SJLES Updates 1/22/2021

Greetings SJLES Families, 

I hope this communication finds you all well! Today we have just a few updates to share as we approach the weekend. Thanks for your patience and understanding with last week’s SJLES Update. We learned that one little smiley face emoji caused a lot of problems. Lesson learned and I promise to be on the lookout for any future troublesome emojis. Here’s to a great weekend for you and your family! 

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal

NEW NEWS

Measured Academic Progress (MAP) assessment

On Wednesday, 2/3 and Wednesday, 2/10, students in grades 1-5 will take the Measured Academic Progress (MAP) assessment from 9:00 - 11:00. The data from the MAP assessment will help schools and teachers measure your student’s academic progress. The MAP test does not affect grades and the difficulty adjusts depending on how your child responds. It is normal for students to only answer about half the questions correctly.  To learn more about the MAP assessment, please visit: https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/common-questions-families/ 

Teachers will share Google Meet information and your student’s testing group as we get closer to the February dates. Please contact Mrs. Redd (alexcia_redd@hcpss.org) or your child’s teacher with any questions. 

  • Save The Dates: Winter MAP Administration

    • Wednesday, 2/3 - Reading @ 9-11am

    • Wednesday, 2/10 - Math @ 9-11am

Celebration of Academic Achievement 

The Council of Elders of the Black Community of Howard County (TCOE), in partnership with HCPSS, hosts an annual Celebration of Academic Achievement for students in grades 4-9. This event is held to not only publicly acknowledge and honor students of African and African-American heritage, but also to encourage students to continue on the path of excellence throughout high school and beyond.

This year’s Celebration of Academic Achievement honored approximately 3,000 students who are currently in grades 4 through 9 and have achieved the following levels of academic success during the 2019-2020 school year. Students in grades 4-6 must earn As or Bs in all areas under language arts and mathematics for all four marking periods. Students also must not have received Ds or Es in any of the following subjects: language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and health education for all four quarters.  

Congratulations to our twenty-two 4th and 5th grade Jaguar scholars who were celebrated this week… Mira B., Cole B., Zimora B., Emerson B., Leilene D., Joshua D., Olanna E., Adaure E., Tera G. Jasmine J., Kayla M., Calvin M., Ahmad M., Lerryn N., Patrick O., Qeneni O., David O., Jana P., Lena P., Meklit T., Lena T., Mmasinachi U.

Principals’ Lunch Bunches 

Mr. Notari and Mrs. Redd are excited to offer our first Virtual Lunch Bunches of 2021. During this round of lunch bunches we will provide time for Q&A. Students can submit questions prior to their lunch bunch by accessing the link below. 

We will continue to offer these opportunities to engage students with their administrators, friends, and special surprise guests throughout the school year. We look forward to seeing many of our Jaguars at our January lunch bunches! Listed below are our upcoming Lunch Bunches & Google Meet codes...

  • 4th Grade & 5th Grade

    • Wednesday. 1/27 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch45

  • 2nd Grade & 3rd Grade (Rescheduled):

    • Wednesday, 2/3 @ 12:00 / Google Meet Code: PrincipalBunch23 

Wednesday Live Supports 

  • Listed below is our Wednesday live support schedule to help students with organizing and understanding asynchronous assignments for science, social studies and health. 

  • These sessions are OPTIONAL and do not count toward attendance. 

  • You can access the schedule and google codes below. 

  • The two blocks of time on Wednesdays are 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM which allow you to select a time that best fits your schedule. 

  • PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE CHANGES DUE TO MAP:

    • Wednesday 2/3: We will host Asynchronous support sessions at 2 PM only.

    • Wednesday 2/10: Asynchronous support sessions are cancelled. 

  • If you have any questions or concerns, please email alexcia_redd@hcpss.org. 

Grade 

Paraeducator & Time

AM Time

PM Time

Google NickName

K

Jane Derro

Nancy Carter 

9:00  - 9:45 AM 

2:00 - 2:45 PM

SJLES-Support-grK

1

Joann Chen 

Jean Austin

9:00  - 9:45 AM 

2:00 - 2:45 PM

SJLES-Support-gr1

2

Erin Fowler

Cindy Chen

9:00  - 9:45 AM 

2:00 - 2:45 PM

SJLES-Support-gr2

3

Jeanne Deboy

Jean Williams

9:00  - 9:45 AM 

2:00 - 2:45 PM

SJLES-Support-gr3

4

Vanessa Litchliter 

Carol Ann Stein Jane 

9:00 - 9:45 AM 

2:00 - 2:45 PM

SJLES-Support-gr4

5

Jeemin Lee 

Deepa Gazula

9:00 - 9:45 AM 

2:00 - 2:45 PM

SJLES-Support-gr5

SJLES Related Arts Office Hours 1/27 from 2pm - 3pm

Does your child need assistance completing Related Arts asynchronous assignments? The Related Arts team is holding open office hours on Wednesday 1/27 to help students who are missing assignments. Your child’s completion of these assignments as well as their attendance during live Google Meets will determine their grade in Related Arts for the first two quarters. All of the assignments will be open and available until the end of the semester, January 28th. Please refer to the chart below to access their teacher’s office hours Meet codes for help with assignments.

Art

P.E.

Music

Media

Technology

Orchestra/Band

2:00-2:30 Intermediate

2:00-2:30 Intermediate

2:00-2:30 Intermediate

2:00-2:30 Intermediate

2:00-2:30 Intermediate

2:00-2:30 Intermediate

2:30-3:00 Primary

2:30-3:00 Primary

2:30-3:00 Primary

2:30-3:00 Primary

2:30-3:00 Primary

n/a

Mrs. Peddicord - SJLESPeddicord

 

Mrs. Moon - 

SJLESMoon

Mr. Frantz -

SJLESFrantz

 

Mrs. Carty - 

SJLESCarty

Mrs. Foster -

SJLESFoster

 

Mrs. Whitaker - 

SJLESWhitaker

Mr. Ellis - 

SJLESEllis

 

Mrs. Pauller -

SJLESPauller

Ms. Kennedy -

SJLESKennedy

 

Mrs. Pauller -

SJLESPauller

Ms. Kalivretenos -

SJLESKalivretenos

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Access our SJLES Public Calendar at https://sjles.hcpss.org/calendar 

  • 1/23 - It’s Time to be Kind Day:  Wear as much blue as you can to create an SJLES wave of blue to create kindness month  

  • 1/27 @ 12:00 - Gr. 4 & 5  Principals’ Lunch Bunch / Code: PrincipalBunch45

  • 1/28 - Quarter 2 Ends

  • 1/29 - Parent Teacher Conference scheduling window opens 

  • 1/29 - Professional Work Day: Schools Closed for Students

  • 2/3 @ 9-11 - MAP Reading for grades 1-5 

  • 2/3 @ 12:00 - Gr. 2 & 3 Principals’ Lunch Bunch / Code: PrincipalBunch23

  • 2/4 - Patapsco Middle School Back to School Knight  

  • 2/5 - Report Cards Issued 

  • 2/5 - #EXTREMEJAGUARPRIDE: Wear ALL your blue, yellow, and/or spirit wear to show your school spirit!

  • 2/5 -  Parent Teacher Conference scheduling window closes

  • 2/10 @ 9-11 - MAP Math for grades 1-5  

  • 2/10 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / Parent Teacher Conferences

  • 2/11 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal / Parent Teacher Conferences

  • 2/12 - School Closed for Students / Professional Work Day 

  • 2/15 - Schools and Offices Closed / Presidents’ Day 

  • 2/18 - 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!

  • 2/19 - Color Wars Day: Represent your grade level spirit by wearing as much of your grade levels color as you can! 

REPEATED NEWS 

SJLES Technology Help

If you experience any technology issues, remember to fill out our SJLES Technology Form and a member of our team will help you. Additional details can be found on sjles.hcpss.org 

Bullying Reporting Tool

HCPSS has launched a new bullying reporting tool that replaces the Sprigeo reporting system that has been in place for several years. This new tool is very easy to use and allows students, staff and family members to easily and confidentially report incidents of bullying.

Acts of bullying can be critically detrimental to the learning environment at our school and has the potential for severely impacting the wellness of our students. I urge every student and family member to use this new tool to report any acts that occur in-person or online that you believe may be bullying. Your information will remain confidential and staff will take every report seriously.  

Please don’t hesitate to contact Mr. Notari if you have any questions about our response to bullying and ways we can collaborate to keep our school community a safe and healthy environment for our students. The new bullying reporting tool can be found online at stopbullying.hcpss.org

WInter Parent Teacher Conferences 

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday, 2/10 and Thursday, 2/11. Both days will be early dismissal days for our students.  As in the fall, our conferences will be held virtually via Google Meet. This time, the conference focus area will be mathematics. The scheduling window opens in HCPSS Connect on 1/29. More information to follow. 

Robinson Nature Center Virtual Field Trips 

We are happy to share that all of our Jaguars will take a virtual field with the Robinson Nature Center this month. Teachers will share additional information with their individual homerooms. Listed below is an overview of each grade level’s program. Thanks to Mrs. Mary Pat Robinson for her work coordinating this opportunity for our students and to The Robinson Nature Center for engaging our students in these virtual field trips!   

  • Grades K & 1: Wildlife Wonders - Animals fascinate. From foxes and finches to frogs and fish, introduce your students to common kinds of animals with an emphasis on the five vertebrate groups (birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians). Investigate the similarities and differences between animal groups through props and mounts. Older students further explore life cycles and gain an understanding of how young animals, particularly amphibians, can differ drastically in appearance from their parents. 

  • Grades 2 & 3: Happening Habitats - Adaptations are everywhere, and there is no better way to investigate than by examining the organisms found in different locations at the center. Discover how plants and animals have special features and types of coloration that allow them to survive in specific habitats. Compare man-made inventions to features found on plants and animals; and determine how humans and organisms use these features to meet their basic needs. Examine furs, feathers, seeds and other objects that give clues to the survival of animals and plants that call each habitat “home.” 

  • Grades 4 & 5: Starlight, How Bright? - Witness the wonders of the night sky in this immersive planetarium program! Observe the relationship of the Earth to the moon and the Sun. See how Earth’s movement though space causes patterns in the appearance of stars and other celestial objects. Explore the constellations; and learn why stars change position seasonally. Investigate the scale of our solar system and the planets within it. 

SJLES PTA Reminder: Virtual Hangouts

The PTA is hosting a virtual hangout for each SJLES class! Sign up under your kiddo’s classroom teacher to get started using the Sign Up Genius link below.  This is meant to be a carefree, fun hangout.  It is a way to get our kids socializing with one another!

  • When: The volunteer host will decide the day

  • Time: 5:30pm or 6:00pm start time.  This will be a 30 minute hangout.

  • How:  We are looking for a “Room Parent” volunteer for each classroom!  This Room Parent will host the virtual hangout for the kids within their class. The room parent is not required to create activities for the virtual hangout. Their role is to simply make sure children are staying appropriate throughout the hangout!

  • If you’re interested in being your child's "Room Parent", make a note when you sign up!

SJLES PTA Reminder: Box Tops

If you discover a traditional Box Tops clip on a product, you can still clip it and send it to school in a ziplock bag once school reopens. Every valid Box Tops clip is still worth 10¢ for our school. Make sure each one you turn in has a clearly visible product acronym and expiration date.

If you see this label on a product, you can use the Box Tops app to scan your receipt within 14 days of purchase. The app will find participating products purchased at any store and instantly add cash to our school’s earnings online. 

SJLES PTA Reminder:  Shopping for Groceries?

You can still earn Box Tops for our school with your e-receipt!  See how at BTFE.com/emailgroceryreceipts. Any questions, email Sayli Moskowitz at sayliw@gmail.com