National Walk and Roll to School Day is coming up Wednesday October 2nd! Students can walk to school, from school, or both to earn a charm! Be sure to enter through the school’s rear entrance. PTA volunteers will be outside to distribute a charm to every student who participates. If you are only able to walk home from school, after your walk contact Liz Petrella at petrella.liz@gmail.com or Beverly Weber at Bevy.lynn@gmail.com with your child’s name and homeroom teacher, and we will make sure students receive their charms. Click here for details: Walk to School Day Details

We are collecting children’s gently used or new coats of all sizes. sure that everyone stays warm this winter! Please bring in your new or gently used CLEAN coats anytime between now and October 4th.  Coats will be brought to The Howard County Multiservice Center at: 9900 Washington Blvd Suite 1 Laurel, MD 20723. There will be a box directly outside the front office where your coats can be placed. Please contact Contact Melanie Eitelman (703)795-1771 with any questions.

If you are in need of a donated coat, the event to pickup is: October 19, 10am-Noon

Location: The North Laurel Community Center:9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd. Laurel, MD 20723

The Jaguar Spirit Wear Online Store is now open! Click here to place your order. Check out our tees, hoodies, and more available in both youth and adult sizes. The deadline for orders is Sunday October, 6th. Orders will be delivered to SJLES and sent home with your student(s) in early November. Please note, items are custom, so there are no refunds, returns, or exchanges. If you have any questions please contact: SJLES.Spiritwear@gmail.com.

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!

Our first PTA meeting of the year will be held IN-PERSON on Wednesday 9/4 @ 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. Hope to see you there!

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!

It’s amazing how fast this went! We at the PTA Board are so very proud of how our school community gathered, participated, and engaged in all our activities this year. We were successful in both raising funds and raising fun! This has been a trying year for school families and so thank you so much for continuing to make the PTA a part of your family’s life.

Here’s a run down of what we did together:

• Funded PTA member teachers and staff for various classroom and student needs
• Hosted at least one fun event for students and families each month through the school year
• Funded 4 school-wide cultural arts assemblies for all students to enjoy
• Field Day treats – Snowball to all students and staff
• Free Class T-shirt to all 5th Graders, plus funds for end-of-year pool party
• Sponsored an author visit and book discussion for all students to learn about writing and authorship
• Sponsored a self-published book for Second Grade authors
• Provided meals and treats monthly for more than 100 teachers and staff members
• Supplied coffee and creamer for the staff lounge and tissues for every classroom all year long
• Gifted each staff member a fantastic SJLES umbrella
• Coordinated, set up, and staffed the Book Fair
• Coordinated and produced the yearbook
• Provided prizes for the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program to fill the Spot-O-Gram store
• Collected more than 40 coats, scarves, hats, and gloves for the coat drive

As you can see, the PTA is an important support for SJLES and the benefits to the students and staff are immensely impactful.

My child is moving on to middle school, and I’m moving along too! I’ll be the president of the Patapsco Middle School PTA so I look forward to working with many of you all again. I know the 2024-2025 PTA Board will be fantastic and look forward to working with them as well!

2024-2025 SJLES PTA Board:

• Julie Slater – President
• Christian Buzzerd – Vice President
• Claire Mathews – Treasurer
• Sarah Day – Corresponding Secretary

(If anyone is interested in learning about joining this team as another Vice President, as PTA Council of Howard County Representatives, or as Recording Secretary, reach out to SJLES.PTAmail@gmail.com)

A very special thank you to all our volunteers throughout the year, especially those who helped with year-long committees, event planning, and event management. We could not have this wonderful community without you!

Jaguar Pride!

Katie Brewer, PTA President

May 15th In Person @ 6:30

In order to vote on the next board, our next PTA meeting will be in-person in the media center on 5/15 @ 6:30. Please come join us!

PTA Board Positions Needed!

As of right now, we STILL do NOT have a PTA for next year. 

What happens if no one steps up to fill the open PTA Board positions for 2023-2024? 

There won’t be a PTA – which means no events for the kids. The PTA is the reason we have Turkey Trot, Trunk-or-Treat, Bingo Night, Multicultural Night, the Book Fair, and of course, the May Day Festival. But that’s just the beginning. The PTA also supports staff, funds enrichment activities, cultural arts assemblies, staff appreciation events, and more.

Now is the time to get involved! Please don’t assume someone else will raise their hand–we need YOU! The Election takes place at the May meeting, so time really is running out. Without a president and some other crucial committee members, our school will not have a PTA at all next year. Our open positions are:

• President
• Recording Secretary
• PTA Council of Howard County Representatives (2 positions open)

Nominations are accepted via this online form – click here to access!

The PTA’s work helps build a sense of community among SJLES families and create lasting memories for students! And surprise… Volunteering for the school in this way is so rewarding!If you have questions or want to talk it over, please reach out to our current President, Katie Brewer, at SJLES.PTAmail@gmail.com.

The famous May Day Festival will once again be held at SJLES on Saturday, May 11th, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM! EARLY BIRD prices/pre-sales will be available until Friday, April 26 and can be done with Order forms sent home or online at the PTA store via our PTA online store. 

The reason May Day runs smoothly every year is because we are lucky to have great volunteers! We need your help to make May Day run smoothly! Choose a time slot to help with the games, prize tables, and silent auction. Click here to sign up. Thank you!

We are also looking for Bake Sale volunteers and Items for Loan. We need 10 more canopies to make May Day work!  Thank you!

Please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator, Jane Fisher, with any questions at SJLES.volunteer@gmail.com.

The Spirit Wear store is open for a quick sale! This is your last chance to get Spirit Wear this year, and the store will only be open through 4/28.  Orders will be delivered around mid-May.

Buy Spirit Wear Here