Fall if officially here and with the colder temperatures outside, we have several different styles of pullovers, jackets, and sweatshirts that can be worn as part of the school uniform. A few new introductions include a full zip sports wick jacket and a quarter zip lightweight sports wick pullover. For spirit wear days (usually Wednesdays unless there is an all school mass), we now offer a moisture wicking gray t-shirt with a Big Bluejay on it as well as two new colors in our cotton Blue Jay t-shirt, neon pink ($1.00 from each purchase donated to National Breast Cancer Society) and gray. For photos, sizes, and pricing of all the items available, please click on the parent tab at the top of the page and then click on spirit wear. An order form can be printed from the link at the top of the spirit wear page or you can obtain one from the school office. Orders are placed once a week and if not in stock, items usually take 2-3 weeks to arrive.

Eighth grade science students have been studying Newton's First Law of Motion. They have conducted several science labs including trying to keep a penny on their finger while flicking away a round piece of cardstock out from underneath it, and quickly removing a ring from between the top of a bottle and a stack of pennies to then have the pennies fall straight down into the bottle. Students also learned to calculate speed by measuring the distance and time of an air bubble in a bubble tube. Click on the title to view more pictures.

Our 1st Graders were visited this morning by the Cincinnati Museum Center for an enrichment called "The Reason for the Seasons". They used mini globes to learn and demonstrate why the different seasons happen. Students also learned how animals either hibernate, migrate, or adapt in the different seasons.

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.