May 19, 2020

Dear Saint families,

Wow! Our year has come to a close, no other year has been like this one! It has brought an abundance of blessings as well as many challenges and has truly allowed us to live out our motto, “Be not afraid…” from the words of our beloved patron St. John Paul II. I hope that many of you were able to enjoy the rosary led by our Class of 2020 to celebrate the May crowning on the 100th birthday of St. John Paul II.

Throughout the last nine weeks, I have been so proud of our teachers, staff, students, and families for working in partnership with us as we have navigated uncharted territory. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I hope you follow us on social media, because it has been a blessing to witness all of the amazing things your children are doing. Their creativity, perseverance, and your dedication in supporting them is truly wonderful.

As the school year comes to a close, we continue to navigate through these unprecedented times with the intent of making informed decisions when determining next steps for the safety of our StJPII community. While we remain prayerful that we will make a strong return this Fall with our Saint family all together once again, I understand that there may still be questions regarding alternative plans for the next school year in the event that we are unable to fully open our doors. As the leader of the St. John Paul II Catholic School, I want to always be transparent with the parent community and want you to know that I wish I could provide a clear and detailed plan for the upcoming school year. While I cannot share all the details right at this time, it is important that I communicate what we do have in place for the 2020-21 academic year. Currently, I have organized a task force to discern, analyze, and determine a detailed plan for reopening in the fall. We will be seeking guidance from TEA as well as the CDC ensuring that all safety protocols will be met. Plans are now being made to offer a learning environment that allows for “live” in-person instruction as well as distance learning if needed. We will be updating our Distance Learning Plan and will be purchasing more technology software that will allow us to track student progress and provide more teacher-learner interaction. We are hopeful that we will open our doors August 18 as currently planned unless directed by the Governor differently. All updated plans will be shared with our community of saints in early July.  

We have some exciting news to share for the upcoming year. In following our strategic plan, we have moved forward with hiring a dedicated professional for curriculum and instruction. Mrs. Suzy de Leon will now serve as the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction. She has a Masters degree in Educational Leadership and has served as an instructional coach. Mrs. de Leon will share her passion and love for teaching and learning, support teachers’ and students’ growth, and help them achieve their fullest potential. We are so excited about having her in this new position and look forward to further maintaining academic excellence.

It is with great enthusiasm that I share our new Elementary Assistant Principal will be Mr. Ryan Schwab. While he has only been here at StJPII for one year, he has become a great asset to our community. He comes with his Masters in Education from Notre Dame and a strong love for Catholic Education and we are fortunate that he will be working with our teachers, students, and families.

Thank you for joining me in celebrating our news!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7

In Him,

Principal

Principal@jp2.org

P.S.- Review the Materials Exchange Day Checklist below.

2020 StJPII Parent Survey

Please take a moment and complete the 2019-2020 StJPII Parent Survey. Below is the survey link. Your feedback is truly important as we continue to grow as a school community. As you answer the questions, please keep the entire academic year of 2019-2020 in mind. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete, it is anonymous, and your responses will provide valuable insights about how we can continuously improve and maintain excellence. We look forward to hearing from you! The survey will close  on May 20, 2020.   Thank you again for your feedback.

StJPII Coronavirus Resources (COVID-19)

StJPII will continue to update all parents regarding Coronavirus and how it impacts our school community. Please make sure you check your emails regularly and visit the StJPII Coronavirus webpages below. These webpages will house all communications and resources from StJPII, Catholic Schools Office as well as Federal, State and Local government entities.

Virtual "Christ's Love is the Key"

Our love bulletin board is growing! As you know, our school theme this year is "Christ's Love is the Key". When we were together as a student body, we took this idea to heart, and learned about ways that we can show Christ's love to others. We have an oversized key that visited many homerooms that provided a daily reminder about the importance of showing Christ's love through compassion, courage, service and faith - which also happen to be the cornerstone virtues of our House System.

Tuition for 2020-2021

In acknowledging all the changes our families are experiencing, Tuition due date is May 1 ^st but no late charges will be applied if paid by May 31 ^st .

Families interested in applying for a Tuition Loan for the 2020-21 school year through Allegiance Bank may do so during the month of May. You can go online to our website under Admissions and start the Loan Application process.

Please send an email to Businessoffice@jp2.org to obtain a Loan Authorization form. The school office hours are M-F 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Please note that at this time the lobby of Allegiance Bank is closed. You must use the drive-thru to submit your paperwork or you may leave your documents in the night drop box after business hours. For more information visit: https://jp2.org/tuition-loans

Summer Reading and Math 

Each summer students are required to continue to read and practice their math skills so that knowledge is retained over the summer. The assigned books and math concepts will be posted by grade level on our website by May 29.

Summer Enrichment Program

Good news! The Governor's office recently approved that summer camps may proceed, so we are moving forward our Summer Enrichment Program to July 6 - 24. We will follow all necessary guidelines set by health authorities, TEA and Governor Abbott for the safety of our staff and students. Details will be shared soon for all students attending. Children 3 years old through 8th grade are invited to the StJPII Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), where we emphasize hands-on exploration in a fun, stimulating and supportive environment. The program features small class sizes and is taught by highly-qualified teachers. (Before and after care is available too.) Registrations will be accepted through June 5. Send your registration forms directly to Mrs. McCurry's email ( kmccurry@jp2.org). Please send payments to the school. Either mail your check to school or drop your check off Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. at the front office. Make sure to mark the envelope attention Kim McCurry/SEP.

StJPII Student Earns 3rd Place in a Poetry Contest

Congratulations to 7th grader Rosemary Neslony! The poem she wrote and submitted won third place at a recent competition hosted by Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Church! The contest honored the 100th birthday of Karol Wojtyła, otherwise known as our St. John Paul II. Every entry celebrated the life of our beloved patron. Rosemary's poem will be printed in a book and sent to the Museum of St. John Paul II in Poland. Special thanks to Rosemary for representing our school and sharing our love of St. John Paul II!

“Artisan and Art 1” middle school students in addition to several “Art Club” members submitted artworks on March 13th for the “22nd Annual Wells Fargo Student Art Contest” sponsored by The Society for the Performing Arts at Jones Hall, Downtown Houston, with this year's theme “Ingenuity”.

The three very different performances associated with this year’s theme- Manual Cinema: Frankenstein, Bon Iver & TU Dance: Come through, and EMN: Ensemble Mik Nawooj. In depth discussion along with visuals helped to inspire students' creativity with S.P.A.H.’s three performance interpretations of this year's theme as students created painted backgrounds in watercolor or acrylic paints with multi-media collage for their focus. We are extremely proud to announce that we have two St. John Paul II students who were selected in this prestigious art contest as Major Winners.

Congratulations to the following students:

While the contest results were delayed this year due to Covid-19 and social distancing concerns prevent S.P.A.H. from hosting an in-person Awards Ceremony, all Art Contest Winners will be honored via a virtual ceremony on Thursday, May 28th, 2020 from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. with special guests! Stay tuned for an invitation link to see our St. John Paul II students' artworks and awards.

Story time with Principal Bogard

Join Mrs. Bogard in Story time as she reads "Oh the Places You'll Go".

Be not afraid...to Showcase your Saints

We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to send us pictures or videos of your saints in action at home! Studying, playing their instruments, praying, helping around the house - whatever you think might brighten someone's day! Your submission may be included on the school's social media. If you do not follow the school's social media accounts, please click on the links below.

We would also like to feature our students praying the Angelus each day at noon - so send us those videos too! All submissions can be sent to: communications@jp2.org.

Thank You from 2019-2020 PTO President

The PTO would like to thank every parent who volunteered their time, talent, and treasure this year. Because of you, the PTO was able to provide fun activities for our teachers and children, like First Friday Lunches and Art-a-la Carte. Even though our year was cut short in the normal way, you still helped virtually with Russo Spirit Nights and the teacher appreciation video. Every little thing you do matters, and it makes an impact on St. John Paul II. I pray that everyone continues to stay healthy and safe over the summer. I know that we will be able to come back stronger than ever next school year, especially with your new PTO President, Victoria Forkner. I thank you for the opportunity to serve in this wonderful position for the last two years.

Have a blessed summer,

Andrea Dvorachek

PTO President

Birthday Club

Please join us and wishing our Saints a very Happy Birthday 🎁🎂🎉🎉💙🥳! Saints family, please enjoy our virtual marquee to wish our students a very Happy Birthday while we are participating in  #distancelearning . 

Join the PTO Team!

The PTO is looking for volunteers to chair several of the key activities and programs for the 2020 – 2021 school year. These volunteers are needed for the Book Club, Brick Pavers, Garden and Holiday on the Parkway. If interested, please reach out to PTO President - Andrea Dvorachek.

Middle School

Remember to drop off your spring sports uniforms. There is a bin marked "Spring Sports Uniform Turn In" near the black gate. All uniforms must be returned in a ziplock bag with your name on it.

Prayer Requests

Our community is a united family of believers and we want to pray for you, your family, and friends during this difficult time. Please keep the following people in your prayers:

Though we cannot be together physically, our faith binds us together in Christ. If you would like to add a name to this list, visit  jp2.org/pray . Please list anyone for whom we can pray. These intentions will be listed in  Saints Weekly  until school resumes. For questions or to remove someone from the list, please contact  jcook@jp2.org .  

To view events related to StJPII, please click on the school calendars below.