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Dear Parents,
Happy First Day of School! It has been an exciting day here welcoming all the students back to St. John Paul II.
As you can see, our newsletter has a new format - and a new name: Saints Weekly. Paper copies will no longer be sent home in the Tuesday folders. The newsletter will be emailed directly to you each Tuesday, not via an IRIS alert as in the past. It is critical that you look for and read your newsletter each week. Saints Weekly and the Tuesday folders that homeroom teachers will send home are our main source of communication with you, the parents. Most flyers will be electronic links within the newsletter and posted on the website -- not printed and put in the Tuesday folders. This means that in some cases, you will have to print the flyers yourself and return them to the office.
It was so wonderful to see you all at Meet and Greet; a special welcome to our newest families - we hope you enjoyed the Boo Hoo/Yahoo Breakfast and made some connections this morning.
Thank you for your continued support and a great start to a new year.
In Him we trust,
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Carpool Procedures
It's worth repeating that our Carpool Driveway for student drop-off and pick-up is appropriately named "St. Zita's Way" this year, a title chosen by the Gomez Family. St. Zita is the Patron Saint of Servants. She was an incredibly hard worker who won people over with her Patience...which is just what we all need the first few weeks of school when it comes to carpool! You may read our handbook posted online for a complete overview of carpool line procedures, including rainy-day carpool. Here are a few reminders and changes to our process:
- Starting Thursday, parents are not allowed to walk their students into school, you must use the carpool line or walkers.
- The first week of school, students in PreK-2nd Grades should be sent to school with a name-tag listing their full name, homeroom teacher, Family ID# and how they are going home (carpool, Brimhurst, Manderly, BASP).
- All PreK and Kindergarten students waiting for older siblings will be kept in Mrs. Layfield's Kindergarten classroom. Please instruct older siblings to retrieve them and escort them to their dismissal location.
- Write your Family ID# on the outside of your student's backpack.
Reserved Carpool Line Positions
Each year, the first car in afternoon carpool (spot number #1) is sold in our Auction. Please allow Carpool number 1 to be at the front of the lines. The families with these carpool numbers are allowed to enter the driveway OR go to the front of the carpool lines to have their children loaded first.
* The PK/Kinder afternoon line starts at the school driveway
* The Elementary afternoon line on Parkway Plaza Drive starts at Sandfield
* The Middle School afternoon line that starts at Tapper Hill by St. Basil's Greek Orthodox Church.
Fire Lane
Please do not park along the red curbs in the parking lot. This is a fire lane and needs to remain clear at all times. Thank you in advance for using the visitor parking spaces when dropping off/picking up your children for the BASP program, early dismissals and late arrivals.
Reserved Parking Lot Spaces
Please respect the parking spaces designated for a particular individual or staff members as indicated. Visitors are welcome to park in the designated "Visitor" spaces in the parking lot or along Parkway Plaza next to the school during non-carpool hours. In appreciation for their volunteer efforts, we have reserved a space for our PTO President and Clergy visiting the school. These individuals, as well as our business assistant and administration, attend meetings or have business away from the office throughout the school day and many times when they return someone has parked in their space, so please do not park in these spaces even for a brief moment.
Of special note are the spaces along the soccer field fence reserved for our part-time staff. Please do not park in these spaces during the hours noted.
Middle School Walkers Change
Finally, please note that new this year is that there will be no Middle School walkers at Manderly. All Middle School walkers should use Brimhurst.
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Attendance Policy
School begins at 8:00 a.m. each day and daily attendance is taken in each homeroom. (Tardies will not be counted the first week of school.) I
t is important for students to arrive on time each day to allow them time to prepare for their school day. Students are allowed to enter the building at 7:40 am when morning carpool begins. Children may not be dropped off before this time and left to wait outside the school doors. If they are, then they will be placed in our morning Before and After School Program and morning fees will apply.
Documents Needed
Parents, please be sure to complete and return the following forms to the homeroom teacher no later than Monday, August 22nd:
1. Emergency Information Form - it is imperative that we have your signature and current emergency information for your child/ren.
2. Acceptable Use Policy for Technology - to allow your child/ren access to technology in the classroom or labs.
3. Handbook Acknowledgement Forms - Please review the handbooks online, then sign and return these forms to school.
4. BASP (Before and After School Program) Form - if applicable
5. Honor Code Form - 1st - 8th grades only
Visitors to Campus
To ensure the safety of our students, all visitors and parents are asked to enter through the front doors of the main building and check in at the office where you will be asked to provide a driver’s license or valid ID. The license or ID will be scanned by our Raptor system, and once cleared by the system, the individual will be issued a visitors or volunteer badge. Parents will only be asked to do this the first time they visit SJPII each school year if they have gone through the Volunteer Approval Process.
Cafeteria Service
Our school cafeteria is run by ECI Management Group and provides lunch meals daily for registered students. They use cash or personalized debit cards that are managed online through www.diningpay.com. (For those who used the debit card system during the past school year, the account balance will carry forward.) For questions, please contact ECI@ecimanagementgroup.com or 713-722-7773 or call the school and ask for the kitchen. Click here for registration information.
Congratulations
to William Berman in Pre-K for winning a $100 gift certificate from Millswear!
Marquee Malfunctioning
We are having issues with our marquee on Parkway Plaza. Please be patient as we work to resolve the problem. Thank you!
"SJPII-Go" Free Shoe Day this Friday
Hopefully you enjoyed playing "SJPII - G0" during our Meet & Greet on Monday! Since we do not have Mass this week, everyone is welcome to wear "free shoes" (no backless, open-toed or high-heels) on Friday, August 19th.
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Parent Info Nights
Sept. 7 - PreK, Kindergarten, Middle School Parents
Sept. 8 - 1st-5th Grade Parents
Parents are invited to attend and learn more about SJPII. You will have the opportunity to hear about your child(ren)'s academic year with their teachers in the classrooms. This event begins at 6:00 p.m., and is for parents only, so please make plans for your children to stay at home.
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Casual Uniform Orders Due September 2
Order your child's casual uniform order pieces now. Click here for the form. Orders will be delivered in early October.
Patches
This is the last time to order SAINT patches.
If you have uniform pieces with a patch (dress shirts, sweaters, jumpers), it must have "St." on the patch. If you need new patches, please complete the order form and turn in to the front desk. Uniform pieces without proper patches will have a grace period until October 15th and after that will not be allowed.
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RWTS Volunteers Needed
Our annual 5K, which benefits The Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation in memory of SJPII Alum Lauren Lockard, is scheduled for October 29th. We need volunteers to plan and make this the best race yet! Running experience is a bonus, but not required. Please contact
Bernie Weber
if you you are interested in helping and getting to know other SJPII families. If you are a runner, would like to sign your child up for the Kids K, or want to buy a shirt, register online through our website.
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Student Directory - Artwork due this Friday
We need a beautiful new cover for our directory that depicts our annual theme, "Forming Families of Disciples". Student artists are encouraged to submit their designs by August 19th using the
attached format
.
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Volunteer Approval Process
In order to volunteer, you must attend Virtus training and submit paperwork to the school office. As a courtesy for our parents, SJPII is offering a "Protecting God's Children" class on campus on Sept. 12, 9:00 a.m.-Noon. Register on the Archdiocese website. (This class is also open to the Archdiocese so spots will fill up quickly, and once the class is full we cannot add any more spaces.)
Please
click here
for information on our website about how to become volunteer-approved.
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Pecan Creek Grille
Special thanks to all of our new families who attended our first day of school Boo Hoo/Yahoo Breakfast. It was great to see you and we hope you are happily settling in to our wonderful community. Remember on weekdays that our students and families receive a 20% discount for breakfast and 10% discount for lunch at the delicious Pecan Creek Grille.
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SOCCER: Online Soccer Registration is open until August 23 at 5:00 p.m.
Teams are formed on a first come first serve basis so register now.
This deadline cannot be extended due to timing of the league.
Also, p
lease join us August 24th 6:00 p.m. in the Gutierrez Student Center for a Parents Class,
"Developing Winners in Life through Sports"
presented by
Positive Coaching Alliance.
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Please view the tryout schedule posted online and on the school calendar for fall sports (football, volleyball, soccer and cross country). Every student trying out must have a new physical on file in the nurse’s office prior to trying out. Physicals must be dated after June 1, 2016. For more information, you may contact Mary Beth Hewitt.
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Boys Town Skill of the Week
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Elementary: Greeting Others
- Look at the person.
- Smile.
- Use a pleasant voice tone.
- Make a verbal greeting.
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Middle School: Listening to Others
- Look at the person who is talking.
- Sit or stand quietly. Don't yawn, whisper to others or fidget.
- Wait until the person is finished talking.
- Say "Okay", "Thanks", or "I see".
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8/19 Directory Cover Art due & Free Shoe Day (No Mass)
8/20 Dad's Basketball
8/22 Documents due to school
8/23 Elementary Soccer - Online Registration Closes
8/24 PCA Coaches Meeting
8/26 First all-school Mass
8/27 Dad's basketball
8/31 Early dismissal & Spirit Shirt day
9/2 Patch orders due
9/7 PTO Meeting
9/7 Parent Night (PreK, Kindergarten, Middle School Parents)
9/8 Parent Night (1st-5th Grade Parents)
9/12 Virtus class on campus
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St. John Paul II Catholic School
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1400 Parkway Plaza,
Houston, TX 77077
281-496-1500 •
281-496-2943 (fax)
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St. John Paul II Catholic School prepares all students spiritually
and academically to succeed in life and to do God's will.
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