Arts and Academics Taking Place Now
Students have been active presenting and displaying projects for Arts & Academics. Seventh grade science projects were judged earlier on Tuesday by scientists from the Food and Drug Administration. Art, Design, and Art History projects by 6th grade students are set to be judged on Tuesday night by volunteers.
All families and students are invited to see the Arts & Academics exhibition in the gym on Wednesday night from 7 to 8 pm.
Throughout the day, students are presenting their projects and giving oral reports to students in other grades.
Auction is Live -- Support SJB's March Madness Gala
The gala is our major fundraiser for the school. This year's gala theme is March Madness, so you won't miss any NCAA basketball tournament games by coming to the gala.
The gala will take place on Saturday, March 23, from 7 to 10 pm at the Knights of Columbus on Rosensteel Avenue. The gala is always a good time (the map), and the money raised goes toward the needs of the school. If you can't make it to the gala, please buy a ticket or make a donation.
Order Now for Hot Lunch Thursday in the 4th Quarter
Here is the order form for Hot Lunch Thursday.
Please Remember to Drive Slowly in the Neighborhood
There are children walking to school and families with children, so please be considerate of our neighbors as you drive to and from school in the morning.
Eighth Grade Service
Bowie Baysox "Read and Hit a Homerun" Reading Program
A note from the program coordinator: The Bowie Baysox Reading Program posters have finally arrived! There were problems printing them and then our first set was delivered to the wrong address. Please encourage your child to finish reading the required four books (anything read inside or outside the classroom is fine) and simply check the box on the poster next to his or her name. Books read in January through March 29 (deadline extended one week) will count. Upon completion of this program, each student will receive two tickets(one can be used by an adult) to the Bowie Baysox baseball game on Saturday, May 18 at 6:35 pm where your child's accomplishments will be celebrated! It is a fun night, including a pre-game on-field parade and an amazing fireworks show after the game. Tickets will be distributed electronically. Please let me know if you are interested in carrying on this fun tradition by running this program next year. Thanks so much!
Maria Hippchen (Tommy 8th) mbhippchen@gmail.com
Enrollment & Registration Questions
Please try calling the parent support line if you have questions about your TADS account. Phone calls are answered by real TADS representatives, not an automated voice system.
Hours: Monday–Friday from 8 am to 9 pm
Phone: 612.548.3320 or 800.477.8237
In most cases, the TADS representative will understand your question and resolve your issue quickly. When parents ask me, I often act as an intermediary by relaying the question to our TADS representative and sending the response to the parent. By calling the support line directly, you can save time by eliminating a layer.
If the issue was created by the school, TADS will tell you. If you believe the school should know about a problem, please tell us. If you are going to be late in making a payment, please tell us ahead of time, and inform us of the date that you will make the payment.
Reminder: Please remember to register for the 2019-20 school year.
Tuition Agreements will be sent out in April.
Go Here for Spring Play Practice
There's now a separate webpage for spring play practice schedule and news about the play. You can find it by going to the Gold Folder page on the website and selecting the spring play dropdown. It has the updated schedule.
Tuition Agreements will be sent out in April.
Morning Drop-Off Reminder
Our morning drop-off procedure is designed for safety of children and efficient flow of traffic. Please note that cars should be arriving in the main school parking lot from one direction -- Lima Drive -- and not from the direction of New Hampshire Avenue. Thank you, parents, for cooperating with us.
After dropping off children along the gold line, parents may park in the lot and walk up to join their children as they wait with their classmates for the 8 am bell.
SJB Summer Camp - Register Now!
SJB is offering a competitively priced childcare option during the first full week after the school year ends, June 17-21 from 8:30am-3pm. SJB camp is directed and staffed by faculty. Your child will get a head start on their summer math and reading work, create some masterpieces in art class, take a theater class, and make new memories with friends in a relaxed and nurturing environment. Registration is now open! See flyer for details.
Registration Begins for SJB Summer Science Camp
Camp Sessions at SJB from June 24 until Aug. 2
Here is the website for the SJB Science Camp.
Here is the registration page, and here is information on camp locations.
Register Now for Knights of Columbus Summer Camp
Here is the registration form.
Apply for PreK Today
Space is getting tight in Pre-Kindergarten.
We want to make sure that every willing parish family and school family is able to send their child to Pre-Kindergarten.
SJB Registration Under Way
|
Steps |
Registration |
Note |
|
1. |
Make $500 payment on TADS |
The fee counts toward tuition |
|
2. |
Remember to register each child on TADS |
Pay just once for your family |
|
3. |
Complete parish verification form and send to school in March |
This must be done every year. |
|
4. |
Choose a payment plan |
Look for the TADS email in early April |
|
5. |
Submit tuition agreement |
The final step in enrollment |
SJB's Snow Day Policy
St. John the Baptist follows the decision of Montgomery County Public Schools regarding school cancellations, delayed openings, and early closings due to inclement weather.
Parents are urged to check a reliable new source, such as WTOP Radio, to find out if Montgomery County Public Schools are closed or delayed. The school system usually announces its decision by 5 am.
If Montgomery County Public Schools announces that schools will be closed early, SJB will close early, and After Care and all after-school activities will be cancelled. Parents are advised to listen for the announcement when snow or ice is forecast. The school will try to notify parents by email and text. The school's full policy can be found on pages 11-12 of the Parent Handbook.
If Montgomery County Public Schools are scheduled to be closed for a reason other than weather, such as professional development for teachers, parents should listen for the Archdiocese of Washington announcement about Catholic schools.
To have emergency weather announcements texted to you, sign up for the text alert service of Montgomery County Public Schools.
Do You Need to Update Your Virtus Certification?
If you became Virtus certified in 2013 or earlier, you will need to update your volunteer certification by getting a new background check. The process doesn't take long. Call Martha Kerley in the Parish Office at 301-622-1122 and schedule a background check. Bring two government ID's for your appointment, and you should be finished in under 10 minutes. The new background check became necessary when the Archdiocese Child Protection Office started using a more advanced digital background check system in December of 2013. Thank you for your cooperation in the name of child safety.
Remember to Check the Parent Portal
This is especially important for parents of students in grades 4-8. Teachers have been posting daily assignments and unit-ahead information on the Parent Portal since the beginning of the year.
Don't Wait for an Email Notice
Homework assignments are typically posted each afternoon by 4:00 pm without any email notification to parents.
An email notice went out with assignments on our old online homework and grading system. With our previous system, one teacher posted the assignments for each grade. With our current system, the Parent Portal, each teacher posts assignments and class information.
For example, the "unit ahead" information gives an overview of the topics that students will be studying over the next few weeks. It may list the chapters they'll be reading, problems they'll be solving, projects they'll be doing, tests they'll be taking. The unit ahead information is posted on the class summary page.
To see the class summary, log in to the Parent Portal. At the top of the SJB website, there is a sign in prompt that will take you to the Parent Portal. When you are on the Portal, look for your child's name and then look for a Classroom tab to the right. If you don't see a Classroom tab, select "More..." and then you should see the Classroom tab.
After selecting Classroom, select the name of the class from the drop-down list, and then select Class Page. You should see a Portal page with the Class Summary, Announcements, Files, and Links.
Here is an image of an 8th grade student's social studies class summary page.
Dress for the Weather
Our inclination is to send students outside for recess even when it's cold, so please send children prepared with hats, coats, and gloves for the coming winter weather. We will keep the children inside when our recess supervisors feel that it's too cold to be outside. We don't use a temperature threshold because wind and humidity are factors. If students could get frostbite, the students will stay inside. If it's raining, the students will stay inside. Otherwise, they'll probably go outside.
Home Access to Educational Websites
Parents, did you know that you and your children have subscriptions to several educational websites? The website list and home access information can be found on the Rediker Parent Portal under School Links and Files. Through the SJB Library, the school provides access to BrainPOP, World Book, Scholastic Go!, CultureGrams, SIRS Discoverer, and IXL Math and Language Arts. There are two files -- one for home access and one for school access. World Book is an online encyclopedia for the children, parents, and teachers. SIRS is part of the ProQuest research database, and CultureGrams provides information about the 50 states and places in the world. BrainPOP provides academic enrichment in all subjects.
Lunch Duty SignUp
The lunch-duty signup link can be found on the Volunteer page and on the School Lunch page.
Here is the direct link to sign up for lunch duty.
Just follow the link, select an available date, select an available classroom, and then sign up for the open slot.
There's no need to register.
Parents, are you on Facebook? We are!
Follow our SJB page: https://www.facebook.com/SJBSilverSpring/
Admire the latest and greatest masterpieces in the Art Room: https://www.facebook.com/ArtWithMrs.Leishear
Discover what's happening in the Computer Lab: https://www.facebook.com/sjbtechnology
SJB Athletics is on Facebook. Visit and "like" the SJB Athletics Facebook page to receive more timely information about registration, events and opportunities to participate in SJB Athletics.