From the Principal’s Desk...

Click here for information on the Family Connect Bible.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Cross Curricular is upon us!  The cardboard and paint are flying!  For those veteran parents, I hope you are looking forward to another exciting event and for our new parents, get ready for a fun-filled day!  Our theme this year, The Olympics, has proven to provide a lot of learning experiences!  Look for the flyer on page seven that shows which countries each grade is sponsoring.  Our cross curricular event is, as we say, better than a science fair, since it incorporates all the subject areas!  And did you know St. John’s is the only school in the Archdiocese that hosts such an event?  So make sure your calendar is marked with that date: January 29th!

Knowing that St. John’s has such a unique experience provides us with a wonderful opportunity to market our school!  Coinciding with our Cross Curricular event, we are hosting our Open House which will Kick-Off for our new Strategic Marketing Plan.  The Archdiocese has recently engaged all Catholic schools in creating a marketing plan to help increase enrollment in our Catholic school system.  St. John’s first step is to create more advertising opportunities for our school and as we know – parents are our best PR!  Therefore, every family has received a car magnet in their Brown Envelope today to help with our marketing plan.  Additionally, we have yard signs if you would be willing to put them up in your yard, just ask for one!  And two new banners will be hung out on Old Branch Avenue.

At our School Advisory Board and Home and School Board Meeting, we discussed what really made our children stand out, what makes them so special.  As we talked about the mission of the school and creating citizen-disciples of Jesus Christ, our tag line
“Best-Behaved Students in Town”
came to light.  Truly no matter where we go, our children always receive compliments on their behavior!  Therefore, we have made this a part of our new marketing materials.  The children were really excited to see us brag about them on the signs!

Additionally, to help us with our planning, you will receive a link in your Friday email to participate in a survey.  This survey only has 3 questions, so we are asking that you take at most 3 minutes to respond!  Your response will help guide our schools future.  I look forward to sharing our comprehensive plan with you at our next Home and School Meeting on February 10th at 7:00pm.  And our special guest that night will be our very own Superintendent of the Archdiocese, Deacon Bert L’Homme.

As we gear up for The Olympics followed by our week long celebration of Catholic School Week, I am looking forward to celebrating our children with family and friends.   Truly it is the community spirit which makes St. John’s so special at the end of the day and I am blessed to be able to be part of it.

Sincerely in Peace,

Susan G. Scott,

Principal

St. John the Evangelist School
Philosophy

Drawing from the inspiration and strength of the Good News of Jesus Christ, St. John the Evangelist school strives to make palpable the educational mission of the Church through teaching, community building and service.  Imbued with the Gospel message of its patron, St. John the Evangelist and beloved disciple of Jesus, we, the members of St. John’s School, form a community so “all may be one” in the Body of Christ.  As a faith-filled people rooted in this common vision, the members seek to make a lasting and deeply spiritual effect on the lives of their young people who will live the Gospel message into the next millennium.  “God is Love, and all who live in Love live in God and God in them.” 1John: 16

In partnership with parents, the faculty model Jesus who is the “ever present Teacher in their classes.” Addressing the needs of the whole child, teachers employ methodologies and consider learning styles for effective developmentally appropriate teaching that addresses the social, intellectual. Emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the child.  Within the guidelines of the proposed curriculum of the Archdiocese of Washington, the school is concerned with constant and careful attention to cultivating in students the intellectual, creative and aesthetic faculties of the human person.  Promoting in them a sense of values, it is desired that children will develop an ability to make good choices that can influence them in becoming knowledgeable. responsible, caring citizen-disciplines of the world.  In effect, the Catholic environment of the school imparts a spirit of trust and cooperation where the inherent dignity of the student as a child of God is recognized and honored.

Parents are the primary educators of their children.  In order to fulfill the high ideals of the school, it is necessary that both home and school endeavors to cooperate and act as one.  When a clear understanding and agreement exist between home and school, when policies and regulations are mutually respected, there develops in the child’s mind a sense of security, which is the basis of all natural and supernatural growth.  The most pervasive and lasting moral teaching adult convey is by example.

With a single-mindedness of purpose in the living out of Jesus’ way of love, all those who make up the community of St. John the Evangelist School hold sacred the invitation to “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.”  Mark 3:5  In essence the students, faculty, staff, parents, priest and parishioners aspire to a relationship that gives witness to Gospel values, which ultimately affects school, parish, neighborhoods, and the world for generations to come.