Blue Jay Flyer

Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back, finally! I hope everyone enjoyed their extended break. It was so nice to see all the students back in the building. This morning we started our day with an All School Mass. Fr. Pete reminded students that when setting a New Year’s Resolution, the only thing you need to focus on is to “Love God and Love your Neighbor.” I think that we can all agree that if everyone lived by this philosophy, there would be a lot less hate in the world. I hope that each one of you can help our students follow this simple statement by setting a good example at home.

We have a jam packed next few weeks! Here are a few upcoming events:

• School updates/improvements

• We will have three new exterior doors installed over the next couple of weeks. This will help with security and keeping the warm air inside the building.

• We are finishing the last phase of our HVAC upgrades. This will allow the school to be removed from the old boiler system. The crew was here during our break to ensure little to no disruption to our instruction.

• Testing

• This week we will start our DIBELs testing for grades 3-5. Although we are a little behind due to the snow days, we will get all students tested before the end of January.

• Our winter MAP testing will take place on Tuesday and Thursday of next week for grades 1-8. Kindergarten will test Monday and Wednesday to allow for extra hands in the classroom.

• Teachers will be talking to the students about the importance of taking these tests over the next few days.

• I encourage families to sit down and talk to students about getting a good night's sleep before the test, eating a good breakfast on test days, reading every question, and putting forth their best effort.

• PTO Membership meeting - Wednesday, January 15th - This meeting is open to ALL families. We have a special guest speaker to discuss how parents can navigate students having access to technology and still sustaining a good mental health. This is a Don’t Miss Meeting. A huge thank you to Kasey Reder, our school counselor, for setting this speaker up.

• Teacher In-Service - Friday, January 17th - No school for students. As a faculty, we will be digging into the data and creating plans for how to tailor instruction for the next 5 months of school.

• Open House - January 26th from 1pm-3pm. Please spread the word to any new families thinking about coming to St. John’s next year. I anticipate Kindergarten filling up quickly as well as a few other grades.

• 2025-2026 Registration - Paperwork will be sent home next week in Blue Jay folders. If you intend to return, please turn in your registration paperwork ASAP.

Lastly, just a quick reminder to listen and read all One Calls that are sent home so that you can stay up to date on all winter weather issues that could affect school or buses.

Thanks and have a great week.

Sincerely,

Courtney Weinheimer

Congratulations to the winners of or Student Council Deck-a-Door Contest!

Students who bring in $1 on Friday, January 10, may wear tops and socks in the theme of "July in January." Regular uniform bottoms must be worn with summer themed tops and socks.

Schoolbelles is having a giant sale! Everything will be 40% off now through January 11. Don't miss out on a great opportunity to stock up on school uniforms.

If your child is arriving to school late, a parent or guardian must come inside the building and sign them in at the office. Please park across the street and walk your child over to the main entrance. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Roger Bacon High School will be offering two different week-long summer art camps for students that were in grades 6-8 during the 24-25 school year. This is a great opportunity for students to explore different art techniques and meet other peers. See flier attached below.

Congratulations to our most recent recipient of a Shining Light Award! This kind fourth grade student gave her extra Santa Shop change to a preschooler so that they could purchase a gift.

Along with Mary & Joseph, the farmer, and the the innkeeper, all the little angels, wisemen, shepherds, townspeople, and barn animals did an incredible job performing their Kindergarten Christmas Pageant on Friday, December 20.

A big thank you to all our room moms and other volunteers who helped to plan fun activities and special snacks for our Christmas parties.

It looks like our Blue Jays really enjoyed their two extra bonus days of Christmas break! With a record breaking snowfall amount on Monday of 4.2" (beating 3.5" in 1981), most of our students have never seen so much snow at one time.

Wednesday, January 15

6:30 pm

St. John's Cafeteria

St. John's would like to announce a special opportunity for our parents. At our next PTO meeting we have the privilege of welcoming special guest speaker, Stephen Smith from A Wired Family, who will be presenting his Social Media Parent Program. Mr. Smith provides a world of knowledge on how to help our students navigate the world of phones, AI, apps, and technology. See the attached flyer for more information. We look forward to seeing you at 6:30pm on Wednesday, January 15th."

Mark your calendars for the next two skating events at The Place!

February 17

May 19

We love to share exciting news about our St. John's alumni with our school community! If you have an older child or know anyone who graduated from St. John's who has an achievement to share, please send information and any photos to Laura Heidorn at lheidorn@stjohnsdrschool.org.