Saint Sharing

Alumnus Deacon James Moore, a deacon at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, joined us for this special mass. Trudy Eddington brought up the gifts. Brett Beckman and Lisa McLeod were altar servers. All are alumni and still active members of our parish and Sister Trudy and Lisa can be found volunteering at our school on Fridays.

Following mass, the mass participants processed outside as Bishop Fabre-Jeune shared a beautiful blessing. Prior to our lunch celebration, he led a fun choral response of WOW due to our 75 year anniversary.

Bishop Fabre spoke to Rhett and Nicole during mass. Later, he toured our school and plans to return for the official ribbon cutting of our STREAM building. Our new superintendent also joined our celebration.

On Friday, September 6, our K4-3rd grade grandparents are invited for a small breakfast with their grandchild.

On Monday, September 9, our 4th-8th grade grandparents are invited for a small breakfast with their grandchildren.

RSVP forms went home last week in the Wednesday folders, but not all families put their names on the returned forms. Please check in with the office to ensure we have your child listed. We also have volunteer grandparents ready for children who may not have a grandparent available for the event.

Join us at the school on Thursday, September 19 from 5:30-pm for dinner, classroom visits and updates, and a little STREAM fun. Students will receive a bonus TAG Day if their parents attend.

On Friday, September 13, your child may be seeing spots--or make that DOTS! This is a day that we celebrate everyone making their own unique mark on the world. This day is inspired by The Peter Reynolds Center, which we love! Your student can come to school wearing polka dots.

International Dot Day is officially on Sunday, September 15.

Our STREAM Center (the St. Carlo Creative Center--SC3) has undergone amazing updates thanks to several donors. First, we are forever grateful to Shea Harrelson and LINCS for the generous grant they provided. We are their flagship Bludiscovery Center. Next, thank you to parent volunteers for helping to clear the space and for Bill and Nancy New for their willingness to relocate the food pantry to the rectory. We appreciate Quantum for donating and installing new drywall and paint. As always, General Bob stepped in to install trim and a new donated sink. We are getting new windows soon thanks to the MacMurphy family and the Chiappardi's and a generous discount from Complete Glass. We will continue to keep you posted on our progress.`

For many years, St. John has embraced the ideal that students learn better by doing. STREAM learning is a way of incorporating multiple subject areas (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, and math) to promote higher level thinking skills and creative problem-solving. Project-based learning and cross-curricular collaboration is also a big part of our focus.

Our school is pursuing STEM certification through our accrediting body. The Cognia process will involve all stakeholders of our school--including parents, teachers, staff, volunteers, community and students. Our teachers are also participating in professional development through STEM Centers of South Carolina through Clemson University.

We are excited to have Ms. Collins join our team as our kindergarten/first grade classroom teacher. She is a graduate of Clemson University, and this is her third year of teaching.

We are excited to have Miss Stewart join our team as the second and third grade teacher. She is a graduate of Hellenic College in Massachusetts and has taught children of varying ages for the past few years.

We are excited to welcome Mr. Mullins to our team as the Upper School Social Studies teacher and the P.E. teacher for K-8. Mr. Mullins graduated from the University of Cincinnati and worked at Addlestone Hebrew Academy prior to coming to St. John.

We are excited to welcome Ms. Henrikkson to our team as our part-time Spanish teacher. She holds a master's degree from Malardalens University in Sweden.

Thank you to the many families who joined us for Meet the Teacher and Open House before our year officially began. We love our school families!

We are excited to have Mrs. Pawlowski officially join our team this year after working as our interventionist last year through a grant. She is teaching Upper School ELA and providing both intervention and enrichment support. She holds a degree through the University of Illinois and a certification through Indiana University.

Each month our school will focus on supporting a service effort or organization. In August, our entire teaching team volunteered at Surfer's Healing, a surfing event on Folly Beach for children with an autism diagnosis.

In September, we will have an extra $1 TAG day to raise money for the Special Olympics upcoming gala. We will also pick up trash in our area.

On a monthly basis, we have $1 TAG days to support our sponsored child.

Our students will receive a MagnifiKids booklet each week. This provides the readings for the upcoming Sunday, prayers, and ways to live our faith for the week. This is a wonderful resource for families to share.

Our students pray at the beginning and end of each school day. They also pray before meals. Mass is held weekly, and students take active roles in the celebration. Students in grades K4-3 participate in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program in the school Atrium. Upper School students attend religion classes as well.

This year, our middle school students are attending adoration prior to mass.

4 MAP Window Opens

5 $1 TAG Day for sponsored child/SAC Meeting 5:30

6 Grandparent Breakfast Drop-in K4-3 (7:30-8:30)

8 Mother Mary’s Birthday/Happy National Grandparents Day!

9 Grandparent Breakfast Drop-in 4th-8th (7:30-8:30)/Walking Club Begins

13 Wear Polka Dots to school

14 Church Sloppy Joe Dinner at 6pm

15 International Dot Day

16 Halfway through Q1

17 Constitution Day

20 Knights of Columbus Lasagna Lunch and Dinner at Luken Drive in Goose Creek

19 STEM Family Blitz and Open House 5:30-7:00 (earn a TAG day for your child)

21 International Day of Peace

22 First Day of Fall

23 No School for K4 Students/K5-8 has school

25 Fall MAP Testing Window Closes

27 Early Release/no aftercare/Bonus $1 Hat Day to raise money for the Special Olympics Gala/STREAM Training for Teachers

29 Family Mass with the Saintly Singers at Church

TAG Days or Thank a Giver Days are held once per month. If a child brings in $1 to support our sponsored child in Mexico, he or she can wear regular clothes to school that day. Our first TAG day of the school year is Thursday, September 5.

Please check the Family Handbook for clothing guidelines.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FNA4eEQhsyCMFB9XXH_b7OrqrFd8Fft1PPYcYhbjzFk/edit?usp=sharing

Just a reminder that we don't have school on Monday, September 2.

The Saintly Singers Choir will begin rehearsals on Wednesday, September 4. Students must sign up with Mrs. Feltner in advance. Practice is from 3-4pm, and pick up is at the church. The church door is locked until dismissal since the children rehearse in the choir loft.

Over the next few weeks, students in grades K-8 will participate in MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) testing. See the school calendar for the dates of your child's test to ensure he or she gets a good night's rest and a healthy breakfast in preparation. The test is computer-based and on a secure browser.

K-1: Reading and Math

2-8: Reading, Math, and Language Arts

Mrs. Pawlowski will be offering tutoring from 3-4 after school starting after Labor Day. Stay tuned for details.

St. John is once again participating in the First Lego League programs. The FIRST Knights, students in grades 4-8, are researching challenges of deep sea exploration. If you our someone you know has experience with ocean research, would you let Mrs. Durand know?

Our younger, non-competitive Explore (after school club) and Discover (K/1 science class) teams will be researching the layers of the ocean and ways to keep it healthy.

Please make sure to read the school dress code carefully. Guidelines can be found in the Parent Handbook on the school website under Quick Links. Here is the shoe policy:

Dress shoes should be one solid color - dark navy, black, or dark brown. Oxford style, saddle shoes, loafers, top-siders are acceptable. Sneakers are also acceptable but should be predominantly white or black. No sandals or open-back shoes are permitted. Shoes with laces must be tied at all times. Crocs are only permitted if dark blue, black, brown, or white and back straps must be used. No light up shoes may be worn.

The Walking Club begins on Monday, September 9. All students are welcome to participate but must be signed up in the office. Pickup is at 3:30 on club days.

If you are looking for a friend circle that will celebrate your joys and pray for you during the tough times? Consider trying our Moms Morning Group on Thursday mornings at 8am in the Parish Hall. Lasting friendships form. Feel free to bring a friend!

Our Fall Festival will be on Saturday, October 19. If you would like to be a part of the planning committee, please email (kdurand@saintjohncatholicsc.org) or speak to Mrs. Durand at Drop-off.

We are a tiny but mighty church and school and rely on devoted volunteers to make our grounds the most beautiful they can be. If you have a knack for gardening--or another special gift (handyman, painting, etc), please let us know. Many hands make light work.