Mark your calendar! SJLES PTA is hosting their first Restaurant Night of the 23-24 school year at Zen Garden on Thursday, September 28. Mention SJLES PTA for all online, phone, and dine in orders and 10% of your total will be donated to support our school!

The PTA Council of Howard County (PTACHC) hosts monthly General Meetings as an opportunity for local PTA delegates to present ideas, debate issues, become better informed and vote on PTACHC business. At each meeting, SJLES will be represented by one of our delegates, Sarah Sherry or Seba Kurian, who will share our collective voice and bring back information to share with our community. 

Notable updates from the first PTACHC General Meeting (Aug 28) are as follows:

• The Maryland State Legislative Delegates will be in attendance at the PTACHC General Meeting on Monday, Oct. 2 for their annual visit to listen to and understand the priorities of the PTA. What feedback, questions, and concerns do you want our state lawmakers to know? Please share your input to the Google Form by Friday, Sept. 29, so we can make sure the voice of SJLES is heard.
• The Howard County General Plan – a document that guides land use, growth and development decisions in Howard County and is only updated once every ten years – is in its final review. The last Public Hearing on this document is being held on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7PM – this is the last opportunity to provide input. For more information, visit HoCobyDesign.com.
• For more information on PTACHC business, including monthly meeting notes and legislation, please visit https://www.ptachc.org/.

SJLES is a strong voice in our community because we have informed parents who can impact decisions and policies which will affect our children. USE YOUR VOICE TODAY to make a difference on these and other issues that shape the future of our county! If you have general opinions and input you would like shared to the PTACHC or Maryland’s State Delegates, please share it with us through the Google Form, here.

Do you have a first grader interested in joining a Girl Scout’s Daisy Troop? If so, please email katie.e.shutt@gmail.com for more information.

Our first PTA meeting of the year will be held IN-PERSON on Wednesday 9/6 @ 6:30 PM in the school’s Media Center!

Pop in to meet this year’s Board and see what we have in store for this year! If you’ve never attended a PTA meeting before, this is a great way to get a look inside what’s going on SJLES and connect with other parents. Principal Dan Notari or Assistant Principal Erin Coleman will speak at every meeting and answer questions. Hope to see you there!

We look forward to seeing you at our first school-wide event, the Back to School Picnic! There is no cost to attend and all are invited! Bring your own picnic dinner and we’ll provide the musical entertainment!

Welcome to a new school year (almost)! Every week you’ll receive an email from the PTA with updates on how you and your Jaguars can get involved at SJLES this year. The PTA is a nonprofit organization run by parent volunteers. The goal of everything we do is to help support SJLES teachers and staff, provide fun and enriching experiences for the kids, and to build a sense of community among parents. Becoming a member of the PTA means that you are donating to help enhance the school experience for all of the students. There is never any obligation to volunteer!

The PTA funds school-wide assemblies, family fun events, teacher appreciation activities, teacher-requested classroom supplies, and so much more. Without a PTA these events would not be possible.  Visit our online Membership site to make your tax-deductible donation. 

All membership dues and donations go directly into funding school-wide assemblies, family fun events, teacher appreciation activities, and to buy items needed by the teachers for their classrooms.Thank you so much – your support makes it all happen!

If you are ready to dive in to help, there are two immediate opportunities:

• If you’d like to help plan and coordinate a fun activity/event for our Jaguars, you can sign up to join an event committee here: Committee Sign UP 2023-2024. You can learn more about these events and what is involved in organizing here: Event Program Planning Guides.

*Important Reminder for Volunteer Requirements

All volunteers must complete a Confidentiality Training Course about protecting the privacy of our students, staff, and schools, and the Child Abuse and Neglect Training about reporting any suspicion of child abuse or neglect to Howard County Department of Social Services. Once you complete the courses, which take 10 or so minutes, please print out the certificates and give them to the front office prior to your volunteer shift. These need to be completed every year, before any volunteer shift at SJLES.

See a getting started FAQ here

Or navigate by going to About -> New to SJLES

Hello SJLES Community, 

The PTA Staff Appreciation Committee will be hosting a Back-to-School Breakfast for the amazing SJLES staff on Thursday, August 17, and we are looking for some items to be donated. If you would like to contribute, please use this link to sign up for items: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0949adae2ca02-back#/

Can’t donate any of these items but still want to help? You can also make a monetary donation which will go to support our many Staff Appreciation efforts throughout the year. To make a monetary donation, please visit: https://sjles.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true&category=Donations

Please follow this Link to complete the Donation Form to accompany your item donation. This form will allow us to issue you a receipt for your tax purposes. You can submit this Donation Form directly with your donation or via email to the PTA VP of Finance and Compliance, at sjlesptavp1@gmail.com. 

Thank you for helping support the PTA and the SJLES Staff!

–SJLES PTA