Newsletter from Our Principal

May 29, 2025

Dear Wildcat Families,

It is hard to believe that the 2024 -25 school year concludes tomorrow. What a wonderful year SJB has had, thanks to Fr. Chris, Fr. John, Deacon Joe, you, your children, our teachers and staff, the parish, and the community. It truly takes a village, and we are so thankful for each and everyone in the SJB village. Many thanks to you all, there is so much to be proud of! We indeed are beyond blessed at Saint John the Baptist Catholic School. 

It was a great day to be a Wildcat yesterday! We began our morning with a prayer service to install our seventh grade faith family students as faith family leaders for the 2025-26 year. Afterwards we did acts of service. We made spiritual bouquets and door hangers for local nursing homes. After the hot dog lunch, the afternoon activities began!

Mrs. Slowinski, thank you, for your hard work preparing for our afternoon of fun! It was truly a success as evidenced by the laughter, smiles, and squeals of delight! Thank you to all our volunteers for your help! The day wouldn’t have been possible without you! Thank you to Mrs. Hardesty, Mr. Hardesty, Mr. Valladolid, and Mr. Zagotta for all your help ordering, picking up orders, and preparing so that we were able to continue the tradition of the free hot dog lunch and ice cream treat at the end of the day. 

Today we had two special events. The class of 2021 walked through the school in their caps and gowns to the clapping and cheering of our current student body. It is hard to believe that it was four years ago that they were SJB Wildcats! They enjoyed being here to see how the school has changed, visit teachers and staff, and even engage in a volleyball circle with 7^th grade during PE…just like old times! A new tradition has been started!

Our third and fourth grade classes were able to honor the firemen as they clapped and cheered for them as they left the downtown fire house for the last time. Both groups were equally appreciative of this memorable expression of support.

Hot off the presses is Trimester 3 Honor Roll for Grades 6-8. Congratulations to the following students for their academic accomplishments:

Grade 6 High Honors

Isaiah Alanis 

Anelise Mains

Theresa Tuangsamte

Nixie Vargas

Katherine Weitz

Grade 6 Honors

Cecilia Hoih

Nicholas Jackiw 

James Lian

Hannah Jonsson

Elizabeth Zungthiang 

Grade 7 High Honors

Danielle Borner

Declan Duffy

Luca Genuardi 

William Hannen

Alessia Jais

Viviann LeMay

Sophia Moreci

Karina Sivertsen

Anali Soto 

Joseph Sullivan 

Christopher Woodbury

Grade 7 Honors

Norah Galla

Gureesar Kular

Christopher Kulesza

Grade 8 High Honors

Michelle Philip

Levi Renzulli

Gabriella Roldan

Monica San

Emma Schmidt

Andrea Soriano

Jacob Tuangsamte

Sophia Vazquez

Dominic Zagotta

Nicholas Zagotta

Grade 8 Honors

Will Bulyk

Liam Hamilton

Thangza Muan

Magdalene Piehl

Christina Sui

Eighth grade students were honored and recognized last Thursday at the Awards Breakfast, and our sixth and seventh grade honor students will be recognized at the end of our All School Mass tomorrow. We are proud of all! Report cards will be published tomorrow. 

Tomorrow is our last day of the 2024-25 school year, and we will close in celebration and praise of our year of blessings and learning with an All School Mass at 8:00 AM. As always, you are welcome to attend! Please have your children wear Sunday best attire. Dismissal will be at approximately 9:15 AM. Don’t forget the silly string! Once students are outside, you can give your children the silly string. We don’t want it in the building.

Looking ahead to next year, if you will have children in fifth grade or above, it is time to think about fall volleyball. If your son or daughter, will be playing for the Wildcats, please make sure you make an appointment for a sports physical. A completed form must be on file prior to the first practice.

This is a reminder that the last day to order School Supply Kits for next school year is Friday, June 20, 2025. You can order them at www.shopttkits.com  Use account #71757 to access our kits. Kits will be labeled and delivered to classrooms and ready for the first day of school. 

Popsicle and Play is back for preschool and kindergarten students. Siblings are welcome to come. The first one is Saturday, June 14, from 9:00 – 10:00 AM at East End Park in Winfield. 

We indeed are blessed and thankful for the gifts that the Saint John the Baptist faith and learning community offer to one another. Through the work of teachers, staff, parents, parishioners, and community members, and most importantly the students, much growth and learning has taken place. On behalf of Father Chris and our teachers and staff, I wish you a truly fabulous summer. We encourage children to read, write, compute daily, pray, and enjoy their time with their families this summer. Summer novels and assignments have been given in classes to students currently in grades 3-7 this week. Please look in backpacks for any additional summer work that teachers have prepared. Summer work is designed to help keep their brains and skills sharp for the coming year! Kindergarten through fourth grade classes also stepped up to the next grade and met with their teachers and had the opportunity to learn a little bit about what is to come in the next grade. We will see you on Wednesday, August 20 for the first half day of school for the 2025-2026 academic year! The Calendar Highlights for the 2025-26 school year is included in the posting.

Rejoicing in a wonderful year and wishing you a summer filled with abundant blessings,

Joanne Policht