SJLES Update 8/23/22

Wed, 08/24/2022 - 8:59am

Greetings SJLES Families, 

The excitement is building! Tomorrow night at 6:30 we will welcome our Kindergarten families to SJLES for Back to School Night. Please note that YOU, our families, are the intended audience for all our Back to School Night presentations. Regardless of how engaging your SJLES administrators and teachers are, I can guarantee that your Jaguar, especially your kindergarten Jaguar, will not be interested in the outstandingly useful and informative content presented. 

Families who have completed their Family File can see their child’s 2022-2023 teacher in Canvas tomorrow. We have climbed to a 74% completion rate, but that is far from our goal of 100%! The good news is that there is still time to complete your child’s Family File in time to find out your child’s teacher tomorrow when all the teacher assignment buzz begins. For additional information please see our NEW NEWS Section below. 

We take another big step closer to the return of our students this Friday with our New Student Orientation for 1st-5th graders at 1:00 followed by our Open House at 2:00. Additional information is below in our NEW NEWS section. We look forward to seeing you all this week and can’t wait for the first day of school on Monday! 

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

NEW NEWS 

Establishing Arrival Routines on the First Day of School

One of the biggest challenges our students face during the first week of school is managing and remembering their transportation arrangements to and from school. It is critical that from the very first day of school your child has consistent arrival & dismissal procedures.  

On the first day of school, we ask all families to “kiss and wave” good-bye to their children at home for bus riders, from the car for our car riders, or at our school doors for walkers so that your child can independently enter his/her classroom.  We will not be able to have parents walk their children to class. We will have every staff member available to ensure all students safely get to their classrooms. 

Our Open House on Friday, August 26th is the perfect time for families to visit classrooms and meet our teachers. Your help in ensuring consistent procedures and a safe and smooth start to the first day of school is greatly appreciated! 

Teacher Assignments Announced Tomorrow!

We continue to  increase our Family File completion percentage. As of this afternoon, 74% of SJLES families have updated their student’s Family File which must be updated every school year. HCPSS requires that your Family File is completed BEFORE you can see your child’s teacher in Canvas. Only families who have completed the Family File will be able to see their student’s home room teacher on Wednesday, 8/24. Please remember to update your child’s Family File information today in HCPSS Connect! 

Every year HCPSS parents must complete a Family File for each child. HCPSS utilizes Family File for parents/guardians to complete emergency information. Parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child, and can do so by logging in to HCPSS Connect PARENT ACCOUNT and selecting the MORE OPTIONS tab on the left and then clicking on Family File.

Back To School Nights - Kindergarten WEDNESDAY @ 6:30!

Our Back to School Nights offer our families the opportunity to hear about all aspects of the new school year from our administrative team, our PTA, and our staff. Please note that our families are the intended audience for Back to School Night presentations. Students may attend these events, but please understand they will not be very engaging for your child. 

  • 8/24 @ 6:30-8:00 - Back to School Night for Kindergarten - Kindergarten families, please note the early date of Wednesday, 8/24 at 6:30 PM. The audience for this informational event is our kindergarten families. You are welcome to bring your kindergartener, if needed, but the focus will be providing families all the details, logistics, and information families need to get the school year off to a great start. Open House on Friday, 8/26 @ 2:00 is the designated time for your child to visit SJLES, meet our staff, and explore our school campus.

  • 9/13 @ 6:30-8:00 PM - Back to School Night for Grades 1 & 2

  • 9/14  @ 5:45-6:20 PM - Gifted & Talented Program Information Night

  • 9/14 @ 6:30-8:00 PM - Back to School Night for Grades 3-5 

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Orientation & Open House is THIS FRIDAY

We look forward to welcoming our community back to school at our orientations and open houses which are scheduled for Friday, 8/26. Here are the details…

  • New Student Orientation (1st-5th Graders): Friday, 8/26 @ 1:00 - 1:45 - Our New Student Orientation will include an informative overview of SJLES, a chance to engage with our administrative and leadership teams, and provide a tour of the school building and grounds. We will post the New Student Orientation presentation on our SJLES website for families who are unable to attend. Both students and families are welcome to this orientation!

  • K-5 Open House: Friday, 8/26 @ 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Our Open House is the perfect time for your Jaguar and family to meet your child’s teachers and staff members, drop off school supplies, and tour our building and campus. If you can not attend our Open House please don’t worry! You can send any school supplies with your student on the first days of school and our teachers and staff will ensure your child knows where to go and feels welcome and ready on the big day!

Related Arts Color Calendar
Please note this year's Related Arts calendar which is accessible for those who may be color blind. The word for the color is included on each day.

Student and Parent Handbook

The Student & Parent Handbook can be found online and outlines districtwide practices and policies related to parents and students, including the Student Code of Conduct, school procedures, student responsibilities and more.

One Final Jaguar Summer Stories 

This week we present our very final Kindergarten Jaguar Summer Stories from Mrs. Pedicord. Please visit our SJLES website for all 2022 Jaguar Summer Stories.

Personal Technology Devices

At HCPSS elementary schools, we ask that if your child brings a Personal Technology Device such as a cell phone or smart watch to school that the device remains off and stored in a backpack throughout the school day, unless otherwise authorized by school administrators or instructional staff. For additional information please visit Board of Education Policy 8080 Responsible Use of Technology, Digital Tools, and Social Media, and specifically Standard E. Student Use-Technology. 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

REPEATED NEWS

Outdoor Lunch Option
We look forward to greeting your child back to school in just a few days! We know there will be a lot of information coming your way in the coming days and want to make sure you have the following information and link handy. This year, SJLES will offer outdoor lunch to all students on a rotating class schedule. However, if you would like for your child to eat outdoors EVERY DAY that it is offered, please complete this form. As a reminder, or for new parents/guardians:

  • Outdoor lunch is held each school day, weather and staffing permitting. Outdoor lunch is monitored by a staff member at all times.

  • Students may bring or buy lunch to eat outdoors. Students who bring their own lunch should also bring a drink for outdoor lunch.

  • SJLES is equipped with a tent and tables, as well as uncovered picnic tables for outdoor lunch.

  • Allergen-free tables are provided at outdoor lunch for students who require allergen-free seating.

  • Students who wish to remain indoors may do so, even on their class' outdoor rotation day.

  • SJLES welcomes parent volunteers to support with our outdoor lunch initiative! Please look for parent volunteer sign up information in the coming days if you wish to volunteer for lunch or recess.

If you have questions about outdoor lunch that are not addressed in this message, please email erin_coleman@hcpss.org. Thank you!

All The Information You Need!

  • HCPSS School Year Overview - Be sure to review the HCPSS shared a message yesterday with families, titled Welcome to the 2022 - 2023 School Year. 

  • SJLES 2022-2023 Overview - We hope this SJLES Overview document provides useful Back to School information for our families.  

  • SJLES PTA FAQ - Click this link to get answers to some of the most common questions including upcoming Back-to-School events, school supplies, information about the car loop/walkers/buses, lunch, and how to find the School Directory.

2022-2023 SJLES Staffing

As with each new school year, there have been several changes in staffing that resulted from new opportunities for staff, retirements, and an increase in staffing. Please visit our SJLES website for our full staff roster.

SJLES School Supply List

As we inch closer to Back to School time we want to remind our families that our school supply list can be found on our SJLES website or by clicking here.

2022-2023 HCPSS School Calendar

Please click here to access the HCPSS 2022-2023 calendar which details dates/holidays for HCPSS this coming year, including Winter break, Spring break, and professional learning days.  

HCPSS News

HCPSS News email and text alerts keep families up-to-date on news and events, and deliver real-time notices of emergency closings and information. In addition to emergency notifications, during the school year HCPSS sends a weekly message to families with timely information. All HCPSS News subscriptions are generated from the information provided in Family File and have been automatically updated for the 2022-2023 school year. Parents/guardians new to the system are automatically enrolled for email notification. Please note that anyone who has not done so must opt in to text alerts.

COMMUNITY NEWS & PROGRAMS

Please click here to visit the Community News and Programs page for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.