Our kindergarteners were visited yesterday by the Cincinnati Museum Center for an enrichment program about bats. In addition to learning fun facts, they got to see some live bats.

Our preschoolers and kindergarteners were visited yesterday by the Colerain Fire Department. They learned about all the different components of a firetruck and even got to hop inside for a peek. Every student received a hat, a coloring booklet, and sticker to take home. A big thank you to our local firemen for their time, and Nationwide Insurance for providing the hats and coloring books.

Grades K-3 welcomed their grandparents this morning in the church with a prayer service and then some singing performances led by our wonderful music teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Ossenschmidt. Students then enjoyed some refreshments and showed their grandparents around their classrooms. Thank you to everyone who helped make this a special morning for everyone.

We celebrated the Feast of St. Francis today after mass with Father Kyle saying a special blessing for our pets. Students were permitted to bring a picture of their furry friends to school today.

Sixth-grade reading students participated in a thrilling classroom Breakout created by their classmates. Accelerated reading students used skills of creativity, collaboration, and communication to author an exciting Breakout based on a soccer theme. Players used teamwork to solve intricate puzzles to determine the correct combinations to four different locks on a box they needed to break into. Players had loads of fun as they worked to beat the clock and save the day, with all seven teams breaking out successfully before time ran out. Players attributed their success to strong communication skills, to trusting their teammates, and to being open to working with all classmates. Players asked to be able to do more Breakouts in the future and even expressed interest in creating their own. We continue to be grateful to the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, who made the Breakout experience possible through a generous grant to purchase several Breakout kits, and look forward to providing more Breakout challenges in more classrooms during the year. To view a video of the breakout, please visit our Facebook page, St. John the Baptist School.

Our playground got a makeover last week when the old chipped wood mulch was replaced with much nicer and softer rubber chips.....and they’re BLUE JAY BLUE!!!

We are raising money to continue to improve the quality of our school's educational program. Everyone's support is greatly appreciated! Purchase your favorite magazine or digital subscription and send us your renewals. Magazine gift cards are available for $25 and make great holiday gifts. Go to APmags.com to place an order. St. John's Group ID is W04962. If sending an order through school, please make checks payable to St. John the Baptist.

St. John the Baptist School is excited to welcome our new principal, Mr. Dan Minelli. We also welcome several new teachers to St. Johns. Molly Sanford and Cindy Duhon are the new 3rd grade teachers. Lisa Moore is our new Spanish teacher for 6th-8th grade. Scott Gildea is our new Physical Education teacher. In addition, we also have a new school psychologist, Dr. Ann Wengler, and two part time Intervention Specialists, Amber Paul and Brooke Cook. In the office, we welcome Jill Katterjohn, Administrative Assistant. If you see these new faces in the halls, be sure to say hello.

After retiring this year, Mrs. Vicki Borgman, one of our kindergarten teachers for the past 24 years, was nominated by a parent to be recognized at Mix 94.9 Cincinnati's Teacher's Night Out. On Thursday, June 26th, she and about 100 other teachers were honored at the Cooper Creek Event Center in Blue Ash. Congratulations Mrs. Borgman!

Congratulations and good luck to our Class of 2018! The graduates enjoyed a special ceremony in the church on Thursday, May 31st followed by a celebration in the Parish Center with dancing, a photo booth, and dinner served by our seventh grade parent volunteers.

Students enjoyed a fun filled day on May 18th during our annual PTO Field Day. Thank you to Emily Meyer and Kim Tedesco, our event chairs, and to the many other volunteers that make this day possible.

On Friday, May 11th, students participated in our annual PTO Walk for Technology. Students earned an out of uniform day by raising donations of $7,704.98, exceeding the goal of $7500.00. Thank you to our PTO Walk-a-thon committee for organizing a fun-filled event that also inlcuded a sock hop and our first annual award ceremony for "Teacher of the Year", "Student of the Year", and "Friend of the Student" awards.

Father Kyle recently visited the Second Grade students during their religion classes to talk about First Communion and to answer any questions they had. The students really enjoyed spending the afternoon with him and asked a lot of great questions!

Our student activities for Right to Read Week included reading a book of their choice during our daily book alerts, enjoying some time with Faith Families, and dressing in western garb last Friday. Several classrooms even received a surprise visit from our Blue Jay. Students also collected 1,788 books to donate to two local Catholic schools, St. Francis DeSales and St. Lawrence. Congratulations to the following classrooms for meeting the "50 books or more challenge": Mrs. Borgman, Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. Sander, Mrs. Sellers, Mrs. Rapien, Ms. Wilmes, Mrs. Charles, Mrs. Unkrich, Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Shotwell, Mrs. Schneider, Mrs. Vest, Mrs. Spanish Smith, Mrs. Zipperer, and Mrs. Green. These classrooms have earned an "Out of Uniform Day" for Wednesday, May 16th. Many thanks to the Right to Read Committee for all your hard work!

The students from St.John the Baptist, St. John Neumann and Corpus Christi received the sacrament of Confirmation on April 19, 2018 at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral downtown. Archbishop Schnurr presided over this beautiful celebration in the presence of family and friends.

Our Spanish Club recently visited La Piñata Restaurant in Stonecreek Towne Center. Students had fun practicing their restaurant vocabulary while enjoying some mexican cuisine. Studies have shown that students learn best when presented with situations where they use vocabulary in context.

Congratulations to our 7th & 8th Grade Academic Teams for a job well done at the LaSalle High School Academic Competition.

Our junior high religion classes recently had the opportunity to participate in a poster design contest for the Cincinnati Right to Life Eductional Foundation. Five students submitted their artistic designs representing their understanding of what preserving life means. Congratulations to our students that won 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place, along with two honorable mentions. Prizes included a certificate for each participant, a ribbon for 2nd and 3rd place, and a check for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place winners.

The 6th Grade was visited by Glenmary Home Missioners on Thursday, April 26, following the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist (April 25). Rachel Thome (Office Projects Coordinator, Mission Education and Ministry) and Lalo Mercado (Glenmary Seminarian) spoke to the students about missionary discipleship and evangelization in addition to presenting information about Glenmary Home Missioners. Students made their own “missionary maps” to help them focus on where they can evangelize in their lives now. Glenmary Home Missioners was founded by Fr. William Howard Bishop in 1939. Glenmary's name comes from combining the name of the place where the Society was founded, Glendale, Ohio with the name of Mary, the society's patroness under her title "Our Lady of the Fields." Father Bishop also founded the Home Mission Sisters of America (Glenmary Sisters) in 1941.

The seventh grade science classes recently visited Sharon Woods to learn about the Ohio River watershed and participated in assessing the health of Sharon Creek. Students collected and identified macroinvertebrates and fish, and tested the water quality of Sharon Creek. They then learned how limiting the use of pesticides and fertilizers can help improve the health of our area streams and rivers, and ultimately the health of the Ohio River.