March 31, 2020
Dear Saint families,

Happy Tuesday! We have now completed our 1st week of distance learning. Thank you for your patience throughout this challenging time. Remember that right before we left for Spring break, we prepared quickly and sent home materials for two weeks “just in case” they were needed and then during our break, many things changed! As our saint community came back together on March 23rd, we began to reach out to provide assistance and we implemented a new way of teaching and learning. Now that we have entered our second week of completing the original assigned tasks, we will be moving forward with full implementation of our DLP (“Distance Learning Plan”). Families will now see lesson plans from our teachers in a uniform and consistent approach that will be clear for all to understand and follow. This will allow you as a family to adapt your schedules, so that it works for your family unit.

Please understand that as we have worked as a faculty and staff to make adjustments to procedures and communications, it has been important for us to consider a number of factors within a home such as access to devices, ages of children in the home, as well as families working from home. As we design/post assignments, videos, Google classroom, we must also consider the age of the student so that we meet all our students’ needs. In our efforts to be sure that teachers were connecting with families, we understand that it may have been too much causing you to feel overwhelmed; however, we have been working toward streamlining the email communication process, so that it is scheduled and more consistent.

As we continue this week with the uncertainty of our surroundings, one thing is constant is Jesus’ love and faithfulness to us all. This Lent will be forever different for all of us and we are taking up our cross in new ways to glorify Him. Here at StJPII, we are fervently praying for each and every one of you that He keeps us safe and brings us back together again soon! 

Any further updates on closures, we will send as soon as possible.  Important: Please take a moment to read updates regarding our DLP below.

Today the Governor announced that schools are closed until the end of April. Tomorrow, my fellow principals and I are meeting with the Catholic Schools Office to discuss planning for our schools. As I learn more, I will share in Saints Weekly. Thank you for your support, compassion, love and forgiveness as we continue to adjust to our new learning environments. Please listen to message from Fr. Shelly below.
Principal
School Business
Distance Learning Plan
Lesson Plans Uniform Template : These plans will be sent each Sunday for the week ahead, so that parents are able to see a week in advance, which will begin for the week of April 6th. All lesson plans will be sent by email for Elementary & via parent portal for Middle School.

Daily Attendance Requirement: It is required for our school to account for the students’ daily attendance. See “how-to” video below for more information.

Teacher Office Hours : Each teacher shared specific office hours when they would be available. (Teachers are still able to answer questions outside those hours.)

Auxiliary Classes: Classes such as music, art, technology, spanish, etc. have a bank of activities on the website for students to access anytime: https://jp2.org/auxiliary-for-distance-learning

Contact list, should you need further support: 
Course, assignment, resource: Grade level teacher
Technology concerns: Mary Raymond mraymond@jp2.org
Social/Emotional concerns: Elementary Counselor, Jennifer Quinlan jquinlan@jp2.org
                                     Middle School Counselor, Betty Costantini bcostantini@jp2.org

Packet Pick-Up/Material Distribution Day : Friday, April 3rd. This will allow the school to provide materials for a longer period of time and reduce the need to return to campus going forward. See schedule and instructions below.
Required: Logging Your Attendance
It is required for our school to account for the students’ daily attendance. We have created a form that will be emailed to parents and used for all families to submit. While we understand this is another task, it is simple and will be consistent for all grade levels.  We have worked hard to make this as simple as possible for families with multiple children.
Packet Pick-Up/Material Distribution:
Elementary (PK-5th grades) - Students have been working on completing assignments within a Distance Learning Packet. We have organized a day for collection of completed work as well as distribution of necessary continuation of learning materials for the next few weeks (please note any multi-age family can come at any of the below time slots and we will accommodate).

Directions For Pick up/Drop off: Please drive into our parking lot in a carpool line, personnel will greet you to collect and distribute materials. (staff will be taking safety precautions and proper protocol as we collect and distribute items as per guidance from Texas Education Agency).
Make sure that your child’s full name, homeroom teacher and grade level are written on the front of the distance learning packet and placed in a Ziploc bag.

When you drive up, roll down window and share grade levels and student names needed (to assist in efficiency, please make a small sign showing grade level and student name)

See schedule below: Friday, April 3, 2020
PreK: 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Kinder: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
1st Grade: 10:00 am -11:00 am
2nd Grade: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
3rd Grade: 1:00 pm -2:00 pm
4th Grade: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
5th Grade: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Thursday, April 3rd ART for Middle School 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm - Special Distribution for 6th Grade Wheel, Art 1 & Artisan 
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.
Resurrection Egg Project
The Resurrection Egg project is a long-standing beloved tradition at StJPII. Each Lenten season, our Pre-K students are gifted a beautiful carton of Easter eggs that were lovingly assembled by our gracious PTO volunteers. For the 12 days leading up to Easter, each egg opens to reveal a symbol with a bible verse about Christ's death and resurrection. It's likely that many of our families have kept their egg sets so they can relive their fond Pre-K Easter memories! Stay tuned to social media starting tomorrow, when we will crack open an egg to reveal the special scripture and symbol associated with each day. 
Summer Enrichment Program
Children 3 years old through 8th grade are invited to the StJPII Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), June 1-19 from 9:30-2:30, 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.)

While we are continuing to offer our summer program at this time, we are making a few changes to due dates and payment. Registrations will be accepted through May 8th. The early registration fee will also be offered through May 8th. Please hold payments until further notice. Send your registration forms directly to Mrs. McCurry's email. Once we are back at school Mrs. McCurry will reach out to all registrants. If the dates or how we will offer our summer program changes we will contact you as soon as possible.
Tuition for 2020-2021
Please note that in acknowledging all the changes our families are experiencing, tuition for the 2020-21 school year will be due May 1, 2020, however no late fees will be applied until after May 31st. 

Families interested in applying for a tuition loan for the 2020-2021 school year through Allegiance Bank may do so online using the bank's standard loan application form. Please remember to start this process at least three weeks before the due date, and note that the bank will need an authorization form and a tuition invoice from our Business Office to process your application. To obtain these, you may email your request to the Business Manager at businessoffice@jp2.org. Please note at this time, the lobby at Allegiance Bank is closed. You must use the drive-through 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
Counselor's Corner
Parents,

You can make a big difference in how your child handles this stressful time of isolation. Below we share a graphic to help students manage things that are out of their control. Feel free to email us with any questions or concerns.

--
Jennifer Quinlan, Elementary Counselor (PK-5th)
Betty Costantini , Middle School Counselor (6th-8th)
Communications Corner
Story time with Principal Bogard
Join Mrs. Bogard in Story time as she reads The Legend of the Easter Egg. This is one of Mrs. Bogard's favorites and chosen first Easter is almost here!
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.

In keeping with our daily routine, you can start your day by saying the Saint Family Prayer. It is listed below. You can save the prayer by right clicking on the image and saving it. 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
6th Annual Crawfish Boil
6th Annual Crawfish Boil- Postponed
As we continue to monitor the coronavirus situation, we have decided to postpone the 6th annual Saints at Sunset Crawfish Boil. All ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities are also suspended until further notice. For our families and community supporters who have purchased tickets and sponsorships, we are still planning to have a crawfish boil, the future date and details will be announced at a later time. We truly appreciate your partnership and understanding. For those who may want a refund for your tickets/sponsorships, please email our Communications and Events Officer Kaela Lewis at  Communications@jp2.org  to begin processing your refund.
PTO Corner
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
Athletics
Elementary and Middle School
Hello to all of our athletes! I am sure you are missing all of your sports and teammates, your coaches miss you as well! Right now ALL GHCAA and WHCSA sports are “on hold” until further notice. Also, the campus is a closed for practices as well. I will keep you informed as I receive any changes from Mrs Bogard. Til then, get up and move, go outside, run or bike, stay active!! 

Check out a video message from the PE Team below.
C alendar
To view events related to StJPII, please click on the school calendars below.
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St. John Paul II Catholic School
1400 Parkway Plaza, Houston, TX 77077
281-496-1500 • 281-496-2943 (fax)

St. John Paul II Catholic School prepares all students spiritually
and academically to succeed in life and to do God's will.