IMPORTANT DATES, REMINDERS, & ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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A Message from the SJPDS Head of School |
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Dear St. John's Parish Day School Families,
Thank you for a wonderful start to the 2023-24 academic year! All of our students are making such exciting strides socially, emotionally, academically, and physically. They are engaged in the learning process, becoming stronger students every day, and fine representatives of our wonderful school. As St. John’s seeks to educate the whole child, there are many domains of learning that must be purposefully addressed through engaging lessons and interdisciplinary units of study. Our faith-based learning environment ensures a redemptive, nurturing atmosphere along a path of life-long learning and social-emotional growth. We strive every day to build our students up, preparing them to be strong, resilient and creative in an every changing world. Go Bears!
Please use this Parent Conference time to set goals for the year with your child(ren)’s teacher and be open to any suggestions or helpful observations they may have on how to partner with the School to assure a productive year. Our highly trained and educated faculty are here to help and welcome any information you can share to assist us in getting to know your student(s).
Friday conferences are for parents only. Please enter by the front of the school at the Main Office area. Thank you for sharing your child(ren) and partnering with us for a fantastic academic year!
Also, thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s official launch of our St. John’s Fund! It has been a successful beginning as we approach the half way mark to our goal of $120,000. Having secured gifts signifying 100% participation of our Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff we hope family participation follows in kind and everyone will generously participate, as they are able. The fund supports many of the extraordinary programs SJPDS offers, new initiatives as students continue to learn and grow in our every changing world, and faculty professional development.
Last, but certainly not least, we send a huge congratulations to our former Rector, The Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia who was consecrated as the new Bishop Suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries on Saturday. She is the first woman to be ordained in this position. Congratulations, The RT. Rev. Ritonia, we know you will support our armed forces with pride!
Thank you for your support,
Lori Dembo
Head of School
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Gently Used Air Conditioners for Sale |
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Woohoo, our SJPDS AC Chiller is running beautifully and we now have a plethora of gently used window and standing air conditioning units. Each unit is in great condition and working well. If you are interested in purchasing any of these units, please reach out to the SJPDS Main Office for help to arrange purchase and pick-up at 410-465-7644. |
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Small units for sale: $75.00 |
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Large Units for sale: $100.00 |
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First Friday During Conference Day
Friday, October 6th
Our First Friday tradition of gathering together will continue on Friday, October 6th from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM. Please join our staff in the Main Lobby for coffee, donuts, and socialization before or after your scheduled morning conference(s) with your child(ren)'s teacher(s). We look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning for some fun and breakfast!
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School Closed Monday, October 9
Indigenous People's Day
In honor of Indigenous People's Day, St. John's Parish Day School will be closed on Monday, October 9th. Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. Many of our students have been learning about Indigenous People in America, studying their cultures, and creating projects that reflect the culture of the Native People.
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Water Safety
Due to the recent low levels of a microscopic parasite in Druid Lake Reservoir found by the Baltimore Department of Public Works, St. John’s Parish Day School wishes to assure you that our students only drink from filtered water stations and fill their water bottles from these stations daily. SJPDS has four filtered bottle filling stations that also contain two water fountains at each station to allow for multiple uses. If you have any immune compromised members of your family it is recommended that drinking water should be boiled for their safety until further notice for residents of Baltimore City and County as well as Howard County.
As you may know, per The Maryland Department of the Environment, St. John’s Parish Day School has water safety and lead testing every three years with safe results. In 2021 the Maryland Department of the Environment changed the traces of lead in water safety requirements for schools from 20 parts per billion (PPB) to 5 (PPB) for our 86 areas of water access in our building. Maryland standards for typical home lead testing in water are 15 PPB. Due to COVID restrictions, a few of our water sources (to include two of the four sinks in our kitchen) went unused for two years. These and a few other areas of initial testing concern have been reviewed and appropriate action taken, (i.e. repairs, filters, shut off and/or replacements parts) to continue to assure maximum safety for all at SJPDS. For more information, or if you have questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Brad Jones, Director of Facilities & Operations at bjones@stjohnsec.org
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5th Grade Bake Sale Continues!
Every Wednesday through October 18th
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The 5th Grade annual Bake Sale in support of Kenya Connect is off to an amazing start! Last week, our 5th grade team made treats that were all Minion-themed and were a huge hit with faculty and staff, alike! The 5th grade students will continue their bake sale every Wednesday through October 18th and will be selling treats for 50 cents during lunch periods. All treats are nut-free, but we cannot guarantee that they come from a nut-free home. Please send your children with cash to purchase their treats during lunch periods. Thank you for supporting our efforts to raise funds in support of Kenya Connect! |
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Last Call to RSVP for Family STEM Night!
Thursday, October 12
Please don't forget to RSVP for St. John's first ever Family STEM Night on Thursday, October 12th from 6:15-7:30 PM! Mrs. Wilkins will have a variety of hands-on Early Childhood activities & games in our Auditorium (AUD), and different stations for Lower School in All Saints Hall (ASH). This event is for SJPDS students of all ages and their immediate families. Please RSVP through the link below. We can't wait to see you all there!
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Lower School Hispanic Heritage Concert
Friday, Oct. 20, 2:30 PM
The Spanish Department at SJPDS will be concluding a month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) with a Lower Schoollive performance! In Profesor Manuel Caceres's classroom, students have been exposed to Hispanic music, dance, and history, but more importantly, they’ve learned about the many ways Hispanic culture contributes to our country and community. Learning another language opens up frontiers and invites us to share our values with others whose ethnic backgrounds are from outside this country.
The concert will be held in All Saints Hall (ASH) at 2:30 pm on October 20th! Lower School students are encouraged to dress down and wear colors that celebrate Hispanic Heritage and represent colors that are included in the Hispanic flags from around the world! If a student owns an article of clothing that is from Spain, Mexico, or any other Hispanic country, we invite them to wear it to celebrate the diversity of the culture!
We welcome our SJPDS community to join us for our Lower School Celebration Concert which will include a number of short performances from our Lower School students. Let's celebrate together with our students and their performances in Spanish!
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PARENTS' ASSOCIATION NEWS |
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Dine Out with SJPDS at Pizza Uno
Thursday, October 12
Not interested in cooking before or after STEM night? Fear not, the PA has organized a Dine Out Night with Pizzaria Uno in Ellicott City so dinner can be as easy as tres, dos, Uno! Whether you dine-in or carry-out and eat at home, show the attached flyer to make sure Uno's donates up to 20% of your check to the Parent's Association Fund. Thank you for supporting the PA!
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Fall Family Fun Day
October 21st from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
We are getting excited for Fall Family Fun Day on Saturday, October 21st and can't wait to see everyone there! Join your SJPDS friends for an afternoon of games, crafts, Trunk or Treat, and more! Thank you to all who have already signed up and donated to the Amazon Wish List. We are still in need of volunteers, Trunk or Treat entries, and pumpkin donations. Please see the event Sign-up for more information and to RSVP today.
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Please consider volunteering for the PA! Many positions are available and we need your help. Please contact the PA Volunteer team at sjpdsvolunteer@gmail.com. We'd love to have your talent support this wonderful community that benefits our school in so many ways!
You can see the available positions HERE. Thank you for volunteering!
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UPCOMING EVENTS & INVITATIONS |
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Friday Oct. 6
School Closed for In-Person Conferences
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Monday, Oct. 9
School Closed for Indigenous People's Day
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Saturday, Oct. 21
In-Person Open House
10:30 AM- 12:00 PM
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Follow SJPDS on social media to keep up with our community! |
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St. John's Parish Day School Website
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