Good afternoon! We hope you had some good time off last week and were able to spend time with friends and family. Can you believe it's just two and a half weeks until Winter Break? Meanwhile, here are this week's news and announcements from St. Johns Country Day School:
It's Giving Tuesday!
Today is "Giving Tuesday," a day created to follow the relative insanity of Black Friday and Cyber Monday with the intent to celebrate the great American tradition of generosity in giving. At St. Johns, we truly appreciate the generosity of our current families, alumni, parents of alumni, faculty, staff, and many more. This #GivingTuesday, please show your commitment to St. Johns Country Day School and help make a difference in our classrooms, studios, and playing fields every day for our students. You can make your #GivingTuesday gift at sjcds.net/give. We truly appreciate your support!
Parent Teacher League's Mingle & Jingle Tomorrow
Bring your friends and celebrate the holidays tomorrow morning with coffee, doughnuts, and holiday cheer at the last Parent Teacher League meeting of 2019. We hope to see you there!
Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership
Applications are now being accepted for the 2020 Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar, which consists of three days of fun, interactive leadership training, meeting state leaders, and making new friends while experiencing life on a university campus. Applications are open to current Grade 10 students. To apply, submit to the Upper School Office your typed 100-word response to, "Describe the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of being a leader in your school and community" no later than this Friday, December 6, 2019.
Youth Leadership Jacksonville
Are you a St. Johns freshman with demonstrated leadership in school or community activities? Are you interested in addressing issues confronting your community? If so, consider applying for Youth Leadership Jacksonville, which is currently selecting applicants for participation during the 2020-2021 school year. You can learn more about it here, or from Upper School Dean Mike Hilliard.
How much sleep do the experts recommend and are we getting enough? Experts say that getting enough sleep is an important part of staying healthy and avoiding chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke. For students, not getting enough sleep can cause poor performance in the classroom and behavior issues. Is your student getting enough sleep?
- Elementary-aged children need at least 10 hours
- Teenagers need 9-10 hours
- Adults need 7-8 hours
Sleep needs can go up on growth spurts or if your student is sick. To help your student get a good night's sleep:
- Create a bedtime routine (for example: dinner, bath, story, bed)
- Limit caffeine and/or sugary foods or drinks 4 hours before bedtime
- Limit screen time in the 2 hours before bedtime.
- Keep the bedroom cool and dark
Click here to learn more about children and sleep. If you have any questions, please contact Nurse Heather.
Sync Your Calendar
One of the best ways to stay on top of everything that's going on at St. Johns is to subscribe to our calendar feed. It's easy, and in just a few clicks or taps you can be assured that you always have the most recent school calendar and event info right at your fingertips.
To get started, visit sjcds.net/calendar on your computer, phone, iPad, or other device, and, at the top right, click on the RSS button-- it's gray with lines that look like radio waves. Clicking on it should open a popup window. In that popup, hover over the green "iCal" buttons to see the options for each available calendar. "Master Calendar" should give you all the main School events but without any sports (scroll down the page for athletics feeds). Select "Add to Default Calendar App" to subscribe. Now, updates to the school calendar will automatically sync to your computer or other device.
Monday Chick-fil-A Lunch Orders
The Chick-fil-A ordering is now available at sjcds.net/chikin. If you have any questions or trouble with placing your online order, please reach out to School Receptionist Sherry Burnside at (904) 264-9572.
Support St. Johns Through AmazonSmile
You can support St. Johns every time you shop at Amazon.com shopping by shopping through through AmazonSmile. To sign up, go to smile.amazon.com and select St. Johns Country Day School as your charity of choice. Then, start at smile.amazon.com each time you shop. You get the same variety, selection, and prices that you see at the "regular" Amazon page, and Amazon donates 0.5% of your purchase price to the School. Thank you for your support!
Monday Grade 6 & 9 Preview Day
Will your student be in Grade 6 or Grade 9 next year? Moving up to the next Division can be a big change for both you and your student, so plan to join us for a preview of what's to come in Middle or Upper School, on Wednesday, December 18, from 8:00 a.m to noon. Come meet with faculty, talk with current students, and ask any questions that are on your mind about the St. Johns Experience and the transition to come! Know someone considering becoming a Spartan next year in Grades 6 or 9? Feel free to invite them to come along-- the day is open to current and prospective parents and students. We look forward to seeing you there!
Spirit Store Hours
The PTL Spirit Store is now open:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Fridays: 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
Come on in and check out our exciting new items and great spirit gear! Please contact the Spirit Store with any questions or to inquire about volunteer opportunities. We appreciate your support!
Looking for Ways to Get Involved?
Are you looking for ways to get involved with the School and your child(ren) at school? Volunteering your time in classrooms and around campus enriches your School experience while giving back to St. Johns. We deeply appreciate every volunteer and every minute of service given to our School and its students. Two great opportunities for involvement are the PTL and Spartan Boosters.
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The PTL works to support the School community through a variety of activities and events including family socials, faculty appreciation lunches, Grandparents Day, and more. | |
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The Spartan Boosters celebrate and support our student-athletes and coaches by volunteering at concession stands, organizing end of season banquets, and more. | |
Neither of these sound like the right fit for you? Contact Jordan Rechcigl for more info and opportunities!
Key Contacts
As always, our faculty and administration stand ready to assist with anything you might need. Please do feel free to reach out at any time to Acting Head of School and Head of Upper School Mary Virginia Fisher, Head of Middle School Jackie Lentini, Head of Lower School Otis Wirth, or Head of Administrative Affairs Tanya Powers. Or, feel free to just reply to this message.
We hope you have a great week!