What We Do When It Snows
St. John the Baptist follows the decisions of Montgomery County Public Schools regarding school cancellations, delayed openings, and early closings. If MCPS has a 2-hour delay, SJB has a 2-hour delay. If MCPS closes early for snow, SJB closes early for snow. Please make a contingency plan if snow or ice is in the forecast. If an early closing decision is made, please arrange for your child to be picked up early if from school. If SJB closes early, After Care and after-school activities will be cancelled. No child will be left unattended at SJB, but please consider that decisions to close school are made for the safety of children and school staff.
Archdiocesan Catholic Schools must follow a major jurisdiction on weather-related school closings as a matter of policy.
Communication When School is Closing for Weather
Primary notification will come from Montgomery County Public Schools through the media. Please check a reliable media outlet, such as WTOP closings, for decisions on school closings, or sign up for a weather alert with MCPS.
SJB will notify families of a school-closing decision by text, email and SJBSilverSpring Twitter.
Communication to parents works only when family contact information is correct. Please make sure that you have correct email addresses and mobile phone numbers for Parent/Guardian 1 and Parent/Guardian 2 on your Household page in TADS. You can change household information through Edit Household.
The TADS Household page is a source of contact data for school email lists, the Rediker Parent Portal, the text-alert service, and the annual Family Directory. If you update your email address on TADS, please also notify the school secretary by email (georgine.baugher@sjbsilverspring.org) so that we can update the class email list.
If you need help finding or updating the TADS Household information, call the parent hotline at 612-548-3320 from 8 am to 9 pm on weekdays.
Please Dress Children for Weather
Please send children to school with warm coats, hats, and gloves on cold days. The children will play outside for recess on most cold winter days. If conditions are dangerous or miserable, we will have indoor recess. We do not set a strict temperature point for outdoor recess. We do take seriously the recommendations of our recess monitors. A 24-degree day may be tolerable if it's sunny, and the air is dry and still. A 28-degree day may be intolerable with high winds, cloudy skies, and moisture.Thank You for Turning Out for Parent-Teacher Conferences
Day of the Dead Thank You!
"Muchas gracias" to the parents in grades 5-8 who sent in food or drink for our Day of the Dead fiesta last week. All classes enjoyed trying new dishes in addition to old favorites at our annual celebration.
Eileen Flynn -- Spanish Teacher, Grades 5-8
Thanksgiving Meal Drive Under Way
Thank you, parents, for supporting this traditional holiday service project. Thanksgiving meals will be delivered to families in need on Friday, Nov. 22, before Thanksgiving. Families receiving meals are referred to us by the St. Joseph Food Pantry. Meals are being collected and assembled by each class. If you are interested in helping by delivering meals, see the sign-up form in the Gold Folder. Parents must be child-protection certified to take students on a meal delivery.
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Join the Parent Ambassadors
- Deliver Flyers and/or Postcards to child care centers and nursery schools
- Give tours during Open Houses
- Write short thank you notes to families who come to our Open Houses
- Follow up with phone calls to new parents to check on them and invite them to events