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Blue Jay Flyer
December 13, 2023
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents and Guardians,
What a wonderful time of the year! I know that everyone is busy, so I wanted to just list a few upcoming dates and times so people can have a quick reference guide for the next few days.
Thursday, December 14th
Shopping Cents - Thursday is your last chance of the year to order gift cards through Shopping Cents. This is a great way to support the school and also get all the gift cards you need for Christmas presents.
Friday, December 15th
Tops and Socks. The Theme is Grinch Out in Green! Students may pay $1 to wear all the green they can find along with their regular uniform bottoms. Students will also be permitted to wear Christmas themed hats on Friday if they are participating in Tops and Socks. All money raised will go towards Student Council Service Projects.
Tuesday, December 19th
All School Mass - this is a change from our original schedule!
Out of uniform for all families that placed a Shopping Cents order in the month of December. Teachers will be given a list of the families who participated.
Optional Theme - Ugly Christmas Sweater
Kindergarten and 3’s Preschool Christmas Parties
4th and 5th Grade Christmas Concert @ 7pm in the Church.
Wednesday, December 20th
Kindergarten Christmas Pageant in the Church at 8:30
Christmas Parties for Grades 1-3, PreK and 4’s Preschool
Thursday, December 21st- Wednesday January 3rd
Christmas Break
Thursday, January 4th
School resumes
The students are very excited about all of these upcoming activities and events. Although these are fun and exciting days, please remember that if a student is sick they should stay home. Students should be symptom free (fever, vomiting, diarrhea) for 24 hours before returning to school or participating in an event. I know the students don’t want to miss anything, but if a student is sick, he or she should stay home so they do not infect their classmates. Every year we have students who come to school or a concert because they don’t want to miss out on the fun, and they end up ruining a classmate's break by getting them sick right before the holidays.
Courtney Weinheimer
School Calendar 📅
Cafeteria 🍽️
School News
Last Chance For Shopping Cent$ Out of Uniform
Tomorrow is the last turn-in day for Shopping Cent$ before Christmas break! And it's your last chance to earn an out of uniform day for all children in your family!
Finish your Christmas shopping by ordering those last-minute gift cards through us. It costs you nothing more than you would spend and you earn money for the school. Please note that due to the timing of Christmas break, we cannot guarantee special orders (3rd column of the order form) or online orders will arrive before school is out. Any special orders placed will need to be picked up at 4:30 mass on Saturday, 12/23.
Thank you for your support!
***Order forms were sent home today in the Blue Jay Folders or you can print a form from the attachment below.
Grinch Out in Green!
On Friday, December 15, Student Council is hosting their second "Tops & Socks" fundraiser. Students may bring in $1 and "GRINCH OUT IN GREEN!" Please note that regular uniform bottoms must still be worn on Tops & Socks days.
Christmas Concert Grades 4-5
Christmas Concert
Grades 4 & 5
Tuesday, December 19
7:00 p.m.
Under the direction of our music teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Ossenschmidt, our 4th & 5th grade students have been working hard practicing their special Christmas songs that they will be performing at St. John the Baptist Church on December 19.
Ed Choice Scholarship Tuition Refunds
Please follow the link below for information regarding the Ed Choice refund process.
Purchase School Uniform Spirit Wear for Christmas
We have a limited amount of stock on various styles of the daily uniform spirit wear including many size youth small 1/4 zip gray sweatshirts. If you would like to get something as a gift before Christmas break, please contact Laura Heidorn in the school office to check stock.
Schoolbelles Winter Sale
Schoolbelles is having a winter sale on December 23 and 24 which includes Free Shipping with no minimum order.
Names On Spirit Wear
Please don't forget to write your children's names in their school uniform spirit wear with a black sharpie. We have many unclaimed sweatshirts and jackets on the lost and found table in the cafeteria.
Quarters for Kindness
On Fridays during lunch periods when students are able to purchase a sweet treat for .75 cents, they have the opportunity to "round up" to $1.00 and donate their extra quarter to our Quarters for Kindness Project. For the months of November & December, all money raised will be donated to the Corpus Christi Food Pantry.
Fundraising at No Cost to You
You shop. Kroger gives.
St. John's School will earn money from your purchases. Verify you are linked by checking the bottom of your receipt.
You shop. Shutterfly gives.
Order photo prints or create photo cards, books, gifts and more. Shop through St. John's Storefront link: Stjohnthebaptistschool.ShutterflyStorefront.com
You save empties. Empties4Cash gives.
Blue Jay Gallery 📸
Awaiting St. Nick
Mrs. Unger's Pre K class placed their little shoes outside the classroom door last Wednesday in hopes of St. Nick leaving them a little treat. And sure enough, a few minutes later, candy canes appeared in their shoes!
Elf on the Shelf
Jay, our resident Elf on Shelf, continues to hide somewhere different each day, bringing curiosity excitement to the hallways!
Deck-a Door Contest Is Underway!
Our Student Council's Deck-a-Door competition is underway! Each grade level has been assigned a different Christmas theme and three winners (one each from K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) will receive a hot cocoa bar in their classroom. We are having fun watching the designs come together and can’t wait to see all the final festive creations! Winners will be announced on December 15th.
Shining Light Awards
Congratulations to our most recent recipient of a Shining Light Awards!
Mad About Plaid
Our faculty & staff have been celebrating the "12 Days of School Left in December" with a fun theme, treat or activity each day. Last Friday was Mad About Plaid and the annual Faculty & Staff Christmas party. A few other fun things so far have included a book exchange, a cookie exchange, snacks from Santa and a prize draw from Santa's sleigh.
Preschool Storytime
Storytime with eighth graders is a fan favorite with our 4 year old preschoolers! Eighth grade visited Mrs. Kahny's morning class on Monday to read Christmas stories to them.
Band Concert
Congratulations to the members of our St. John's Advanced Band for a great performance of patriotic and holiday songs at their Christmas concert on Tuesday evening!
Exothermal Energy
Sixth grade students created an exothermal reaction in the science lab today by mixing water, phenol red, baking soda and calcium chloride. They observed that the chemical reaction among the four ingredients caused their ziploc bags to expand with air and the mixture became hot to touch.
Athletic Boosters
Baseball Sign-Ups
Signups for the 2024 baseball season are underway! If you register now, you can avoid the added family fee once the new year comes. I realize this is early, but planning for the season has begun!
We currently offer:
Instructional - 4/5 year olds, kindergarten
7U - 6/7 year olds, 1st graders
9U - 2nd/3rd graders, teams splits by age based on numbers (8/9 yr olds)
11U - 4th/5th graders (10/11 yr olds)
13U - 6th/7th graders (12/13 yr olds)
15U - 8th graders (14/15 yr olds)
Sign up here.
Instructional Basketball Sign Ups
Sign ups for Instructional Basketball are now open! We will keep them open until December 15th.
Instructional Basketball is for boys and girls Pre K- 1st Grade. Practices and games will be held in the St. Johns gyms on Friday evenings starting January and ending in March.
Additionally we are still looking for a few more coaches, if anybody is new to St. John's athletics, this is a great opportunity to help coach in a very basic instructional format. All coaches must be Safe Parish certified.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. The booster website link is listed below.
https://sports.bluesombrero.com/stjab/
Jake Blust
Instructional Basketball Coordinator
Alumni News
News to Share?
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.
Parish News
St. Vincent de Paul Winter Coat Drive
Marked boxes will be in the St. John the Baptist Gathering Space through December 17th for your new or gently used winter coats. All sizes are needed including infant, children and adult. They are also accepting hats, gloves and blankets.
Blessed Trinity Youth Group
Calling All 6th, 7th, & 8th Graders from the Blessed Trinity Family!
Join us for games, snacks, and to get to know other people your age, all centered in the love that Jesus has for you.
We will meet on these dates:
- Friday, December 1st from 7-8:30pm Corpus Christi Francis Hall Friday
- January 5th from 7-8:30pm Corpus Christi Francis Hall
- Wednesday, January 10th from 7-8:30pm St. John Neumann Daniel Hall
- Friday, February 2nd from 7-8:30pm Corpus Christi MAC Building Youth Room
- Wednesday, February 14th from 7-8:30pm St. John Neumann Daniel Hall Friday
- March 1st from 7-8:30pm Corpus Christi Francis Hall
- Wednesday, March 13th from 7-8:30pm St. John Neumann Daniel Hall
- Friday, April 5th from 7-8:30pm Corpus Christi Francis Hall
For more information, please contact Cathy Hale at cathyknueven@hotmail.com, or Denise Gaige at 513-410-525