SAM - 9/2/2024

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT MEMO

Everything You Wanted To Know

Week of 09-02-24

A NOTE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

It is with great pleasure that I get to welcome you to another great school year at St. John Fisher! I hope your summer was filled with memories of good times. We have been preparing for the big start all last month, and from the excitement in the school this morning, it was apparent that the kids (and parents) were ready for school to begin. 

With the start of each school year comes a bit of “housekeeping.” During this month, I will feature a series of friendly reminders regarding events that happen on campus.  This week: Parent Communication and Parking Lot Protocols.

Parent Communication: As your partner in your child(rens) education, we strive to maintain open communication with you regarding school and classroom events.  A few venues we use for communication are:

• “SAM” (Special Announcements Memo): Our SAM comes from the office via E-mail every Tuesday. This mailing contains important parent information each week.  To help stay informed of the great activities that happen on our campus, please make sure to read this mailing each week.  If you are not receiving this at an E-mail that is convenient for you, please contact Mrs. Michele Wasman at [email protected].

• FACTS: FACTS Parent Portal is our secure intranet website that contains school/teacher newsletters, our family directory, email links for classroom teachers, forms you may need, student grades (for 6th - 8th grade) and more.  You can access the FACTS Parent Portal HERE or via the link off our school web page under “Parents” (www.sjfschool.org).

• Parent Alert Texts:  SJF uses the Parent Alert feature of the FACTS SIS to quickly communicate important information to parents via text messages. We choose to use Parent Alert sparingly as a fast and efficient way to communicate with families in case of an emergency (i.e. late start or school closure due to inclement weather.)  It is not used for general correspondence or school reminders.

To ensure you are able to receive our alerts, please text START to 317065 from your mobile device.  Per the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, we provide all recipients with the option to opt out of receiving school alerts. Anytime we send a text alert, you will see Stop to Cancel. If you reply Stop, you will no longer receive our Parent Alert texts.

• Back to School Coffee: This Thursday, September 5th, our PTC will host a Back to School Coffee in the Corrado Family Center. This is a great opportunity for parents to reconnect after summer vacation and find out about the various ways you can be involved at St. John Fisher.

• Back to School Night: We host 2 Back to School Nights: Parents of middle school students come on Wednesday, September 11th, and parents of children in grades PreK-5 come on Wednesday, September 18th, both sessions beginning at 6:30pm in the cafeteria. During this event, we will have opportunities to meet the faculty and staff and hear the specifics for your child’s grade level.  We look forward to seeing you then!

• Social Media: You can find fun photos and activities from the school on our active social media pages. Facebook: St. John Fisher School  Instagram: stjohnfisherschool

Parking Lot Protocol: Safety for our students and families is our number one priority. In an effort to provide a safe environment for our students, as well as to accommodate the needs of our parent volunteers and visitors to St. John Fisher during school hours, we ask that you please follow these very important guidelines for our parking lot to ensure the safety of everyone:

Drop-off & Pick-Up: 

• The school doors open at 8am. Students left before 8am are unsupervised so please wait till 8am before leaving campus.

• For the car line, we will follow our drop off/pick up protocols and cars may enter and exit via Vermont or 45th, following the traffic pattern to the school.  

  • Detailed maps of routes are below

• If parking, please make sure to utilize all the forward parking spaces in the lot and please do not park in a manner that blocks the road path to/from the school.

• Please pull your car all the way forward into an empty spot closest to school so we are maximizing parking and allowing others space to fill in behind.

• Please make sure your child is with you and not running ahead unattended.

• While waiting for your child to get out and/or be picked up, please turn off your car.

• Be extra cautious when backing up in the parking lot during pick up and drop off, there are many little people around.

• Upon exiting the campus:

  • Via 45th Ave.: Please turn RIGHT onto SW 45th Ave. We understand that may require an alternate route; however, it is in the best interest of safety and time. 

  • Via Vermont St.: head towards 45th exit and then join the car line that is entering campus from 45th in the far right lane. When you get to the front of the church, by the rose garden, veer to the right to the church and head to the back behind the church. Then turn left on the driveway and out to Vermont. ***Please note, our pedestrian path crosses this route so use extreme caution when driving behind the church***

• If utilizing the upper playground after school, all children must remain on the field or playground. No basketball or children on the asphalt until all traffic has cleared. 

SJF Student Pedestrians: Nevada Street is a narrow street and with the additional traffic, not the safest pedestrian exit from the school. If you have a child that walks home after school or to the SW Community Center, we ask you to review the Pedestrian Plan map below and educate your child on the route. Students will exit campus at a pedestrian path connecting to St. Luke’s and sidewalks along California St. to SW 45th. Students will then use the light at Vermont and 45th to cross. 

In closing, as a general rule of thumb, please drive cautiously and be aware of the surroundings during drop off and pick up. We ask that if you bring your pet or cell phone with you to pick up/drop off your child, please leave the pets in the car and cell phones off to avoid distractions and maintain safety. Thank you for helping to keep our students, faculty, staff and parents safe on campus.

Welcome again to another great year!

CALENDAR REMINDERS:

Tuesday 9/3:  GR 1-8 1st Day of School (In Uniform), No Hot Lunch this week

Tuesday & Wednesday 9/3-9/4: PreK & K Slow Start Days (Individual Slow Start appointments)

Wednesday 9:4: 1:00pm School Mass (Teachers), 2:00pm Dismissal, 2:30pm Faculty meeting

Thursday 9/5:  PreK & K 1st Day of School, 8:15am Welcome Coffee & Donuts in CFC

Friday 9/6:  9:45am Fire drill, 6:30pm Gr 4-6 Girls’ Sleepover at SJF

Monday 9/9:  No Hot Lunch

Tuesday 9/10: Hot Lunch Begins!  5:30pm SAC meeting, 6:30pm PTC Exec meeting

Wednesday 9/11:  9:45am Earthquake drill, 1:00pm School Mass (8th gr), 2:00pm Dismissal, 2:30pm Faculty meeting, 6:30pm Gr 6-8 Back-to-School Night in CFC

Thursday 9/12: 8:20 - 9:00am Family group activity, High School Visit Day - 7th and 8th grades

Friday 9/13:  6:00pm HOSA Bingo Night in CFC

PLAYGROUND DUTY: 

Parents, in addition to the weekly reminders in the SAM, you can access the Playground Duty calendar on your FACTS Family Portal under Resource Documents. Playground duty is from 11:25am - 1:00pm. On your assigned day, please check in at the school office first, and then head to the Corrado Family Center.  It is important to arrive on time on your scheduled duty date.  When you don’t show up, three different teachers must give up their lunch periods to cover the primary, intermediate, and middle school lunch recess periods.  

If there is a conflict with your scheduled playground duty date, please notify Holly Hunt, our playground duty coordinator, as far in advance as possible so that she can reschedule your duty. Thank you for your help in the lunchroom and on the playground.

Tuesday 9/3        BERSCHEID

Wednesday 9/4    MINEO (KIM)

Thursday 9/5        KIRKER

Friday 9/6        LEWIS

Monday 9/9        VITTERS

Tuesday 9/10        EBERSOLE

Wednesday 9/11    McCLASKEY

Thursday 9/12    De VENUTA

Friday 9/13        WINDELL (REESE)

AFTER SCHOOL PICK UP PLAN

If you have not done so yet, please return your After School Pick-up Plan to school as soon as possible.  This is important information that we keep in the school office as well as the individual classroom. If you need a blank form, there is one attached to this SAM, on your FACTS Family Portal under Resource Documents, and at the Cardinal Corner next to the school office.

HOSA BINGO NIGHT

Join us for HOSA Bingo Night on Friday, 9/13 and help support our middle school HOSA program!

SUNDAY MORNING PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Children's Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) runs during the Sunday 9am Mass during the school year. It is a Catholic circle time for young children focused on that Sunday's Gospel reading. One volunteer hour may be claimed for each Sunday of participation. Please contact Erica Benthin - [email protected] (503) 435-8005 or Darlene Sheridan - [email protected] for details.

HEALTH DAY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Please join us for Health Day.  We will be doing vision screening for the entire school.  This is a great and easy way to get some volunteer hours.  No experience needed.  We will start in the Corrado Center at 8 am (right after dropoff) and will be done in about 1.5 hours.  Please sign up at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F49ADAA29A7F58-50957745-health

Call me if you have any questions, 801-440-9515.

Thanks, Christy Meade

COFFEE & DONUTS VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

SJF hosts Coffee and Donuts after the 9:00 AM Sunday Mass during the school year.  We’re going to be starting it up this coming Sunday (9/8), and we need parent volunteer helpers. It's a great opportunity for fellowship with other families, and is also a great volunteer opportunity for families who are not typically able to be on campus during the school day. For more information, or to sign up, please contact Chris Ebersole

CUB SCOUT PACK 254

Join us for family fun and outdoor adventure! ALL kids K-5 are welcome!

You’re invited to an informal gathering to learn about Cub Scouts and Pack 254. Our pack serves the Maplewood and Hayhurst public school neighborhoods. Many of our volunteer leaders and returning families will be there to answer your questions. Get to know us and see if we’re the right pack for your scout and family.

Information sessions:

Sunday, Sept. 8: 3:30-5 p.m.
Lemonade and Popsicle Meet and Greet
Gabriel Park Play Area (look for the yellow banner)

Thursday, Sept. 19: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church
2201 SW Vermont St., Portland

Visit www.Pack254.com or email [email protected] to learn more.

ROOM PARENTS 2024-25

Welcome to our 2024-2025 school year!

My name is Katie Richmond, and I have a seventh grader and am lucky enough to be the second grade Instructional Assistant here at SJF. I am helping Elizabeth Monnig, our Room Parent coordinator, with recruitment for this school year. 

Here is a rough description of what a room parent does: 

- Class parties (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day)

- appreciation luncheon for staff

- communicate with parents about upcoming events and fundraising

Each class has one to two other responsibilities to take cover, depending on the class (might be May Crowning, First Communion reception, graduation reception, etc. )

Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in being a room parent. Please indicate what grade, who your child is, and if you have been a room parent in the past. I know it's always fun to be a room parent for the little ones, but remember these will be the last years to be in the classroom at this capacity with the middle schoolers too. 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

CASE TRAINING DATES AT ST. JOHN FISHER

SJF will host CASE (Creating a Safe Environment) trainings this fall on the following dates:

Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 5:00pm (Just prior to the PreK - 5th grades Back to School night)

Friday, Sept. 20 at 8:30am (Right after morning dropoff)

Friday, Sept. 20 at 1:30pm (Finishes just before afternoon pickup)

Pre-registration is not required.  All CASE training takes place in the Corrado Family Center.

Here is a link to additional CASE training sessions taking place throughout the Archdiocese.

LaSALLE PREP FUTURE FALCON NIGHTS

 Future Falcon Nights are for elementary and middle school students interested in learning more about La Salle Athletics and what it feels like to be a Falcon on game night.

Students have the opportunity to hear from coaches & players to see what it's like to compete as a La Salle Prep athlete. These events are FREE with your registration and include admission to the game and La Salle swag! Please try to register at least one week in advance of the Future Falcon Nights you plan to attend. All participants who sign up seven days in advance will receive free Falcon swag!

Our upcoming Future Falcon Nights are:

Volleyball - September 26

Girls Soccer - October 3

Football/Cheer - October 11

Boys Soccer – October 24

Register here