THE BLUE JAY FLYER August 14, 2019 F rom the Principal’s Desk...

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Mary’s “yes”.

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year for St. John the Baptist School. I hope that everyone had a

wonderful summer. It is always amazing how quickly the summer passes. Last year was a year filled with

growth, development and Grace. Thank you for all of your support last year.

As we prepare to begin this new school year, we are excited to welcome four new faculty members to

our school. They are: Rebecca Jones, Intervention Specialist, Katherine Reder, School Counselor, Sharon

Witzgall, second grade teacher and Mary Zeller, Math teacher for grades 6-8. We also welcome Megan

Engel, Aftercare Director. and Summer Osborn who will be filling in for Stephanie Unkrich while she is on

maternity leave.

Tomorrow, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This

feast remembers the incredibly important role that Mary played in the history of our salvation, and it

celebrates the incredible blessing she received because of it. Mary is the symbol of the one who consist-

ently says “yes” to God even when she does not know the full extent of her “yes.”

The Gospel for this feast (Lk 1:39-56) reminds us of Mary’s “yes”. “ My soul proclaims the greatness of

the Lord: my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Mary said yes to becoming the mother of our savior. Mary

said yes to being with Jesus throughout His ministry. Mary said yes to being at the foot of the cross as Je-

sus died, and Mary said yes to rejoicing in the resurrection of Her son.

This school year, may we all work to become more like Mary. May we proclaim the Lord’s greatness

and rejoice in our Savior. My hope and prayer for this school year is that, using Mary as our model, we

may more fully embody our Mission to be “heralds of God’s love in the world.” In so doing, we will live in

the Grace of Mary’s “yes”.

With gratitude,

Daniel A Minelli

St. John’s Faculty, Staff, School Board and Parent Teacher Organization

cordially invite you to attend our annual

Open House and Meet the Teacher Monday, August 19

6:00 PM~ Church Prayer Service

Open House immediately following Prayer Service until 8:00 PM

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August 19 OPEN HOUSE 6:00pm Church Prayer Service 6:30-8:00 pm Open House August 21 WELCOME BACK! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ~Early Dismissal at Noon August 23 All School Mass 8:30 am August 27 VIRTUS Training Session 6:00-9:00 pm Gathering Space Preschool Parent Meeting 6:30-7:30 pm Cafeteria August 29 All School Mass 8:30 am Sept. 2 NO SCHOOL ~ LABOR DAY Sept. 3 First Day of Pre School 3’s & 4’s Sept. 4 First Day of Pre-K Sept. 5 First Grade Parent Meeting “Welcome to 1st Grade Night” 6:30 pm Sept. 17 Picture Day

UPCOMING EVENTS

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Calendar of events From the School Office

Please pick up your Family Packet in your youngest child’s homeroom during Open House. Those packets not picked up will be sent home on the first day of school. This packet includes very important information and several important forms that need to be returned to the office no later than Friday, August 30th.

Please use the Open House envelope from the office to return ONLY those forms included in that envelope. Please do not include forms from the teachers.

Attendance

To report an absence or tardy, please leave a message on the attendance line at 385-2095 by 8:45 am. Please include your child’s name, grade, teacher’s name and reason for absence or tardy.

SCHOOL HOURS

Kindergarten ~ Eighth Grade Start time 8:00 am/Dismissal 2:55pm

*1/2 Day Kindergarten dismissal 11:10am

Preschool

Morning 9:00-11:30am

Afternoon 12:15-2:45pm

School Office Hours Monday-Friday

7:30am-3:30pm

385-7970

First Day of School Wednesday August 21 at 8:00am

Early Dismissal at noon

School cafeteria will be closed.

Please pack a snack.

BUS Passes

You should have recently received a bus pass in the mail for your student(s). Questions regarding any bus transportation should be directed to your school district’s transportation office. Please make sure that your child’s teacher is aware of your child’s after-noon transportation information. We need to know if they are a bus rider (and what bus #), car rider (by who) or walker.

Student Medications

Our school nurse, Mrs. Elise Hochhausler, will be at Open House if you would like to drop off any student medications and/or medical paperwork.

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Before & After School Care

The Before Care Program runs from 6:50-7:45 am for a fee of $2 per student per day. Students are to

be dropped off at the After Care room door (between the Parish Center/Gym and Music room). Students

will NOT be permitted to roam the school building (i.e. to retrieve books or belongings from lockers/

homerooms) prior to 7:45am.

The After Care Program operates from 2:55-6:00pm on regular school days. For more information and a

registration form please stop by the After Care room during or the school office during Open House. Any

questions, please contact our After Care Director, Meghan Engel, at

mengel@stjohnsdrschool.org

Communication: Blue Jay Folders & One Call System

We will continue the use of the Wednesday “Blue Jay” Home Folders. The folders are to emptied

by a parent and returned EMPTY to school on Thursday. Please do NOT return items to school

inside the folders. Folders are NOT checked until the following Wednesday. A folder will be

provided to each new student. If the folder is lost or destroyed, a new one will be provided for a

cost of $3.00. The folders remain the property of St. John the Baptist School.

St. John’s also utilizes e-mail to communicate to parents. Please make sure the school office has a

valid phone number and e-mail address that a parent checks regularly. Please let the office know if

you do not have access to e-mail regularly.

A R R I V A L P R O C E D U R E S Car Riders—7:45am-8:10am Cars will enter the school lot from the driveway between the cemetery and the church and circle

behind the church and Parish Center/Gym toward the corner of the school building (music room). Your child must be dropped off only at this designated drop-off area. Students must only exit from the right side of the car. Students will then enter the Parish Center/Gym doors or walk up next to the stairs near the side of the building to the main office door (blue awning). Cars are then to proceed straight ahead to the exit.

Bus Riders Upon arrival, bus riders will enter through the door by the main office. All students must then proceed to their

classrooms.

If you would like to walk or assist your child to the building, please park in the cemetery parking lot and walk your child in front of the Church and school to the doors by the main office (blue awning).

D I S M I S S A L P R O C E D U R E S Bus Riders are dismissed out the side or front doors.

Car Riders will be dismissed out the Parish Center/Gym doors. Cars should park behind the Parish Center in horizontal lines to the

building with the first row farthest from the building. Once that line is full, start a second row. For the safety of our students, please wait for the “OK” from our teacher monitor to exit the parking lot.

Walkers will be dismissed from the doors by the flagpole at the front of the school after ALL busses have left the parking lot.

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DINE TO DONATE 9799 Prechtel Road Cincinnati, OH 45252

(513) 385-4442

On Sunday, August 18, 2019

Pebble Creek is donating 10% of all Food Sales to St. John the Baptist

You must show this flyer or tell your server

you are dining for St. John the Baptist

Anytime between 11:30am – 9:00pm

Dine in or Carry-Out

Did you know that when you purchase shopping cents gift cards for

our events the school makes even more money!!

Please Join Us in Welcoming our New Faculty & Staff Members...

Ms. Rebecca Jones, our new Intervention Specialist, comes to us from Hamilton City Schools where she spent the past four years. Becca is a graduate of The University of Dayton and received her Masters in Reading from Xavier University. She is also an alum of McAuley High School.

Ms.Sharon Witzgall, a 2019 graduate of The University of Dayton, will begin her teaching career with us at St. John’s as one of our second grade teachers. She is an alum of McAuley High School and was very involved with Campus Ministry programs throughout high school and college.

Mrs. Kasey Reder will be a part time School Counselor. She spent the last year at St. Nicho-las, and has also worked for St. Lawrence, Ursuline, and Catholic Social Services. She has three children that currently attend St. Ignatius.

Mrs. Mary Zeller will be teaching our junior high Math classes. She comes to us from John Paul II. She has also taught at St. Pe-ter’s in Chains School. Mrs. Zeller’s daughter will be joining our Blue Jay Family and will be in fifth grade.

NOT PICTURED: Mrs. Meghan Engel will be our new Before/After School Care Director. Meghan has a daughter that will be in kindergarten this year at St. John’s.

NOT PICTURED: Ms. Marty Garcia will be joining our auxillary staff as a part-time math tutor.