Episcopal Insider
St. Mark's Campus
January 10, 2025
All Campuses
Dear Episcopal Community,
With flu and COVID season upon us, please keep the following guidelines in mind when deciding whether or not to send your child to school. This will help reduce and prevent the spread of infection at school and allow your child to be available for learning. Signs and symptoms of flu and COVID include a fever (100 or greater), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, and feeling very tired. Some people may have vomiting or diarrhea.
Students should remain home for the following reasons:
- For a temperature of 100 degrees or greater. Your child should be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication prior to returning to school.
- If your child has a heavy, moist productive cough, or chest congestion.
- If your child is diagnosed with a strep infection, he/she will need to be on an antibiotic for a minimum of 24 hours, fever-free, and feeling well.
- If your child has diarrhea or is vomiting, he/she must be free of those symptoms for 24 hours before returning to school.
To help prevent the flu, COVID, and the common cold, teach your children good hygiene habits:
- Wash hands frequently.
- Do not touch eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Cover the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing using a paper tissue, then throw it away immediately and wash hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Your collaboration is invaluable in maintaining a healthy and safe learning environment for everyone. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thank you,
Tonya Carter, RN
Katy Jones, APRN, FNP-BC
New This Week
The ability to register and pay for 2025 spring a la carte holiday care is now available.
Holiday Care includes the following dates:
- Spring Break (March 10-14)
- Easter Monday (April 21)
ESJ, St. Mark’s Campus has added two new lunch providers for the remainder of the school year!
- Thursday – Homespun Kitchen
- Friday – Goal Post
Students will continue to enjoy Panera, Chick Fil A, and The Loop earlier in the week,
Wednesday, January 29
6:00 p.m.
Lori Schiavone Commons
Attend a roundtable discussion with the Rev. Billy Cerveny, Associate Rector, Sr. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and ESJ Dad, followed by a social including bbq and beer.
Please RSVP to [email protected] by 1/27 if possible.
Thursday, February 13
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Lori Schiavone Commons
Pre-K 3 – fifth grade daughters and their special friends are invited to make memories at the Sweetheart Soirée Daughter Dance, hosted by the Parents’ Association. Enjoy sweets, dancing, and a photobooth with your best girl.
Click here to view a list of key dates for next school year.
*Please note one revision: December 19 will now be an Early Dismissal (12:00 PM) with Holiday Care Available.
Lower School families interested in learning about our Middle and Upper School programs are invited to join us for a Parent Preview and Open House on the Munnerlyn Campus!
Thursday, January 16, 2025
8:30 – 11:00 a.m. | Munnerlyn Center for Worship & Fine Arts (Campus Map)
8:15 a.m. – Registration
8:30 a.m. – Parent Presentation
Following the presentation, representatives from all areas of school life will be available to answer questions about ESJ and student Eagle Ambassadors will lead campus tours.
Reminders
2024-2025 Important Upcoming Calendar Dates
- January 23 – Family Open House, All Grades, 5:30 p.m.
- January 23 – Eagle Afternoon Program Closes at 5:30 p.m.
- January 29 – Dads’ Club Gathering (6:00 p.m., Lori Schiavone Commons)
- January 31 – Deadline to Re-Enroll for 2025-2026 School Year
- February 3 – 6 – CTP 5 Testing (Grades 3-5)
- February 7 – Chapel in the Park (Weather Permitting) (Grades K-5)
- February 7 – Ortega River Run T-Shirt Day
- February 7 – Ortega River Run Packet Pick-up and Pizza Dinner
- February 8 – W.W. Gay Ortega River Run
- February 13 – Daughter Dance
- February 14 – Valentines’ Day Class Parties
- February 17 – Presidents’ Day – School and Extended Day Closed
- February 21 – Early Dismissal (noon), Eagle Afternoon Program Closed
Current ESJ families will be able to re-enroll for the 2025-2026 school year January 16-31. Please review the key updates listed below. If you have any questions concerning re-enrollment, please contact Melissa Tucker, Director of Lower School Admission & Enrollment – St. Mark’s Campus, at [email protected]. We look forward to welcoming your family back for the 2025-2026 school year!
Key Updates
- Payment Plans: Early Learning Program
- 1 Pay: July
- 2 Pay: July and November
- 10 Pay: July – April
- Payment Plans: Pre-K 3 – Grade 5
(ELP 2 to rising Pre-K 3 families: note there will be one month of tuition overlap as you transition from the ELP payment schedule to the Pre-K 3 payment schedule.)
-
- 1 Pay: April
- 2 Pay: April and November
- 10 Pay: April – January
- Financial Obligation Schedule: Pre-K 3 – Grade 5 contracts that are canceled after the deposit is submitted will have the following financial obligations:
- Upon signing the re-enrollment agreement: 25% of the annual tuition
- April 1 – June 30: 50% of the annual tuition
- After June 30: 100% of the annual tuition
Tuesday, January 14
8:15 – 9:15 a.m.
Youth Center
St. Mark’s Campus parents will continue discussing Dr. Becky Kennedy’s “Good Inside” book, Chapters 16-20. Chapters cover Rudeness and Defiance, Whining, Lying, Fears and Anxiety, Hesitation and Shyness. If you have not previously attended a meeting but are interested in these topics, you are welcome to attend!
Friday, January 17
8:25 a.m.
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
(Pre-K 3 – Grade 5)
Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4 and Kindergarten
Fathers come to the classrooms between 8:10 – 8:15 a.m. to walk children to church
Grades 1-5
Fathers/special friends meet students outside the church at 8:15 a.m.
*If you have children in Pre-K or Kindergarten and Grades 1-5, please pick up your youngest child(ren) first, then wait for older children outside the church.
School and the Extended Day Program are closed on Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. School will resume on Tuesday, January 21.
Thursday, January 23
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Open House
Eagle Afternoon Program will close at 5:30 PM on January 23
All St. Mark’s families with ELP 1 through Grade 5 children are invited to our Family Open House! Join us for a fun and interactive evening where you can explore your child’s current classroom, discover exciting enrichment classes, and experience a glimpse of your student’s 2025-26 school year.
Each child will receive a passport to guide them on this evening’s journey. Once their passport is complete, they’ll be entered into a raffle to win some sought-after ESJ swag. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to celebrate your child’s progress this school year. Please remember to wear your parent name tag when attending events on campus. (If you have lost your tag, please use this form: Name Tag Orders.)
For questions, please contact Melissa Tucker at [email protected] or 904-388-2632.
The Eagle Afternoon Program will close at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, so families can attend the Open House Event.
Pre-K 3—Grade 5 students receive a book for their birthday that is added to the Steve Williams Library Collection. Please be on the lookout for an email from Mrs. Trumpler regarding book selection. After a special bookplate is placed in the book, it will be blessed at the Birthday Chapel. Your child will be the first person to check out the book, and we ask them to return it after reading it for a few weeks so other children can enjoy it! Please join us at their special birthday Chapel.
8:25 a.m.
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
January and June Birthdays
- January 27 (Grades 1-5)
- January 29 (Pre-K and Kindergarten)
February and July Birthdays
- February 24 (Grades 1-5)
- February 26 (Pre-K and Kindergarten)
March Birthdays
- March 24 (COMBINED Grades Pre-K 3 – Grade 5)
April and May Birthdays
- April 14 (Grades 1-5)
- April 23 (Pre-K and Kindergarten)
Each month, first – fifth grade students are recognized by peers and teachers for demonstrating qualities of the Fruit of the Spirit that the Apostle Paul writes about in his letter to the church in Galatia. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23. Parents are welcome to attend these afternoon gatherings, as they are all Chapels and gatherings.
Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m.
Lori Schiavone Commons
- January 22 – Fruit of Kindness Gathering
- February 19 – Fruit of Goodness Gathering
- March 19 – Fruit of Faithfulness Gathering
- April 23 – Fruit of Gentleness Gathering
- May 14 – Fruit of Self-Control Gathering