Before I forget&

     I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of St. John's parish for our beautiful new school office suite.  We certainly are enjoying a bit more elbowroom with the addition of the new offices, the art room and having use of the parish choir room for our band lessons.  Each one of us at school appreciates your generous support of the school.
     As we celebrate 50 years of quality education at St. John's School we can all look back on those years with pride.  Many things have changed over the years, 50 years ago there was a full staff of Sisters of St. Francis at school living in the convent.  Now the convent is gone, replaced by the beautiful new St. John Pastoral Center and I am the lone representative of the Sisters in this parish.  I am honored and privileged to serve this parish, this school and your children.
     The most obvious change has been the use of technology not only for administrative tasks but also for instruction.  We are very fortunate to have had some very generous benefactors who have supported our technology program at school.  Because of their generosity we were able to upgrade our systems to a Windows 2000 server with thin client workstations for the students in the lab and the classrooms.  This system has proved to be reliable and serves our purposes very well.
     Many other things have changed the look of the school over the years; each classroom is equipped with TVs and VCRs, there are math manipulatives, science equipment including models and learning centers for each subject.  The school has updated carpets, students desks and chairs, lockers, drinking fountains and stools in the art room.  The new windows are wonderful, updating the entire building inside and out.  The library has bookcases, magazine displays, book carts, new chairs and signs.  The teachers have the use of a video projector, and Ellison die cut machine, a fax machine and an updated resource library.  There is a new scoreboard in the gym and trophy cases to display our teams' successes.
     One of the things that has not changed is our commitment to quality education and building solid Catholic values in our students.  That commitment first started 50 years ago and continues today.  The events of September 11 have proved to us that training the children in love of God, country and family and providing them a solid elementary education in the basics is as important today as it was when the school opened.
     We invite you to join us in celebrating 50 years of Catholic Education at St. John the Baptist School in conjunction with Catholic Schools Week.  We will begin with out celebration of Mass on Sunday, January 27 at 11:30 a.m.  Following Mass there will be an Open House in the school.  We invite everyone and especially our alumni to join us because we will be highlighting each of our 50 years during Open House.  Each classroom will feature a number of years and have displays depicting those years.  This will be a great opportunity to show your children and/or grandchildren a flash from you past.  You will also be able to purchase a bit of your past as some of our original equipment will be for sale during Open House.  The library will be selling some 50 year old chairs for $10 each.  There is a limited supply so come early!
     Catholic Schools Week also signals the beginning of our preparations for the next school year.  We will have open registration in the cafeteria for Kindergarten and new students during Open House.  This is your opportunity to register for the 2002/2003 school year.
     Please join us for our celebration of 50 years of Catholic education in our parish.  Once again we thank you for your support and look forward to the next 50 years.
     God Loves You,
     Sister M. Gwendolin, O.S.F.
     Principal