The Buzz

Greetings SBPS Parents and Friends:

Our first trimester is quickly coming to a close in the next week and a half. This is a good time to reflect on accomplishments this year so far - can you believe a third of the school year is almost over!

Fall is also turning into winter, which brings about seasonal illnesses. It’s been a rough start to the school year with strep throat and pneumonia across the grade levels. There’s a post below to explain a little more of the alert. Now, we are seeing COVID cases rise in school as well. The main message here is please keep your children home if they are ill. Consider administering a COVID test or having your child checked out for strep throat. Please call the school if your child is ill and report the known illness or symptoms. It will help us greatly in terms of reducing the spread to other students and staff.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the 2024 Annual Fund - Back the Bengals. We’ve been off to a great start so far. Funds raised go directly to teachers - in terms of supporting the cost for teacher stipends for curriculum and leadership work. Anything we make over the goal funds a retention bonus that will be issued in the Fall 2025 to staff who return. Thank you for investing in our great staff! You make a huge difference!

We are also bringing back the SBPS Merit Scholarship program funded by our endowment. Please see the post below for more information.

There’s a lot more important information below. Be sure to check out the following:

• Social Media Safety - Lunch Virtual Parent Workshop

• Introducing School Endowment for Merit-Based Scholarships

• Back the Bengals - 2024 Annual School Fund Update

• Christmas Craft Fair Vendors Wanted

Please find listed below important dates:

• November 15, 2024 - Open House for Current and Prospective Families

• November 21-22, 2024 - Middle School Trimester 1 Final Exams

• November 26, 2024 - Last Day to Give to the 2024 Annual School Fund

• November 27-29, 2024 -Thanksgiving Holiday Break (we are in school on Monday and Tuesday this week)

• December 1, 2024 - Advent 2024 Begins

• December 2, 2024 - Trimester 2 Begins

May God be with us and protect us!

Ms. Rachel Gemo, Head of School

Ms. Gemo’s Prayer Corner

A Three Step Morning Prayer

First Step: Plant your feet firmly on the earth. Using your five senses, give thanks to our Creator God for the countless ways God comes to us through creation- for all the beauty that your eyes see, for all the sounds that your ears ear, for all the scents that you smell, the tastes that you taste, for all that you feel (the sun, wind, rain, snow, warm, or cold). Pray this day that you may be open and attuned to the countless ways that our Creator God comes to us through your senses, through the gifts of creation.

Second Step: Let go of all the pain, struggle, regret, failures, garbage of yesterday - step out of it - leave it behind- brush the dust of it from your feet.

Third Step: With this third and final step, step into the gift of the new day, full of hope, promise, and potential. Give thanks for the gift of this new day, which God has made!

Amen.