SJLES Update 3/3/23

Fri, 03/03/2023 - 2:33pm

Greetings SJLES Families,

Ms. Coleman and I are having a great week showing our appreciation to the best staff in the whole world! Our staff members are not only outstanding at and dedicated to their craft, but they are truly outstanding people. They are completely invested in partnering with us and our SJLES families to build a culture for learning and growing that is second to none. We are very proud to serve as their administrators and thankful for their service to our learning community.  Thank you, SJLES Staff! 

We would like to thank our families who took some time to write one or more shout outs to our staff. I can assure you that they absolutely loved reading each shout out. We ended up with close to 300 shout outs to brighten the day of the people making a difference in the lives of our students. Thank you, SJLES families!

In other appreciation news, we recently celebrated the recipient of the HCPSS Staff Excellence Award for SJLES. This award recognizes exemplary performance by individuals as having consistently excelled in their positions and demonstrated a strong commitment to the mission, vision and values of the system. One individual from each of the 77 schools/centers will be selected along with one individual from each of the six Central Office divisions for a total of 83 HCPSS Staff Excellence recipients.

We are pleased to share that our 2023 HCPSS Staff Excellence Award winner is Vanessa Lichliter. Mrs. Lichliter is simply an outstanding paraeducator and asset to our school community. I am fairly certain that if you looked up “above and beyond” in the dictionary, you would find a picture of Mrs. Licliter. She was nominated and selected for this award because of her exemplary achievements and efforts in relation to the criteria below….  

  • Value: The individual is driven by cultivating a positive school/office culture and building relationships with others. 

  • Achieve: The individual consistently and substantially exceeds the expectations of the position performing at a level beyond normal job requirements. 

  • Connect: The individual demonstrates a high level of respect and dignity toward others. The individual promotes a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. 

  • Empower: The individual is driven by serving others and contributes to the well-being and success of others.

A most sincere thank you to Mrs. Lichliter for her outstanding service to our school and community! On behalf of Ms. Coleman and the rest of our SJLES staff, we hope you all have a great weekend and thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

NEW NEWS

Kindergarten Registration Opens 3/6 - Please Spread the Word!

HCPSS Kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year begins Monday, March 6th. 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.

Summer Program Registration

Synergy online enrollment requests for currently enrolled HCPSS students will reopen Wednesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. for the BSAP Summer Institute, Gifted and Talented Summer Institutes for Talent Development, Innovative Pathways High School (all courses except credit recovery and Gear Up for 9th Grade), and Summer Math Scholars programs.

HCPSS staff will provide in-person assistance for current HCPSS families who need help submitting their Synergy online enrollment requests for the registration-based summer programs. Support will be provided on Thursday, March 9 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the following elementary schools: Bollman Bridge ES, Swansfield ES, Talbott Springs ES, Waterloo ES, and Waverly ES.

Families can find up-to-date course information and enrollment directions on the Summer Programs web page (https://www.hcpss.org/summer-programs/). Contact the individual program offices with additional questions.

School Start Times Adjusted for 2023-24 School Year

The Board of Education voted at its Feb. 23 meeting to adjust school start times for the 2023-2024 year. The exact start time for each school will be determined this spring and shared with the community as transportation routes are finalized. The new start times will take effect beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, slated to begin for students on Aug. 28, 2023. There is no impact to the current school year.

  • For the 2023-2024 school year, SJLES is slated for Tier 3, approx. 9:15-3:45. 

  • Our current school day hours are 8:45-3:15.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

  • 3/3 - 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 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 

REPEATED NEWS

5th Grade MISA Testing

SJLES 5th graders will take the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) on March 14 and March 17 in their Content classes. Students who are absent during either of these testing sessions will have the opportunity to make up the test prior to March 24 when the testing window closes. Information about this assessment and other resources such as practice tests can be found on the HCPSS website by clicking this link.

All students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will take the MCAP in ELA and Math this spring. Further information will be shared in an upcoming message. Only 5th graders take the MISA. Please contact your child’s homeroom teacher or Erin Coleman with any questions regarding the MISA.

The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) provides information to educators, parents and the public on student progress towards proficiency on the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards. Through a strong assessment system, stakeholders gain an understanding of how schools are performing and where assistance can be directed to support student growth and achievement.

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that states administer the following annual statewide assessments:

  • English Language Arts/Literacy – Grades 3-8 and 10

  • Math – Grades 3-8, Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry (MS only)

  • Science – Grades 5, 8 and HS students enrolled in Biology course

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.

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.

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/