Greetings SJLES Families,
I hope this chilly Friday finds you well and warm! Just a reminder that the parent teacher conference scheduling window closes TODAY at 4:00 PM. Conferences can be scheduled with your child’s math teacher. Families of fifth grade GT Math students can sign up for a conference with Mrs. Cintron or Mrs. Miles. Families wishing to conference with any of our related arts teachers can email the teacher(s) directly. Once the window closes, any changes to the conference schedule will need to be communicated directly with your child’s teacher. Please visit sjles.hcpss.org for detailed information regarding conference scheduling. Have a great weekend, SJLES!
Sincerely,
Dan Notari
SJLES Principal
NEW NEWS
Celebrating our Friendships
We will be celebrating the wonderful friendships our students have built this year at SJLES on Tuesday, 2/14. Classroom teachers will send home the first names of each student in your child’s homeroom class if students would like to exchange cards. Collection bags will be provided to students. Please note that this is an optional activity. Should your child choose to participate, your Jaguar should bring a card for each student in the homeroom class. Our teams are planning to bring our cross-grade level Jaguar Buddies together to participate in an engaging classroom activity focused on the awesome friendships we have developed this year. Please do not send any treats or goodie bags for this event, as we will be unable to distribute them to students. Any food products sent to school will be returned home. Thanks for your cooperation!
Mix It Up Day is Coming!
SJLES will be participating in Mix It Up Maryland on February 23, 2023. Mix It Up is a lunchtime event where schools encourage students to change their seats and interact with peers they may not normally interact with. Mix It Up was launched in 2001 by Learning for Justice and has shown powerful results in prompting students to remove social barriers and expand peer connections.
Students in all grades will be given the opportunity to move their cafeteria seating on 2/23 for the day. The hope is that they choose to sit with peers they do not know, in an effort to make some new connections. Table tent cards will be placed on all tables to help facilitate and encourage conversation. Homeroom teachers will also be pre-teaching about the event leading up to it to help encourage students to take risks and meet new people.
Help Keep Toys At Home
Families, we are seeing an increase in regards to our students bringing various toys including plush toys/stuffed animals to school. At times, students may earn a special day to bring in a plush toy by cashing in Spot-O-Grams, earning a JaguarPride class reward, or on one of our spirit days. Those are the exceptions to the rule. We could very much use your help in ensuring toys are staying home so that our Jaguars are focused on learning throughout their school day. Thank you for your support!
Reminder: Families Wishing to Park & Pick Up at Arrival & Dismissal
Parents who wish to park at SJLES and walk their child to and from the school building must park in the UPPER parking lot (closest to Mt. Hebron High School). If this applies to you, please designate your child as a WALKER in Family File and notify the homeroom teacher so your child is dismissed through the walker door in the afternoon.
Parent Volunteer Opportunity in 3rd Grade Technology
Ms. Jean-Louis’ 3rd grade technology class is looking for a parent, guardian, or family member who works in the field of robotic technology and coding who would be willing to volunteer their time between 11:15-12:15 to share their knowledge with the students! Being able to bring in a robot to demonstrate how they program the robot to do certain tasks would be an additional bonus. Please contact esther_jean-louis@hcpss.org if you are interested in participating. Thank you!
SJLES Donations Requests
The kindergarten team is in search of gently used donations for dramatic play centers. This includes school-appropriate dress up clothing, dolls, and toy food/kitchen items.
Please contact elizabeth_shoff@hcpss.org with any questions.
The health room is seeking clothing donations, specifically pants, for students who need a change of clothes during the school day. Pants that have an adjustable waist are preferred, and smaller sizes are most needed for our younger students.
Please contact amy_leisner@hcpss.org with any questions.
6th Grade Scheduling Reminder
5th grade families, just a reminder that the window has opened to select Fine Arts classes for your soon-to-be-middle-schooler. Please visit sjles.hcpss.org for additional information.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Click here to access/subscribe to the updated HCPSS Calendar
Click here to access the HCPSS Related Arts Color Day Schedule
2/3 - #JaguarPride: Celebrate our SJLES Pride - wear your Spirit Wear or school colors
2/3 @ 4:00 PM - Conference scheduling closes in Synergy.
2/8 - 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!
2/8 - PTA Cultural Arts
2/8 @ 8:00 - PTA Meeting on Zoom
2/9 & 2/10 - 3 Hour Early Dismissal for elementary school parent teacher conferences
2/14 - Friendship Day
2/16 @ 6:00-8:00 - PTA Multicultural Night
2/17 - Tie Dye Day: Wear as much tie dye as you can!
2/20 - All HCPSS Schools Closed
2/22 - 3rd Grade to Wilde Lake HS Rouse Theater
2/23 - Mix It Up Day
2/23 - PTA Multicultural Night SNOW DATE
2/24 - Stuffed Animal Day: Students get to bring in a stuffed animal (that fits in backpack)
2/27 - Kindergarten to Miller Branch Library
2/27-3/2 - Employee Appreciation Week
3/2 - Twin Day: TWINNING! Find a friend to match with for the day
3/8 @ 8:00 - PTA Zoom Meeting
3/8 - Jaguar Buddy Reading
3/8 - Storybook Character Day: Celebrate Reading Month by dressing up as your favorite character from a book
REPEATED NEWS
Q2 Report Cards
Quarter 2 report cards are now available in Synergy. Parents/guardians may view/download report cards by taking the following steps:
Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy using parent/guardian credentials
Select More Options from the left panel
Select Report Cards from the middle
Select the report card you wish to access
A full set of directions in multiple languages can be found HERE
A reference sheet has been developed to support elementary families in Understanding the Elementary Report Card (English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean).
Congratulations!
Our gifted and talented resource teacher Ms. McErlean has been selected to receive the Teacher Accomplishment in Gifted and Talented Education award from the Maryland Gifted and Talented Advisory Council. Ms. McErlean will be celebrated at a virtual awards ceremony in February. Congratulations to Ms. McErlean on this well-deserved recognition and thank you, Ms. McErlean, for all you do for our Jaguars and the students at Dayton Oaks Elementary School!
Our school counselor Mrs.Poirier is one of thirteen Professional School Counselors of Howard County 2022-23 School Counselor of the Year Nominees. Congratulations to all 13 nominees, but we are certainly playing favorites here at SJLES as we root for our wonderful and long-serving school counselor extraordinaire, Mrs. Poirer. This year PSCHC will honor an overall winner as well as two additional level winners and honor one School Counselor Advocate. The winners will be celebrated in April. Thank you, Mrs. Poirier, for the years of outstanding service to our students and community!
Kindergarten & 1st Grade: Optional GT Enrichment Activities in Canvas
Our Gifted & Talented Primary Talent Development (PTD) lessons are continuing in all Kindergarten & 1st Grade classes! Remember to check out the Primary Talent Development Landing Page in Canvas, where you will find optional enrichment and extension resources, activities, and book recommendations to help reinforce advanced skills with your primary student at home. Keep an eye out for Canvas announcements about more PTD pages and activities published throughout the winter and spring!
To access these optional resources at home, follow the steps below:
Log in to Canvas through hcpss.me.
Open the PTD Landing Page for your student's grade level.
(*The PTD Landing Pages are also linked on the Kindergarten Team page and the Grade 1 Team page.)
Select a published page under "Optional Extension Activities at Home".
Review the lesson concepts, digital/print activities, and book recommendations with your child.
Questions about GT Primary Talent Development in Kindergarten & 1st Grade? Email Ms. McErlean at madeline_mcerlean@hcpss.org.
HCPSS Summer Programs Preview
The 2023 Summer Programs Preview, which contains descriptions of HCPSS’ four summer programs and enrollment information, is available to view and download from the Summer Programs web page.
Online enrollment requests for currently enrolled HCPSS students will open Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 6 p.m. for the following programs:
BSAP Summer Institute (Entering Grades K-9)
Gifted and Talented Summer Institutes for Talent Development (Entering Grades 1-8)
Innovative Pathways High School (Entering Grade 9 and Current Grades 9-12) - Math and Science courses only
Summer Math Scholars Program (Current Grades 6-8)
NOTE: Invitations for eligible HCPSS students for Academic Intervention and Extended School Year Special Education programs will come directly from the school or special education team during Spring 2023.
Contact the individual program offices with additional questions.
BSAP Summer Institute (SummerInstitute@hcpss.org)
G/T Summer Institutes for Talent Development (GTSummer@hcpss.org)
Innovative Pathways High School (IPSummer@hcpss.org)
Summer Math Scholars Program (Summer@LTYC.net)
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.