eGazette - June 10, 2009

Principal's Piece

"Now is the Time"
June, 2009

Dear St. John the Baptist Catholic School Families,

Welcome summer! I hope you are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying extra moments with your children. The halls at school are now quiet, but we'll be busy at school in the next few days. Our dedicated staff will spend quality time planning 09/10 and, after the summer respite, we will look forward to another highly-focused, faith-filled academic year.

Before we hit the beach and pull out the sunscreen, I share several announcements:

- Congratulations, Graduates! Last night we celebrated the graduation of the St. John the Baptist Catholic School Class of 2009. They are a wonderful group of young persons whose intelligence, faith and friendships will carry them through life. I reminded them they are part of our family forever and welcomed them to visit us as they go and grow. Please keep them in your prayers as they transition to high school.

- Save the Date! Please save the date for our Parent-Only, Back-to-School evening on: Wednesday, August 26. It's our only non-child event and critical to our parent/school partnership as we begin another academic year.

- Summer Communication: Our summer office hours are 8am - 12pm, Tuesday-Thursday. Mrs. Giaquinto, Mrs. Saunders and Mrs. Sylvester will be checking messages regularly. Phone messages can be left at the school number: 224-8388. E-mail can be sent to: schoolinfo@stjohnscatholic.org.

- School Web Site: Another important route of communication this summer will be our School web site. Please check it for the calendar, supply lists, summer homework, etc.

- Welcome New Families: I offer a special welcome to our new families who will be joining us in the Fall. If you haven't already, you will soon hear from our Family Club to answer any questions and make sure your child(ren) are comfortable in their transition. You will soon see the blessing that is this community.

To our returning families, thank you for your on-going support and for the gift of your children whom you have entrusted to our care. We are in a tremendous place with an enthusiastic and dedicated faculty, incredibly supportive Parish, connected Alumni and clear focus on the beautiful Mission of our school.

To all, I am looking forward to guiding your children as they grow in faith and knowledge throughout the 09/10 school year.

In closing, I'd like to share with you our theme for the 09/10 school year. This year, we established that "Now is the Time" to thrive at St. John the Baptist Catholic School. Next year, we will celebrate "With One Voice". Watch for activities, events and assignments that connect us with the reality that, when we gather our unique talents, gifts, abilities, we proclaim the Good News "With One Voice"!

Have a safe, relaxing summer and enjoy many faith-filled moments with your precious children. Return to us renewed and ready to accomplish the 09/10 school year "With One Voice".

In Peace,

Nancy Jordan
Principal

Phew - time for Summer!

To kick it off, students, parents and staff enjoyed a BBQ Monday on the school yard-what fun! Thank you to Rebecca Griffin and Lee Tatsuguchi for organizing this event, which we now hope to make a new tradition, and to the Andy Griffin, Damien Lee and Mr. Sciandri for grilling up the 250+ hot dogs!

As we come to the end of the school year, it's with great pride that we look back upon the many new accomplishments and goals that were met, thanks to the amazing support bestowed upon us by a very dedicated group of volunteers. Collectively, your creativity and hard work have enriched every endeavor we have tackled. Not to mention, you've made it fun!

Also, thank you to our 08/09 Room Coordinators for keeping everyone informed and helping the teachers with so many tasks. Great Job! We look forward to working with our 09/10 Room Coordinators who have generously agreed to help out next year. They are:

Kindergarten - Denise Duane
1st Grade - Jennifer Warner
2nd Grade - Jody Bolen
3rd Grade - Angie Troppy
4th Grade - Still looking... anyone interested?
5th Grade - Holly Clark
6th Grade - DeeAnn Valine
7th Grade - Denise Wessell
8th Grade - Elisa McClure

The 09/10 school year will see a few changes in our Board. A special thank you to Gladis Gutierrez, who will be departing the board after THREE long years of service, and to Tina Altamura, who will be departing after two years as the board treasurer. We will miss you both; put your feet up, and enjoy the pedicures!

We are thrilled to announce a few new additions to the board: Claudia Kalten (who actually jumped on mid-year) and her husband, Kevin, will take on the job of Co-Treasurers, and the fantastic and creative, Marisa Bartalotti has also accepted a place on the Board. We look forward to another fantastic school year! See you in August - we'll be rested and ready!

Renay Williamson, Judy Franzino, Trisha Tortolani and Peta Shindle.

The 2009 Jog-a-Thon will be held on Thursday, October 8. This fundraiser is a lot of fun for both students and parents. We are currently looking for enthusiastic volunteers to head up one of our committees. If you are interested, or if you would like more information, please contact Katie Batt at ktbatt@yahoo.com. We plan meet at least one time during the summer break. Thank you for considering. Have a wonderful summer!

As our school year closes, I want to recognize our Family Club for all their support of our many library programs:

- Read Across America
- Pumpkin Head Contest
- Read the Classics
- Scholastic Book Fairs

We appreciate all the pizza, prizes, gift cards, volunteer time and especially...the beautiful new carpet that is now in place for story time. We love the bright and cheerful color it adds to our library.

Thank you,
Mrs. Evans

We would love to have everyone in our St. John the Baptist Catholic School family join us for our wedding ceremony. Although we cannot fit everyone at our reception, we would like to invite all to our wedding ceremony on Saturday, August 1, 2009. The ceremony begins at 2pm in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Mr. G and Jayme (the future Mrs. G)