Dear SJBS Community,

Happy November!  In church on Monday to join the 7th grade class as they sponsored the All Saints Day Mass for the school community, I spent some time just looking at the many pictures on display of departed family members and friends of parishioners.  Each of us has images in our own hearts of those we have loved who now reside with our merciful God, in our own memories, and even in our own personalities and characters.  During this week when we have celebrated the Feast of All Souls, we pray in gratitude for the departed loved ones who have helped to form our lives in so many ways.

Here are some items and updates for this week.  I thank you in advance for your patience in reading through everything:

1. COVID Vaccine Is Now Available for Children Ages 5-11:  The CDC has recommended the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11.  Appointments for vaccination are now available for children in this age group. Information on vaccination can be found here.

2. Onsite Testing Registration:  Families who registered with the school for onsite testing should now have received a registration link for COVID Testing Today, the company who will be administering the weekly tests.  If you have any difficulties in completing the registration with the company, please either call or contact CTT directly or reach out to Mrs. Knox or me.  We will do our best to get answers to you as promptly as possible.

One issue that has occurred for some families registering with CTT is that the date option was either November 1 or "//." This should have been corrected to reflect the official start date of November 15 (now the only option on the registration form). If you stopped the registration process because of the confusing date, restart it and it now should show November 15, the correct date.  This will roll over from week to week -- you will only need to register one time.  

In the office, we will be comparing the school registration list with the registration list that we receive from CTT to make sure that every family who opts in is correctly registered.  If we find any discrepancies we will reach out to the family or families to make sure that they have completed their registration.  If your family is opting in for testing, please make sure that your students know that they will be doing their first COVID test on Monday, November 15 and that the tests will be weekly.  We don't want any students to be surprised on that day when they are called out of class to be tested.

I will share more information during the next couple of weeks.

3. Knights of Columbus Thanksgiving Food Drive and Help for Veterans:  SJBS is currently running a Thanksgiving Food Drive in support of the St. John Knights of Columbus.  We are encouraging every family to please consider donating canned goods, frozen turkeys, or a monetary donation. The food drive runs from November 2 through 15, 2021.  Please see the flyer and other information linked here.

On November 5 and 6, the Knights of Columbus will also be sponsoring a collection in support of veterans who are in need.  Mrs. Cathy Nakagami has shared this information and a link to it is HERE.  Thank you for any help that your family can give.

4. Updating Volunteer Requirements:  My thanks to all volunteers who have been trying to meet all requirements  of the school and the Diocese.  I shared a "checklist" of these requirements back in September, and this has been updated with three new items:

• For all volunteers:  

• An updated Volunteer Activity Waiver Form.  If you already filled out a waiver form earlier this school year, that is sufficient, but if you have not, please complete and submit this to the office by the end of Monday, November 8.
• Please read the Diocesan Adult Code of Conduct.  Sign the acknowledgement at the bottom of the document and email/submit it to Mrs. Knox by the end of Monday, November 8.

• For "essential" volunteers (those who work with students on a consistent basis, such as yard duty or coaches):

• TB Test and/or TB Risk Assessment: must do either a TB test or a TB risk assessment with a Certificate of Completion signed by a health provider. A TB test may be required depending on the results of the risk assessment.  The link to the assessment, certificate, and information is provided here.

Once again, many thanks to everyone who is taking the time to fulfill these Diocesan volunteer requirements and, especially, for all the ways in which you are volunteering to help the school community. 

5. SJB Parish Blood Drive: The St. John's Ladies Guild is sponsoring a Blood Drive on Sunday, November 7th.  If you would like to donate blood, please register at: sbcdonor.org.  See the flyer attached below for details.

6. New Family Referral Program and Upcoming Open Houses: SJBS will continue with the New Family Referral Program that was introduced last year.  Information and link to the referral form are attached to this post.  Current dates for virtual Open Houses for prospective families are as follows:

• NOVEMBER 10, 2021 WEDNESDAY 6:30-7:30 PM
• DECEMBER 1, 2021 WEDNESDAY 6:30-7:30 PM
• FEBRUARY 5, 2022  SATURDAY 2022 1:00–2:00 PM
• MARCH 10, 2022 THURSDAY 6:30-7:30 PM
• APRIL 7, 2022 THURSDAY 6:30-7:30 PM