Good afternoon, and Happy First Day of School! We hope everyone at your house was glad to get back to it this morning and that your day went well. We had a fabulous first day on campus. We will continue to discuss new policies and procedures with all of the students and there is much to remember (lunch locations, break policies, and bell schedules, oh my!) and to continue to tweak. Meanwhile, here are this week's news and announcements from St. Johns Country Day School:
Telephone Outreach Test Thursday
This Thursday morning, St. Johns will conduct a test of its telephone outreach system. As mentioned in Mrs. Baker's email last night, this is the system St. Johns will use to notify you in the event of a COVID-19 diagnosis on campus. To make sure we can reach you, please notify your Division Assistant if your phone number has recently changed. Please note that we will reach out to you personally if we think your child may have been in close contact with the diagnosed individual. If you do not receive the test phone call on Thursday morning, please reach out to Lonnie Rachal.
Flag Raising & Campus Visitors
As St. Johns moves towards a safe and healthy reopening, we're working across campus to alleviate crowds and reduce gathering points. While Mrs. Baker and Student Council President Maggie Kent will still conduct live flag raising each morning, students and faculty will view it from their socially-distanced homeroom classrooms. We'll be livestreaming flag raising, and we invite all our Spartan parents and community members to join us each morning at 8:00 a.m. (starting Tuesday, August 11) at sjcds.net/live. At least for the foreseeable future, parents or other visitors will not be able to join us for live flag raising. Thank you for understanding, and we'll "see" you online!
Campus Water Fountains & Microwaves
Campus water fountains will remain off-limits for the time being and we encourage all students to bring a water bottle with them from home each day. Water bottle refilling stations are still open, but we encourage students to bring a bottle large enough/full enough to make it through the day. Additionally, in order to avoid crowds of students waiting for them, access to microwaves is also limited. If your student tends to rely on microwaved lunches, you may wish to reconsider their lunch options for the time being.
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.
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. If you have any difficulties with ordering, please contact Receptionist Sherry Burnside at (904) 264-9572. She'll be glad to take your order and payment over the phone.
Senior Athletics Banner Photos
Senior Athletics banner photos wiil take place tomorrow—Wednesday, August 12—at 3:30 in the Alumni Gym. Any senior who plans to participate in athletics this school year should attend.
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.
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. 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.
Monitored after school study hall for Middle and Upper School students is now a complimentary component of the After School Program. All Middle School students are required to register.
Key Contacts
Some things never change— no matter the circumstances, St. Johns' 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 | vbaker@sjcds.net | |
| Head of Upper School Mary Virginia Fisher | mvfisher@sjcds.net | |
| Head of Middle School Jackie Lentini | jlentini@sjcds.net | |
| Head of Lower School Otis Wirth | owirth@sjcds.net | |
| Head of Administrative Affairs Tanya Powers | tpowers@sjcds.net |
We hope you have a great week!