Class Five News

List of 10 items.

• Class 5 End-of-Year Special Events

  We are quickly approaching the end of the school year, which brings several special events for Class 5 students. Please save the date for the following and keep an eye out for a letter with detailed information for each of them.

  
  

  • Mav-A-Palooza & Final Chapel Chum Celebration: Friday, May 15th @ 1:45pm
    • This event is OPTIONAL. If your child plans to participate, there is a required dress rehearsal from 3:15-5:00 on May 14th.
    • Details about signing up, guidelines, and attire will be included in the letter.
  • Lower School Closing Celebration: Wednesday, May 20th @ 8:45-10:15am
    • All Class 5 students will be featured in this capstone event in Lowe Theater.
    • Details about memory chest items, t-shirt orders, and Kindergarten/Class 1 photos will be included in the letter.

  
  

  Please send any questions to Julie Ballew or Andrew Herman.

• Class 5 Spring Trip (April 22-24)

  As an experiential learning component of our Class 5 curriculum, students and faculty will be traveling to TBarM April 22-24. We will depart on Wednesday by 8:00am and return to campus on Friday no later than 4:00pm.

  
  

  This trip is designed to allow our students a chance to step outside the classroom for an enriching learning experience that fosters leadership, communication, cooperation, and collaboration. Many of the activities are created to give our students hands-on connections to nature while boosting self-confidence and leadership.

  
  

  Please be sure to keep the dates secure on your calendar because this is an important component of our curriculum. As a Lower School capstone experience, all students are expected to attend.

• Field Day (April 2nd)

  Field Day is scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd. Please note that this is also a Maverick Madness Spirit Day, but students must wear socks and sneakers. It will kick off with a K-5 picnic lunch at 11:00. All students must bring a lunch and drink from home, including a large, reusable water bottle for the day. (No cups with straws, please!) Games and activities will happen between 11:30 and 3:10. Due to very limited space, we kindly ask that only those parents who are signed up to be class photographers attend this event. We anticipate a normal dismissal at 3:15.

• Healthy Decision Making & Puberty Parent Coffee (April 13)

  Class 4 and Class 5 students will engage in our annual Healthy Sexuality lesson on April 14th and 15th. The primary goal is to inform them about the changes that occur during puberty. In advance of these talks, we invite all Lower School parents to a coffee on April 13th from 8:30-9:30 in the Tradition Room. We will discuss healthy decision making and helping students navigate the social and emotional journey of their development in healthy ways.

• Host a Science Star This Summer!

  Frank the Corn Snake, Gus the Tree Frog, and Buster the Fat-Tailed Gecko are looking for awesome families to host them over summer break! They’re low-maintenance, come fully equipped with their own cages and simple care guides, and make the perfect "practice pets" for kids learning responsibility. They may not be soft and fluffy, but Frank, Gus, and Buster bring tons of personality (and are way easier than cleaning up after a puppy)!

  
  

  If your family would like to give one of them a summer home, contact Mr. Hunger: chunger@sjs.org.

  
  

  These science lab legends are ready to move in!

• Important Dates

  Important dates for Class Five will be listed here for you to mark your calendar.
  We kindly request that the events marked with an asterisk * are only attended by those parents who have signed up.
  

  • 4/2/26: Maverick Madness Spirit Day & LS Field Day* 
  • 4/22-24/26: Class Five Trip to TBarM (No parent chaperones)
  • 5/7/26: St. John's Singers Spring Show @ 2pm
  • 5/8/26: St. John's Singers Spring Show @ 7pm
  • 5/15/26: Mav-a-Palooza & Chapel Chum Celebration
  • 5/20/26: LS Closing Celebration @ 8:45am in Lowe Theater

• March Bridge Book

  We are excited to continue our Community and Inclusion initiative in Lower School, Building Bridges with Books, with our second selection for this school year. This program fosters a sense of unity and understanding among our students by exploring diverse perspectives through literature. Every Lower School faculty member will receive a copy of the featured Bridge Book for their classroom, creating a shared reading experience within our community.

  
  

  Our March Bridge Book is Heart String by Brooke Boynton-Hughes. Beautifully illustrated, this heartwarming picture book reminds readers that we're all connected. Through backyards and neighborhoods, over mountains, and across oceans, this colorful heart string ties us all together. Invisible yet undeniable, it joins our hearts so that we are never truly alone. Follow the thread of this reassuring story to see how, even in a world as vast as ours, there is always a bond that connects us to the ones we love—and to the world we share.

  
  

  We hope this book sparks meaningful conversations in our Lower School community!

• Maverick Madness Spirit Day (April 2nd)

  Our next Maverick Madness Spirit Day will be on Thursday, April 2nd. Students may wear as much red, black, and SJS gear as possible, or they may wear their normal uniform. Please see page 31 of the Lower School Handbook for specific guidelines for out-of-uniform dress.

• MS Step Up Day (April 8th)

  Class 5 students will “step up” to Middle School on Wednesday, April 8th. They will have the opportunity to tour the building, meet teachers, and interact with student leaders and the middle school administrative team to ask any burning questions. This is a great chance for them to learn about middle school classes, programming, and routines. They will also get to eat lunch in Flores Hall on this day. Please check the Middle School menu on Nutrislice and discuss any spending limitations with your child. If your child doesn’t want school lunch in Flores, please be sure to send a lunch from home.

• Social-Emotional Learning

  During the month of April, our Sharing Circle topics will focus on self/social awareness, responsible decision-making, and self-management. Three of our topic threads are focused on learning to take responsibility for our actions, healthy relationships, following directions, and working through small and big emotions. Please be sure to check your student's grade-level page for additional resources and table talk discussion questions. 

   

  We will discuss taking responsibility for our actions, healthy relationships, following directions, and working through small and big emotions.

  
  

  Books:

  • Teach Your Dragon to Follow Directions by Steve Herman
  • The Not-So-Friendly Friend by Christina Furnival
  • A Little SPOT Emotion Coach by Diane Albe
  • But It’s Not My Fault by Julia Cook

  
  

  Table Talk Discussions: 

  • If you do not take responsibility for things, how might it make others feel?
  • How should the people that we choose to be around make us feel?
  • Share a time that you had to work through tough emotions.
  • What can you do if others are not following directions or rules?

  
  Upcoming Events:
  
  K-12 Parent Wellness Workshop: The Conflict Advantage: Helping Kids Grow Through Disagreement
  featuring Dr. Brian Goonan
  Wednesday, April 15th @ 8:45-10:00
  Chao Assembly Room