May 2025

Dear SJEEC Families,

The last few weeks of school have been full of fun, learning, and celebrating. Some highlights included:

·         A visit from the folk music group at Colonial Hills Elementary School to the Purple Room

·         Our Ice Cream Social & Open House!

·         Story time at the Old Worthington Library for our three year olds!

·         Walking field trip to Worthington Candle Works for our Enrichment Class

Our Ice Cream Social and Open House was a great success! It was a beautiful day and it was so fun to celebrate a year of growth and friendship alongside furry farm animals. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the event so wonderful. Thank you for bringing family and friends, for buying raffle tickets and for donating items to our fundraiser. Each of you did your part and we are grateful.

As we wrap up this school year, we wanted to let you know about some changes in staff for the 2025-2026 school year. We have two beloved staff members who will not be returning to their positions and they are our Spanish teacher, Jennifer Pawley, and our music teacher, Becky Ogden. Senora Pawley has been working part-time for the EEC alongside an almost full time job somewhere else and needs to focus her energy there. She will also have a senior in high school next year and wants to make sure that she has a chance to savor that time with him before he moves onto whatever God has in store for him after graduation. Mrs. Ogden is officially retiring, but we have let her know that she is welcome back anytime! The “Music Lady”, as we affectionately call her, has been a staple at St. John’s for longer than most of us can remember. Both Senora Pawley and the Music Lady will be sorely missed, but we wish them all the best in wherever life takes them next.

Rest assured, we will continue to offer music and Spanish in the 2025-2026 school year. Those teaching Spanish and music will certainly have some big shoes to fill!

Enrollment is open, so please let interested families know about your experience at St. John’s. We would love to give them a tour and to tell them about our highly qualified teachers.  Have them contact me or Kelly to schedule.

Some important dates for your calendar:

·         Tuesday, May 13th~Last day of Enrichment Class

·         Wednesday, May 14th~Last day of Lunch Bunch

·         Thursday, May 15th~Last day of school

I continue to be so thankful for this opportunity to be your Director and truly love coming to work each day. I will be working hard this summer to get our school ready for the new academic year, but will certainly miss seeing your faces every morning. For those of you entering kindergarten, I hope that you still have lots of opportunities to learn through play, make many new friends and grow to your full potential. Please come back and visit! You are always welcome.

Thank you for being a part of our St. John’s family! I hope you have a wonderful summer.

Carrie