

Please use the links below to complete the HCPSS Indicators of Educational Equity Survey by May 5, 2023. We will use your input, along with other school data, to refine our school improvement plan for next year. 

This survey is anonymous and available in multiple languages. If you have children at more than one school, please complete one survey per school. For additional information please visit sjles.hcpss.org.

• English survey

• Spanish survey

• Chinese survey

• Chin survey

• Korean survey

REMINDER: Kindergarten Registration is Open! Please Spread the Word!

HCPSS Kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year is open! Parents/guardians of children who will be five on or before September 1, 2023, must enroll their children in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. Details about the enrollment process are available online.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

• Click here to access/subscribe to our SJLES Public Calendar 

• Click here to access/subscribe to the updated HCPSS Calendar

• Click here to access the HCPSS Related Arts Color Day Schedule        

• 3/17 - 3/23 - Book Fair

• 3/23 - Book Fair Evening Shopping

• 3/24 - Hearing & Vision Screening

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

• 3/28 Hearing & Vision Rescreening

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

• 3/30 - PBIS Q3 Celebration: Jaguar Buddy Bingo

• 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 

• 4/11 - HCPSS Schools Reopen

• 4/11 - 4/14 - Grade 5 ELA MCAP

• 4/12 @ 8:00 - PTA Zoom Meeting

• 4/14 - Optional Artifact Support Session 

• 4/14 - Disney Day: Celebrate all the magic at SJLES by dressing up as your favorite Disney character or wearing your favorite Disney apparel

• 4/14 @ 6:00 - PTA Outdoor Bingo Night

• 4/17 - 4/18 - Grade 5 Math MCAP

• 4/18 - Report Cards Issued

• 4/18 - 4/19 - Grade 3 Math MCAP

• 4/20 - PTA Cultural Arts: Taikoza Japanese Drummers 

• 4/21 - HCPSS Schools Closed for Students: Professional Work Day

• 4/24 - 4/27 - Grade 3 ELA MCAP

• 4/25 - 4/26 - Grade 4 Math MCAP

• 5/1 - 5/4 - Grade 4 ELA MCAP

REPEATED NEWS 

SJLES Earns 5-Star MSDE School Report Card

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released the annual school accountability measure this past week. This is the third time MSDE has issued the School Report Card star ratings. MSDE skipped the accountability measures for the previous two years due to the pandemic.

The Report Card was created in alignment with the Every Student Succeeds Act which is a federal accountability standard initiated in 2015. The MSDE School Report Card considers multiple data points before ultimately assigning a star ranking for every Maryland school.

SJLES received a 78.2 total earned percent and was designated as a 5-star school by MSDE on the 2021-2022 School Report Card. The 78.2 total earned percent placed SJLES in the 86th percentile among all elementary schools in Maryland. Comparatively, in 2019, SJLES earned a 68.6% and 4-star rating. To access our St. John’s Lane MSDE Report Card, please click here. For additional details about our Report Card please visit http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/. 

MCAP Home Reports Sent Home Last Week

On Thursday, 3/16/23 students in grades 4th and 5th were provided home results from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP). Results are for the spring 2022 Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA/L) assessments in Grades 3 through 8, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and English 10. This was the first full administration of the MCAP assessments that have replaced the previous Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) program. Results were delayed due to the federal standard setting process that new assessments are required to complete. 

The assessments use a four-point score scale, with students performing at levels 3 and 4 considered proficient for their grade level or course content. The second full administration of the MCAP assessments will occur this spring. Additional information is below! 

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. We will provide corded headphones to all students, but if your child has their own set that they prefer, they are welcome to bring them to school for testing.  Please contact Erin Coleman with any questions about MCAP at erin_coleman@hcpss.org. SJLES will administer the MCAP on the following dates for each grade level:

3rd Grade:

• ELA: 4/24, 4/25, 4/26, 4/27

• Math: 4/18 (two sessions), 4/19 (two sessions)

4th Grade:

• ELA: 5/1, 5/2, 5/3, 5/4

• Math: 4/25 (two sessions), 4/26 (two sessions)

5th Grade:

• ELA: 4/11, 4/12, 4/13, 4/14

• Math: 4/17 (two sessions), 4/18 (two sessions)

Make-Up testing will be held on 5/22-5/24.

Winter MAP Reports
Home report PDFs for the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Winter testing are now available in HCPSS Connect. The assessment was given to students in grades 1-8 in reading and mathematics. Reports can be viewed/downloaded by Parents/guardians by taking the following steps: 

1. Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy 

2. Select More Options from the left panel 

3. Select Report Cards from the menu 

4. Near the top of the page, select MAP_2023_Winter

Additional details on MAP testing and how to interpret the report can be found online. Please contact Erin Coleman with any questions at erin_coleman@hcpss.org. 

Here Ye, Here Ye!!!! Calling all SJLES Citizens

The date is set for the Annual SJLES 5th Grade Simulated Congressional Hearing on Thursday, May 25, 2023! Fifth grade will be in need of some volunteers from our community to help with decorations, coaching fifth graders for SCH, and the judge’s luncheon. Please complete this SCH Volunteer form and return it to your child’s homeroom teacher ASAP. 

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/