Principal’s Letter
This morning, at 10:15am, students and staff participated in the annual Great ShakeOut, a national emergency preparedness event that encourages people to practice “Drop, Cover and Hold On” during an earthquake. Faculty and staff begin preparations on Monday as part of the school’s ongoing safety and security training. During today’s rehearsal, our incident command team guided students and staff through evacuation of buildings, structural assessment, search and rescue, and simulation of a family reunification. During the training you should have received a text message from the school’s emergency notification system. If you did not receive a text alert and would like to going forward, follow the directions in this post.
St. John School will continue with periodic safety trainings throughout the year. And your family should be doing the same. Find helpful information on how to do so at Ready.Gov. Next week our school’s Safety Committee will reconvene to review findings and observations from today’s ShakeOut. A valued member of our Safety Committee, school nurse, Dora Hall, informed us recently she has accepted a new job at Swedish Hospital in their Neonatal Clinic. Dora started as volunteer at St. John, joining our Covid Response team during the 2021-22 school year. She was later hired to serve as our school nurse in the fall of 2022. Dora not only helped our students and staff navigate through the aches and pains of a standard school day, but she served a vital part in administrative and safety teams. She provided health guidance, resources and care contacts for families, organized vaccination clinics, and met each day and event with a smile, enthusiasm, and a can-do calm. Dora’s last day as an employee will be Tuesday, November 24. You will still see her around campus with her 7th grade daughter. Please join me in thanking Nurse Dora for her service to St. John School.
We are pleased to announce parent Ellen McLaughlin will be taking over the school nurse position. Ellen will be onboarding and shadowing Dora in the coming weeks. Ellen holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology (Colorado State University) and Nursing (Georgetown University). She worked for eight years in the Neonatal ICU at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. She has three children at St. John, has supported the school’s annual Jog-a-thon and has enjoyed being an active member of the Parent Association since 2018. Please join me in welcoming Ellen to the team.
Progress reports went home with students in grades 3-8 today. These mid-trimester check-ins provide you and your student an opportunity to celebrate successes and discuss areas for growth. They provide you with a quick snapshot of how things are going in the classroom. Your student’s teacher will discuss their progress in greater detail during your Family/Teacher conference next week. As a reminder, students attend the conference with their families.
I look forward to celebrating with many of you on Saturday evening from 6-9pm at our Oktoberfest event, benefitting the school’s endowment fund. Can’t join us but still want to support the endowment? You can make a donation on the Endowment Page.
Don’t forget – tomorrow is Jog-A-Thon celebration day. PA is hosting Coffee in the Courtyard right after drop-off, so stop by, grab a cup of coffee and cheer on our 2nd graders as they battle it out with the Principals in the Silly String Showdown. This is a free-dress day for students; check the handbook if you, or your student, has questions about proper school attire on a non-uniform day.
We are rooted in God’s love, called to make a difference.
Principal Mansfield
