May 18, 2023
May 18, 2023
Dear SJB Families,
Kudos go to Michelle Bucaro, Tom Hollatz, and the many parents; and most importantly, the children who spent countless hours on SJB’s production of Snow White and the 7 Endings. The shows indeed were phenomenal and a wonderful display of the talent within our school. It was also fabulous to see so many people attend, support, and truly enjoy our stars.
As the close of the school year rapidly approaches, we had another great week of school. It is hard to believe that our eighth grade students won’t be returning back to school for classes. On Tuesday, we met as faith families so that all could spend one last time as a faith family with our eighth graders. Many gave cards to them. The eighth grade students have really made an impact on the rest of the school. Yesterday, at the end of the day, they left parading through the halls to the cheers and clapping from the rest of the student body. It was a very sweet and joyful (and loud) farewell.
Our eighth grade students were honored at the end of our All School Mass on Tuesday. They received their class ribbons which brought them one step closer to graduation and are highly symbolic as a representation of their spiritual, academic, and collective growth while students at St. John the Baptist Catholic School. The Graduation Mass this morning was beautiful. Afterwards, there was an Awards Breakfast and ceremony to honor their scholastic achievements, celebrate their talents, and recognize their service to the school and the community. Graduation takes place tonight at 7:00 PM in church. Please keep our eighth grade students in your prayers as they embark on new adventures and move on to high school. May God bless them abundantly in all they do!
Congratulations to our 8th grade class:
Kaylie Ascencio Perez
Adan Alanis Barcenas
Brielle Borner
Phillip Cabrera
Augustine Cin
Anthony Emlen
Mia Grantz
Jack Kozlowski
Michael Mang
Julia Mawi
Alexa Murray
Kim Nguyen
Faith Owens
Connor Parkitny
Matthew Pullins
Aaliyah Silva
Sofia Soriano
Tyler Stith
Alina Thorson
Lucia VangNu
Joseph Zagotta
Liam Zbierski
Our preschool students’ last day is tomorrow, and dismissal is at 11:30 AM. They thoroughly enjoyed their time yesterday on their walking field trip to East Park. Our three year olds will be joining our four year olds in an end of the year celebration tomorrow at 10:30 AM. Both classes will be sharing highlights from their year with their parents in St. Cecilia Hall in celebration of what they have learned this year in preschool. If attending, please enter the building through door 9.
Our field day is next Wednesday, May 24. In the morning, we will begin with Mass, have a speaker, and have some service time filling bags for the Alex Project. As a reminder, donations are still being sought. Each grade level has a suggested item:
Items needed for Alex’s Project Bags
Preschool - children’s socks, adult too, if possible
Kindergarten- Grab and Go packs-individual coloring books/crayons (Target $1), small notebooks, pens.
1st – toothbrushes (individual size) toothpaste (travel size) dental floss
2nd – soap, shampoo (individual size)
3rd – individual snacks – sweet or salty, non-melting candy and gum
4th – comb, brush
5th - suntan lotion, lip balm, mosquito repellent
6th – hand sanitizer (travel size)
7th - deodorant male/female
8th- bottled water
Mrs. Norton has many fun activities planned for the afternoon including water activities. She can use a few more volunteers to help in the afternoon from 12:00 noon to dismissal as well as a couple of dads who can man the hoses and carry the 5 gallon buckets filled with water. If you are able to help with the water buckets, you can have a prime parking spot in the north lot near the gym for easy in and out parking for the day. What could be better at dismissal time?
The blacktop will be in use until 2:20 PM and the cones will not be removed until that time. Please plan accordingly and do not come for dismissal until 2:25 PM. We want to avoid a backup on Sunnyside to ensure safety for everyone and smooth traffic flow. It also may be nice to bring a dry beach towel at pick up. Your child may really appreciate it. Please see the posting for reminders about the day.
Our end of the year Skating Party will also take place on Wednesday, May 24, at Funway in Batavia from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased here:
https://funway.centeredgeonline.com/retail/item/1736 See the posting for more details.
Our last Pizza Friday is tomorrow. A huge thank you goes to Kelley Whitman for organizing our drivers for pizza pick-up this year. Thank you to everyone from our drivers to money counters to pizza wrappers and servers …without your assistance, our students wouldn’t receive pizza each week. Thank you, parents, for your support of Pizza Friday. The Athletic and Theater Departments split the proceeds and truly appreciate you support of their programs!
SJB’s band students have been hard at work this year. They will present their end-of-year program at 2:00 PM in St. Cecilia Hall. Medals from the Solo and Ensemble contest held in March will be presented during the program. You are welcome to attend.
The last day of school for K-7th grade is Friday, May 26. We will have our final School Mass of the year at 8:15 AM. Please know that as always, you are welcome to join us for Mass. Students should wear Sunday best clothing. School will be dismissed shortly afterwards at about 9:00 AM. For those who are new to SJB, the last day tradition is to spray silly string after leaving the building to celebrate the end of the school year and welcome summer vacation. Parents bring silly string to school and give it to their children upon exiting the building so that the fun can begin. Please do not send it to school ahead of time.
You can take advantage of becoming a donor to the Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program, and your donation large or small, can help clear our waitlist of 50 students, and will provide a SJB education for children in our community. In addition, your donation is eligible for a tax credit of 75% on your IL state income taxes and 25% on your 2023-24 tuition. 100% of your donation can come back to you as credits while helping students who can benefit from the scholarship. This is the best time to donate as currently all donations made by new donors to the program will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor. There is one week left to capitalize on this amazing opportunity! We are thankful that to date, 20 scholarships have been awarded. We have already raised over $112, 000. Thank you to all who have donated so far and thank you for your consideration of making a donation. Please let me know if I can help you with the donation process.
There are just two days left in the legislative session, and the fate of the Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program is still unknown. But voices in support of tax credit scholarships are continuing to be heard! Check out this recent article from The Center Square .
There is still time to make YOUR voice heard by advocating for this life changing program.
Call your legislator. We know many of you have sent written messages to your lawmaker (thank you!) but phone calls are equally important. If you are unsure what to say, we have pre-written scripts available. Just click the phone icon at the top of this page to get started.
This is just a reminder that we are accepting donations for the Uniform Closet. The uniform collection box will be out at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up tomorrow. The Uniform Closet will open in August.
Lastly, we have one SJB student who has qualified for the Track championship meet at North Central College in Naperville on Saturday. Please keep Michelle Philip (6th) in your prayers as she competes in her races this weekend.
Have a wonderful weekend! We are in the final stretch of a fantastic school year!
With joy,
Joanne`