This week only... the SJB production of Mulan Jr. 

Spring Play Showtimes

7:30 pm on Thursday, April 26

7:30 pm on Friday, April 27

Tickets may be bought at the door.

$5 Students

$8 Adults

$5 Seniors

There will be a full dress rehearsal -- or matinee -- of the show at 1 pm on Wednesday, April 25. This is a good opportunity for grandparents to watch the show.

Reminder: All cast members should bring their black or navy pants and black shoes for the performances on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Two-Hour Delayed Start on Friday

This week only... the SJB production of Mulan Jr. 

Spring Play Showtimes

7:30 pm on Thursday, April 26

7:30 pm on Friday, April 27

Tickets may be bought at the door.

$5 Students

$8 Adults

$5 Seniors

There will be a full dress rehearsal -- or matinee -- of the show at 1 pm on Wednesday, April 25. This is a good opportunity for grandparents to watch the show.

Reminder: All cast members should bring their black or navy pants and black shoes for the performances on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Two-Hour Delayed Start on Friday

School will start at 10 am on Friday, April 27. However, Ms. Schwab and Ms. Hennig offer morning care from 7 am to 10 am for $8 per hour (cash only on this date).

Auction & Gala Raises $15,000

Thank you for your support for the gala and auction on Saturday night. Many parents came and enjoyed the fun, Vegas-themed party, and many others supported the school by bidding on auction items. 

If you won a basket or a certificate, you should have received an email notice. Many items may 

Thank you to everyone who supported our gala and auction -- and helped the school -- especially coordinators Anne Thomas (Cici 6th) and Kelly Brown (Eleanor 5th). We will send a more thorough note next week thanking the many other volunteers who helped.

The money raised will help the school meet needs for wireless equipment, language arts curriculum, chrome-book-style devices, and tuition assistance.

Lunch Duty Signup

If you have had trouble logging on to the lunch duty signup page, please contact the school office, and a new email invitation will be sent to you.

School will start at 10 am on Friday, April 27. However, Ms. Schwab and Ms. Hennig offer morning care from 7 am to 10 am for $8 per hour (cash only on this date).

Auction & Gala Raises $15,000

Thank you for your support for the gala and auction on Saturday night. Many parents came and enjoyed the fun, Vegas-themed party, and many others supported the school by bidding on auction items. 

If you won a basket or a certificate, you should have received an email notice. Many items may 

Thank you to everyone who supported our gala and auction -- and helped the school -- especially coordinators Anne Thomas (Cici 6th) and Kelly Brown (Eleanor 5th). We will send a more thorough note next week thanking the many other volunteers who helped.

The money raised will help the school meet needs for wireless equipment, language arts curriculum, chrome-book-style devices, and tuition assistance.

Lunch Duty Signup

If you have had trouble logging on to the lunch duty signup page, please contact the school office, and a new email invitation will be sent to you.

Spring Sing is May 2 at 1:30 pm in the Gym

Students in grades 2-4 are asked to bring the following with them to school for the day of the play:

·      Black/navy shirts (long or short sleeve) 

·      Black/navy pants or leggings (no skirts or dresses please) 

Along with their black/navy attire, each student may bring costume accessories in the theme of the animal the student is playing. For example, if a child is depicting a rabbit, he may bring bunny ears. Or, if a child is portraying a frog, she could wear a green baseball hat with googly eyes on the top and a green t-shirt. 

Students in Kindergarten and 1st grade don't need to bring the black/navy costumes. Please feel free to e-mail  sarah.franz@sjbsilverspring.org with questions.

The state of Maryland offers financial tuition assistance for private education through the BOOST program. Here is the link to the application, which is open until May 21. Please apply if your children would be eligible for free or reduced lunch, according to the income guidelines below.

SJB Summer Camp -- SJB is hosting a one-week summer camp from June 18-22, led by some of the teachers. Camp is open to current students entering grades 1-8. The week includes time to start on the summer Reading and Math work, as well as several other fun activities like Art, Theater, Science and outdoor play. See flyer  for details and registration information. Only 50 spots available. First come, first served! Questions? Contact Mrs. Morris at Kathleen.Morris@sjbsilverspring.org

Four times a week, selected students in grades 3 and 4 experience mathematics education at a level one or two steps above their regular classroom instruction. Two math teachers invite small groups to the upper school Math Room to challenge the students in new ways. The students learn complex mathematical ideas and advanced problem solving.  

The focus of this program is to provide accelerated, targeted math instruction designed to deepen the students’ understanding of number sense, computation, algebraic concepts, measurement, geometry, data analysis. Students still attend regular math classes, but the enrichment program provides an opportunity to accelerate. Students are selected based on teacher recommendations and their latest Scantron performance scores. The content, lessons, and activities are constructed around the small group and the standards related to the current mathematical strand. When the content has been sufficiently covered and checked for understanding, a new group is chosen based on a different area of the math curriculum, new strands, and new Scantron scores. This enrichment program encourages students to think critically and to work efficiently, and it exposes them to new content in an exciting way.  

In grades 5-8, classes are divided so that students receive small-group math instruction each day. Students in grade 7 receive pre-algebra instruction at different rates of acceleration and levels of complexity, and students in 8 receive algebra instruction and advanced algebra instruction. Students who need a greater challenge and a more accelerated pace are placed in an independent mathematics course, which is planned, coordinated and graded by our math director. In the independent course, the student is limited only by the challenge of the content.  SJB has the capacity to provide geometry and Algebra II/Trigonometry. Currently, there are four students on three different tracks in independent mathematics courses with the math director, Mr. Lucey.

Our primary goal in middle-school mathematics instruction is to prepare our students for success in freshman math courses in the Catholic high schools and to give our advanced math students the best opportunity to test out of freshman math and into an honors or higher-level math course at the start of high school.

In attaining that goal, we have been successful -- 94 percent of our students succeeded in testing out of freshman algebra, according to a survey of the last three graduating classes conducted over the winter.

The students were accepted into the honors math program, 10th grade geometry course, or 11th grade trigonometry/algebra II, according to the survey.

The honors placement tests are taken at the end of 8th grade at the students' new Catholic high schools, or the placements are made based on admissions test scores.

SJB will always strive to improve its math program. Our 7th and 8th grade algebra and pre-algebra textbook curriculum is receiving an upgrade for next year. Our math teachers regularly attend professional conferences with the aim of learning the most effective, evidence-based teaching methods. We seek alternative and online instructional options to meet particular needs and challenges of individual students.

SJB student math scores compare favorably to average math scores of students in Montgomery County and students statewide in Maryland.

Private schools hit Blue Ribbon marks when average math and reading scores of students in each grade meet or exceed scores at the 85th national percentile. SJB is represented by the solid light blue and solid dark blue. The blue ribbon marks are represented by the lighter patterned bars.

SJB 8th Grader Awarded 1st Place Scholarship in Essay Competition

Congratulations to Riley Langan. She has received the first place award in the Catholic Business Network's annual 8th grade essay competition. The Catholic Business Network will award Riley a $2,500 high school scholarship at its awards breakfast on Friday. Riley plans this fall to attend St. John's College High School, where she has received a scholarship and entrance into the De La Salle Scholars Program. Eighth-grade students across the archdiocese were invited to write, in 250 to 500 words, an essay about the combat of hate with extraordinary love. 

SJB Eighth Grade Students Show High School Colors

If you see a couple of 8th grade students walking to the library in their Holy Cross and Good Counsel sweatshirts, they're not out of uniform. We encourage the 8th grade students to proudly wear the sweaters and sweatshirts of the high schools they plan to attend, and we do this for a few reasons.

1. Eighth graders deserve privileges for their perseverance.

2. We have a fair number of buddy-class activities, and we want the  younger students to see where their older buddies will be in school next year.

3. We want the younger students to make the connection between the rewards and the dedication and hard work that our 8th grade students displayed.

High School Acceptances

Each spring, we give a brief rundown of how our 8th grade students fared in their applications to the Catholic and private high schools.

Of the 22 students who applied to Our Lady of Good Counsel, 16 students were accepted, and 6 were placed on the wait list.

Of the 8 students who applied to the Academy of the Holy Cross, all 8 students were accepted.

Of the 11 students who applied to St. John's College High School, 6 were accepted, 2 were placed on the wait list, and 3 were rejected.

Of the two students who applied to Georgetown Visitation, one was accepted and one was placed on the wait list.

Of the two students who applied to Stone Ridge, one was accepted and one was placed on the wait list.

Of the one student who applied to Sidwell Friends School, the one student was accepted. 

Of the two students who applied to St. Vincent Pallotti High School, both students were accepted. 

Thank you for Registering!

Thank you, SJB families, for registering in record time for the 2018-19 school year. Nearly everyone who is returning to the school has registered. And if you haven't, please register soon.

Here is a promising sign: 12 of the 15 "graduating" pre-k students are already registered for Kindergarten. We are excited to see that our preschool has established such strong roots and continuity in our SJB community.