St. John the Baptist School & Alumni

We are excited to introduce the newest member of the St. John’s faculty, Mrs. Zummo. She comes to SJS with a Master of Science in Education and New York State Certification in Math 7-12. Mrs. Zummo will be joining our Junior High team, teaching Grade 6-8 Math, as well as Regents Algebra and Living Environment. Welcome, Mrs. Zummo!

Encouraging your child to read or reading with your child at least 15 minutes each day is one of the best ways to avoid the “summer slip” and to keep skills sharp for September. SJS students entering Grades 4-8 are required to read an assigned novel. Happy Reading! 📚

More fun at our Camp Crazy Daze Summer STREAM Academy from the first week of summer vacation!

Our Pre-K 3 team hopes you’re having a safe and fun summer vacation! Check back here on our page throughout the summer to see what our SJS teachers and staff are up to this summer!

On one of their last days before graduating, the Eighth Graders took a fun field trip to Reinstein Woods. They had a great time getting out into nature with their friends and classmates!

Students in last week’s Summer STREAM Academy, Disney Magic Makers: Parks Edition traveled to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios where they worked as Animators and Imagineers building models of new attractions and learning to draw a favorite Disney character. In EPCOT they explored countries and stamped their passports as they built a solar oven to make Germany’s caramel smores, learned how to write using the Chinese alphabet & created character pockets out of Japanese origami. While visiting Animal Kingdom, they participated in a science experiment to excavate dinosaur fossils and created an iconic scene with the King of Pride Rock.

Students in Mrs. Richey’s First Grade class completed a special project on their last day. During the 1st week of school, they completed a writing prompt - "In First Grade...". Then they completed it again for the end of the year.

The First Graders were so proud to see their growth in the quality and detail of their stories, their handwriting, how they print their names, and even their illustrations.

Smiles all around for the first day of SJS Summer Camp!

8th Grade math students worked together to try to build the longest paper chain!

These 3rd Graders sure enjoyed the last days of school with some fun outdoor recess!

Pirate fun at our Camp Crazy Daze Summer STREAM Academy! 🏴‍☠️

Lots of exciting things happening at St. John's! Check out the news featured in this week's Ken-Ton Bee Newspaper.

Yesterday was the first day of our Summer STREAM Academy courses! STREAM Survival Camp friends started off by writing post cards to send to our families while we’re camping! The day continued with a scavenger hunt to find everything we’d need to build and test out shelters against the elements. Nothing beats a snack break of homemade s’more’s dip made with friends. Check out the awesome shelters we made and how they withstood the wind and rainstorms! These kids even earned their first camp badge and look forward to earning more this week.

Some more snapshots from First Grade's field trip to Greg's U-Pick this past Spring! 👩‍🌾👨‍🌾🍎🐤🐄

Before ending their first year of school, these Pre-K 3 kiddos had their very own beach party with a ballon artist and face painter!

Congratulations to the St. John the Baptist Class of 2024! 🧑‍🎓👩‍🎓🐆💙🤍

Congratulations to the 92nd graduating class and the newest alumni of St. John the Baptist School, the Class of 2024! A power outage couldn’t even stop these young men and women, their parents, teachers, families, and friends from celebrating all of their many accomplishments. We are proud of each and every one of them and wish them the best. Congratulations, Class of 2024!

School’s out for the summer! Happy Summer Vacation, SJS! 😎

Second Grader Tommy Nichter won a special prize at the HSA Kids’ Basket Raffle. He got to pick 2 friends to ride to school with him on a fire truck! All of the Second Graders were waiting outside to greet the little fire fighters! A very special thanks to Ellwood Fire Department for always supporting our school and for donating this exciting prize.

Our school gathered today on the front lawn to “clap out” our 8th Graders. The Class of 2024 graduates tomorrow evening and are off to do wonderful things! We know they will make us proud!

From the Desk of Father Michael:

Dear St. John’s Parents and Guardians:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of veteran Catholic educator Melissa Lindner as principal of St. John the Baptist School, effective June 24, 2024. The former Saints Peter & Paul School Principal (Williamsville) is known for focusing on Catholic identity while promoting Christian values, collaborating with faculty and staff, and advancing the STREAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, The Arts, and Math). She also served as principal of Notre Dame High School (Batavia), technology coordinator, STREAM coordinator, librarian, and technology integration specialist at Saints Peter & Paul, technology teacher at Immaculata Academy in Hamburg, and assistant women’s basketball coach at D’Youville College (now university).

With extensive experience as a Catholic elementary school principal and a deep commitment to Catholic education, Mrs. Lindner is well-suited to lead the St. John’s School community. I believe she will move our school forward, building on the spiritual, academic, arts, and service excellence for which St. John’s is well known.

A graduate of Hilbert College, Mrs. Lindner received a Master of Science in Education from D’Youville, a Master of Public Administration from Hilbert College, a Certificate of Education Leadership from Canisius College (now university), and a professional certificate in School District Leadership from New York State.

“I have a deep and passionate commitment to Catholic education,” Mrs. Lindner said. “I am dedicated to fostering academic excellence while preserving Catholic identity and promoting Christian values. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, parents, and guardians to make sure St. John’s remains true to its philosophy of emphasizing the special mission of the Church, especially through education in the Catholic faith.”

Join me in welcoming Mrs. Lindner to our school family. She and her husband, Tim, have two daughters.

I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mrs. Michelle Norris who stepped up as interim principal these past few months and has done an excellent job leading the school through the end of the academic year. Mrs. Norris will remain at St. John’s as the school’s Catholic Charities counselor. She has a master’s in School Counseling from Johns Hopkins University and said that this is an opportunity that she has always wanted and suits her skillset. Mrs. Norris wants you to know that she is looking forward to providing social and emotional support to your children when the need arises.

Thank you for your continued investment in a St. John’s education for your children. Have an enjoyable, relaxing summer!

In Christ,

Fr. Michael

Congratulations to all of the students in Grade 4-7 who received Academic Awards for Excellence in various subject areas at today’s Awards Ceremony. These students were nominated by their teachers for excellence in these subject areas.

We also want to extend our congratulations to the nominees and winners of the Mary Kirwan Catholic Education Scholarship. These students were nominated by faculty and staff members for showing excellence in academics, character, and faith and underwent a rigorous interview process by the scholarship committee.

We are so proud of all of these young men and women for all of their hard work!

Our 7th Graders led our school community in liturgy this morning for the last school mass of the year. As our choir led us in song, “Our God is an Awesome God”!

Mrs. Francken’s First Graders are published authors! Mrs. Norris even got to stop by and read the children the book they wrote! 📖

Friday night’s HSA End of the Year Party was a blast!The SJS community gathered on a beautiful early summer night for fun with friends, including cotton candy, sno-cones, a giant slide, and even a color run. What a great way to close out an amazing school year. A huge thanks to HSA and all of the parents who worked so hard to make the night a success. ☀️🌈🍧🐆

They’re moving on up…to First Grade! Today our Kindergarteners celebrated the end of the year with a special celebration where they shared about their roots in Jesus and how much they have grown this year! We’re so proud of these boys and girls!

The future SJS Class of 2033 came to school for their Kindergarten screening and “signed on” as our newest Jaguars! We can’t wait for these smart cookies to start Kindergarten in the Fall.

8th Grade students of the Class of 2024 showed off their high school pride with Spirit Day earlier this week. These young men and women have a lot to be proud of and to look forward to in high school!