Eagle Express

Please join us on Friday, October 23, from 6:00–7:30 PM for our “Blast into Reading” Literacy Night!

We are excited to welcome Lori Degman, a local children’s author, who will give a special presentation and read one of her books, Cock-a-Doodle Oops!

After the presentation, families will have the opportunity to participate in a fun activity together in their children’s classrooms.

For more information about Lori Degman and to explore her other books, visit:

https://loridegman.com/

We hope you and your child can join us for an evening of reading, fun, and learning!

Please fill out this form to let us know you are coming.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1CIaZ6Kq2BDtSPpJ-iomAB4EWD7jx8-ZuG2d99g7y_nKMKg/viewform

We are honored to host our annual “Grandparents Day” at St. John School on Wednesday, October 28, to experience the wonderful blessings of our school. During the morning, our guests will experience what a typical school morning is like for our students. Grandparents are invited to enjoy coffee and pastries in the Fellowship Hall before the day begins.

We will begin the day with our Lord at 8:20am in church for our weekly chapel service. Following the chapel service, grandparents will stay in the church for a brief note from Mr. Retzlaff before heading to explore their grandchildren's classrooms. Grandparents with more than one grandchild at St. John are welcome to pop into any of those classrooms during their visit. School ends at 11:30am that day. Please inform the classroom teacher if you, as a grandparent, will be taking your grandchild(ren) home with you.

Grandparents include other “special people” in your child’s life, so feel free to invite others.

Please RSVP by October 22 so we can be ready to welcome you and our other guests using this link.

Get ready to have your child grab a good book and start reading! Our 3rd Annual Fall Read-A-Thon is just around the corner, and we are excited to once again combine the joy of reading with supporting special opportunities for our students.

Important Dates:

99Pledges Setup Emails:
Parent email invitations will be sent on October 21 or October 22 to set up each student's personal 99Pledges page for tracking reading minutes and collecting donations.

Read-A-Thon Dates: October 28 - November 30

Why We Read

Funds raised through the Read-A-Thon help support many of the extras that make our school experience special, including:

• Guest speakers and educational presentations

• Equipment and classroom upgrades

• Student treats and celebrations
• Community Time activities and special events

Coming Next Week...

Be on the lookout for next week's newsletter, where we'll announce this year's fundraising goals, prize tiers, and competition details!

Thank you for partnering with us as we encourage a love of reading and continue creating meaningful learning experiences for our students. Let's make this our best Read-A-Thon yet!

Please contact Mary-Ann Penaloza (414-313-3636 or mlince14@gmail.com) with questions.

At St. John, we seek to constantly evaluate our school from multiple perspectives, all in an effort to make this a great place for your child and your family.

Because the parent perspective is so important to us, we've partnered again with ParentPulse, a company that specializes in collecting feedback for Christian schools. Going forward, each parent in our school will receive an invitation every few months to respond to a short survey. These surveys will be staggered – parents will receive the invitations via e-mail or text at different times.

We simply ask that you take five minutes to complete a survey when you receive one. The higher the percentage of surveys completed, the more useful the information becomes for us. Many schools only send one (longer) survey each year, but we want to capture your thoughts and feelings in shorter surveys – and at multiple points over the year – so we can understand how things are evolving and how we can best adapt!

So, please be on the lookout for an e-mail or text from ParentPulse. The subject line will clearly identify St. John. Remember that not all parents will receive surveys at the same time, but if you don't get a survey request at some point in the next month or so, let Mr. Retzlaff know so that he can make sure the program is working properly.

The information you provide is collected solely for our analysis, and your personal contact information will not be used or shared by ParentPulse.

Thank you for partnering with us in Christian education!

Walking Through Tough Times
Mr. Retzlaff hosted the first online Bible study last night. If you didn't log on with us, don't worry. You can feel free to join during any of the next four lessons. Simply let Mr. Retzlaff know that you are interested, and he will be sure to send you the Google Meet link. We meet on Thursday evenings at 8:00 PM.

Lessons coming up:

• October 22 - When the Future Is Uncertain
• October 29 - When You Feel Completely Alone
• November 5 - When Life Feels Unfair
• November 12 - When Your Faith Feels Weak

We did a bit better this past week, but we've still got some room for improvement.

We strongly encourage all our parents to have their children to school each day between 7:50am and 8:10am. Ideally, all students will arrive no later than 8:00am. This gives students a good chance to get organized, visit with classmates, use the bathroom, fill up water bottles, or ask the teacher questions. Late arrivals are disruptive, limit proper transition, and create an unfavorable educational experience for everyone. Your help in eliminating tardiness will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help!

Our last meet of the season is the St. Joseph Catholic Academy Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday, Oct. 20th. It is at Lincoln Park in Kenosha (7100 22nd Avenue Kenosha, WI 53143). The runners and siblings will be allowed to leave at 3 pm.

The boys will run at 5:00 pm. Awards are given out at the finish chute.

This meet will be for the boys in grades 5-8 only.

Please let Beth Rockwell know if your son/daughter is interested in playing this season at beth.rockwell@stjohnslib.com

If you are not able to pick up your son/daughter by 4:20 pm, we will take him/her to ESS.

Girls in grades 4-8 and boys in grades 4-6 who are interested in participating in basketball should plan to attend these conditioning practices.

If your student has signed up to play basketball for the 2026-2027 season, the State of Illinois and St. John School require that each player has an up-to-date sports physical on file. At this time, ALL but two students are in need of a new/updated form. The forms, IHSA/IESA Physical Examination and Medical Eligibility, both need to be turned in signed by the doctor, parent, and student. Forms must be completely filled out on both sides and turned in to the office by November 9. After that date, we will not be allowed to have your child participate until forms are turned in, and we can't allow exceptions. Thank you for your help in getting our files up to date.

We will have the School Directory available at the end of October, but before we can do that, the office needs any recent changes to your contact information. Before the school year started, you turned in registration paperwork. Included was a form where you checked "yes" or "no" about being listed in a school directory. If you have changed your mind about being included or not included, let Mrs. Gement know.

Please email any changes to office@stjohnslib.com by next Friday, October 23.

Did you know that in 2026 the U.S. is experiencing its most dire shortage of blood donations in its history? Currently, across the nation there is less than a single day's worth of needed blood, and doctors are being forced to deny help to the critically ill, especially accident victims and cancer patients. YOU can make a difference - more than you realize - with a simple donation. Your 1 pint donated can save up to 3 lives.

St. John will host a blood drive on Sunday, October 25. Please join our St. John family and tell your friends and neighbors to donate as well. The Versiti van will be in our parking lot from 8:00am-Noon. Walk-ins are welcome, but to guarantee a prompt donation, please sign up on the schedule at:

https://donateblood.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/11646117.

You may also contact Carol Lemerand to schedule a time (dancemore437@yahoo.com or 847.530.9058).

Please join us for a "Mom's of St. John's School" afternoon out.

What: A time to get together and meet other St. John's Mom's

When: Sunday, October 25th at 2:00pm

Where: The Parched Pug in Libertyville

1590 South Milwaukee Ave

Libertyville, IL 60048

Who: Hosted by Kara Larson and Tracy Hucker

How: Each participant is responsible for their food and beverages.

RSVP: Please RSVP by Friday, October 23rd

Questions? You can reach out to Tracy (847) 204-4450

• Eleanor Sheehan/Preschool
• Emma Eckhart/7th Grade

We hope they both had a wonderful week!

The Shoreland Choir and Jazz Concert is coming your way on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00pm. The concert is free and open to all. Come on out to Shoreland and hear some great music while our student musicians entertain you.

Join us November 6–8 for our fall play, Alice in Wonderland by Jason Pizzarello! Follow Alice down the rabbit hole and into a whimsical world of mad tea parties, sarcastic caterpillars, depressed turtles, and one VERY irrational Queen. Will Alice ever escape this dreamlike adventure, or was she never meant to leave at all? Come find out! Tickets are $5 and can be pre-purchased online at www.ticketsource.com/shoreland-lutheran-high-school and at the door 30 minutes before each performance. Seating is non-reserved.

Shoreland Educational Excellence Center Assistant

Shoreland Lutheran High School is seeking a member of WELS to become a Shoreland Educational Excellence (SEE) Center Assistant. We are looking for applicants who are passionate about working with young people in grades 9 to 12. This candidate should be a well-rounded individual capable of providing help with homework, lessons, test preparation, and/or helping students catch up in school subjects where they may have fallen behind. A background in fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills is preferred. In addition, the candidate should have a good math background. Bachelor’s degree preferred. This is a part-time position, 3 days a week from 8AM-3PM. Please contact Principal Koestler at 262-859-2595 extension 204 or email to koestlerm@slhs.us for complete position description, job application or more information.

You’re invited! Join us for Shoreland’s Fall open house on Monday, October 26th, 2026 from 5-7pm. Whether you’re just starting to explore high school options or are ready to take the next step, there’s no better way to get to know us than to visit in person! You can expect to meet our teachers and coaches, tour the campus, learn about academics, fine arts, athletics & student life, and discover why Shoreland is ranked the #1 private high school in Kenosha County. Please visit the Shoreland website at slhs.us to register.

This year, our students' Wednesday mission offerings will go towards work that we are doing in the Philppines. Thank you for helping support this mission effort with the students' offerings each Wednesday during chapel.

Email: info@stjohnslib.com
Website: stjohnslib.com
Location: 501 West Park Avenue, Libertyville, IL, USA
Phone: (847)362-4424
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stjohnslib/