SJC Principal's Newsletter
October 5, 2023
Update
This Week at SJC
Dear Parents,
Thank you so much to our parents and to the TRT for the wonderful breakfast and gift to all of our teachers and staff! We are so appreciative of all of you.
Grades 4, 5, and 6 will begin Math Tutoring on Mondays from 3:15-4:15. Information will be going out to parents next week regarding this. We will start tutoring on Monday October 16th!
Our Fishing Club, Art Club, and Chess Club are all off to a great start!
Have a wonderful long weekend!! It should be beautiful!
Mary Kennedy
Principal
Looking Ahead!
October 6 - Out of Uniform Day
October 7- Homecoming Game
October 9 - NO SCHOOL
Message from the Village of Western Springs and Survey Link
The Village of Western Springs will be seeking funds from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. The Village is seeking funding that would enable the creation of a safe routes to school community plan. Essentially the plan would analyze each of the schools in the Village and determine the best routes to each school. Additionally, we expect the study will identify any trouble areas and provide recommendations for possible improvements.
The SRTS application process requires us to do a survey that asks how school children are currently getting to school. Below is a parent survey link. We are asking surveys results to be entered by 9/26.
TRT News!
Order Charleston Wrap Through Oct 6
Place your Charleston Wrap order before our sale ends on Friday, October 6. Shop today at www.registercw.com (Org ID 11318). Proceeds benefit SJC TRT.
TRTurkey Trot Ticket Sales Launch Oct 9 at 9A
Mark your calendar. Tickets to the TRTurkey Trot will go on sale on Monday, October 9 at 9 a.m. Follow SJC TRT on Facebook and Instagram for the ticket link that morning! The TRTurkey Trot is a rotating house party for adults that will take place in the Ridgewood neighborhood on Saturday, November 11 from 7 to 11 p.m. We hope you can join us!
Teachers & Staff Awarded Annual Gifts
This morning, we proudly awarded SJC teachers and staff with their annual monetary gift at a special breakfast. With support from families like yours, the TRT has provided an annual monetary gift to SJC staff for more than 30 years to bridge the gap between their Archdiocese mandated salaries and the salaries received by their public school counterparts. Thank YOU for helping us recognize and reward our dedicated faculty for their commitment to Catholic education! Thanks also to The Original Pancake House La Grange for partnering with us on a delicious breakfast.
Learn about our School Advisory Board
For more information, please contact Maureen Wierema (maureen17@gmail.com) or Tony Burba (anthonyburba@gmail.com), or fill out the application found toward the bottom of this email.
After School Art Enrichment Class!
Order a St. John of the Cross Parish School Yearbook!!!
Policy and Procedure Reminders
POLICY & PROCEDURE REMINDERS:
SCHOOL UNIFORM CODE:
Tomorrow is the final day the Warm Weather Uniform option may be worn until May 1st, 2024. Please help ensure your student’s standard uniform is ready to be worn on Monday, October 2nd.
Parents are required to inform their student(s) homeroom teacher prior to the start of the school day if their student(s) will not be in the proper school uniform.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation to maintain our uniform policy. The complete SJC school uniform code can be found in the Parent/Student Handbook.
LUNCHES:
Fast food lunches, as well as soda-pop and energy drinks, are not permitted and will not be allowed in the school lunchroom. Leftovers are allowed so long as they are brought to school in the student’s lunch bag.
AM DROP-OFF/PM PICK-UP:
A two-way traffic pattern is maintained from all entrances/exits pulling out onto Wolf Road and Caroline Avenue when exiting the SJC parking lot during afternoon dismissal. This includes the center entrance/exit onto Wolf Road.
During after school pick-up, cars parked in the front lot should face Wolf Rd. (west) and pull forward and out to leave. Cars parked in the recess lot between the MPR and PC should enter from Caroline Ave., park facing the Parish Center (north), then pull forward and out to leave. Cars should always pull forward. Backing up is unsafe due to the amount of foot traffic during pick-up.
Drop-off and pick-up procedures, complete with diagrams, can be found in the Parent/Student Handbook. Please share this information with any caregivers who may not be familiar with them.
COMMUNITY NEWS TAB ON THE WEBSITE:
Over the course of the school year, many area high schools and other organizations send us information they would like our community to know about. This information is placed in the Community News tab in the Family Portal on the school website. Please remember to check this tab periodically to catch up on local events.
From the Desk of Mrs. Brabham
There is a special emphasis on mental health during the month of October. The first week in October is Mental Illness Awareness Week, with National Depression Screening Day on October 7th. World Mental Health Day is October 10th, OCD Awareness Week is October 8-14, and October is also ADHD Awareness Month. Mental illness affects everyone, directly or indirectly, and educating ourselves and others about the importance of taking care of mental health and mental illness is vital. Continuing to learn about and discuss mental health helps normalize and destigmatize many conditions and can hopefully lead to greater understanding and acceptance. According to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), some key facts about mental illness include:
1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness (SMI) each year
1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
Annual prevalence among U.S. adults, by condition:
Major Depressive Episode: 8.3% (21 million people)
Schizophrenia: <1% (estimated 1.5 million people)
Bipolar Disorder: 2.8% (estimated 7 million people)
Anxiety Disorders: 19.1% (estimated 48 million people)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: 3.6% (estimated 9 million people)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: 1.2% (estimated 3 million people)
Borderline Personality Disorder: 1.4% (estimated 3.5 million people)
47.2% of U.S. adults with mental illness received treatment in 2021
65.4% of U.S. adults with serious mental illness received treatment in 2021
For information about the ways we can recognize and learn about Mental Health this month, please see:
St. John of the Cross Parish School
Email: kennedy@sjcross.org
Website: school.stjohnofthecross.org
Location: 708 51st Street, Western Springs, IL, USA
Phone: 708-246-4454
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StJohnOfTheCrossParishSchool/