Ready for the Groundhog?

Dear Saint John's Families,

We ended January with a memorable Catholic Schools Week (CSW). The students did an excellent job at Sunday mass and all the activities following the service, including the Third-Grade Wax Museum. On Monday, the teachers had a spiritual retreat away from school with prayer and guest speakers. On Tuesday, John Kriesel provided an excellent speech on overcoming obstacles in life. On Wednesday, we had fun at the huge turnout for our community skating and hockey game. ('Of course,’ the parents let the students win!)  As promised, I will be purchasing pizza for the entire school to celebrate the students defeating the parents. We closed the week with our annual staff vs students volleyball/basketball game. To cap it all off, we challenged ourselves with a couple of service projects.  One project was collecting items to make Birthdays in a Box for the food shelf.  We collected enough items to compile 65 full Birthday Boxes to help people visiting the food shelf celebrate their birthday. The free dress days displayed student creativity and school spirit! I know the staff and students had fun, and we still had a full week learning. Thank you to all parents for your support and visiting the book fair and the CSW committee for putting together the activity schedule. Please visit our Facebook page to see pictures from the week. 
 
We are now past the half-way mark of the school year, and I am happy to say we have done this together - in person! I cannot believe it is already February! February will be a short but busy month here at Saint John’s. (Brace yourself, on Wednesday, the all-knowing Punxsutawney Phil will pop out of his burrow and let us know if we are going to have an early spring or six more weeks of winter.  As Minnesotans we know we are experiencing the coldest days of the winter, but that does not keep us from thinking about warm spring days.)
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K-8 Parent Conferences: (Preschool Conferences will be held in Spring). 
K-8 parent-teacher spring conferences will be on February 10 and 15 in the school gym. Preschool conferences will be held later in the spring.  The conferences are an opportunity for you to speak with your child’s teacher about their academic progress.  Do not miss this important opportunity to discuss your child’s overall performance and learn how you can assist your child at home. See links below for sign ups.  
Thursday, February 10
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e084ba4a923a7fb6-saint19

Tuesday, February 15
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E084BA4A923A7FB6-saint20
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TADS:
Tax season is here. Tuition and Eagle Club payment reports can be pulled directly from TADS. Here are the instructions:
1.       Log into your account at  https://secure.tads.com
2.       Click on the Billing tab
3.       On the left side of the screen, click on the "Household Paid Tuition Tax Report" link
4.       Enter the proper tax year and click "submit"
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SAINT JOHN’S FINANCIAL AID for grades K-8, applications are due by March 15, 2022.
Now is the time to apply for financial aid for next school year.  The committee will begin to consider applications as of February 14.  Completing your application early will ensure you are considered for the most aid we can offer to you based on your application results.  Please click,  Here  for information on financial aid.  When you are ready to apply for financial aid for grades K-8, you will find the application in your TADS account.  Please note, you are required to apply for AIM Higher to qualify for Financial Aid.  Your Financial Aid application must be in good standing in TADS before the committee will consider any aid for your family.  This often takes a number of steps and following up with TADS to ensure everything gets processed, so it is imperative you stay on top of the process until you are in GOOD standing.  Please reach out to Kathy LaCasse with any questions you may have  [email protected] .  
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Aim Higher Foundation – extended application deadline to March 1, 2022. 
More Scholarships. More Students. Stronger Schools.

Aim Higher has offered generous scholarships to many of our families.  If you would like to apply for a scholarship for your family, applications are now open for the 2022-2023 school year. Find out more information on  aimhigherfoundation.org  and/or  you  can submit your tuition assistance application at  mytads.com  as per other years
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WE STILL HAVE OPENINGS: RECESS HELP and EARN $50!
We are looking for more volunteers. Please consider signing up for a limited-commitment playground-monitor opportunity! For anyone who signs up for five (5) playground shifts using  this Sign Up Genius HERE , we will provide $50! Or if you're feeling generous, sign up for as many shifts as you like, pro bono. We have such a special place in our hearts for our generous volunteers. Volunteers do need to be Virtus trained, which is a simple 3-step process; click here for more information. In addition, every month we will offer a "recess training session," where volunteers can get hands-on training on the ins and outs of our playground set up and rules. Recess occurs rain or shine, but does move indoors on days of inclement weather.
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FEBRUARY Calendar:
Feb 1: School Advisory Board Meeting, 5:00 p.m. School Library
Feb 4: School Spirit Day wear-Spirit wear sale HERE
Feb 4:  Middle School Dance
Feb 10: K-8 parent conferences
Feb 15: K-8 parent conferences
Feb 21: No School, President's Day (Eagle Club closed)
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February: Peace of Mind, PARENT SESSION:
"Stress, Anxiety, Perfectionism and Motivation" — February 16, 7 p.m.
Stress and anxiety are more prevalent in the lives of school-aged children than ever before. How does perfectionism play into our children’s stress and anxiety? How can we teach motivation without feeding perfectionism? This session will address behavioral and biological factors that influence the development of anxiety and perfectionistic tendencies. You will leave with concrete parenting strategies to combat stress, anxiety and perfectionism, and learn how to foster self-motivation in children .
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.   
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ADORATION AT SAINT JOHN’S:
Saint John’s invites you to support your students, teachers and staff in a unique and fulfilling way; by praying for them during Eucharistic Adoration.
What is Eucharistic Adoration?
Eucharistic Adoration is time spent in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament giving praise and thanks – in silence. During Adoration, the Eucharistic host is exposed, and participants have a conversation with Jesus, pray the rosary or reflect on Scripture or other spiritual reading. As with any form of prayer, Adoration directs us inward, to the joy of a deeper relationship with God, and outward, to a more selfless love of others. Pope Francis said, "Jesus speaks in the silence of the mystery of the Eucharist."
The Adoration Schedule:
Eucharistic Adoration is offered in the church from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. each Friday that school is in session.
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We are proud of our school and look forward to more exciting things to come our way!  Check out the great that is happening daily on our school  website  and follow us on  Facebook . Tell a friend about Saint John’s School!

Dan J. Hurley, Principal