Greetings SJLES Families,
On behalf of each and every SJLES staff member, we wish all of our Jaguars and families a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday and break next week! We are thankful for the opportunity to be of service to this community. We are thankful that we can positively impact the lives of our students regardless of setting. We are thankful that our students are still learning, growing, and connecting during these uncertain circumstances. We are thankful for the partnership, support, and encouragement of our families.
During this time of giving we wanted to uplift our participation in the Kids Helping Kids Food Drive which has occurred over the past 15 years here at SJLES. Each year we collect thousands of nonperishable food items for families right here in Howard County. In an effort to continue our caring tradition, SJLES is holding a virtual food drive this year. Please consider donating to this great cause in our school’s name. Thank you for supporting our efforts to help those in need right here in our community!
We hope you all enjoy the weekend and we look forward to connecting with you at parent teacher conferences next week!
Sincerely,
Dan Notari
SJLES Principal
NEW NEWS
Virtual Learning Overview for Next Week
November 23rd and 24th are early dismissal days for parent teacher conferences.
School will end at 12:45 on each day.
You can review the grade level schedules here.
All HCPSS schools are closed on November 25, 26, 27 for Thanksgiving break.
There will be NO asynchronous assignments assigned to students during the week of November 23.
LexiaCore5 and DreamBox will be optional.
Google Hangout Update
HCPSS has received several concerns at the elementary level regarding the use of Google Hangouts. As a result, it will be disabled for our students starting November 20, 2020.
REMINDER: Fall 2020 SJLES Virtual Parent Teacher Conference Overview
Conference Structure
Fall Conferences can be scheduled with your child's English Language Arts teacher.
GT Math Teachers are available for conferencing with the families of their 4th graders.
Related Arts teachers have a limited number of conference times available in comparison to the large number of students they teach. We encourage you to schedule a conference only if you have a concern or if there are assignments you would like to discuss with the teacher. Parents of students making satisfactory progress should not feel as though they need to schedule a related arts conference.
Conference blocks are scheduled in 20 minute windows...
15 minutes dedicated to the parent teacher conference.
5 minute buffer for teachers to thoughtfully conclude their conference and prepare for their next conference.
Conferences will need to begin and end on time.
Scheduling a Virtual Parent Conference
Conference scheduling will open on Friday 11/13 and close on Thursday 11/19 so that teachers will have an appropriate amount of time to prepare for their conferences.
Any additional conferences beyond the times offered must be scheduled after the window has closed through direct contact with your child’s teacher.
To sign up for an ELA, 4th Grade GT Math, or Related Arts conference, please login to HCPSS Connect and click on "Conferences" in the navigation pane.
Refer to the Quick Reference Guide for more information and detailed steps to sign up for a conference.
Virtual Parent Conference Schedule
Monday, 11/23 from 1:20-7:20 p.m.
Tuesday, 11/24 from 1:20-7:20 p.m.
Wednesday, 11/25 from 8:20 a.m.-3:40 p.m.
Most teachers will host conferences on the evenings of 11/23 and 11/24.
Teachers who do not host evening conferences will offer conferences on 11/25.
There is no school for students on 11/25.
Logging onto Google Meet for your Conference
You will use your child’s HCPSS credentials to join the conference.
Google Meet Codes: You will see the meeting code for your conference in Synergy when you sign up for a conference. You will receive a reminder email with the room code from the Synergy system a few days before your conference.
To prevent “overlap” of conferences, teachers will be using Google Meet room joining security features.
You may have to wait to be admitted into the Google Meet room.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Access our SJLES Public Calendar at https://sjles.hcpss.org/calendar
11/20 - #JaguarPride: Celebrate our SJLES Pride and wear your Spirit Wear or school colors
11/23 & 11/24 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early - Parent/Teacher Conferences
11/25 - Schools Closed for Students - Parent/Teacher Conferences
11/26 & 11/27 - Thanksgiving Holiday - Schools Closed
12/2 @ 6:30 - Virtual PTA Meeting
12/4 - Rainbow Day: Wear as many colors as possible!
12/11 - When I Grow Up Day: Dress up as an occupation you would like to be when you grow up
12/18 - Sweater Day: Wear your ugliest, most interesting or favorite sweater
12/23 - PJ Day: Wear your favorite pjs to celebrate the last day of school before Winter Break
12/24 - 1/1 - Winter Break - SCHOOLS CLOSED
REPEATED NEWS
PTA Turkey Trot
Although we can’t physically gather as usual to run/walk on the Mt. Hebron HS track, we can still run this Thanksgiving! Physically distanced, but virtually united!
EVENT DATE: Your run must be completed between November 23rd-30th.
TIME: Anytime that suits you best between Nov. 23rd and Nov. 30th.
Always make sure you are clearly visible to cars and other pedestrians and especially in the twilight hours.
LOCATION: Run/walk ANYWHERE that is SAFE! (sidewalks, paths, treadmill)*
Please ensure a parent or guardian is present.
DISTANCE: 1 mile (approximately 10-15 min) or more
Once you have finished your run complete the form linked below. Please completed one form per child. All SJLES students who submit a form will be entered into a drawing for SJLES spirit wear.
Send us a picture of you and/or your family participating. We will create a picture collage that we would like to share with our school community! Mr. Notari will share a video message with our Jaguars on Monday morning to officially kick off the Turkey Trot. Thanks, in advance to everyone who participates!
Message From Our Related Arts Team
Our Related Arts team truly appreciates your support regarding your child’s completion of music, art, technology, physical education, media and band and orchestra assignments. We recognize managing asynchronous lessons can be challenging, at times, especially for our youngest learners! Please know that each of our Related Arts teachers provides instruction for hundreds of students each week and therefore, assignments may not be graded daily. Our team appreciates your understanding as we balance instruction, grading, and feedback. Be assured that all assignments will be graded in a timely manner and can be viewed via the Canvas grade book. As a reminder, Related Arts courses will only be included on the report card in Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 during virtual learning. Thank you SJLES families for your continued collaboration and support!
SJLES Technology Support Form Reminder
Please find below information regarding technology support for fall virtual instruction that includes both self-help resources and how to request technology support.
Student Technology Resources: Provides guides, resources and videos for HCPSS student technology. Below are some direct links to commonly used resources:
Canvas Orientation - includes how to navigate Canvas
Google Meet - includes a video overview of how to login
Chromebooks - provides a variety of resources for using an HCPSS Chromebook
Password and Username Self-Service: Allows families to request a password reset or student’s username. New students can use this application to retrieve their account information. This application is also linked off the hcpss.me website, which also includes user directions.
HCPSS Connect Parent Resources: Provides HCPSS Connect—including Synergy, Canvas, and Family File—guides and videos for parents.
If after reviewing these resources, your family continues to need support, please complete the Student and Family Technology Support Request Form and one of our staff members will reach out to you as soon as possible. If you cannot access the online form for any reason, please call the school at 410-313-2813.
Staff will attempt to resolve the issue, and if unsuccessful will provide directions for exchanging the broken device for a working one at the school system’s Onsite Technology Center. This information is also posted on our SJLES Website.
Quarter One Report Cards
Quarter one report cards will be available online via Synergy beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday November 16. Printed report cards will not be issued.
Parents/guardians may view/download report cards by taking the following steps:
Select More Options from the left panel
Select Report Cards from the middle
Select the report card you wish to access
HCPSS Grading Updates
Learning Behaviors will not be graded for SY20-21.
Related Arts courses will be graded only twice per year, during Quarter 2 and Quarter 4.
Health will be graded only twice per year, during Quarter 2 and Quarter 4.
Students in primary grades will earn an I (Independent) or W (With assistance) if they have engaged in synchronous instruction. Students in intermediate grades will receive A, B or C grades if they have engaged in synchronous instruction. As a result, Canvas grades may not align with quarter 1 report card grades.
These changes are in place for 1st quarter report card grades only. Asynchronous assignments complement and support synchronous learning, please support your child with task completion and with attending support sessions as needed.
Parents of students receiving special education services can expect to receive their child's IEP progress report no later than Friday, November 20 through email. If you have any questions about your child's progress or what to expect as we fulfill requirements for progress reporting, you may contact your child's case manager.
Google Play Information
In an effort to continue expanding our authorized set of digital tools for virtual instruction, HCPSS has curated a new set of supplemental digital tools that are available only through Google’s menu of additional services. These supplemental digital tools are approved by HCPSS and comply with federal, state and Howard County Board of Education student data privacy policies. Due to Google’s settings, students must access this set of tools by utilizing Google’s menu of additional services, which requires consent by a parent or guardian.
To provide consent:
Log in to HCPSS Connect.
Select More Options from the left panel.
Select HCPSS Google Menu from the middle of the page.
Click the check box to provide consent. Changes are saved automatically.
A parent or guardian must provide consent for each student by selecting the student’s name at the top of the page.
The digital tools currently included are: Book Room, Word Work, Scratch BluBot, Scratch JR, Sketch-Up, Collector Classic, JamBoard, Google Earth and Minecraft: Education. After a parent/guardian provides consent, students using a HCPSS Chromebook can access the tools through the Google Play Store icon on the Chromebook when logged in with an HCPSS account. There may be a delay of up to three days before the apps appear in the Google menu and some tools may automatically appear on the Chromebook once consent is provided by a parent or guardian without the need to install them. If your child has not been issued a Chromebook, please make the request following the information found online.
Please note:
HCPSS cannot guarantee that apps are available on devices other than HCPSS Chromebooks.
Teachers may or may not choose to use any or all of these apps during instruction. Students will be notified when a particular app will be used for instruction.
If you do not provide consent for your student’s access to these digital tools, your student’s teacher will provide alternative enrichment activities.
In addition to these Google tools, HCPSS has approved a robust set of supplemental digital tools. Your child’s teacher will notify you of the particular supplemental digital tools being used in each class via email or on their Canvas course page.
For more information, please contact Ms. Kennedy at shannon_kennedy@hcpss.org.
Young Authors' Contest
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 links below for information about the rules and guidelines. All entries must have a completed cover sheet sent as a PDF. Submissions must be emailed to Mrs. Taylor by December 2, 2020. (elizabeth_taylor@hcpss.org) Contact Mrs. Taylor with any questions.
Young Authors’ Contest information can be found at http://hocoreads.weebly.com/young-authors-contest.html. Howard County Literacy Association welcomes parents as members. Visit http://hocoreads.weebly.com/ for information about joining.