Dear SJB Families,

All Saints Day is one of my favorite celebrations of the year. Father Mark gave a wonderful homily at today's All-School Mass. He said the only thing it is not okay to fail at is becoming a Saint! God does not want us all to be Saint Mother Teresa or Saint Francis of Assisi. He wants us to use the unique gifts and talents He has given us to be our own saints! These great saints we know so well were not always saints. They tried daily to grow in virtue and do what God asked of them. They weren't always successful, but they were faithful! Let us all pray together what our Junior High prays after the blessing before meals each day before going to lunch; "Jesus, make me a saint no matter what it takes!". All you saints of God, pray for us!

See you at Mass!

Maggie Javins



It was a beautiful All Saints Day Mass! Our choir sounded beautiful and our saints were inspiring! This year the saints did a living museum after Mass. Students and parishoners could rotate around the church and hear the different saint stories. The students worked so hard on their report. Thank you to Mrs. Pleus and Miss Guzman for making this day so special!

Saint John the Baptist's Christ the Teacher Nominations - Deadline 11/8

It is time to recognize one of our amazing teachers again. The diocese recognizes one teacher from each school with the Christ the Teacher Award. Please take the time to nominate one of our amazing staff. They put in so much time to make sure this school is a place of learning and love for our students.

A paper form was sent home with students. If you prefer to complete the nomination electronically, please use the following link.

Loyalty is related to the cardinal virtue of Justice.

Definition: Accepting the bonds implicit in relationships and defending the virtues upheld by Church, family, and country.

Loyalty in Practice:

• I faithfully go to Mass every Sunday.
• I avoid making disparaging remarks about my family members.
• I take good care of school property.
• I fulfill my obligations to my team/group. (I go to practices, games, performances, and competitions; I stay through the entire season.)
• I refrain from all gossip.

Saintly Example- St. Charles Lwanga

Charles Lwanga was a head page at the court of the Ugandan king. As their martyrdom approached, he joyfully led his fellow pages in their resolve to remain loyal to the faith and even to their king who was to have them killed.

Scripture: John 6:66-69

After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Prayer

Dear Jesus,

Help me be steadfast in all my relationships, with You, my family, friends, and wider community, and faithful to the duties they require of me. Please increase my loyalty within each of these relationships so I am always willing to promote their true good, even when it is difficult.



Amen.

Looking Ahead - Next Week's Virtue: Obedience

The following students were sent to the principal's office because they were caught being virtuous!

Any 8th Grade Student Planning to Attend Bishop Luers needs to take the Henry-Keefer Scholarship and Placement Exam.

All interested current 8th graders are invited to take our scholarship exam/placement test on ONE of the two dates. Students with an ISP/IEP should test on the first date in November and a copy of current documentation must be provided ahead of time.

• Saturday, November 9th from 8am – 11:30am
• Saturday, December 7th from 8am – 11:30am

For more information, please contact the Admissions Office at 260-456-1261 ext. 3051

11/11 & 11/18 Lunch Form

• Lunch Form must be returned by Monday November 4th
• A paper copy was sent home with students.
• Students receiving Free Lunches must also complete this form.

Throughout the week teachers in middle school collect names of students going above and beyond, whether it is helping a classmate, participating in class, answering hard questions, volunteering at Mass, etc. Then once a week each middle school teacher draws out a name from their collection to get a small prize. All names eligible for the drawing are placed on a bulletin board in the middle school hallway for all to see.

October 28 :

Mrs. Henry - Samantha Ortiz Rodriguez

Mrs. Lehner - Andrew Davis

Mrs. Newberg - Manny Carranza

Mrs. Sturm - Allison Flores

Mrs. Welling - Karmoni Tatum

Mrs. Zimmerman - Andrew Davis

SJB recently purchased the Type to Learn program for grades 3 - 8. This program will teach students proper keyboarding skills. The program focuses on proper finger placement, speed, and accuracy. Mrs. Weaver's class was the first to try it out!

Congratulations to Ms. Strack and Mrs. Skordos for their excellent pass rate on the 23-24 IREAD Exam. SJB achieved Indiana's literacy goal of 95% of 3rd Graders reading proficiently.

The Magician's Nephew

The 5th grade will start to read their first classroom novel, The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis. The school purchased the Reading Reconsidered Curriculum for this novel unit which is endorsed by The Knowledge Matters Campaign. The curriculum emphasizes background knowledge, explicit vocabulary instruction, and is writing intensive. We thank Mr. Podzielinski and Mrs. Weaver for piloting this program!

The 2024-2025 8th grade class is fundraising for their 8th grade class trip to Washington D.C. We are looking for sponsors for our spirit shirt. All sponsors will be listed on the t-shirt. Please consider helping the class as they raise money for their class trip, and let us thank you by representing your business or organization on the back of the t-shirts worn by the students, family and friends for years to come.

Please complete the attached form and return to the school office. Enclose cash or a check payable to St. John the Baptist School. Please send black and white Ai or PDF of company name or logo to erinfry20@gmail.com.

In SJB tradition, parents and students gathered in the parking lot for the PK - 3rd grade Halloween Parade. The costumes were awesome!

They YAC is gearing up for the annual Turkey Bingo. The event will be on November 17^th from 3-6pm in the PAC. The YAC supports more than just athletics. Over the past few years the YAC has funded: new PE equipment, safety kits for classrooms, $3000 towards the computer lab, science kits, tables for school and parish events, scouts’ charter fees, and more.

This year we will be using proceeds from the event to purchase new boys’ and girls’ basketball uniforms & equipment, track uniforms and cheer uniforms and equipment. To do this, we need sponsors. Below you will find the sponsorship opportunities that are available. If you cannot sponsor a level, please consider volunteering the day of the event or help secure sponsorships and/or game prizes.

Grandparents Day

November 20th

Mass at 8:15

Refreshments in the Gym to Follow

RSVP form sent hom with students.

Mike's Car Wash Fundraiser

Thanks to all who participated in the Mike's Car Wash Fundraiser! Because of your hard work, HASA was able to donate $180 to each teacher's classroom!

Our top fundraisers were:

1st Place Ava Palmer

2nd Place Carsten Family

3rd Place Osterholt Family 

Snacks and Coffee for Teachers

Each year HASA organizes parents to bring snacks and coffee for the teachers. It is so very appreciated! If you would be willing to volunteer for a week, please see the signup link below.

You may bring the snacks any day during the week you have signed up. If you are wanting to bring in coffee for the teachers, the coffee maker uses both ground coffee and nespresso pods. We have currently been purchasing ground coffee solely from a Catholic-owned coffee company named Guadalupe Roastery. If you are able, we would love to continue to support them by buying ground coffee directly from them. To help make purchasing easier, link to Guadalupe Roastery's website (Use code StJohn for 12% of Nicaraguan coffee) and a link for where to buy the nespresso pods are linked below. This is just an example of the nespresso pods - any brand of these type will work with the machine.

Thank you! 

Signup Genius

Guadalupe Roastery Website

Nespresso Pods Example

Save the Date!

Popcorn Day/Dress Down Day 11/15

Grandparents Day 11/20

Popcorn Day/Dress Down Day 12/6

Popcorn Day/Dress Down Day 1/10

Trivia Night 1/25

Popcorn Day/Dress Down Day 2/7

Father Daughter Dance 2/8

Mother Son Bowling 3/2 MVP Lanes

Popcorn Day/Dress Down Day 3/7

Popcorn Day/Dress Down Day 4/11

Sign up to help serve Popcorn

HASA is bringing back popcorn day the 1st Friday of each month. Popcorn is $1/bag. Popcorn will be delivered to the homeroom by the end of the day. We need volunteers to help pop popcorn to make this possible. The popcorn machine is easy to use and ingredients are pre-measured. 

Popcorn Signup

Pay HASA Fees

If you have not done so already, please pay your HASA family fees.

• $10 for one child
• $20 for two children.
• $30 for three or more children.
• You may pay by credit card on Eventlink.
• You may send cash or check payments to the school office. Please note your last name and your children's names on all monies sent to the school office.

There are some changes to aftercare this year

• Aftercare will take place in the PreSchool Room and Pick up will be in the cul-de-sac at Door #9. There will be a doorbell for you to ring.
• Miss Sydney Strack will be our Aftercare Teacher.
• All families must complete a registration form on Eventlink. This form provides information to the Aftercare teacher and only needs to be completed once.
• Parents will be sent a statement each week. They can pay by check, cash, or credit card. If paying by credit card, please use Eventlink. They payment is due by the following Friday.
• You can change the payment amount on Eventlink to match what your statement says.
• Aftercare costs $11 per student per day.
• Aftercare hours are until 5:30 PM each day.
• There are semester and quarterly options available for a reduced daily fee.

As a Family of SJB, you have full access to our virtue program

Disciple of Christ, Education in Virtue is more than a curriculum; it’s a way of life – the means to a happy life and a healthy mind. Our school has purchased an institutional membership, and we invite you to sign up – for free.

There are videos and resources for the entire family – parents, educators, teen and young adult and children as young as 4 years old.

Simply use the following link and then type in the zip code of our school. When you see our school name, click on it and that’s it! You now have access to 100 % of the Openlight Media website.

Virtue Program Family Link

Spirit and Uniform Store Available

Our new uniform store is available.

• The site is broken into different categories: Uniform, Fridays Spirit Wear, etc.
• When order there is an option to add a comment. It is very helpful to add your children's name to the comment so we can deliver uniforms in a timely manner.
• Uniform Store

Do you know someone who would like to receive our weekly newsletter?

Our weekly newsletter is a great way for grandparents, alumni, and friends to stay connected to our school. Have them complete the following information to receive our newsletter updates.

Sign Up Here

Do you know someone that wants to be a Substitute Teacher at SJB?

We are in need of substitute teachers. In order to be a substitute, you must apply with the diocese and hold a valid substitute license from the state.

• Diocesan information located here.
• Valid Substitute Permit application from State found here.
•  Licensed or Retired Teachers - $125 per Day/ $75 Half Day
• High School Diploma and Valid Substitute Permit - $100 per day/ $60 Half Day
• Please email jhohenstein@stjohnsfw.org once you are on the sub list so that she can be sure to call!