WEEKLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 4, 2017
Mrs. Minton's third grade class conducting water experiments
THIS WEEK'S NEWS AND EVENTS
FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS DUE DECEMBER 5
Financial aid applications for the 2018-19 school year are due Tuesday, December 5. Financial aid grants will be included in the re-enrollment contract for the 2018-19 school year. Get the details. Please contact Linda Wilson with questions.
NOMINATIONS FOR THE PA COUNCIL DUE TOMORROW
The Parents Association Council Needs YOU! The newly formed Nominations Committee is excited to select the PA leadership for next year. Nominate yourself or a talented friend to serve on the 2018-19 PA Council. There are jobs that fit all skill sets, interests and schedules. View the council positions to see which job might be right for you. Please contact PA Parliamentarian Kristi Bare with questions and submissions, which are requested by Tuesday, December 5 at noon.
POINSETTIA DELIVERY
NJHS poinsettias will be delivered on Tuesday, December 5 during afternoon carpool. NJHS students will deliver the plants to cars during carpool - or to cubbies/lockers if students will be staying for ASP. Parents will need to get the poinsettias from inside the building when they pick up their child. If you unable to pick up your order on Tuesday, please contact Jennifer Powers.
ADMISSION OPEN HOUSE
The school will host an all-school open house this Wednesday, December 6, 9:30-11:00 a.m. This is our last admission event before applications are due December 15. Get more information and R.S.V.P. to attend. Please invite any friends who are interested.
BOX TOPS
Please turn in Box Tops to your homeroom class by Wednesday, December 6. The homeroom or advisory that collects the most Box Tops will win a free dress day. Learn how to boost your collections on the Box Tops website.
PRE-K SING-A-LONG
All pre-k parents are invited to a music sharing and sing-a-long this Friday, December 8, 9:50-10:20 a.m. Join your child in Clements Hall for this special holiday tradition.
PA HOLIDAY FACULTY GIFT FUND CLOSES FRIDAY
Considering a holiday gift for your child's teacher? In lieu of a personal gift, the Parents Association encourages you to contribute to the Faculty Christmas Gift Fund. The fund serves as an inclusive, easy way for parents to show their appreciation - and for all teachers to feel parents' gratitude. Donations, which have no monetary limit, received by Friday, December 8, will be divided and distributed before Christmas. You may use the link above or drop a check off at the front desk. When you contribute to the fund, you will receive a printable certificate for your child to share with their teacher, letting them know about the donation.
CRUSADER CLUB CARES DAY
Join the Crusader Club this Saturday morning, December 9, at 9:00 a.m. St. John's families will spend a morning serving others. Participants will complete impactful community service projects benefiting SoupMobile, Buckner International and Gateway of Grace. Get all the details and register for this annual parent/child service event.
RAPTOR VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
We appreciate your cooperation and support in the success of the visitor registration system roll out. If you have not been inside the school since November 27, please remember to bring your license the next time you visit. We will scan your driver's license and provide you with your 2017-18 school year badge. Stations are set up in the front reception area, at the Lower School carpool desk and at the Middle School entrance.
PATCH UPATE
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we wait for a delivery date on patches from Parker School Uniforms. Parker is working continuously to troubleshoot and resolve their internal issues and we hope to get an update from them soon. Please note your child will not be penalized if he or she does not have a new patch on their sweater or blazer at this time.
DECEMBER MENU AND BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS
The December birthday blessings schedule is now posted on ParentsWeb (School / Resources). See the December lunch menu. You will also find the monthly lunch menu in ParentsWeb (School / Resources), as well as under the "Current Families" tab on the school's website.
______________________________________________________________
ST. JOHN'S FUND PARTICIPATION
Congratulations to the kindergarten class! Last week, the grade came in at 100% participation in the 2017-18 St. John's Fund. In celebration, the students and teachers will enjoy a free dress day soon. See the graphic below to check the status of your child's class. Thank you, parents, for helping us provide the best resources for your children's education!
If you have not yet had an opportunity to give to our annual fundraising effort, we hope you will consider including St. John's in your year-end giving. Give now. Not quite ready to make a donation? You may make a pledge to be fulfilled by May 30, 2018.
COMING UP
LOWER SCHOOL ADVENT CHRISTMAS SERVICE
Kindergarten through fourth grade parents are invited to join us Friday, December 15, 8:00 a.m. in the church. Students will perform Christmas anthems during this special worship service. Students are to wear full dress uniforms.
NEW STUDENT APPLICATIONS
The deadline for new student applications is Friday, December 15. Please go online and complete the application so we can schedule your child's evaluation time. Teacher evaluations for pre-k and kindergarten students are due by January 15, 2018. For all other grades, teacher evaluations, report cards and test scores are due by January 15.
CHRISTMAS BREAK
St. John's will be closed for the holidays December 18 through January 2. Classes will resume Wednesday, January 3. Please note there will be no ASP or Homework Club on December 15, and the building will close at 4:00 p.m.
STUDENT NEWS
SPELLING BEE
The St. John's spelling bee will be held in the main gym Tuesday, December 5, at 8:05 a.m. (Middle School students will not attend chapel.) Twenty-three students from grades five through eight qualified. They have been studying their words diligently, and will participate in the middle school bee. Parents of the spellers are welcome and encouraged to attend.
THIRD GRADE STUDENTS RAISE $665
After learning about the water crisis in developing countries, third grade students set up a collection for The Water Project as part of their Water Museum unit. They have raised $665 to help people living without access to clean water and are grateful for the donations they continue to receive. Many thanks to parent attendees who supported this passionate plea of the students. They have established a fundraising page if you would like to support the third grade effort.
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS HONORED WITH PENGUIN AWARD
At St. John's, we guide students to discover a passion for learning and for life, teaching compassion, creativity, exploration and collaboration. We are dedicated to supporting the growth of our students throughout their time with us, which is often the result of trying something new, giving extraordinary effort, and acting with an attitude of discovery.
To recognize these traits, we have adopted the Penguin Award, awarded to two students from each Middle School grade each trimester. The recipients have shown they are willing to plunge into a new project, topic, subject, assignment or area of study. Through their actions, they have been an inspiration to others, and they have demonstrated qualities we value in our graduates, such as tenacity, resiliency, optimism and genuine curiosity. We congratulate the following students, who were honored in chapel last week.
Fifth Grade
Sadie Johnson
Aidan Moran
Sixth Grade
Jack Barnett
Meg Gilmore
Seventh Grade
Grace Hall
Ashley McDaniel
Eighth Grade
Paisley Brown
Nate Carley
ELECTION PROJECT BASED LEARNING (PBL)
At the conclusion of the eighth grade election PBL unit, seven "third parties" were formed and a primary election was held. Three political parties advanced to the final election: Molly Fagelman of the Equality Party, August Jaeggli of the Indigo Party and Camden Reeves of the Awake Party. The entire Middle School watched the final three commercials, heard the candidates' stump speeches and then voted. Electoral College votes were set up for every Middle School advisory, based on the number of students in the advisory. As with 10% of U.S. elections, the winner of the popular vote was not the winner of the Electoral College votes. The Equality Party won the popular vote while the Awake Party won the electoral vote. Congratulations to all three winning parties! View the websites of all participating parties, which include student-created platforms, stump speeches, advertisements and logos. (Please note: you must be logged in to a Google account in order to view the commercials on the websites.)
CATAPULT PBL
Seventh graders have finished their annual catapult build. During this project, students studied motion, acceleration and free fall. After they mastered the basics, they designed, built, and tested their own catapults. They researched catapult mechanics, sketched scaled drawings, developed a budget and kept track of daily journals. For five days, 22 volunteers assisted students with power tools like drills and saws. On launch day, students competed against other teams to see which catapults were the most accurate. Finally, they analyzed the motion of the launched projectile to determine launch angles, flight times, height soared and vertical velocities.
PARENT ORGANIZATIONS
HOLIDAY BASKETBALL CAMP
The Crusader Club is offering a basketball skills clinic December 27-29, 9:00 a.m. - noon, coached by Greg Lewis of Blade Basketball for second through eighth grade boys and girls. Get the details and register.
NEWS FROM THE CLINIC
It's flu season! Thus far, I have only heard of two confirmed cases of flu. Please let me know if your child gets a flu diagnosis so I can track cases in our school community. Remember that getting a flu shot is the best way to protect you and your children from the flu. It is not too late to be immunized if you haven't already. See the flyer from the CDC for more information on keeping your family healthy this flu season.
Also, as we enter cold and flu season, please note our process for distributing cough drops at school. Cough drops will be given in the clinic by the nurse as needed unless parental permission has not been granted during (RenWeb re-enrollment). Only one cough drop will be given to a student per visit. However, if your child has a cough without fever and you are treating with cough drops, it would be helpful if you would send a supply with your child to reduce missed class time due to clinic visits. Middle School students may carry cough drops and self-administer. Lower School students will not be allowed to self-administer cough drops. Cough drops for Lower School students may be sent to your child's homeroom teacher along with a written communication giving permission for the teacher to distribute as needed. If a child does not have cough drops, he or she may still go to the clinic if the teacher deems it necessary. If your child is coughing non-stop, please consider having him or her stay home, as it can be very uncomfortable for the child and distracting in the classroom.
As always, make sure that your child has been free of fever (without the use of medication) or other contagious symptoms, such as diarrhea or vomiting, for 24 hours before sending him or her back to school after any illness. Adhering to this policy protects both students and our staff. Thank you for your cooperation!
Amy Johns, RN
CHURCH HAPPENINGS
ADVENT WEDNESDAYS AT ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Anticipate, Prepare, and Rejoice: Reflections of the Hymns of Advent
The church invites families to its series of Advent Wednesdays December 6, 13 and 20 (see times below). After each of our Wednesday Advent services in December, our organist, Benjamin Kolodziej, will present a study that will engage with many of the hymns celebrated and sung during Advent, delving into their histories, the stories of their writers or composers, and how they have edified Christians throughout the centuries.
--5:45 p.m. Evening Prayer/Eucharist (Church)
--6:30 p.m. Potluck Dinner (Parish Hall)
--7:00 p.m. Advent Program (Parish Hall for adults, Undercroft for children)
LESSONS AND CAROLS
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Join the church Sunday, December 10, 5:00 p.m. (4:30 for pre-service recital) in the hymns and carols of the season in response to scripture. Enjoy the St. John's Cantate Deo adult choir, joined by the new Jubilate Children's Choir, and supplemented by various instrumentalists as they lead the congregation in song. A pre-service recital will begin at 4:30 p.m. featuring harpist Karen Abrahamson Thomas, and violinist Catherine Price Allain, performing music of the season.
CHAPLAIN'S CORNER
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The sense that Christmas on its way–but not here yet–has a spiritual significance. It reminds us that the pre-Christmas season is not only for preparing our homes and presents and special foods, but also for preparing our hearts to understand the happy holiday message: that God has joined himself to humanity for our salvation.
In Chapel, it's also beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We will be hearing readings from the beginning of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, stories that prepared the world for Jesus to be born on that silent, holy night. We will hear about Zechariah and Elizabeth and the angel Gabriel, about the surprising news brought to Mary by the angel, and the song she sings of God's goodness. In each of these stories, we continue to highlight the voices of women as they praise the Lord, and we see that the same pattern holds true. God calls people, and people respond–sometimes well, sometimes not so well. But regardless of our successes or failures, God always keeps His promises.
In Chapel Applied and Buddy Day (Thursday) this week we will highlight "empathy" as a characteristic we want to learn. Empathy means being able to identify with someone who is different from us, and it was precisely this quality that made God send Jesus to earth. In Christ, God proves His empathy for us, and we have a chance to understand and share the life of God.
Parents, let your children in on your holiday preparations this week. It's good for them to see you working hard on important preparations for an important occasion. It reinforces just how important this holiday is, and it helps them take ownership of the celebrations.
 |
 |
 |
St. John's Episcopal School is dedicated to a program of academic excellence designed to train
the mind, strengthen the character and enrich the spirit of each student in a Christian environment.
St. John's Episcopal School | 214-328-9131