August 13, 2020

Dear St. John's Parish Day School Families,

St. John's is planning diligently and thoughtfully for the reopening of our campus on September 8th, 2020. As you know, we are offering in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning options for the 2020-21 academic year. We understand that some families may choose to remain at home for virtual learning or take advantage of our hybrid learning option with an assigned midday dismissal. We will support these families with our Virtual Learning Program for hybrid/remote learners to remain engaged in the St. John's family until they feel comfortable to return to full in-person learning. Read more about our Virtual Learning Program and our new modified schedule for the first week of school below. To help us plan, please complete our Learning Option Form by August 21st to choose which learning option works for your family. If you would like to switch your learning option during the school year, please send us a notice at least two weeks prior. 

Reminder: Student forms for the 2020-21 school year are due tomorrow, August 14th. Log in to your FACTS Family Portal to view the forms and important information. If you have any questions, please contact our Main Office at 410-465-7644.

Emergency Contact Webforms

We have received feedback that some families are experiencing issues using the Emergency Contact webform through FACTS. We are working with the provider to address these technical issues, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing. If you have had issues completing the form, please use this alternative OCC 1214 Emergency Contact fillable PDF form instead. We will accept this in person, by mail, or if you scan and email the form to Russell Ashton at rashton@stjohnspds.org.

2020-2021 Childcare Services

If you have previously enrolled in one of the Childcare Services plans (Before Care or After Care) during the school enrollment process, please confirm or change your plan using the "2020-2021 Childcare Services Registration Form" available under the "Webforms" section in your parent portal by Monday, August 17. We ask that all families who have registered for Childcare Services complete this form as you will be able to CONFIRM your current plan, CHANGE from one plan to another, or DECLINE all plans. We will be using this form as both your confirmation of enrollment for Childcare Services and as your registration form for such plans. 

Also, please note that in the form, the registration fee of $25 is indicated for registering for any plan. You will not be charged an additional fee for completing this form if you have already paid that fee. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the plans or webform itself, please contact Greg Wright at gwright@stjohnspds.org.
About our Virtual Learning Program

  • Through live streaming, students will interact with teachers and classmates in real time on a daily basis, participating in activities, assessments and learning, in the closest approximation to the magic of in-class learning as possible.

  • Students will experience the same on-campus daily schedule, including breaks and lunch (away from their electronics), allowing for a typical St. John’s day as a remote learner.

  • Hybrid model students will start their school day with in-person learning then continue with virtual learning in the afternoon while at home. Exceptions may occur as classes move to specials or outdoor learning activities.

  • Lower School will use Google Classroom as the main hub for sharing instruction, assignments, schedules, and will use Google Meets for live streaming plus various EdTech tools to enhance learning. Students will be trained on how to navigate Google Classroom for themselves.

  • Early childhood will use SeeSaw as the main hub for sharing instruction, assignments, schedules and will use Zoom for live streaming plus various EdTech tools to enhance learning.

  • As needed, teachers will have one-on-one check-ins with remote learners and supply lesson packets for pick-up.

  • Unless ill, all hybrid/remote learners are expected to actively participate in their respective classes throughout the day. All typical rules regarding attendance and behavior apply. Lower School students working virtually must wear their school uniforms.

  • Any students temporarily learning from home will immediately engage in the virtual learning model until they are cleared to safely return to campus.
New Modified First Week Schedule
In order to allow students and faculty to get accustomed to our new mandated protocols, we've decided to modify the schedule for our first week of school. Please take note of the details below:

Week 1: September 8-11

We will have early dismissals all week. Students will not eat lunch at school on these days, but they should bring a snack for snack time. Also, there will be no scheduled Before and After Care.
  • Lower School: Arrival 8:10 - 8:30 AM - Dismissal 11:45 PM
  • Early Childhood: Arrival 8:50 - 9:10 AM - Dismissal 12:15 PM

Week 2: September 14-18

We will begin our regular school hours this week and going forward. Before Care will be available for registered families but we will not have After Care. After Care will start week 3.

  • Lower School: 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
  • Early Childhood Partial Day: 9:10 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Early Childhood Full Day: 9:10 AM - 3:00 PM
  • Before Care begins at 7:00 AM

*Please note: September 16 is a noon dismissal for Back to School Night.
Calendar Update

In accordance with safety guidelines, we are unable to hold large gatherings at this time and have made the difficult decision to cancel this year's Bike Day that was tentatively scheduled for August 30th.

Click here to view the most up-to-date 2020-21 school year calendar. The document is also available in your FACTS family portal under "Resource Documents".
Information Sessions

For more information about our Reopening Plan, we invite you to join us for the following Zoom information sessions with the school Administration and Nurses. Specific links for your session will be emailed.

  • Early Childhood Info Session - Wednesday, August 26, 6:30-7:30 PM
  • Lower School Info Session - Thursday, August 27, 6:30-7:30 PM

If questions arise, please submit them using our Reopening Questions Form by August 21st so we may address as many of your questions as possible during the Zoom information sessions.

Please note, we will continue to adjust our plan and will be regularly updating
www.stjohnspds.org/reopening/ with the most up-to-date information.
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We love seeing what you and your Bears have been up to this summer! Keep sending your pictures to communications@stjohnspds.org for a chance to be featured on our social media.
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