This is our theme for the 2018-2019 school year. We are committing to rejoicing in the Lord, and living in harmony with one another. We opened our inservices with a beautiful exercise led by Mrs. Skokan during which we valued the gifts brought by all the members of our community and we experienced the harmony of the bonds that we have created among us. We renewed our commitment to creating a safe environment for all students, one that is free of discrimination, harassment, violence and bullying. Mrs. Desclos presented a very moving and powerful session on understanding racism, prejudice and valuing all God’s children. Mrs. Halley, Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Mansfield led the faculty through Social Justice standards and resources from the Teaching Tolerance Website to guide us in the engagement of anti-bias education. Mr. Tice, Mrs. Kelley and Miss Gudaitis, Trustey STEM Fellows, shared their experiences at Notre Dame and presented a preview of the STEM integration plan they had in store for St. John. Mrs. Halley went to Guatamala on a mission trip and she described the powerful experiences. She also has so much to share from her Fellowship experience at the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle. She has so much to share with her students! Mrs. Tsagalakis and Mrs. Kelly led us in the new theme song as we continued our inservices on planning year two of our accreditation goals and learning about the new science curriculum.
Teachers are ready and looking forward to seeing you and their students on Wednesday. New students and all Kindergarteners may come between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Tuesday. This is not a supply drop-off day for current students.
In last week’s NewsViews we shared with you a detailed update on the progress of our Capital projects and contingency plans for the start of school next week. We are excited by the progress and the prospect of moving in to our new spaces. I encourage you to visit the new parish administrative building when you are on campus. The school administration team and executive committee have been working in unison with Chinn Construction to map out safety plans for the start of the new school year. I encourage you to read the Construction Update from Chinn regarding the proposed work for the fall. The school anticipates there will be a few days in the fall when the construction team requests we close school to allow for full access to the main school building. We are working with Chinn Construction on the scheduling of these dates and will communicate these to the greater community once a timeline is firmly established. The creation of this timeline may involve shifting the dates of our parent-teacher conferences. Though not a preferred practice, I know many of you like to plan holidays around these conferences so I’m giving you fair warning now about the potential to shift dates!
Enjoy the Labor Day weekend,
Rejoice in the Lord,
Bernadette O’Leary
