Blue Jay Flyer
August 11, 2021
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is hard to believe that in a week we will welcome back our students for the first day of school. I personally am very excited to get the students back into the classrooms and ready to have a great year of learning. Last year was a tough year for everyone, but we must continue to move forward and create a plan that will ensure the safety of our students during these uncertain times. While many of our policies will be similar, some changes have been made so it is important that each family takes the time to read all of the information that will come out over the next week. In order to keep our Blue Jay Family safe, we need everyone to know and follow all policies (drop off, pick up, at home health screening, etc.). We know there is a possibility that things will change throughout the school year, so please make sure you are reading The Blue Jay Flyer in its entirety each week since this is the best and most up-to-date information for our school.
I am asking that you approach this year with kindness and understanding. We as a staff are working to provide the best education for the student’s of St. John’s. If you have a concern, please reach out to me via email or my office phone to discuss your concern.
I look forward to seeing everyone at Open House on Monday 8/16. Please remember we start with the prayer service at 5:30.
Sincerely,
Courtney Weinheimer
Welcome to our Family
Mrs. Courtney Weinheimer
Please join us in welcoming our new principal, Mrs. Courtney Weinheimer! She has been working in the Northwest Local School District for the past 21 years where she taught social studies at Colerain High School for 15 years, worked in the Curriculum Department as an Instructional Specialist and most recently served as the Dean of Discipline at Northwest High School.
You may recognize her as she and her family are parishioners of St. John the Baptist Parish where she and her husband, Larry, have been chairing the Festival for the past several years. Their daughter will be in 8th grade this year at St. John's.
Ms. Bailey Pearce
Mrs. Melissa Greer
Open House
Open House & Meet the Teacher
Monday, August 16
5:30 pm Church Prayer Service
Open House Immediately Following until 8:00 pm
KONA ICE will be available for purchase at the main entrance.
Be sure to stop by the cafeteria to taste some samples, purchase spirit wear & yearbooks
and obtain more information about St. John's PTO, Athletic Boosters, Girl Scouts and Catholic Order of Foresters.
First Day of School K-8
Wednesday, August 18
8:00 am - NOON (Early Dismissal)
Bus service will be provided to and from school.
School cafeteria will be closed. Please pack a snack for your student(s).
First Day of School Preschool
Monday, August 30
3's and 4's
Wednesday, September 1
Pre K
School Hours
Kindergarten-8th Grade
8:00 am - 2:55 pm
Preschool
3's
Monday and Tuesday
Morning 9:00-11:30 am
Afternoon 12:15 -2:45 pm
4's
Monday-Wednesday
Morning 9:00-11:30 am
Afternoon 12:15-2:45 pm
Pre K
Wednesday-Friday
9:00 am-12:30 pm
School Office Hours
7:30 am-3:30 pm
School Communication
2. A weekly parent newsletter, The Blue Jay Flyer, will be sent out via e-mail every Wednesday to all school families including important information regarding the school calendar, policies, special events, fundraising, photos, etc. These newsletters can be read easily from either your smart phone or computer.
3. Please visit our school website at stjohnsdrschool.org for school news, information, links to important forms, and much more. Helpful hint: When looking for information underneath the "Parent Info" tab, in addition to hovering over the tab, you can also click on the tab for a lengthy list of additional links to information and forms.
4. St. John's also utilizes both Facebook and Instagram to communicate and share photos with school families. Be sure to like us, follow us, comment and share. The more you engage, the broader our audience.
Mask Policy
Please check your e-mail inbox tomorrow, Thursday, August 12, for a letter that will state our Covid-19 procedures.
Uniform Dress Code
School Supplies
Cafeteria
The St. John's Cafeteria will be using The FACTS Management System as our payment source for school lunches. Every family at St. John's has a FACTS account. If you are unsure how to access your account, please contact Cathy Dreyer at cdreyer@stjohnsdrschool.org. Payments of cash or check can also be sent into the school office for lunches. Please reference your student's name(s) with the payment and the funds will be added their lunch account.
To Prepay School Lunches:
1. Login to your FACTS account and click on Prepay Accounts.
2. Click on Add Funds.
3. Follow the prompts as to how you would like to pay. Any monies added to your account will be a lump sum per family, not individual amounts per student. When using a checking or saving account, there is no additional fee. For credit card payments, there is a service fee up to 2.85% per transaction.
***If your family had a remaining balance from last school year in their EZ accounts with Kaldis, your balance has been transferred into your FACTS account. If your FACTS account is not currently active, you should have received a refund check from the school.
2021-22 CAFETERIA FACILITY FEES
If your family has not yet paid the 2021-22 Facility Cafeteria Fee of $50 per student, please send your payment into school as soon as possible. Cash, check or Venmo (SJB-School) payments are accepted for the cafeteria fees. Report cards and transcripts may be held for unpaid fees.
Transportation
If you haven't already, you should be receiving a bus pass in the mail for your student(s).
Transportation Departments:
Northwest 825-4600
Fairfield 829-6603
Mt. Healthy 729-4985
Arrival Procedures
Students may not arrive at school until 7:45 A.M.
Safety and liability issues necessitate that students not be allowed to enter the building until 7:45 A.M. Do NOT leave your child unattended outside the building. Before school care is available at 6:50 A.M. in the After Care Room for a fee of $2.00 per student per day.
Bus Riders and Walkers:
Upon arrival, bus riders and walkers will enter through the door by the office (blue awning). All students must then proceed to their classrooms.
Car Riders:
Cars will enter the school lot from the driveway near the church cemetery and circle around toward the northwest corner of the school building. Your child must be dropped off only at the drop-off area from the northwest corner to the gym doors and must only exit from the right side of the car. Once the student has disembarked, proceed toward the lower exit on Dry Ridge Road.
Scooters and mopeds are not to be ridden to school.
Dismissal Procedures
Bus Riders:
Bus riders are dismissed out the side or front doors.
Car Riders:
All car riders will be dismissed from the parish center doors. Cars should park behind the parish center in the designated rows. Please get out of your vehicle and wait outside the gym doors for your student(s) to walk them to your vehicle. Cars will then be dismissed by row to exit the parking lot once ALL students are safe inside their vehicles.
Walkers:
All walkers will be dismissed from the doors by the flag pole after both the buses and car riders have left the parking lots.
After Care:
Any students going to after care will be dismissed directly to the after care room. After school care is available until 6:00 PM on regular school days in the After Care Room for a fee of $12.00 per student per day for registered students.
Before and After Care Program
Many of you have been asking if the Before Care Program will be operating this year. We do plan to offer the Before Care program provided that interest is high enough. Therefore, it is necessary that we get a head count of students that would like to utilize the before care program during the first and second week of school. Please contact Laura Heidorn at lheidorn@stjohnsdrschool.org as soon as possible with the number of students from your family that would be attending those first few weeks.
New School Spirit Wear Items
An order form with pricing is attached below for your convenience.
2020-21 Yearbooks
Blue Jay Gallery
New Family Ice Cream Social
On Sunday, August 1 we welcomed our incoming kindergarten and other new families at our annual Ice Cream Social. Thank you to all of our parent and student volunteers who helped set up and serve ice cream.