Greetings SJLES Families,
On behalf of our entire staff, we hope all of our families had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and thanks to all of our parents/guardians who attended Fall conferences last week. There are just a few updates below to share as we begin the week. Please note that today is a GREEN day for related arts. Here’s to a great week of learning and growing here at The Lane!
Sincerely,
Dan Notari
SJLES Principal
NEW NEWS
Principals’ Lunch Bunches: December
Mr. Notari and Mrs. Redd are excited to offer our next round of Virtual Lunch Bunches to our Jaguars in December. We look forward to connecting with the kids and are happy to provide additional opportunities for them to engage with their administrators, friends, and some special surprise guests. We hope to see many of our Jaguars at our Principal Lunch Bunches this month. Kindergarteners and 1st graders, we will see you this Wednesday!
Virtual Lunch Bunch Schedule & Google Meet Codes:
PTA Meeting THIS WEDNESDAY!
Virtual Turkey Trot
Today is the last day to get your entries in for the 2020 SJLES Virtual Turkey trot! Thank you so much to all the families for your entries so far. It's wonderful to see how active all our Jaguars have been over the break. The Turkey Trot committee will meet later this week to tally up the entries and announce winners!
-
EVENT DATE: Your run must be completed between November 23rd-30th.
-
TIME: Anytime that suits you best between Nov. 23rd and Nov. 30th.
-
LOCATION: Run/walk ANYWHERE that is SAFE! (sidewalks, paths, treadmill)*
-
DISTANCE: 1 mile (approximately 10-15 min) or more
Once you have finished your run complete the form at https://sjlespta.org/virtual-turkey-trot/. Please complete one form per child. All SJLES students who submit a form will be entered into a drawing for SJLES spirit wear.
Scholastic Book Fair Update
Over $500 was raised through the virtual Book Fair for our school media Center! Thank you so much for your support and we hope you are loving your new books. If you missed out this time, don’t fret, we’ll be holding another virtual event in the Spring.
What happens if I/my child has a connectivity or other issue logging on to class?
We recognize there may be times the applications HCPSS is using for virtual learning may not work as anticipated. This may be due to the nationwide increase in demand on these services or an issue with your local internet provider. HCPSS teachers will be understanding and flexible if interruptions to technology services cause delays in assignment submissions and missed virtual learning sessions.
Additionally, if there is a power outage or other situation out of the student’s control that would prevent them from completing an assignment, the student or parent/guardian should contact the teacher as soon as possible to alert them to the issue and determine if the due date can be extended. More information is available online.
Student Services Team Update
Each year, the Howard County Department of Community Resources and Services publishes a catalog of the many Organizations within the County who serve our families and children. Please take a moment to glance through the most recent catalog!
Now, more than ever, we recognize that it takes a village to care for our kids and families. Inside the catalog, you'll find organizations assisting with a range of services (childcare, education, special needs services, support groups, sports, etc.). Have a look!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Access our SJLES Public Calendar at https://sjles.hcpss.org/calendar
-
12/2 @ 12:00 - Kindergarten & 1st Grade Principal Lunch Bunch
-
12/2 @ 6:30 - Virtual PTA Meeting
-
12/4 - Rainbow Day: Wear as many colors as possible!
-
12/9 @ 12:00 - 2nd & 3rd Grade Principal Lunch Bunch
-
12/11 - When I Grow Up Day: Dress up as an occupation you would like to be when you grow up
-
12/16 @ 12:00 -4th & 5th Grade Principal Lunch Bunch
-
12/18 - Sweater Day: Wear your ugliest, most interesting or favorite sweater
-
12/22 (UPDATED) - 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
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.
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
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.
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!