Good afternoon, and congratulations to our new alumni from the Class of 2022! We hope everyone had a jubilant Memorial Day weekend. Here are this week's news and announcements from St. Johns Country Day School:
Congratulations, Class of 2022!
Congratulations to the Class of 2022, which this weekend graduated at the Thrasher-Horne Center. After a heartfelt Baccalaureate service on Friday for seniors and their families, everyone gathered again Saturday evening for a beautiful ceremony honoring our graduates, their accomplishments, and the exciting futures they have in store just around the corner. You can read more about it at sjcds.net/news.
Athletes Honored in Greater Jax
Congratulations to three individual athletes and one team, which were all honored as Greater Jacksonville Athletes of the Year in a ceremony sponsored by Gannett/USA TODAY. Spartan athletes honored include:
- Baseball Player of the Year: Bradley Hodges '22
- Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Taliah Scott '23
- Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year: Matthew Stratton '22
- Soccer Girls Team of the Year: St. Johns Country Day School
You can read more about it at sjcds.net/news.
Grade 5 Crosses the Quad
Hearty congratulations to the Class of 2029, which "Crossed the Quad" on Thursday in their official act of 'graduation' to the Middle School. Students gave short speeches recognizing their favorite parts of Grade 5, and offered advice to Grade 4 as they rise into Grade 5, and their teachers and Mr. Wirth offered them each recognition for their accomplishments and character traits. You can read more about it right here.
Report Cards
Just a reminder that report cards were posted last week and remain available in your Parent Portal of My School App. To access them, log in to your Parent Portal and then, in the upper-left corner, you'll see either your child's name (if you have only one St. Johns student), or if you have more than one St. Johns student you'll see "Children." Click there, select a student, and then at the top of the page, under Performance, click on Report Cards. As always, please reach out to your child's classroom teacher (for Lower School) or your Division Assistant (for Middle or Upper School) if you have any questions.
Spirit Store Sale
From now through June 30, 2022 the Spirit Store is pleased to offer 50% off all gently used uniform items. Stop by today to pick up items for the new School year, from uniform attire to fun shirts and gear! Please note that as of July 1, the Spirit Store will only feature new spirit wear and will no longer carry gently used uniform attire.
Register Today for Spain
The Early Bird registration deadline has come and gone but space is still available for the Upper School Spring Break 2023 trip to Spain. All Upper School students are welcome; No need to be a Spanish student. To enroll or to get more information about the trip, go to passports.com/enroll and enter tour ID HVELASCO2023. Please contact Mrs. Velasco or Sra Calderón with any questions.
Summer Throwing Practice
Join Assistant Track & Field Coach Emily Patterson '16 for Summer Throwing—shot put, discus, and javelin. Get some practice or learn an exciting new skill! All ages and skill levels are welcome. Weekdays, 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., June 6-July 29. (Photo by George Auchter '24)
CPR Certification Course
Don't miss this opportunity to get CPR certified this summer at St. Johns. Geared to students entering Grades 5-8, this is perfect as a standalone or add it on to the babysitting course to complete your child's training. Register today at sjcds.net/summer!
Summer Work
Summer reading and math assignments have been posted on each division's My School App Topics page. Note that work is assigned according to the course the student will be entering next year, and all assignments are due on the first day of class unless otherwise noted.
New Parent Blackbaud IDs
By now, all parents should have received an email from Ms. Gorman alerting them to some changes that are coming soon to your My School App login. Due to a change with the vendor, Blackbaud, all parents will need to convert their login to a new "Blackbaud ID." On a rolling basis, all parents will receive a notice when it's time to make this switch.
Virtual Book Buyback Now Available
Virtual book buyback is now available from the MBS Bookstore. To get started, click this link and login to your account. Or, if you're using a saved link, scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Sell Textbooks." Once you login, you should see a list of books you have purchased that are available for buyback, along with the MBS price for each title. Any questions? Here's a handy guide from MBS to get you started.
2022-2023 Technology
As a part of our continuing efforts to educate our Spartans for the colleges and workforce of tomorrow, last year St. Johns updated its technology protocols to require all Middle and Upper School students to bring to School each day a fully charged laptop. This change will be fully in effect for the 2022-2023 school year. You can get all the details on either the Middle or Upper School "Technology" page in My School App, including the laptop requirements and access to special St. Johns family pricing in our exclusive online Apple Store.
New Uniforms Coming
As Mrs. Baker mentioned earlier this year, in response to parent feedback, St. Johns is transitioning to a new uniform vendor. C&S Uniforms has a convenient website as well as a storefront on Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park. They are working to get all of our uniform items in stock and expect to have that process completed shortly. For your convenience, they will host a fitting event next week, June 6-11, 2022, so do mark your calendars and plan to attend. St. Johns' goal is to provide a uniform that is universal in fit, cost-effective, and presents our students as a united St. Johns. During our transition, uniform attire from Lands End School will continue to be acceptable through the 2023-2024 School year.
Summer Hours
We know it's summer, but the work goes on to bring you the best experience and education in Northeast Florida. Though with a nod to summer, we are shortening summer hours. School will be open and Administrative staff will be here 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. If you need anything over the summer, please to reach out to:
| Head of School Valorie Baker | vbaker@sjcds.net | |
| Head of Middle and Upper Schools Jackie Lentini | jlentini@sjcds.net | |
| Head of Lower School Otis Wirth | owirth@sjcds.net |
We hope you have a great week!