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As we close out the first quarter, we have so much to be grateful for. Homecoming Week was a wonderful success, filled with school spirit, creativity, and lasting memories. Our 9th–12th grade scholars and faculty enjoyed themed dress-up days celebrating favorite holidays, athletic gear, tropical flair, and more. It was such a joy to see our scholars' creativity shine. We also celebrated exciting volleyball games on Thursday evening and wrapped up the festivities with Saturday's Enchanted Ball Homecoming Dance. What a memorable week for our Lions!

I want to share two important reminders:

• Campus Visitors: Whether you are joining your scholar for lunch, volunteering, or visiting campus, please remember to bring your physical, government-issued photo ID for your initial check-in. There are no exceptions to this requirement, as the safety of our scholars and staff remains our highest priority.

• Attendance Policy: Parents may submit excuse notes for up to three days of absences per nine-week grading period. These notes must be received by the front office within three days of the scholar's return to school and may be emailed to attendance@stjca.org. Any additional absences require a doctor's note to be excused. Please refer to our Family & Scholar Handbook for complete details.

  
  

  We are grateful for the partnership we share with our families. Your continued support makes such a difference, and together, we are helping our scholars grow in knowledge, character, and virtue.

  
  

  Here's to a successful second quarter!

  Mrs. McCullough

During Homecoming week, our administrative team dressed in their holiday gear! Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. McCullough and Mrs. Melquist kicked off October by delivering caramel apple treats to our faculty and staff. It’s a small way to show a whole lot of appreciation. We love taking care of the teachers and staff who pour so much into our scholars each day, and we hope they always know just how valued they are!

Geodes & Gems Science Fun!

Mrs. Hancock’s class had a rockin’ good time with our hands-on geology experiment! Scholars broke open geodes to discover the sparkling crystals hidden inside and became junior geologists as they excavated their very own gems. It was an exciting way to bring our study of rocks and minerals to life!

Our scholars put their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills to work as they built their very own hula huts! Working together, scholars shared ideas, encouraged one another, and collaborated to turn their plans into something they could be proud of. It was wonderful to see everyone contributing, helping their classmates, and learning that great things can happen when we work together!

The 12th grade Government class recreated the Constitutional Convention. Scholars argued for their faction's principles, proposed solutions, cross examined each other and voted on compromises. Scholars gained an appreciation for how difficult it was in 1787 to build a consensus while creating the U.S. Congress and the Presidency.

You may have noticed that our youngest scholars don’t use erasers in the classroom. This small practice is actually quite intentional!

From the very beginning, we teach scholars that mistakes are part of learning. Rather than erasing an error until it disappears, scholars simply draw a line through it and continue. This allows them and their teachers to see their thinking, recognize where something went wrong, and learn from it. It also keeps little hands focused on writing instead of constantly flipping the pencil back and forth to erase and rewrite.

These early years are also when we begin forming the habits of beautiful penmanship. Scholars are taught how to hold their pencils correctly, sit upright with good posture, and position their bodies so the muscles in their hands, arms, and shoulders can work together efficiently.

At SJCA, we also want to foster virtue through even the smallest tasks. When something becomes difficult, our natural instinct can be to give up. As parents and teachers, we can also be tempted to step in and save children from mistakes or struggles. But there is great value in allowing children to “fall down” in small, safe ways and learn that they are capable of getting back up and trying again.

In classical education, we believe virtues like perseverance and humility are formed through small, intentional practices repeated each day. Something as simple as putting the eraser aside becomes an opportunity to teach a much bigger lesson: mistakes do not need to disappear. We can learn from them, correct them, and keep going. These little habits, practiced day after day, help form scholars who approach both their work and life with confidence, resilience, and a desire to grow.

St. Johns Classical Academy was honored at the 250th Anniversary Gala, presented by the We Can Be Heroes Foundation, with the Academic Excellence Award for our contribution to classical education.

We are incredibly grateful for this recognition and proud to continue cultivating a love of truth, goodness and beauty in our scholars.

Each quarter, SJCA hosts our Virtue Awards to recognize scholars who exemplify our nine core virtues not only in the classroom, but through their character and interactions with others.

Teachers nominate scholars who consistently demonstrate these virtues, and a committee of Senior scholars thoughtfully reviews the nominations and selects the top five honorees. Each recipient is recognized with a plaque that is proudly displayed in our cafeteria through the end of the school year.

These awards celebrate something at the heart of our classical mission: “doing the good.”

We are incredibly proud of these scholars and the way they share their goodness with others through their words, choices, and actions each day.

Ian Nichols - Honesty

Carter Cummings - Wisdom

Lala Malak - Responsibility

Elaine Schafer - Citizenship

Ava Rasool - Athlete of the Quarter

Gabriella Dehm - Respect

Aria Nordgren - Perseverance

Charles Zeno - Perseverance

Natalie Medina - Respect

Our 9th–12th grade scholars had a wonderful time at this year’s Enchanted Ball Homecoming Dance! From the twinkle lights and beautiful floral arrangements to the dreamy fog, music, and dancing, every detail helped set the scene for a truly memorable evening.

A special thank you to our chaperones, Mrs. Minic, Mrs. Kiep, Mrs. Mathews, and Mr. Payne, who are always showing up for their scholars and providing an encouraging presence both in and out of the classroom.

And a huge thank you to our sponsor, Mrs. Cosme, for her event-planning extraordinaire! Her attention to every detail made the evening beautiful, fun, and a smashing success for our scholars. What a wonderful night for our Lions!

The Cross Country team continues to improve their times and set records! The team competed in the Bale 'N Trail Meet at Bartram Trail High School. The results posted at this meet once again highlights how the athletes continue to get stronger and faster each week! The Bale 'N Trail course contains hay bales as obstacles that the runners encounter throughout the 3.2 mile race. Despite having to jump over hay bales, our running Lions did excellent, with four of the boys and eleven of the girls improving their personal record times!! Among those who ran their fastest race yet include: Elizabeth C, Elyssa M, Lucas J, and Logan M.

On Friday, October 16 the Running Lions will compete against teams from all over Florida and some neighboring states at the Fall Spectacular held at Cecil Field. Please join us as we cheer them on and support them along the course!

Our lunch vendor, SLA, is moving to a new platform for viewing our monthly lunch menus! Going forward, families will use the LINQ application, which features an interactive menu that puts everything right at your fingertips on your phone. Easily see what’s being served each day and stay up to date on upcoming menu options.

Please follow the directions in the document below to download LINQ and access the monthly menu. Get connected so you’re always in the know before lunch is served!

It’s time! You can sign up your student for our Lions FitGames! Our goal is to raise funds for Recess and PE equipment. Signing up is easy and comes with a fun prize for your student!

Sign Up On MyBooster.com

Thank you for being a part of our St. Johns Classical Academy community and helping us make a difference for our students. We are grateful for your support! Follow our social pages for fun progress updates in the coming weeks.

Our school is working toward a BIG goal and Great Wolf Lodge wants to celebrate with us! Registered families will have the chance to earn some awesome rewards. Log in to mybooster.com today and share your student’s donation page with your whole pack. Just for receiving their first donation, students can earn their very own Wolf Ears!

Key Dates to Remember:

Fundraiser Kickoff in school – 10/19/2026

Event Day – 10/30/2026 K-6

*Need help signing up? View video instructions.

Boo Grams Are Still Available!

Help support our fourth grade scholars to purchase science experiment materials and raise money for the end-of-year field trip!

Send a sweet Halloween surprise to a scholar, friend, teacher, or staff member! 🍬🦇

Boo Grams are $1 each or 12 for $10 and can be purchased through MySchoolBucks. You scholar will receive a Boo Gram sheet in their Tuesday folders.

🧡 Orders due: 10/28
👻 Boo Grams delivered: 10/30

Spread some spooky fun and Halloween kindness throughout our school! 🎃🍭👻

With so many new volunteers on campus, what better time to refresh ourselves on volunteer expectations and procedures. Please take a moment to review the guidelines below to ensure we’re all doing our part to maintain a safe, respectful, and positive environment for our scholars, teachers, and staff. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with our SJCA family! Please use the link below to directly connect with the volunteer handbook.

The 1776 Promise is a fundraiser created by Lions Council that supports the continued quality of SJCA education and its mission. Your donation goes directly to teachers at the Fleming Island campus. The money is distributed annually to all teachers.

If you have haven’t made your donation ($2) so that you scholar is eligible to participate in the 1776 Spirit Day, please do so at the link below. Reminder to follow Patriot Day dress code guidelines. Thank you for your support!

If you choose not to participate in this fundraiser, please follow regular dress code guidelines.

1776 Spirit Day Donation: $2

You won't want to miss the lowest price of the year! 2026-2027 yearbooks are available for pre-order now for only $50 (+ a service fee). Go to yearbookordercenter.com to order!

You can also now share pictures of school events such as sports and field trips with us for the yearbook using the link below!

https://yearbookshare.com/eShare/?code=sjcalions

FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials. You can submit a tip anytime. A downloadable training presentation about this tool is available on our website, under FortifyFL.