5/16/25 PA Meeting

PA Co-Chairs past, present and future

 

Thank you to those who joined our May Parent Association meeting. As a community, we celebrated and thanked Rachael Groark for her two years serving as PA Co-Chair. She has done so much for the St. John community in this role and many others within our school and church community. This was our last meeting for the 2024-2025 school year. See you in September!

See the summary of what was discussed during our meeting below.

 

Parent Ed Events

  • Mark your calendars for the remaining ParentEd Talks and register for these virtual events using promo code: STJCATHSCH
    • From Conflict to Connection: The Hidden Forces Harming Your Marriage with Dené Logan.
    • Nurturing Resilience: Essential Coping Skills for Kids with Janine Halloran.
    • In case you missed it…Check out a recording of the event earlier this month
      • Let Go and Let Grow: Raising Confident, Independent Children with Lenore Skenazy. Details here.
    • Wine Down: Last month, we held a community event to discuss the technology-related ParentMap ParentEd Talks.
      • Thank you to those who were able to attend. During the event, we connected in person as a school community and had some great, focused discussions. Thank you to our Admin team for leading us through this important parenting topic.
      • Next year, look for more ParentEd Talks from ParentMap. We will also offer more community events to encourage discussions among St. John parents.

 

Last Day of School Plan – Friday, June 13

  • Popsicles: We will have popsicles on the blacktop immediately following the release from school at 10:30am.
  • Grade-Level Gatherings: PA Reps, please decide if you will coordinate a gathering for your grade on the last day of school. If you choose to coordinate something, please communicate the plan to everyone. We have also found it helpful to include a simple GoogleSheet to help parents coordinate carpools. If you choose not to coordinate a gathering, please communicate that as well.

 

2025 Auction Update: Thank you for all your support of the Auction and to the Auction planning team led by Lauren and Andrew Exnicios.

  • Skipping School for Sundaes will take place on Tuesday, May 20 during lunchtime. All students will enjoy Nutty Squirrel gelato cups with toppings.
  • Next year’s Auction Co-Chairs will be Ainslie Wagner and Courtney Blair. Thank you for taking on this important effort. Looking forward to another great Auction in 2026.

 

PA Roles for 2025/2026 School Year

Our PA leadership team is shaping up for next year. Maile Sullivan will continue in her role and Stephanie Glassburn will join her as our new PA Co-Chair team. We are also happy to have the following positions filled:

  • Communications Lead: Ciara Byars
  • Hospitality Co–Leads: Aleah Valley and Liz Le Johnson (both returning)
  • Garden Co-Leads: Megan Richards and Kate DeMotts (both returning)
  • Welcome Committee Co-Leads: Jean Magbitang (returning)
  • Auction Co–Chairs: Ainslie Wagner and Courtney Blair
  • We are still looking to fill the following positions. If you are interested, please reach out to Parent_Association@st-johnschool.org. We’d love to have you join the team!
    • Web and Graphics Support: Maintain the Parent Association website and create graphics for PA-led events and web content. WordPress and Canva skills helpful but not required.
    • ParentMap Parent Education Liaison: Coordinate parent education events with ParentMap as main point of contact and consolidate event resources.
    • Volunteer Lead: Point person for volunteer opportunities (not responsible for filling all volunteer needs), create PA event SignUpGenius forms, and implement the current volunteer handbook as needed.
    • PA Grade-Level Roles including Room Parents, PA Reps, Hospitality Chairs, and Auction Liaisons. (Note: Sign-ups will be available for these roles once class assignments are published in August.)

 

PA is beginning to plan the Back to School BBQ that will take place on Friday, September 5.

  • We will have our first meeting before the end of school and then meet once a month over the summer. We would love to have help to plan this fun community event. If you are interested in joining the planning committee, please reach out to Parent_Association@st-johnschool.org.

 

Hospitality Update: Thank you for all your efforts to appreciate our teachers. We received positive feedback from the teachers on the monthly luncheons. If you have feedback for the Hospitality Co-Leads, please reach out to Aleah Valley at ajpur10@hotmail.com or Liz Le Johnson at thelejohnsons@gmail.com.

 

Welcome Committee Updates

  • The Welcome Committee will host the PreK and K Welcome Happy Hour this Thursday, May 22, 5:30-7pm.
    • John “pro families” (that’s you because you’ve been here and know the community) are encouraged to come and welcome our new families.
    • RSVP here.
  • Summer Play Dates will also return this summer as we welcome new families to our community. Click here for details and to sign up. New and pro families welcome.
    • Saturday, June 28, 9-11am
    • Saturday, July 12, 9-11am
    • Saturday, July 26, 9-11am
    • Saturday, August 9, 9-11am

 

The St. John Garden is looking amazing! Your kids have likely had a chance to work in the garden and learn while rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty.

  • The Garden team is looking for support during the summer with watering and harvesting food and flowers. Sign up here to help.

 

2025 Jog-a-thon Updates

  • Art Contest: All students grades PK-7 are encouraged to submit artwork for the 2025 Jog-a-thon. Designs will be chosen for the t-shirt, sticker, and posters. Please scan and send your artwork to fundraising@st-johnschool.org OR turn into your homeroom teacher no later than Wednesday, May 21. More details here.
  • Sponsorship: Interested in sponsoring this fundraising event? Details here.

 

Admin Updates

  • School’s Out, Grills Out will take place on Friday, May 30, 6-9pm.
    • Buy your tickets now before the deadline on May 26.
    • Please consider volunteering. There are also spots for Middle and High School students to volunteer.
  • John at the Mariners – August 24: Buy your tickets now as St. John families fill the stands at T-Mobile Park to watch the Mariners play the Athletics.
  • We are excited to announce Tommy Hilfiger as our New Uniform vendor
    • All uniform pieces will be available through Tommy Hilfiger. More details to come.
    • The Spirit Store will remain separate.

 

Any Questions? Reach out to Parent_Association@st-johnschool.org.