Good afternoon! Here are this week's news and announcements from St. Johns Country Day School:
COVID-19 Protocols
As you have been reading, many new safety protocols are in place to help protect everyone from COVID-19. You can brush up on the details in emails from your Division Head and at sjcds.net/forward. Please be reminded that all students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to wear face coverings on campus. Check out these links to learn more about how to properly wear and wash face masks.
Magnus App & Health Screenings
As you have read, starting next week, all staff and students will be required to submit a COVID-19 Daily Health Survey each morning before departure for School. This health check, which includes a temperature screening, must be completed in the Magnus Mobile app (available in the Apple Store or Google Play store) before arrival on campus.
To get started in the Magnus app, first:
- Log into Magnus as you normally would through My School App, then hover over your name at the top left and select "Change Credentials"
- Create a username & password
Now you're ready to get the app:
- Download the Magnus Mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play store, and log in using your newly created username & password.
That's it! You're all set. The Magnus Help Desk stands ready to help you with any questions. Call or email at (877) 461-6831 or service@magnushealth.com.
Required Back-to-School Health Survey
If you haven't yet had the opportunity to complete the back-to-school health survey in Magnus, please do so before the end of the day tomorrow. This quick, 2-minute survey helps us ascertain that all of our Spartans are ready to come back to campus. To access the survey in your Magnus Mobile app, click on your student's name (or, each of your students' names) and then click on the Student Health Tracker bubble and on COVID-19 Screening Form. Please fill in the survey for each student you have at St. Johns. We appreciate your help as we work toward a safe, healthy reopening! Please direct any questions to School Nurse Michele Adams-Lentz.
Parent Seminar: Google Suite
Please join us for a parent education workshop introducing two tools that St. Johns teachers will be using this fall. Some teachers have already been using Google Classroom in their lessons, but starting this fall all teachers will transition to it. Google Meet, Google's video conferencing solution, will also be rolled-out School-wide. Come learn all about these great new classroom tools at one of two parent seminars on Thursday, July 30, at 9:00 a.m. in the Performing Arts Center. No RSVP is necessary. Please bring and wear a mask.
Student Art Supplies Now Available
Have a student taking art this year? You may now purchase their supplies online! To get started, just click here and choose the art supply kit for the class your student is taking. There's no need to shop around, and everything your student needs is available in one convenient place. All students in Grades 1 through 5 and all Middle and Upper School art students have specific art supply lists, so just click the pack for your student's class/grade. All supplies will be delivered directly to classrooms. Please direct any questions to your student's art teacher.
Athletics Start Dates
After the most recent meeting of the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA), St. Johns' athletics practices will now begin on Monday, August 24. The full schedule of fall sports teams and start dates/locations is available at sjcds.net/athletics. All dates are subject to change. Please reach out to the listed coach, or to Director of Athletics Traci Livingston, with any questions.
Senior Athletics Banner Photos
Senior Athletics banner photos wiil take place on Wednesday, August 12 at 3:30 in the Alumi Gym. Any senior who plans to participate in athletics this school year should attend.
School Supplies
Looking for School supply lists? Grade-by-grade lists for Lower and Middle School students are available on My School App. From the relevant Division Group page, click on Topics and then School Supply Lists. Upper School students do not have grade-level lists, but are expected to come to School the first week with an adequate supply of paper, pens, pencils, etc. If a course requires any additional supplies-- for example, 3" x 5" cards, compass/protractor, etc.,-- teachers will inform students during the first week of school. Students are not expected to have these supplies on the First Day of School.
Bell Schedules
St. Johns is implementing new bell schedules for the 2020-2021 School year. These innovative new schedules have a variety of benefits, including allowing some longer class periods each week, which enable deeper dives and more thoughtful work and discussion, and the ability for students to take these schedules with them into Spartan Distance Learning, should the School be required to pivot to distance learning at any point during the school year. Click on these links to download the new schedules for Lower School and Middle and Upper School.
School Year Calendar
The full calendar for the 2020-2021 School year is available at sjcds.net/calendar. You can download the latest fridge-friendly printable version, or click the RSS button, which is gray and looks like little radio waves, to subscribe to the School calendar on your phone or tablet. Or get started by clicking on the RSS button at the top-right of this box.
Lunch Accounts & Menus
You can sign up for student SLA Lunch accounts and view menus at sjcds.net/lunch. Click on the yellow "Student Payment Portal" button on the right to set up or add money to your student's lunch account, or download the SLA Lunch app to be able to manage student accounts, view purchases, and add money to accounts all from your smartphone or tablet.
After School Program
St. Johns' After School Program offers before and after school care and enrichment programs for Lower School students as well as after school study hall for Middle School students. The program is open from 7:00 a.m. for before school drop-off and after school until 6:00 p.m. Monitored after school study hall for Middle School students is now a part of the After School Program. All Middle School students are required to register. Program fees apply. Students enrolled by month or semester in the After School Program may take advantage of the many enrichment activity offerings each quarter at no extra cost to the family. Learn more about it and register at sjcds.net/afterschool.
Parent Back to School Nights
Mark your calendar now and save the date(s) for Parent Back-to-School Nights. Lower School Back-to-School Night will take place on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., and Middle and Upper School will follow on Wednesday, August 26, from 6:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there! You can download the full 2020-2021 calendar either to your phone or in a handy fridge-friendly printable at sjcds.net/calendar.
Key Contacts
Some things never change-- no matter the circumstances, St. Johns' school administration stand ready to assist with anything you might need. Please feel free to reach out at any time to:
| Head of School Valorie Baker | |
| Head of Upper School Mary Virginia Fisher | |
| Head of Middle School Jackie Lentini | |
| Head of Lower School Otis Wirth | |
| Head of Administrative Affairs Tanya Powers |
Or just reply to this message.
We hope you have a great week!