Principal's Note 5/7/19

May Crowning Ceremony is Thursday at 10:30 am

We hope that many of you will join us for our annual May Crowning Service, which begins at 10:30 am on Thursday with a solemn, silent outside procession from the school entrance to the church.

Students are expected to wear their regular school uniforms with white or blue shirts, and they may wear white, blue or blue-and-white accessories.

Students should bring flowers to carry in the procession and to place on the church altar in Mary’s honor.

After the service, the flowers are taken to the school lobby and arranged in vases to create a Mary altar. We welcome parent volunteers who are willing to help with the placement of the flowers in the school lobby. Eighth grade pictures will take place before the May Crowning, around 9:30 AM, in front of the church.

Our May Crowners this year are Sofia Tassara (8th grade) and Ava Lappin (2nd grade).

Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you, parents, for the generous and thoughtful gestures for our teachers during this Teacher Appreciation Week. There have been many supportive parent volunteers, and we thank them all. Our teachers appreciate your kindness and your recognition of their dedication more than you will ever know. 

Lunch Grills on Half-Day Fridays May 10 & 24 

Lunch will be offered after school on Friday, May 10, and on Friday, May 24, after 12 noon dismissal. The cost of the grill lunch is $5, and proceeds go toward 8th grade graduation activities.

Career Day is Friday

We are excited about Career Day on Friday. Our coordinator, Courtney Gardner (Jillian 7th), has lined up a terrific group of speakers for the students.

Half-Day on Friday -- Friday is a regular half-day of school. Dismissal will be at noon.

Dress on Friday -- Students may come to come to school in their PE uniforms or in their 8th grade T-shirts if they ordered them on Friday.

Career Day Presenters -- Parents and/or presenters should come to the school office to find out from Mrs. Gardner where to go. Mrs. Gardner sent presenters a schedule on Tuesday. Presentations will be about 20 minutes each. Every classroom has a projector, screen, and speakers connected to a desktop computer. We recommend using a cloud-based file or a thumbdrive.

Thank You for Your Help with the Spring Play

If you were able to make it to the spring play last week, you saw a wonderful production of The Lion King. The music and student actors were magnificent, thanks to the preparation they received from their directors, Mr. Shillingford, Ms. Herritz, and Ms. Sarah.

Many other faculty members helped with the production, and some parents provided critical support, especially the Trebels and the Barberenas, who spent hours in the the SJB gym over the Easter vacation covering the windows and preparing for the show.

The Trebels also took video and still photographs of the shows, and those videos and photos are now available on the Parent Portal.

Interested in School Board?

The SJB School Board is looking for a few good candidates for its board.  Here are the openings:

• 1-year-term as Governance Chair
• 1-year-term as Public Relations Chair
• 1-year term as Nominations Chair
• 2-year-term as Treasurer

If you have any interest in any of these positions, contact the principal at brian.blomquist@sjbsilverspring.org.

Please Consider Being a Room Parent Next Year

If you have not been a classroom parent for your child's class, please consider becoming one for the 2019-20 school year. Contact Jeanine Regan at jeanine.regan@sjbsilverspring.org or complete the volunteer form and return it with your Gold Folder.

There Are Openings for Lunch Duty 

Do you still need to make your quota of five lunch-duties? There are spots open for lunch duty. Go here to sign up.

Submit Your Tuition Agreement

It's the Final Step in Enrollment

• Remember to log on to TADS to select and submit your tuition agreement. 
• Complete this step by May 31 to avoid a $100 Late Agreement Fee. That late fee climbs to $150 of the agreement is not completed by June 15.
• Please call the TADS parent support line if you have questions about your TADS account. Phone: 612.548.3320 or 800.477.8237

Here's the Schedule for End-of-year Scantron Tests

Looking Ahead...

to the following dates in May:

Spring play information can be found here...

Summer camp information is here...

After-School Tennis Registration

Here is the registration form for an after-school tennis program run by SJB parents. Although the children meet at SJB, this isn't a school program. The parent coaches walk the children to White Oak for tennis instruction. 

Remember to Put Aside Items for Ms. Moore's West Virginia Trip

Please remember that Ms. Moore will be making her 21st annual trip to West Virginia in June.  She is happy to pass along to the families in Appalachia gently used baby and children's clothing, all sorts of linens (sheets, towels. blankets, pillows), household items and personal hygiene items (even travel sizes). Place your donated items in the gym stairwell. Please put loose items in a bag and mark the bag "WV."

Books for St. Camillus

It's not too late to clean out your bookshelves and donate to a good cause. We are still collecting books for the children whose families go to the St. Camillus Food Pantry. All books in good condition from pre-K to Grade 8 are gratefully accepted. Please bring in your donations by Friday, May 10. Thank you!

Remember to Label Items Brought to School

Please remember to label any items that you bring to the school or that your children bring to the school. We have plenty of extra labels in the office if you want to use one. The labels help us keep track of the items that are lent to us for events such as the Spring Play and Breakfast with Santa.

Please use a strip of masking tape to write your name on the bottom of any bowl, plate, or pan that you send into the school for Teacher Appreciation or for holidays or classroom activities.

SJB Athletics Needs Sports Commissioners and Athletic Director

Please see the SJB Athletics information bulletin about the volunteer jobs that must be filled to carry on SJB sports.

Please see the spring sports guide, as well.

Student Selected Finalist in Writing Competition

Seventh grade student Kristen O'Hara was one of seven runner-up winners in a national writing contest of more than 1,000 entries.

In the Legacy Project contest, students wrote in response to the prompt: "What can one generation learn from another generation?" 

Mrs. Castillo Available to Tutor Over Summer

Mrs. Castillo is available for summer tutoring and can meet with children in Grades 2-8 and focus on Math or Reading.  Please email her at: liz.castillo@sjbsilverspring.org to arrange a tutoring schedule for your child this summer.   She can work around your family's schedule and set up times that are convenient for you and your child.  

First Day of School: Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019

 Here is the direct link to our SJB Google calendar. Sync it to your own Google calendar and our events will show up on your online calendar.