Greetings SJLES Families, 

Tomorrow marks the end of quarter three and final day of school before spring break. We will begin dismissal at 12:20 tomorrow as all HCPSS schools close three hours early to allow teachers time to complete report cards. 

 

Later today our students will participate in our quarter three PBIS Celebration which is Jaguar Buddy Bingo Bonanza. Throughout the school year our Jaguar Buddy program facilitates activities between our primary and intermediate Jaguars (K & 3rd, 1st & 4th, and 2nd & 5th) to help foster a culture where our students see children from other grade levels as part of a family of learners who support and care for each other. Our intermediate students learn to mentor our primary students and take on leadership roles. Our primary students develop social skills from their older peers and make friends with “a big kid!” These activities are some of my personal favorites and today will undoubtedly be a fun one where our Jaguar Buddies will come together to play several games of schoolwide bingo with the opportunity for each Buddy to win big prizes. We are happy to share that each student will receive a prize for playing today. 

 

On behalf of Ms. Coleman and our entire staff, we hope each of our SJLES families has a wonderful spring break! 

 

Sincerely,

Dan Notari 

SJLES Principal 

 

NEW NEWS 

Spring Break Is Almost Here! 

• Friday, 3/31 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / End of Quarter 3

• Monday 4/3-  Monday, 4/10 - HCPSS Schools Closed / Spring Break 

• Tuesday, 4/11 - HCPSS Schools Reopen

SJLES Indicators of Educational Equity Survey Update

• 27 Completed Surveys Thus Far

• 66 Completed Surveys in 2022-2023 

• Goal: 100% of our SJLES Families 

As part of our school improvement process, we are asking families to provide input about their equity priorities at our school. Our families’ insights shared in this survey will help shape our School Improvement Plan for the 2022-2023 school year. 

Please use the links below to complete the HCPSS Indicators of Educational Equity Survey by May 5, 2023. We will use your input, along with other school data, to refine our school improvement plan for next year. 

This survey is anonymous and available in multiple languages. If you have children at more than one school, please complete one survey per school. For additional information please visit sjles.hcpss.org.

• English survey

• Spanish survey

• Chinese survey

• Chin survey

• Korean survey

Lost & Found 

There are many personal items that our Jaguars have left behind in the past few weeks. Please encourage your Jaguar to stop by the lost and found if you know they are missing a sweatshirt, jacket, or other item of clothing. Parents are welcome to stop by school to look through the lost and found, as well. On Friday we will lay out every lost and found item in the cafeteria in a final attempt to match students with their lost clothing. This comes after daily reminders to begin and end the school day for several weeks. After tomorrow’s final attempt, any remaining items will be donated.

HCPSS End of Year Dates 

The two final weeks for the 2022-2023 school year are as follows: 

• Monday, June 5 - Regular school day 

• Tuesday, June 6 - Regular school day 

• Wednesday, June 7 - Schools dismiss three hours early (Professional Work Day) 

• Thursday, June 8 - Regular school day 

• Friday, June 9 - Regular school day (Last day for half-day Pre-K/RECC students) 

• Monday, June 12 - Schools dismiss three hours early (Professional Work Day) 

• Tuesday, June 13 - Schools dismiss three hours early (Professional Learning Day) 

• Wednesday, June 14 - Schools dismiss three hours early (Professional Work Day - Last scheduled day for 10-month staff) 

Student Drug Use: A Crisis We Can’t Ignore Community Event

HCPSS is hosting a community event called Student Drug Use: A Crisis We Can’t Ignore to engage students, parents/guardians, staff and community members regarding the substance abuse crisis that is directly impacting our schools and community.

The event will be held on Tuesday, March 28, from 7-9 p.m., at Howard High School, 8700 Old Annapolis Road, Ellicott City.

Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano will keynote the event, sharing local and national data about student substance use and behavioral health needs that illustrates the frightening realities our youth are facing, and how HCPSS is responding to those needs. Following Dr. Martirano’s remarks, attendees will have the opportunity to choose one of several breakout sessions led by HCPSS staff and community health partners.

Visit the HCPSS website for more information about the event. Please note: If you require any language support, please contact the Office of Multilingual Family Services.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

• Click here to access/subscribe to our SJLES Public Calendar 

• Click here to access/subscribe to the updated HCPSS Calendar

• Click here to access the HCPSS Related Arts Color Day Schedule        

• 3/29 - 3/30 -  Spring Portraits & Class Group pictures

• 3/30 - PBIS Q3 Celebration: Jaguar Buddy Bingo

• 3/31 - #JaguarPride: Celebrate our SJLES Pride & wear your Spirit Wear or school colors

• 3/31 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / End of Quarter 3

• 4/3-4/10 - HCPSS Schools Closed / Spring Break 

• 4/11 - HCPSS Schools Reopen

• 4/11 - 4/14 - Grade 5 ELA MCAP

• 4/12 @ 8:00 - PTA Zoom Meeting

• 4/14 - Optional Artifact Support Session 

• 4/14 - Disney Day: Celebrate all the magic at SJLES by dressing up as your favorite Disney character or wearing your favorite Disney apparel

• 4/14 @ 6:00 - PTA Outdoor Bingo Night

• 4/17 - 4/18 - Grade 5 Math MCAP

• 4/18 - Report Cards Issued

• 4/18 - 4/19 - Grade 3 Math MCAP

• 4/20 - PTA Cultural Arts: Taikoza Japanese Drummers 

• 4/21 - HCPSS Schools Closed for Students: Professional Work Day

• 4/24 - 4/27 - Grade 3 ELA MCAP

• 4/25 - 4/26 - Grade 4 Math MCAP

• 5/1 - 5/4 - Grade 4 ELA MCAP

REPEATED NEWS 

Celebrating Our Jaguars!

We are incredibly proud of our Jaguars’ Kind, Engaged, Responsible, & Resilient behaviors this quarter. Our grade level teams are currently scheduling their 3rd Quarter Jaguar Huddles which will kickoff next week. As a reminder, the goals of these new Jaguar 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.

Our Jaguar Huddles 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. This quarter our students will participate in Jaguar Buddy Bingo Bonanza where they will partner with their Jaguar Buddy to have some fun playing Schoolwide Bingo and win prizes. We are happy to share that all 661 students will receive a prize for playing. We look forward to recognizing and celebrating our students in the coming days.

2023-2024 Non-transportation Area Changes

Non-transportation areas (walk areas) have been expanded for the majority of HCPSS schools for the 2023-2024 school year. Board of Education Policy 5200 Student Transportation increases the allowable distance students may walk to school based on the distance between a student’s home and school. 

These changes result in an expanded walk area for our school. Please view this online map for our school that identifies the households that will not receive bus transportation next school year.  The following streets will now be included in the SJLES non-transported area for the 2023-2024 school year…

• Joey Drive – from Hearthstone Road to North Chatham Road

• Paulskirk Drive

• Ramblewood Road

• Old Fence Road

• Hearthstone Road – north of Joey Drive

• Brookmede Road – north of Joey Drive

• Greenway Drive – north of Joey Drive

• Hayfield Drive

• Michaels Way – east of Joey Drive

We will send out information if changes are made that impact our school community. If you would like to know more about the countywide changes that were made, please visit the HCPSS website.

2023-2024 Kindergarten Registration & May 24th Sneak A Peek!

HCPSS Kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year is open! Parents/guardians of children who will be five on or before September 1, 2023, must enroll their children in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year.  Please help spread the word!

We hope to see many of our new SJLES kindergarteners and families at our Kindergarten Sneak A Peek on 5/24/23 at 4:00. Please spread the word and complete this RSVP form if you plan to attend. 

Spring MCAP Testing

This spring, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will take the Spring MCAP assessment. The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is the overarching term used for all state assessments.

The ELA portion of the MCAP is administered in four 70-minute sessions. The Math portion is administered in four 40-minute sessions. We will provide corded headphones to all students, but if your child has their own set that they prefer, they are welcome to bring them to school for testing.  Please contact Erin Coleman with any questions about MCAP at erin_coleman@hcpss.org. SJLES will administer the MCAP on the following dates for each grade level:

3rd Grade:

• ELA: 4/24, 4/25, 4/26, 4/27

• Math: 4/18 (two sessions), 4/19 (two sessions)

4th Grade:

• ELA: 5/1, 5/2, 5/3, 5/4

• Math: 4/25 (two sessions), 4/26 (two sessions)

5th Grade:

• ELA: 4/11, 4/12, 4/13, 4/14

• Math: 4/17 (two sessions), 4/18 (two sessions)

Make-Up testing will be held on 5/22-5/24.

Yearbooks are Now Available to Order!

The PTA is excited to offer a Yearbook again this year! It will be a great collection of school memories that you can look back on for years to come. The price is $20 and orders are due by April 16. All Yearbooks must be pre-ordered. Follow the steps here to place your order now while it’s on your mind. Our school code is YB25983. If you have any questions, please send an email to SJLES.PTAmail@gmail.com.

Here Ye, Here Ye!!!! Calling all SJLES Citizens

The date is set for the Annual SJLES 5th Grade Simulated Congressional Hearing on Thursday, May 25, 2023! Fifth grade will be in need of some volunteers from our community to help with decorations, coaching fifth graders for SCH, and the judge’s luncheon. Please complete this SCH Volunteer form and return it to your child’s homeroom teacher ASAP. 

HCPSS COMMUNITY NEWS & PROGRAMS 

In alignment with Howard County Board of Education, the following announcements have been approved by the Public Information Office for distribution. To view upcoming events click: https://community-programs.hcpss.org/