Greetings SJLES Families,

We hope you all had a wonderful winter break and holiday season! As we re-engage with learning after a long winter break, I wanted to share how proud I am of our students’ engagement in this virtual setting thus far. Our Jaguars are keeping their camera on during learning, participating in and enriching discussions, asking thoughtful questions, monitoring their work submissions, and accessing their synchronous supports when necessary. Our young people have figured out this new learning platform and are demonstrating growth. Our staff has done an outstanding job working to ensure this is true for each and every SJLES Jaguar. I am very grateful for their continued efforts to engage and reach all students! 

This start to the new year provides a natural opportunity to check-in with our students, to recalibrate where needed, and to ensure that they, our staff, and our families are doing all we can to keep them engaged and sustaining success. Below is a link to our HCPSS website that provides really helpful tips and questions to support instruction at home during this time of virtual learning. Here is that link… 

• https://www.hcpss.org/2020-2021/supporting-instruction/  

Mrs. Redd and I are currently meeting with all 4th and 5th grade homerooms to uplift and celebrate the strengths they have demonstrated thus far and reinforce the best practices to remain engaged and successful. We truly love coaching them up and enjoy the opportunity to engage with them any time we can!

Thank you for your continued support of our school community, our students, and staff. We look forward to partnering with you in your child’s education in 2021. On behalf of Mrs. Redd and our entire school staff we wish you and your family health and happiness in this new year!

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal 

NEW NEWS 

HCPSS School Year Status Update 

At last night’s Board of Education meeting, Dr. Martirano presented a timeline for the return and expansion of in-person small groups. The Board of Education also held a discussion regarding priorities for a fourth quarter instructional model. You can read more about the plan by clicking on the link below...

• https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2021/01/superintendent-presents-2020-2021-third-quarter-timeline-for-in-person-small-groups/ 

Rising 6th Grade Parent Orientations

Fifth grade families, please be on the lookout for an email containing updated information and dates regarding the upcoming Middle School Parent Orientations. Our goal is to have this information to you no later than Monday and possibly by the end of the day today. Stay tuned!   

Next Round of Principals’ Lunch Bunch

Mr. Notari and Mrs. Redd are excited to offer our first Virtual Lunch Bunches of 2021 with each grade level team. During our January lunch bunches we will provide time for questions and answers. Students can submit questions prior to their lunch bunch by accessing the link below. 

• Principal Lunch Bunch Question & Answer Form 

We will continue to offer these opportunities to engage students with their administrators, friends, and special surprise guests throughout the school year. We look forward to seeing many of our Jaguars at our January lunch bunches!

Principals’ Lunch Bunch Schedule & Google Meet Codes: 

• Kindergarten & 1st Grade:

  • Wednesday, 1/13 @ 12:00/ Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunchK1

• 2nd Grade & 3rd Grade:

  • Wednesday, 1/20 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch23

• 4th Grade & 5th Grade

  • Wednesday. 1/27 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch45

PBIS Gold for SJLES!

We are happy to share that SJLES has once again been recognized as a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Gold School for the 2019-2020 school year! A huge thank you to our PBIS team and every staff member who helps make PBIS come to life at our school especially during this time of virtual learning. I see another Gold in our future. Job well done, SJLES!

Save The Dates: Winter MAP Administration

The winter at home administration for the Measures of Academic Progress assessments will be delivered to grades 1-5 on the following dates and times. More information to follow. 

• Wednesday, 2/3 - Reading (9-11am)

• Wednesday, 2/10 - Math (9-11am)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Access our SJLES Public Calendar at https://sjles.hcpss.org/calendar 

• 1/13 @ 12:00 - K & Gr. 1 Principals’ Lunch Bunch / Code: PrincipalBunchK1

• 1/15 - Jaguar Pride - Celebrate our SJLES Pride and wear your Spirit Wear or school colors

• 1/18 - Schools and Offices Closed / MLK Birthday Observed

• 1/19 @ 6:00 - The Council of Elders Celebration of Academic Achievement

• 1/20 @ 12:00 - Gr. 2 & 3 Principals’ Lunch Bunch / Code: PrincipalBunch23

• 1/23 - It’s Time to be Kind Day:  Wear as much blue as you can to create an SJLES wave of blue to create kindness month  

• 1/27 @ 12:00 - Gr. 4 & 5  Principals’ Lunch Bunch / Code: PrincipalBunch45

• 1/28 - Quarter 2 Ends

• 1/29 - Parent Teacher Conference scheduling window opens 

• 1/29 - Professional Work Day: Schools Closed for Students

• 2/3 @ 9-11 - MAP Reading for grades 1-5 

• 2/3 @ 6:30 - Virtual PTA meeting 

• 2/4 - Patapsco Middle School Back to School Knight  

• 2/5 - Report Cards Issued 

• 2/5 - #EXTREMEJAGUARPRIDE: Wear ALL your blue, yellow, and/or spirit wear to show your school spirit!

• 2/5 -  Parent Teacher Conference scheduling window closes

• 2/10 @ 9-11 - MAP Math for grades 1-5  

• 2/10 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / Parent Teacher Conferences

• 2/11 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / Parent Teacher Conferences

• 2/12 - School Closed for Students  

• 2/15 - Schools and Offices Closed / Presidents’ Day 

• 2/18 - Hip, Hip, Hooray it's the 100th Day!: We invite our jaguars to dress up like they are 100 years old to celebrate 100 days of hard work at SJLES!

• 2/19 - Color Wars Day: Represent your grade level spirit by wearing as much of your grade levels color as you can! 

REPEATED NEWS 

Robinson Nature Center Virtual Field Trips 

We are happy to share that all of our Jaguars will take a virtual field with the Robinson Nature Center this month. Teachers will share additional information with their individual homerooms. Listed below is an overview of each grade level’s program. Thanks to Mrs. Mary Pat Robinson for her work coordinating this opportunity for our students and to The Robinson Nature Center for engaging our students in these virtual field trips!   

• Grades K & 1: Wildlife Wonders - Animals fascinate. From foxes and finches to frogs and fish, introduce your students to common kinds of animals with an emphasis on the five vertebrate groups (birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians). Investigate the similarities and differences between animal groups through props and mounts. Older students further explore life cycles and gain an understanding of how young animals, particularly amphibians, can differ drastically in appearance from their parents. 

• Grades 2 & 3: Happening Habitats - Adaptations are everywhere, and there is no better way to investigate than by examining the organisms found in different locations at the center. Discover how plants and animals have special features and types of coloration that allow them to survive in specific habitats. Compare man-made inventions to features found on plants and animals; and determine how humans and organisms use these features to meet their basic needs. Examine furs, feathers, seeds and other objects that give clues to the survival of animals and plants that call each habitat “home.” 

• Grades 4 & 5: Starlight, How Bright? - Witness the wonders of the night sky in this immersive planetarium program! Observe the relationship of the Earth to the moon and the Sun. See how Earth’s movement though space causes patterns in the appearance of stars and other celestial objects. Explore the constellations; and learn why stars change position seasonally. Investigate the scale of our solar system and the planets within it. 

SJLES Technology Help

If you experience any technology issues, remember to fill out our SJLES Technology Form and a member of our team will help you. Additional details can be found on sjles.hcpss.org 

Wednesday Live Supports 

• Listed below is our Wednesday live support schedule to help students with organizing and understanding asynchronous assignments for science, social studies and health. 

• These sessions are OPTIONAL and do not count toward attendance. 

• You can access the schedule and google codes below. 

• The two blocks of time on Wednesdays are 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM which allow you to select a time that best fits your schedule. 

• If you have any questions or concerns, please email alexcia_redd@hcpss.org. 

Grade	Paraeducator & Time	AM Time	PM Time	Google NickName
K	Jane Derro Nancy Carter	9:00  - 9:45 AM	2:00 - 2:45 PM	SJLES-Support-grK
1	Joann Chen  Jean Austin	9:00  - 9:45 AM	2:00 - 2:45 PM	SJLES-Support-gr1
2	Erin Fowler Cindy Chen	9:00  - 9:45 AM	2:00 - 2:45 PM	SJLES-Support-gr2
3	Jeanne Deboy Jean Williams	9:00  - 9:45 AM	2:00 - 2:45 PM	SJLES-Support-gr3
4	Vanessa Litchliter  Carol Ann Stein Jane	9:00 - 9:45 AM	2:00 - 2:45 PM	SJLES-Support-gr4
5	Jeemin Lee  Deepa Gazula	9:00 - 9:45 AM	2:00 - 2:45 PM	SJLES-Support-gr5

Donation Update 

We can’t thank you all enough for your support of the Howard County Food Bank. In a few short weeks, our SJLES community raised a total of $1,380 to support the Howard County Food Bank. This holiday season it cost $50 to provide a family a week’s worth of food. That means you all are directly responsible for making sure 28 families had food!  Thank you for your continued generosity, SJLES!!!   

Preferred Name Rollout

A new process will be enabled in January 2021 to allow students to show a preferred name in Synergy, Canvas and Google. Students can follow this process.

1. Go to hcpss.me

2. Go to Synergy

3. Click on “Student Info” in the lower left

4. Look for the “Preferred First Name” field to see what is there now.

5. This name will show in Canvas and Google beginning the first week of January, 2021.

   1. If you do not want this name to show or would like something else to show, contact your administrator  by December 21, 2020.

   2. If you do want this name to show, you don’t need to do anything.

Note: The preferred name will carry over from year to year unless a change is requested. Once a requested change is made, that preferred name will remain for the student’s HCPSS career unless another change is requested through the school secretary/administrator. 

For students who are transgender or gender non-binary, there is an additional procedure to mask their legal name and/or gender assigned at birth, providing additional confidentiality. If you think this may apply to you, please reach out to your school counselor to discuss. Let your counselor know that you are interested in learning about the presenting name option/masking process.