NOTES FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents,
We had a fabulous 1st week of school! Thanks to our PTO our students entered our school gates in style. Father James and I enjoyed greeting each student and their parents as they walked down the red carpet. What a wonderful way to start our school year and celebrate our 20th Anniversary! We hope you will all join us tomorrow (Saturday) from 5:00 - 7:00 PM for our Back to School BBQ hosted by our PTO, Dads’ Club, St. Benedict, and the Fr. Bob Binta Knights of Columbus. Food, music, games and dunk tank entertainment will be provided for all to enjoy. This event will be held outside in our courtyard and MPR.
Our annual Curriculum Night is this Wednesday, August 18 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM starting with prayer and introductions in the Multi-Purpose Room (MPR). You will then proceed to your child’s classroom to hear a brief teacher presentation regarding the curriculum and their daily routine.
For parents of preschool through sixth-grade students, there will be two 20-minute sessions: the first session is 6:30 - 6:50 PM; the second session is 6:55 - 7:15 PM. The Junior High (seventh and eighth grades) session will be held in the MPR from 6:55 - 7:20 PM. Please remember that this is a parents-only evening.
Teachers of enrichment programs or “specials” (STEM, Music, Library, Spanish, Art Masterpiece, P.E., Resource) will be available in the library from 6:30 - 7:30 PM to answer questions and provide information about their impressive curriculums.
I am also happy to announce our new music teacher Luis Rodriguez. Luis holds a doctorate in musical arts and has 15 years of experience teaching choir and music to children of all ages. We are thrilled to have Dr. Rodriguez join our SJB faculty!
Click below for an UPDATED video message:
Welcome back!
Jamie Bescak, Principal
Do everything in love.
SCHOOL NEWS
Nurse’s Notes
30-Day SJB Safety Plan
In light of the upward trend with COVID-19, we have made the decision to implement a 30-day enhanced safety plan for all students and adults on campus beginning Monday, August 16th.
Recently the Maricopa County Health Department reported that in K - 12 school settings, a student who is within 3 - 6 feet of an infected student is not considered a close contact if both students are correctly and consistently wearing a well-fitting mask at all times. We have also learned that many schools in our area reported COVID outbreaks and are being forced to close grade levels and/or their entire campus. WE WANT TO AVOID THIS!
- Please ensure your child brings at least 2 masks to school every day.
- During this period, students and adults are expected to wear a mask while indoors.
- If your child is unable to wear a mask for medical reasons, please send a
doctor's note to me and your child will be allowed to wear a face
shield instead of a mask. - Masks are not necessary when outdoors, engaging in physical activity, eating, or drinking.
- Students are NOT expected to wear a mask all day.
- Students may ask for a “mask break” at any time.
- We will review this information again with all of you on September 16th which will allow us to collect data from the Labor Day holiday period.
Please remember: Our main goal is to keep the children safe and in school. Thank you for your support!
Jean Pelrine, RN
School Nurse
Save the Dates!
Mark your calendars for important back-to-school events:
Saturday, August 14, 5 - 7 PM - Welcome Back BBQ and Open House
Wednesday, August 18, 6:00 - 7:30 PM - Curriculum Night
Sunday, August 29, 2 - 4pm - TopGolf Family Event
Student Council 2021-2022
President - Sophia Bartoszek
Vice President - Brennan Wiscombe
Secretary - Noah Forseth
Treasurer - Rohit Thomas Arockiam
Spirit Commissioner - Logan Hess
Sports Commissioner - Chase Ries
Our new Student Council members were privileged to receive a blessing from Fr. James at our first school Mass of the new academic year.
The Word Is Out!
With our expanding enrollment comes the opportunity to hire additional staff. Please welcome Maryola Fabilena and Becky Evans-Keesler to Team Bosco’s Preschool as Instructional Assistants, Seth Tyler to our ESP staff, and Luis Rodriguez to our faculty. We are blessed with their talents.
Dine to donate to SJB! Head to Chipotle at 4111 E Chandler Blvd in Phoenix for dinner on Wednesday, August 18 from 4 - 8 pm. Just mention St. John Bosco or St. Benedict at checkout and they'll donate 33% of the proceeds to our school! Ordering with the Chipotle app? Use promo code N4CP4RT.
Thank You from the Heart
The PTO would like to give a big thanks to Heart Yard Signs for setting up the festive “Welcome Back SJB” yard sign. It was a perfect touch to welcome back our students, staff and community. Follow Heart Yard Signs on Facebook @heartyardsigns and on Instagram and tag Heart Yard Signs on all your back to school photos!
SJB Spirit Day at TopGolf
Calling All Bosco Families!
Please join us for our 20th Anniversary Bosco Family Spirit Day at TopGolf in Gilbert on Sunday August 29th from 2 - 4pm.
Families will enjoy 2 hours of exciting Top Golf hitting and fun with prizes, competition events, and giveaways. Come mingle with Bosco families new and old and help support our awesome school!
Only $20 per person or no more than $60 max per family. Half of all entry fees go directly back to St. John Bosco to help with technology and facility upgrades for our students.
If you are a business owner or just want to support as a family, we have Sponsorship opportunities to sponsor a hitting bay and bring whatever swag you would like for participating families.
Safe Environment Training (SET)
We are positively thrilled to welcome parents and volunteers back on campus! Please remember that all staff, priests, deacons, and volunteers must renew (on or after July 1, 2021) Safe Environment Training (SET) before visiting campus.
To start the certification process, simply go to www.cmgconnect.org. For returning users, your "username" should be your first name, followed by a period, then your last name, followed by a period, then DOP. Then enter your password.
Username Example: first.last.dop
Once you've logged in (or created a new account for brand new users), your certification requirement will be waiting for you on the main dashboard. You may start the curriculum and will be guided through each section. The Diocese also requires a background check, so please complete that section, if requested.
If you can't remember your username and/or password, PLEASE DO NOT CREATE A NEW USERNAME. Rather, text Debbie Smith at 480-529-4828 to retrieve your login information.
Fall Sports
CYAA fall sports are starting soon! All 5th - 8th grade students may participate. Sports include flag football (boys), volleyball (girls) and cross country (co-ed). Click here for sports registration forms: https://www.sjbosco.org/uploads/docs/sportspacket.pdf. All students must complete registration and turn in by August 23. Please email Mr. Caradonna with any questions.
Volunteers Needed
Please contact Amy Molina if you have time to spare Art Masterpiece this school year. This is a great opportunity for parents and grandparents to volunteer in their child’s classroom. Absolutely no experience necessary!
Volunteer Opportunity
Please contact Amy Molina if you are interested in volunteering with Art Masterpiece this school year. This is a great opportunity for parents and grandparents to volunteer in their child’s classroom. Absolutely no experience necessary!
Start the school year off by stocking up on Scrip cards! Scrip Shop window hours have changed for the new school year. We are open on Monday mornings 7:30 - 8:15 am or Friday afternoons 12:00 - 12:45 pm. Of course, you may email anytime with orders or questions! sjbscrip@sjbosco.org
As mentioned in the previous Bulldog Bite, in order to avoid high credit card fees, only cash or check will be accepted at the window going forward. Thank you for helping us be good stewards of your money.
St. John Bosco Catholic School Scrip Office
(480) 219-4848 x5108
Lego Robotics
The SJB Robotics Team is looking for new members in Grades 5 - 8. This fall we will work as a team of up to 10 students to compete in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Challenge. Teams build and program a robot to complete tasks as well as research and present a solution to a real world problem. No programming knowledge is required; FLL is about learning in a fun and cooperative team environment. Please contact Dave Forseth, if interested. For more details, see our flyer.
LEGO bRiCKS4Kidz
SJB Lego lovers in K - 5th Grade will have their own club! Text Don Kretsch @ 480.717.7573 for more details or visit www.bricks4kidz.com/arizona-phoenix-eastvalley
Chess Club
Want to learn how to play chess? Want to get better? See this flyer for more information or email kids@chessemporium.com.
Grandparents Circle
Hello grandparents of St. John Bosco! As grandparents we have a vital role in our grandchildren’s well-being. As such, we invite grandparents of St. John Bosco to support our grandchildren and promote our Catholic School. We do this by praying a monthly rosary together, supporting our teachers and school events, and volunteering at school functions when needed.
We invite all grandparents of St. John Bosco to email Peggy Keane or call (949) 433-0648 or Cindy Barone (716) 440-1852 so we can add you to our list for upcoming events.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
ALL school families should receive an emailed Bulldog Bite in their mailbox each Friday. To make sure it doesn’t land in your spam folder, PLEASE ...
- Add mail@flocknote.com to your contact list/address book to show your provider that Flocknote is a safe sender.
- Teach your computer. If you see the Bulldog Bite in your spam folder, move/drag it into your main inbox. This teaches your computer that it’s not junk and will deliver it to your inbox going forward.
The weekly Bulldog Bite is our primary method of disseminating important school-related information that you need to know.
Declutter and Help St. Benedict Parish
If your spring cleaning is way overdue, St. Benedict Parish will gladly take your no-longer-needed items for their donation drive. Bring your items to the Goodwill Store on 32nd St. & Chandler Blvd. Saturday, August 21, 10am - 2pm. Bring this flyer (or mention St. Benedict) to effortlessly contribute to St. Benedict Parish and declutter your home and yard at the same time. See two flyers linked below for more details.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Stay up to date on classroom happenings by following us on Instagram @sjbbulldogs or Facebook@stjohnboscocatholicschool. We also encourage families to tag SJB on any photos or videos they post of their child(ren) from their personal social media accounts.
Until Monday ...
Below are helpful links to information:
School Website: https://sjbosco.org/
School Calendar: https://sjbosco.org/calendar
Faculty & Staff Contacts: https://sjbosco.org/faculty-staff
School Lunch Program: https://sjbosco.org/school-lunch
Parish Website: https://stbenedict.org/
The Bulldog Bite: Teri Pistacchio Aguiar, editor
