Blue Jay Flyer

Parents and Guardians,

Thank you to everyone who helped make last Friday a success. We had a great day at St. John’s, and we were able to promote our school in a positive way. I can’t wait to share the final product with the staff, students, and families. The students did an amazing job showing what it means to be part of the Blue Jay Family.

Our Open House will be held on Sunday January 29th from 12:30-2:30. I encourage all families to share our Social Media posts so we can reach as many new families as possible. If you know of any new families in the area please invite them to come check out what St. John’s has to offer. We are looking forward to another great Open House.

This Friday we will have a Bengal’s spiritwear day. Students will be permitted to wear Bengals spiritwear, Blue Jay spiritwear, or any pink shirt along with their regular uniform bottoms.

Sincerely,

Courtney Weinheimer

As our Bengals head into another playoff game this weekend to take on the Buffalo Bills, let's show some stripes tomorrow! Students may wear a Bengals (or any black/orange) shirt with their regular uniform bottoms. St. John's spirit wear or pink may also be worn per usual with uniform bottoms. Go Bengals!

Re-registration forms were sent home last week in the Blue Jay Folders. If you are planning to return to St. John's in the fall, please fill out one registration form per family and return to the school office no later than Friday, February 3. The registration fee of $225 per family is not due until March 31st.

A copy of the registration form is attached below for your convenience.

We are getting excited for our upcoming prospective student Open House on January 29, 2023! Please help spread the word about St. John's to family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Refer any new family to St. John's for the 2023-24 school year and upon their official registration, your name will be entered to win a $500 tuition credit!

For the month of January, our Quarters for Kindness project will be collecting quarters for The Corpus Christi Food Pantry. Every Friday during lunch periods when students have the option to purchase Tasty Treats, they may also choose to donate an extra quarter to the Quarters for Kindness jar.

We will begin doing our Cogat & IOWA testing for students in grades 2-8 on March 13 and finish on the following Tuesday, March 28. It is imperative that students arrive to school on time these days and do not leave for any appointments.

*** ALL students in grades 3-8 will need a pair of WIRED headphones that can be plugged into their computer. Wireless earbuds will not be permitted.

If you have not already filled out a form giving your permission to be listed in the PTO School Directory, please click here to fill out a short form. We would like to complete the directory as soon as possible. Thank you.

We are quickly approaching our Open House for prospective students that takes place during Catholic Schools Week in January. We are asking for a few minutes of your time in filling out a short survey. Please click here to fill out survey. Your response is greatly appreciated.

The enrollment period for both Traditional and Expansion Ed Choice Scholarships will be open beginning February 1, 2023.. Please click here to visit our school website for more information.

The Catholic Education Foundation of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is now accepting K-8 tuition assistance grant applications for the 2023-2024 school year. The application period runs from now through February 2023. For more information, please click here. To apply, please visit https://factsmgt.com/.

The deadline for current 8th grade students to apply for the Aubrey Rose Foundation Scholarship is quickly approaching. An application is available at https://aubreyrose.org/scholarships/. The deadline to apply is Friday, January 27, 2023.

The Aubrey Rose Foundation offers this scholarship opportunity to 8th graders who will be attending a private high school in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky or Southeastern Indiana.

Since 2001, they have organized a children’s educational scholarship program in honor of Aubrey Rose. Aubrey made such a difference in many people’s lives within her three short years here on this earth. To honor her and her achievements, they base our scholarships on a child’s kindness and willingness to give back to their community. Their scholarships are for those students who have a compassionate heart, unlike other scholarships that are based on academics or athletic ability.

As we enter the winter months we want to make sure everyone is on the same page with when to keep your child(ren) home for an illness. Please see the attachment from Mrs. Greer about guidelines to follow when you have a sick child.

As we celebrated and honored the life of Dr. Martin Luther King earlier this week, Mrs. Osborn's kindergarteners focused on how God made us all unique and special.

Miss Dreyer's sixth grade social studies students hopped on their laptops and took a virtual field trip to Egypt where they visited an Egyptian Museum Center to see King Tut artifacts and some uses of hieroglyphics. Students also visited some ancient tombs to learn how they were made and preserved for thousands of years.

We are sending this message to share that we would love to take our annual PTO Spring Fling trip this year to Nashville, Tennessee! The trip dates will be Fri 3/31 - Sun 4/2/2023.

Spring Fling is a weekend get-a-way for the ladies of St. John’s and their friends and family. The purpose of the trip is to meet other SJB ladies and to raise funds to help support the PTO sponsored activities for the students and school.

We will be staying at a hotel just 2 blocks from the famous Broadway Street, at the Courtyard Nashville Downtown.

The APPROXIMATE cost, which includes your lodging and transportation, will be as follows:
2 person/room $473 each*
3 person/room $357 each*
4 person/room $299 each*

*This could be adjusted based on the total number of attendees.

Please let us know asap if we can count on you to join us by emailing sjbspringfling@gmail.com or texting 513-505-7616. Once we have a confirmed number that will allow us to fill a charter bus, we will finalize plans and payment.

Thanks so much in advance!

PTO Spring Fling Planning Committee

Spring season sports sign ups are now open and will be online only at www.stjab.com. Signups will be open thru February 15th.

Want to get involved in St. Johns Boosters? Boosters meet on the first Wednesday of each month at the athletic barn by the sports fields. This is a great way to meet new families and also get involved in your child's sports programs.

**REMINDER: A one-time family fee of $50 will be assessed per account at the beginning of each calendar year. The family fee helps to cover capital improvements and operating expenses of our athletic facilities.

• Instructional Baseball (t-ball) for kids 5 and 6 years of age.
• 7U - Coach pitch will give your child the opportunity to continue to learn the fundamentals of the game while still having a blast with their friends.
• 8U to 15U will focus on the fundamentals as well, while getting a little more competitive. We have both American and National divisions.

We play in the Western Baseball Conference which comprises of teams such as St. I’s, St. Jude, St. Vivian, St. John Harrison, St. James, St. Antoninus, St. William, Victory, Visitation, Oak Hills, St. Teresa, St. Bart, St. Als, St. Dominic, St. Martin, Westend Reds and more.

*** If you try to sign your son up to play baseball but you don't see your son's grade level as an option. Please feel free to reach out to Dan Schneider (contact info below) and let him know.

The league sets birthdates for each level as follows below. If your son is outside the range on the low end, contact me with a name of the player and their complete birthdate.

Oldest Youngest
7u - 5/1/2015 to 5/1/2016
9u - 5/1/2013 to 5/1/2015
11u - 5/1/2011 to 5/1/2013
13u - 5/1/2009 to 5/1/2011
15u - 5/1/2007 to 5/1/2009

How can you get involved in St. John Blue Jays Baseball?

1) We need coaches at the T-ball, 7u and 9u levels.
2) We need T-ball Coordinators
3) We need Baseball Coordinators.
4) We Need You to help out in any way you can for the St. John Athletic Boosters Program. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month in the barn. We could add you to the email group if you are interested.

Please contact Dan Schneider, dschneider@sbeco.com or Lee Houchen, dleehouchen@gmail.com with any questions. We are looking forward to a great 2023 season!

Dan Schneider - St. John's Athletic Boosters Baseball Coordinator

Lee Houchen - St. John's Athletic Boosters Baseball Coordinator and T-Ball Coordinator

Girls Western Athletic Conference Softball

Girls Softball: 1st grade & up (teams are set by grade 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th,5th/6th, 7th/8th)

Girls Instructional Softball: Pre-school thru Kindergarten

Teams are formed soon after sign-ups. Please spread the word to all of your family and friends who have daughters that may be interested in participating in the softball program here at St. Johns.

If you have questions/concerns/ideas about softball please email Geoff Ziegler – gpziegler802@gmail.com (Softball coordinator)

We are excited to get started this year and hope to see you all soon. Please indicate during sign ups if you would like to be a head coach or be an assistant coach for your daughters’ team.

St. John's will be offering SAY Rec Soccer for boys and girls playing Swarmers (2017), Passers (2015 & 2016) and Wings (2013 & 2014). These teams will play an 8 game season in Northwest SAY. There is no post season tournament in the Spring.

St. John's also now offers Premier soccer for those who want to experience club level competition. Our teams play in Select leagues such as Cardinal Premier and Buckeye Premier and are eligible to enter various tournaments. This program is coach driven and will typically require a tryout. Keep in mind there is a bigger time commitment with this option and the cost is significantly higher. Right now we have a U9(2013) girls team and are in the process of putting together a U9(2013) boys team. We hope to form more teams moving forward but need coaches and parents to help lead the charge. If you would like more information on our Premier program please contact Tom Osborn.

***A one-time family fee of $50 will be assessed per account at the beginning of each calendar year. The family fee helps to cover capital improvements and operating expenses of our athletic facilities.

If you have any questions regarding the Soccer program please contact one of our Soccer Coordinators:

Lauren Kresyman
847-687-4640
laurenicole821@yahoo.com

Kevin Weiss- Lollipop
513-207-9296
kweiss411@yahoo.com

Vacation Bible School returns this summer! Mark your calendars for July 10-14, 2023 at St. John the Baptist Parish. VBS is open to all children 4 years old to 4th grade within our family of parishes.

Volunteers are needed! In addition to parent volunteers, VBS is a great opportunity for older kids needing service hours. Please contact Tyler Castrucci (tcastrucci@stjohnsdr.org) or Cathy Hale (cathyknueven@hotmail.com) if you have any questions or are interested in becoming a volunteer.

We love to share exciting news about our St. John's alumni with our school community! If you have an older child or know anyone who graduated from St. John's who has an achievement to share, please send information and any photos to Laura Heidorn at lheidorn@stjohnsdrschool.org.