SJPDS is excited to welcome our Grandparents and Special Friends to campus next week! Please be sure that all Grandparents and Special Friends who plan on attending have RSVP'd through the link below with their first and last name, the name of the child(ren) they are visiting, and the child(ren)'s teacher. For everyone's safety, we must have an accurate count of the number of visitor's in our school. The last chance to RSVP for Grandparents and Special Friends Day is Saturday at 2:00 PM.

Visitors should park at the Historic Church parking lot and enter through the Main Entrance only. Each guest will register and receive their name tags before being escorted into All Saint's Hall (ASH) to meet with their grandchild(ren)/friends. We are looking forward to a fun and eventful day!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our

development team at giving@stjohnspds.org.

RSVP to Grandparents & Special Friends Day HERE!

Student Council Canned Food Drive

Last Day to Donate is TOMORROW

The LAST day to donate to the Student Council Canned Food Drive is TOMORROW, November 17th! Please drop off non-perishable food items at morning and afternoon drop-off and our student council will collect them. Once they are all collected, the student council will help to organize the items and pack up cars to be delivered to the Howard County Food Bank to help those in need for Thanksgiving. We thank our generous community for all your support! 

Spaghetti Dinner Tomorrow Night!

TOMORROW, November 17th

Please join us for the St. John's Parish and SJPDS Spaghetti Dinner on Friday, November 17th from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM! All proceeds will help to fund the J2A Youth Program outreach trip to Quebec in 2024. This is such an important opportunity for our youth group to travel and give back to other communities outside of their own. It will be a fun evening of fellowship and delicious food within our amazing community!

Tickets are available at the door and no RSVP is required! Each ticket is $10.00, or $25.00 per family. We look forward to seeing you there!

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI) Committee

In the Spring of 2022, our DEI committee developed and implemented a DEI Strategic Plan. Throughout the year, members of the committee worked to implement components of the plan as well as modify, as needed. We are excited to continue to work on the plan and we are seeking more members for this committee that consists of parents and staff. As a member of the DEI committee, you will work in small groups, meeting virtually or in-person several times a year, as well as, several whole group meetings. If you are interested in joining, please email Dani Boarman (dboarman@stjohnspds.org) by November 21st. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, November 29th!

SJPDS Inclement Weather Policies and Procedures

With the weather turning and temperatures dropping, we wanted to remind you of the SJPDS inclement weather policies and communications channels. SJPDS functions independently of local Public Schools. To communicate our decision on school closures, delayed opening, or dismissing early, we will inform you via the following:

• WBAL Morning News
• Remind Text- Click HERE for instructions to sign up
• Email Communication
• SJPDS Website
• Facebook and Instagram

As always, please do what is best and what is safest for you and your family

in the event of inclement weather.

SJPDS Celebrated World Kindness Day

Monday, November 13th

SJPDS celebrated World Kindness Day on Monday November 13th! Mrs. Mintzer's Kind Kindergarten greeted students in carline with signs and cheers, welcoming their classmates into our building! Each student at SJPDS either wrote or drew a random act of kindness on a piece of our logo and decorated the most beautiful Kindness Tree, located in our TK- 1st Grade Hallway. One smile can have such a big impact, filling others hearts as it fills ours!

3rd through 5th Grade Drawing Demonstration

Thank You, Mr. Cole!

SJPDS parent, Mr. Cole, stopped by last week to do a very special drawing demonstration for our 3rd - 5th grade students! Mr. Cole is an accomplished artist and came to share his talents in two separate sessions which helped students to explore their creativity. Our 3rd grade students followed along as Mr. Cole showed them how to draw a happy turkey, just in time for Thanksgiving!

For our 4th and 5th grade students, Mr. Cole demonstrated perspective and shadows and walked our students through creating a sphere and a pyramid! The students loved this fun and creative art workshop, and we couldn't be more grateful to Mr. Cole for taking the time to share his talent and time with our classes. He reiterated to our students that everyone is an artist and encouraged each and every one of them to foster their creativity and continue to explore their curiosity when it comes to art- something that is a core value here at St. John's!

SJPDS Girls on the Run

Our SJPDS chapter of Girls on the Run completed their first 5K last week! These gals have been working so hard after school building their endurance, confidence, and embracing teamwork. They ran 18 laps around our church parking lot and collected beads for every milestone, crossing the finish line, greeted by their peers. They gave it their all, even in the rain, and ended with smiles on their faces. Way to go, girls!

Thanksgiving Break- School Closed

To honor the Thanksgiving holiday, SJPDS will have a half-day on Tuesday, November 21st and will be closed Wednesday, November 22nd through Friday, November 24th. We hope everyone has a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe holiday break! Aftercare will be available with preregistration. Please click the link below to register for aftercare.

Aftercare Registation

SJPDS Road to Kindergarten for EC 4's and TK Students

Wednesday, Nov. 29th at 12:00 PM

We welcome you to join us for an important information session about the St. John's Parish Day School Kindergarten program! SJPDS Kindergarten is an intentionally small program that focuses on the individual needs of our students. This allows us the time to focus on the important social, emotional, and academic strengths to benefit all students as we educate them to excellence. You will experience a detailed overview of our exceptional Kindergarten program, including the continuation of our impressive specials curriculum, meet our outstanding Kindergarten faculty, and learn more about the next steps in the admission process for the 2024-2025 academic year. Please register HERE to attend this incredibly informative session.

Please spread the word to friends and family with children who are approaching Kindergarten age and invite them to attend one of our virtual sessions. Thank you for encouraging others to be a part of our wonderful community!

In-Person Open House

Thursday, November 30

We invite prospective families to join us for an in-person Open House, Thursday November 30th from 5:00 PM- 6:30 PM! Families will learn about our intentionally small class sizes, project-based learning curriculum, our stellar specials programs, and how SJPDS prepares children to be active and successful stewards of the world. Meet our incredible teachers and staff and take a tour of our beautiful 14+ acre campus, all while discovering what St. John's Parish Day School has to offer! Registration and more information are available HERE!

Give the Gift of Spirit Wear!

Are you looking for a holiday gift or stocking stuffer, that also supports our school? Visit the Parent's Association's (PA) online store HERE and purchase adult and youth Spirit Wear! We've added new athletic polo shirts, hats, socks, and more available online, just in time for the cooler months! After the Thanksgiving Break, we will launch our Bonfire Campaign with a brand new Spirit Wear design for 2024. The Bonfire shirts will be made to order in Red, Green, Gold, or Brown- just in time for the upcoming 2024 Spirit Week!

Charleston Wrap Update

Thank You for a Successful Fundraiser!

Thank you from the Parents Association to all those who promoted and purchased items over the last month with our Charleston Wrap fundraiser campaign. We raised a total of $4876 this year! Any questions or concerns related to Charlestown wrap, contact sjpdsvpprograms@gmail.com

The winner of our Sloth Stuffie Raffle from this fundraiser is Ebon'e Brown! Congratulations and thank you again to all who participated in our fundraiser!

Follow SJPDS on Social Media to stay connected to our community!