Principal’s Letter
What an exciting day as students throughout the building watched as white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel and Cardinal Dominique Mamberti stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to declare: ”Habemus Papam!” “We Have a Pope!” and announce Pope Leo XVI. We pray for Pope Leo as he steps into his new role, leading our Church in solidarity, humility, and love.
May is a monumental month here at St. John, full of activities, special events, and celebrations. Yesterday we had a record number of you, over 277, who biked/rolled to school – way to go! Thank you, Pablo and the Bike-to-School leadership team for organizing this event. Tonight, we are celebrating 38 students who are participating in the Sacrament of Confirmation, and over the weekend, 32 second-graders will be receiving their First Communion. Tomorrow is Grand Day for our students in grades K-2; this is a dress uniform day for all students, and there is no hot lunch service. Students need a sack lunch, please.
Next week is middle school travel week. Our 6th graders will spend three days at Camp Hamilton Environmental Science Camp, our 8th graders are heading to Washington, D.C. for the week, and our 7th graders will have a week full of Beyond the Classroom curricular experiences, including a trip to Boeing, the State Capitol and, new this year, a visit to the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture. Thank you to our teachers and volunteers for giving your time to help make these enriching experiences possible. Be aware: many of these events require transportation transitions during our regular pick-up and drop-off times – please stay alert and pay attention to our traffic-duty volunteers. We need your vigilance and cooperation to ensure the safety of our students and to maintain respect for our neighbors during these, busier than usual, transition times.
Don’t forget, next Thursday is our Kids Heart Challenge event. Thank you, Mrs. Skokan, Mrs. Arruella, and 7th-grade students, for helping organize this event. This is a free dress day for students; they should wear jumprope/athletic attire and adhere to the free dress policy in the Family Handbook.
Happy Mother’s Day weekend to the moms and mom-like figures in our community – have a wonderful weekend!
Principal Mansfield
