Greetings SJLES Families,
Can you believe we are less than a month away from the end of the first marking period? It seems like we just welcomed our Jaguars back to school. As our marquee states, we want to thank our community for your outstanding support and collaboration in helping get our school year off to a great start. It takes a village and we are certainly appreciative of ours!
At the end of each quarter we celebrate our students’ Kind, Engaged, Responsible, & Resilient behaviors. Our first quarter PBIS Celebration is Pumped Up Recess. This is truly a schoolwide favorite! Pumped Up Recess is a special 45-minute recess where staff, administrators, and students all come together to play, dance, and celebrate the Jaguar Expectations demonstrated throughout this first marking period. We are looking forward to celebrating with our students and showing our Jaguar Pride!
This year, in addition to our PBIS Celebrations each grade level team will also facilitate a Jaguar Huddle. Last school year we surveyed our students to learn how they like to be recognized and celebrated. We then designed our Jaguar Huddles with our students’ voices at the forefront of our planning. The goals of these Huddles are to:
further build community within each grade level team
uplift and reflect upon how our students’ successfully demonstrated our Jaguar Expectations throughout the quarter
celebrate achievements
reflect upon areas for growth and set goals for the following quarter
spend quality time together as a grade level team
We believe these Jaguar Huddles will perfectly pair with our PBIS Quarterly Celebrations to explicitly recognize and celebrate our students for all they do to make SJLES such a wonderful place to learn and grow.
We hope your Jaguar had another outstanding week of school, that your family is well, and that you get a chance to enjoy the wonderful weather today. Our students certainly are at each recess shift. Have a great weekend, SJLES!
Sincerely,
Dan Notari
SJLES Principal
NEW NEWS
Young Authors' Contest 2022-2023
The YAC for 2022-23 is underway. All students grades 1-5 may submit 1 poem and/or story. All information and cover sheets for submissions will be posted on the grade level Canvas page once teachers have shared the information with students. All entries are due to Mrs. Taylor, elizabeth_taylor@hcpss.org by Dec. 2, 2022. Entries must be in 12 point Times Roman font and saved as a WORD document. No names should be on the poem or story, only on the cover sheet. No late entries will be accepted.
Flu Clinic Update
This is a reminder from the health room that registration has officially ended. If you registered your child for our in-school flu clinic at SJLES on Tuesday, 10/11/22, they will receive their vaccination during school. Look for them to come home with a paper confirmation that they received the shot. Important: If you canceled your student's appointment through the online system on/after 10/6/22, the health room may not have gotten that information, as registration was cut off then. If your child already received their flu shot elsewhere or you have changed your mind and no longer wish for them to be vaccinated in school, you must call the health room at 410-313-2816 to let us know. Thank you!
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.
Help Us Celebrate UNITY Day on October 19th
We are excited to join other HCPSS schools, students and staff in celebrating UNITY Day on Wednesday, October 19th. To support Bullying Prevention Month, we invite everyone to wear orange to show we are united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Please see the Unity Day 2022 Flier for additional information. We will encourage our Jaguars and staff to spend the day taking part in random acts of kindness.
Free Clothing Giveaways
Please click here to learn more about this event located at 9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd. in Laurel on Saturday October 22 from 10am-12noon
Fall Clothes Giveaway at Long Reach HS - November 5th from 9:00-11:00 am
HCPSS Schools are Closed on 10/21 & 10/24
Please ensure you mark your calendars! Please note that schools are also closed on Friday, 10/21, and Monday, 10/24.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Click here to access/subscribe to the updated HCPSS Calendar
Click here to access the HCPSS Related Arts Color Day Schedule
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! Spirit Day is canceled!
10/19 - UNITY Day - Wear orange to show we are united for kindness, acceptance & inclusion
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\
10/31 - 11/4 - PBIS Quarterly Celebrations & Jaguar Huddles
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
11/14 - 11/18 - American Education Week
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
Walk & Roll to School Day is Wednesday 10/12
National Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day is next Wednesday, October 12! Students can walk to school, from school, or both to earn a charm! Be sure to enter through the school’s rear entrance. PTA volunteers will be outside to distribute a charm to every student who participates. If you are only able to walk home from school, after your walk contact Sayli Moskowitz at sayliw@gmail.com with your child’s name and homeroom teacher, and we will make sure that students receive their charms. Click here to see the flyer, which will also be sent home. **Don’t forget to take photos for the yearbook! Thank you!**
You’re Invited to the 1st SJLES PTA Trunk-or-Treat!
SJLES PTA announces our FREE Trunk-or-Treat coming up on Saturday, October 29! Come in costume if you’d like, and enjoy festively decorated cars and lots of treats! This event is FREE but your RSVP is requested to help us prepare. Flyers will be coming home soon. Here’s how you can get involved…
Wanted: Your Trunk! Click the link to enter the trunk decorating contest. Space is limited to 25 cars, and registration closes on 10/22. Popular vote will determine the top 3 winners. Each will receive a $25 gift card to Glory Days! Contest rules available here.
Candy needed! Check out the Amazon wish list to donate a bag of treats! Candy and allergy-safe options are both included. When checking out, be sure to select the registry for Vanessa Zawodny. Your donation will be sent directly to SJLES PTA.
Please RSVP here! Not required, but it will help us plan for your ghosts and goblins. Suggested RSVP by 10/25.
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!
FARMS Applications 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.
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.