Message From the Principal

Dear Saint Jerome Regional School Family,

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year!

Whether you are returning to Saint Jerome Regional School or joining our school community for the first time, we are delighted to welcome you. We hope you have enjoyed a restful summer and are excited to begin another year of faith, learning, and growth together.

Our faculty and staff have been hard at work preparing classrooms, planning engaging learning experiences, and ensuring that everything is ready for a successful start to the school year. We are grateful for the continued support of our families and are proud to welcome both new and returning students to our SJRS family. We have all worked diligently to share the wonderful aspects of Saint Jerome Regional School, and a strong enrollment helps secure our future. Your commitment to our mission continues to strengthen our school community and helps ensure a bright future for Saint Jerome Regional School.

As we begin this new academic year, we look forward to celebrating our Catholic faith, pursuing academic excellence, and creating meaningful opportunities for every student to grow spiritually, intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

This newsletter contains important information to help your family prepare for the start of school. Please take a few moments to review it carefully and keep it available for future reference throughout the year.

We are excited to partner with you and look forward to a wonderful 2026–2027 school year. Together, let's make it a year filled with learning, faith, service, and success!

NEW STAFF: We have a few new staff members to introduce to everyone this year. 

• Mrs. Karen Oliva is our new building substitute teacher.
• Mrs. Kailee Kelly is our new 2nd Grade Teacher.
• Ms. Roxanne Harvilla is now part of our cafeteria staff.

 Homeroom Teacher and Specials Teacher Announcements:

• Preschool-Mrs. Mohammed and Mrs. O'Grodnick
• Kindergarten (Mrs. Kopp and Mrs. Cressley/Mrs. Oliva)
• 1st grade has two sections (Mrs. Sheer and Mrs. Green)
• 2nd Grade has two sections (Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Kelly)
• 3rd Grade- (Mrs. Gulla)
• 4th Grade- (Mrs. Metters)
• 5th Grade has two homerooms- (Mrs Giannelli and Mrs. Krajcirik)
• 6th Grade homeroom- (Ms. Bachert)
• 7th Grade has two homerooms- Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Fitzpatrick
• 8th Grade homeroom- Mrs. Lutz
• Physical Education- Mr. Campomizzi
• STEM- Ms. Daukshus
• Art- Mrs. Odorizzi and Mrs. O'Grodnick
• Music- Mr. Cressley

 OUR SUPPORTING PARISHES AND PASTORS:

• St. Joseph of Panther Valley Parish- Father Thomas Osei Gyau
• All Saints Parish, McAdoo- Father Barnabas Shayo
• St. John XXIII Parish, Tamaqua
• St. Richard's Parish, Barnesville- Father Robert Finlan
• SS. Peter & Paul Parish, Lehighton- Father Philip Maas
• 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

EDUCATIONAL and School Grounds ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• 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.

• 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 26-27 Family Handbook. Be sure to check the family resources page for helpful information. Also, the supply lists are located on our webpage. If you go to our website, click on student life and you will find the supply list for each class under that tab. 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.

• Our staff trainings this summer include some very important topics such as: Pediatric CPR First Aid AED Training, Fire safety, and emergency Plan training.

• We are excited to share that we had some kitchen upgrades this summer at Saint Jerome Regional School and they have been successfully completed! We replaced our two ovens, cafeteria refrigerator, milk cooler and added some new cafeteria office shelves. While our students were enjoying their summer break, we were busy making improvements!

FIRST DAY ARRIVAL PROCEDURES: 

• 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. 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 Dress Code for 26-27. The dress code will be strictly enforced by faculty and staff. Please make sure to read it thoroughly.

DISMISSAL PROCEDURES: 

• 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 TRANSPORTATION:

• 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. 

 OTHER Announcements: 

• 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 8th. 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, etc. 

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

IMPORTANT DATES: 

• August 19th, 2026 from 5:00-7:00 PM – Meet the Teacher Event. (Preschool only is August 19th from 4:00-5:00) 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 1st grade, 2nd Grade, 5th and 7th grade will be posted at this event.



• We 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 this link. This changes from time to time with Diocesan updates. Please note that you may be asked to complete additional requirements each year. Here is the link for the HSA page.

Thank you for being a part of the SJRS Family and thank you for all the sacrifices you make to send your child to this school. We wholeheartedly believe that, as our mission statement reflects: Our base is family, our mission is faith, and our future rests in the courage to leave behind a legacy. It is truly a privilege to be part of a community where parents, teachers, and students care for each other and help each other to live fearlessly through faith. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and we will see you on August 26th. Let’s make it a great year at SJRS! If you have any questions about anything, do not hesitate to call our school office. We will be happy to help you!  

God bless you and your families!

Mrs. Amy M. Hannis-Miskar, Principal