NEW NEWS
HCPSS Schools & Offices are Closed on Wednesday 10/5
Please ensure you mark your calendars! Please note that schools are also closed on Friday, 10/21, and Monday, 10/24.
FARMS Application Due Date Approaching
HCPSS participates in the Free and Reduced-price Meals (FARMs) program. Qualification is based on family size and income, and enrollment is confidential.
Participation in FARMs qualifies students for a wide range of opportunities and resources beyond breakfast and lunch, including free college applications, free or reduced JumpStart tuition, discounted internet through the Comcast Internet Essentials program, and more.
Families must submit a new application every school year. During the first 30 school days, students with FARMs eligibility from the prior school year will be carried over. Any student who has not filled out an application up to the 30th school day will have their prior year status changed to full pay status until a new application is received.
Parents/guardians are highly encouraged to fill out the applications as soon as possible. It is very important that applications are filled out correctly.
Apply by mail: Paper applications are available at your child’s school and may also be picked up in the Food and Nutrition Service Office (5451 Beaverkill Rd, Columbia, MD 21044). Applications can be returned to your child’s school or mailed to the Food and Nutrition Service Office: HCPSS Food & Nutrition Service Office, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042.
If you have questions regarding the program, please visit www.hcpss.org/farms or call Food and Nutrition Services at 410-313-7134.
Fall Picture Day is FRIDAY 10/14
Photographers from Strawbridge will be at SJLES on Friday,10/14, to take individual portraits of students. All students will be photographed for the yearbook. If you would like to purchase a photography package, please review the information in the attachment below You can preorder a package online using the code on the flier.
Just a reminder that these portraits are not only a great keepsake for your family but an important fundraiser for our school.
Please click here to sign up to receive updates via email regarding their child's school portraits. As a subscriber, you will receive emails letting you know when your pictures are ready to order as well as promotional deals and discounts on your child's pictures. If you have any questions, please contact us at cservice@strawbridge.net.
HCPSS G/T Program Virtual Information Nights
HCPSS families interested in the Gifted and Talented (GT) Program are invited to virtual information nights to learn more about the advanced-level offerings available and how their students can become involved. Registration is required.
Elementary: Thursday, 10/13, 7-8 p.m.
Secondary: Thursday, 10/27, 7-8 p.m.
HCPSS Educational Partnerships Annual Report Now Available
The HCPSS Educational Partnerships 2021-2022 Annual Report has just been released. Each school’s partners are listed, as well as system wide (at-large), curricular and program office partnerships. The report highlights the vital role partners play to help students achieve success in life, wherever their path may lead.
Hispanic Heritage Resource Fair
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Hispanic Achievement Program will host a countywide Resource Fair on October 6 at Deep Run Elementary School. Learn more about the fair via these flyers and newsletter announcements.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Click here to access/subscribe to the updated HCPSS Calendar
Click here to access the HCPSS Related Arts Color Day Schedule
9/30 - Spirit Day: Celebrate our SJLES Pride & wear your Spirit Wear or school colors
10/5 - HCPSS Schools & Offices are Closed
10/7 Spirit Day - Rainbow Day: How many colors can you wear in one outfit? The contest is on. Wear as many colors as you can today!
10/11 - Flu Clinic
10/12 - Walk/Bike to School Day
10/12 @ 8:00 PM - Virtual PTA Meeting
10/14 - Picture Day! Previously Scheduled Spirit Day is canceled.
10/21 - Professional Learning Day - HCPSS Schools Closed for Students
10/24 - Professional Work Day - HCPSS Schools Closed for Students
10/27 - MHHS Orchestra performs for Intermediate Grades
10/28 - Celebrate our SJLES Pride and wear your Spirit Wear or school colors
10/28 - Cultural Arts Assemblies: HCC Miss Electricity
10/29 @ 3:00 - PTA Trunk or Treat
10/30 @ 3:00 - PTA Trunk or Treat RAIN DATE
11/2 - End of 1st Marking Period
11/2 - Schools Close 3 Hours Early / SJLES Dismisses at 12:20
11/4 - When I Grow Up Day: Dress up as an occupation you would like to be when you grow up
11/6 - Daylight Saving Time ends
11/8 - Election Day / HCPSS Schools & Offices Closed
11/9 @ 8:00 PM - Virtual PTA Meeting
11/11 - Students can bring in a stuffed animal that fits in your backpack
11/13 @ 10:00 - PTA Turkey Trot at Mount Hebron HS
11/18 - Celebrate our SJLES Pride and wear your Spirit Wear or school colors
11/21 - Parent Teacher Conferences / Schools Close 3 Hours Early
11/22 - Parent Teacher Conferences / Schools Close 3 Hours Early
11/23 - Parent Teacher Conferences / Schools Closed for Students
11/24 & 11/25 - HCPSS Schools & Offices Closed
REPEATED NEWS
Flu Clinic at SJLES
Every year, millions of people get sick and many die from influenza, also known as the flu. One of the best ways to prevent the flu is through vaccinations. Once again, we will work with the health department and the Maryland Partnership for Prevention (MPP) to offer flu vaccinations at your child’s school.
The clinic at SJLES will be held on 10/11 during school hours. We will send a notice home the day he/she has been vaccinated. If you want your child to receive a flu vaccination, fill out an online consent form. If you have other children that attend a different school, please sign them up via the link sent out by their school. Please note that the link below is for SJLES only!
ONLINE CONSENT FORM INSTRUCTIONS
Fill out the online consent form. This is a secure, private site.
AND
Read the Vaccine Information Statement
Be sure to fill out every section online.
Use your insurance card to fill out your insurance information. Your insurance company will be billed. There is no copay or deductible. You will NOT be charged by us or your insurance company.
Complete the consent form online by 10/6/22 to allow us time to prepare.
If a consent form is completed after 10/6/22, it will not be accepted
We hope you will join our fight against the flu. Vaccinating your child will help keep him/her healthy and prevent the spread of flu to others. It also will cut down on missed time from work and school. Maryland Partnership for Prevention & Howard County Public Schools look forward to preventing the flu with you!
MAP Testing
SJLES will administer the MAP test to all students in 1st through 5th grades in Reading and Math beginning the week of 10/19 for 1st graders and the week of 10/3 for students in grades 2-5. Makeup testing for students absent during their grade’s administration dates will take place with Ms. Coleman before the MAP window closes on 10/20.
MAP is a computer-based assessment. Our students will use school-based Chromebooks. The HCPSS website contains detailed information about MAP testing here. If you have questions about MAP testing at SJLES, please contact Erin Coleman at erin_coleman@hcpss.org.
Bus Reminders
School buses are an extension of school. As such, students are expected to adhere to the same standards of behavior on a school bus as they do in the classroom. And just like students follow the directions of teachers and staff while at school, so also are they expected to obey the bus driver who are their instructors while on the way to and back from school.
Families, please remind your bus rider(s) to ensure their cell phones and smartwatches are not used throughout the ride, to refrain from eating on the bus, to always use kind and respectful language just as they would during the school day, and stay seated throughout the ride. We will uplift this same message at school and we appreciate your continued support!
Multilingual Parent Leadership Program
The Multilingual Parent Leadership Program (MPLP) is designed to increase leadership capacity of Multilingual parents to step into leadership roles in schools and communities as advocates on behalf of the system’s Multilingual students. The six-week program helps Multilingual parents understand the framework of the US educational system and the structure and functions of the Howard County Public School System. Please click here for additional information and the application.
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.