Dear Parents,

Saturday’s Harvest Fest and Trunk-or-Treat was a fantastic evening of fun and community-building! The costumes were exceptionally creative, and the lip sync competition and band were AMAZING. This annual event is made possible only by the diligent, selfless effort of our parent and student volunteers. Thank you to everyone who put in time and monitored the various stations of the festive grounds. Special thanks to our PTO Harvest coordinators, Erica Seidel and Julie Morris, and PTO committee members. This incredible team worked countless hours planning and organizing the event for the sheer joy of building school community.

Dear Parents,

Our campus courtyard has been alive with excitement all week with parents and students admiring the Harvest Fest baskets and hoping to be the lucky raffle winner!

I hope to see everyone at Harvest Fest TOMORROW evening as we join together as one community with St. Benedict Church! There are many activities for all ages including Trunk or Treat, food trucks, bouncy houses, a beer garden, costume contest (Preschool-3rd), lip-Sync contest (3rd-8th), live band, and festive fall decorations to enjoy while roaming the grounds in our mild Arizona temperatures.

Dear Parents,

We understand that everyone still has questions about the exciting news of the universal ESA program. We are also still in the learning phase; however, below are a few facts we can share: 

• Each ESA contract is unique and each family's needs are unique. Do not base your decision to use the universal ESA on what other families are doing. Each contract is individual and determined by numerous factors including your grade level, school district, and zip code. 

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Dear Parents

Did you know that a portion of last year’s Gala helped us purchase hands-on science materials, experiments, and dissection kits, and update our science closet for all grade levels to utilize? Our science lab houses many materials—microscopes, scales, synthetic frogs, infrared thermometer guns, laser and optic kits, prisms, pumping heart models, eye models, human skeleton models— to not just meet but exceed the Diocesan Science Standards.

Dear Parents,

Did you know that our STEM Lab is one-of-a-kind? Our school is one of the only schools around with: 

• Nine 3D printers 
• A green screen
• Advanced audiovisual equipment
• Brand new Sphero programmable robots with a charging suitcase to allow use at our STEM lab or mobilized and brought to other classrooms.
• Thousands of Legos!
• Bins and shelves holding all sorts of craft materials (glue guns, tape, paper, cardboard, toilet tissue/paper towel rolls, etc.) 
• A Makerspace — a large open area allowing students to build and create

Dear Parents,

Did you know that our STEM Lab is one-of-a-kind? Our school is one of the only schools around with: 

• Nine 3D printers 
• A green screen
• Advanced audiovisual equipment
• Brand new Sphero programmable robots with a charging suitcase to allow use at our STEM lab or mobilized and brought to other classrooms.
• Thousands of Legos!
• Bins and shelves holding all sorts of craft materials (glue guns, tape, paper, cardboard, toilet tissue/paper towel rolls, etc.) 
• A Makerspace — a large open area allowing students to build and create

Dear Parents,

I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting more information about the ESA program, especially with the new legislation that passed this summer and signed into law. As shared at Curriculum Night, we were advised to sit tight and wait to see what happens after September 24th as the opposition to this new legislation has until then to gather enough signatures to halt the new legislation and place it on an upcoming ballot. If enough signatures are obtained, there will most likely be legal maneuvering to determine how a referendum will appear on a particular ballot (either this November or in 2024).

Dear Parents,

I’m sure you have noticed Mr. Macdonald holding a sign in the parking lot that says "DO NOT BACK INTO PARKING SPACE." We would kindly appreciate everyone following the parking lot rules to ensure the safety of our community and facilitate traffic flow. Thank you for using patience and care as you navigate through the parking lot each day. Please pull forward into the parking space—do not back in. If you are in a hurry to get to and from school, consider utilizing our efficient valet carpool service.

Dear Parents,

It has been a busy week as students are settling into their daily routines of centers, lessons, group projects, and homework. They should be coming home pretty tired and hungry after all of their hard work. As I make my daily rounds through classrooms (my favorite part of the day!), I see smiling faces, friendships forming, and hear joyful laughter. It is quite apparent these children enjoy being in school.

Dear Parents,

Thank you for attending Curriculum Night! Social-Academic data strongly indicates that children whose parents are involved in their education fare far better academically than those whose parents are unengaged. SJB parents do an excellent job in this regard, which is evidenced by the spectacular news I announced regarding our recent test scores. We not only have highly-trained teachers and state-of-the-art technology but involved, caring, nurturing parents like you who set up your children for success. Kudos to our entire school community.

Dear Parents,

We had a fabulous first week of school! Thanks to our awesome PTO, our students entered campus with balloons, school mascot Rosco, and a beautiful backdrop for picture-taking! Fr. James and I were delighted to greet each student and their parents as they entered our grand SJB gates. 

We hope you will all join us tomorrow (Saturday) at 6:30pm for our Back to School BBQ hosted by our PTO, Dads’ Club, St. Benedict Parish, and the Fr. Bob Binta Knights of Columbus. Food, music, games, and a dunk tank will be provided for all to enjoy. This event will be held outside in the courtyard and in the MPR. 

Dear Parents,

It has been a week filled with faith, unity, and excitement as we prepare for the 2022-2023 school year. Our faculty and staff attended a full-day retreat at Mt. Claret on Wednesday, reviewed school guidelines, safety protocols, and required trainings on Thursday, and attended sessions on best practices for classrooms with their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) today — all while setting up their classrooms and getting ready for Monday’s big event. Teachers can’t wait to meet each of their new students at Meet the Teacher this Monday, August 8, 4–6PM.