• Mrs. Jennifer Caparro and Mr. Joe Smarr are two of our new cafeteria workers.
• Mr. Terry Cavenas is our new 8th grade Homeroom Teacher.
• Mrs. Leah Fenkner is our new classroom aide.

• Preschool-Mrs. Mohammed
• Kindergarten has two sections (Mrs. Degler and Mrs. Kopp)
• 1st grade has two sections (Mrs. Metters and Mrs. Green)
• 2nd Grade has two sections (Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Dando)
• 3rd Grade- Mrs. Krajcirik
• 4th Grade- has two sections (Ms. Bachert and Mrs. Giannelli)
• 5th Grade- Mrs. Purin
• 6th Grade- Mrs. Williams
• 7th Grade- Mrs. Miller
• 8th Grade- Mr. Cavenas
• Physical Education- Mr. Campomizzi
• STEM- Ms. Daukshus
• Art- Mrs. Odorizzi
• Music- Mr. Cressley
• Religious Enrichment- Sister Mary Glackin

• St. Joseph of Panther Valley Parish- Father Bob George
• All Saints Parish, McAdoo- Monsignor William Baker
• St. John XXIII Parish, Tamaqua and St. Richard's Parish, Barnesville- Father Robert Finlan
• SS. Peter & Paul Parish, Lehighton- Father Christopher Zelonis
• St. Peter the Fisherman Parish, Lake Harmony- Monsignor John Chizmar
• The Immaculate Conception Parish Jim Thorpe, Churches of Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph- Father Ron Minner

• We are happy to announce that instrumental lessons will be offered again this year to students in grades 4th-8th! Grades 4-8 will be given the opportunity to learn band instruments. From flutes to drums and trombones to clarinets there is certainly an instrument for everyone. More information on obtaining an instrument and the program itself will follow at the beginning of the new school year.

• Another exciting announcement is about our Art Program at SJRS! Artist Victor Stabin will be conducting a residency at St. Jerome Regional School this fall. Victor will be working with eighth grade students to create work based on his Daedal Doodle book and curriculum. Victor integrates drawing with reading and creative writing, resulting in students creating visual narratives based on new vocabulary words they have researched. Kathy Odorizzi, SJRS Art Teacher, will oversee the residency. Here is a link for more information on Victor's work with schools. Education | Victor Stabin Victor was recently contacted by the International Institute for Learning, IIL, a corporate training company, about his residency work and book. IIL will be videoing Victor teaching SJRS students during the residency program. Media Release Forms will be distributed to those students who may be filmed. Victor will be at the school for two hours a week for five weeks. His first hour will be working with the eighth grade students. His second hour will be spent visiting other grades, creating artwork appropriate for the grade level.  

• Our STEM teacher, Ms. Daukshus spent many hours this summer setting up school issued Google accounts for each of our students in K-8 and all of our teachers. She also created helpful family info sheets for each of our families with their information for every program that includes login and passwords for easy reference. Thank you Ms. D!

• The school website was updated, as well as the 23-24 Family Handbook. Be sure to check the resources page for helpful information. Also, the supply lists are located on each teacher page. If you go to our faculty page of our website, click on the teacher picture and you will find the supply list for your class. Class lists will be posted at Meet the Teacher Night- but supply lists are the same for each section in each grade of double sections.

• This summer, we applied for another grant through Computer Aid, Inc. We were informed that we will be awarded a $27,939 Instructional Technology Grant for the 2023-2024 School Year that will help us advance our Instructional Technology Program at SJRS. We are so grateful to CAI for their support over the past six years!

• Our staff trainings this summer include some very important health topics. Grace Coffin, who works with the Suicide Prevention Task Force of Schuylkill County will be here with our staff for QPR Training. The Suicide Prevention Task Force of Schuylkill County offers QPR Training which stands for Question, Persuade, Refer. Three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. This training educates on how to recognize the signs and symptoms and how to get help. The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. The signs of crisis are all around us. We believe that quality education empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. QPR is the most widely taught Gatekeeper training in the world. Sadly, there were 33 suicides in Schuylkill County in 2022 which was an increase from 2021. Schuylkill County has the 4th highest suicide rate in Pennsylvania.

• Another training that will take place for our staff will be fire safety training that will be provided by Hometown Fire Company. The safety of our students/staff at SJRS are a top priority.

• Other trainings that took place this summer and that will continue this school year will be training sessions for a new K-6 Reading program that we plan to use in the 24-25 school year.

• Please be sure that your child arrives between 7:45-8:00 AM on the first day of school. Homeroom starts at 8:00 AM. Children should not be dropped off before 7:45 AM during the school year, unless they are registered for ECP. ECP will start September 5th. The main doors will not be unlocked until 7:45 am.

• All children in grades K-8 should be dropped off and enter the main entrance of the school building. Please do not park in front of the main doors. The large loop is for drop off only. Buses and cars will be arriving and leaving at that time. Parents should use the small loop in front of the main entrance if you are parking your car to come into the school for school business. We ask that all parents take their final pictures and say good-bye to their children before their children enter the building. Parents will not be walking their children into the building. Teachers and Staff will be outside directing and helping the students. 

• Students should wear the DRESS UNIFORM on the first day of school. Please also see the updates to the Dress Code for 23-24. The dress code will be strictly enforced by faculty and staff. Please make sure to read it thoroughly, there have been some changes.

• On the first two days of school, we will dismiss students in two groups. Please be patient the first few weeks of school, as the students will be learning new procedures and dismissal may take longer than expected. Parents who are picking up their children should follow the normal dismissal routines that were established last school year. For our new families, there is also a diagram that explains the arrival and dismissal routines. Buses will be using the large loop to pick up, and the buses will be loaded and dismissed first. Parent pick up will follow the buses. 

• Group 1 – Kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:00 PM at the main entrance of the school. Busing is not provided for Kindergarten students on these two days.
• Group 2 – All students in grades 1-8 will be dismissed at 2:45 PM. Buses will dismiss from the main entrance and car riders/walkers will be dismissed from main entrance.

• Be sure that your child knows how he or she is going home from school—by bus, car, etc.   It is a good idea for kindergarten and grade one students to write the mode of transportation on a card and pin it like a nametag to your child. Your child’s safety is our greatest concern. We also want each child to feel secure and confident on the first days of school. Please plan transportation ahead of time. Last minute calls to the school office are stressful for the children and the staff. Only call in the case of an emergency change.

• Parents/Guardians picking up, please remain in your cars patiently. There may be more cars in line this year, and because of this, we may have to allow the first set of cars to move and then pull a second round of cars in to walk the kids through the line a second time. Please be patient, especially in the first few weeks while we work this out. The plan may need to be altered as we troubleshoot and work through these new procedures. If we need to adjust the plan, we will make you all aware. Thank you.

• Bus schedules vary from district to district. In the past, some districts sent information directly to the parents. Others posted stops on the district website. If the schedules are sent to us, we will forward them to you as soon as they are received. Questions concerning busing must be directed to the school district. If you are having difficulty with any busing issues and you need our assistance, we will help you as best we can.  Please be sure to complete any transportation forms as soon as possible if you haven’t done so already. To download the busing forms please visit our resource page on our website. 

• Important Documents: Students will return home from the first few days of school with many important documents if you did not already pick them up at the Meet the Teacher Event. Most of these documents will need to be filled out and returned to school as soon as possible. Please remind your child to bring the documents home and to return them to their homeroom teacher completed and signed. 

• SCHOOL LUNCHES: School lunches will be available starting September 5th. Please be sure to send your child to school with a lunch, drink and a snack until that time. 

• WEBSITE: www.sjrschool.com. Please go to our website frequently to find important information on calendars, dress code, supply lists, extended care program information, etc. 

• Please be sure to set up your STS account if you are new to our school and haven't done so already.

• Spirit Wear Clothing Sale – We invite you to check out the SJRS Spirit Wear sale link at https://vas.chipply.com/sjrs/ The sale closes on August 6th at 11:59pm. We anticipate the items being completed by the first week of school.

• August 24th, 2023 from 5:00-7:00 PM – Meet the Teacher Event. The doors to the school will be open to all of our families who have students that are registered for the start of the new school year. Teachers will be available in their classrooms from 5:00-7:00 PM. They will distribute information about their individual classes and other information about the school. School administration will also be available to answer questions and point people in the right direction. The office will be open if you need to hand in any paperwork or request new paperwork.  Homeroom lists for Kindergarten, 1^st grade, 2nd Grade and 4th grade will be posted at this event. THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR WILL ALSO BE HERE at MEET THE TEACHER NGHT. Families can shop at the book fair together. HSA members will be here helping.

• I would also like to thank our Home and School Association for all of their work throughout last school year and for their continued efforts and commitment to help our school and our students. I encourage all parents to get involved with Home and School. Information will be available at the Meet the Teacher Event.  The uniform swap will also be taking place at this event. If you would like to volunteer with HSA or at our events, you will have to complete a Diocesan Protecting God’s Children Workshop. All volunteers/chaperones are required to complete this workshop. There are also other requirements for all volunteers. You can find the requirements for K-8 volunteers by clicking on the links provided. Here is the link for the HSA page.