Dear St. John Bosco Community,

Summer is officially here and all of us are anxious to start our vacations. Before saying "Bon voyage!" for the summer, I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you for an amazing year. In my first year as principal, I have seen the heartfelt dedication of our St. John Bosco community on many levels.

Our students' day-to-day learning and discovery was impressive and punctuated with prayer. Our teachers demonstrated a strong commitment to quality instruction and differentiated learning. Our parents are steadfast in taking an active role in their children's success and the continued success of our school.

I am extremely proud of our students' remarkable MAP scores across math, reading and language. Our 4th through 8th graders literally put St. John Bosco on the map as the top school in the country by scoring in the 99th percentile in language! And that's not all. On average, the students scored between the 89th and 99th percentile range in all areas. Congratulations to these students and their dedicated teachers.

I am excited to report we will implement the one-to-one iPad program for our 8th grade students this coming fall. A cadre of our teachers will attend the Schoolology Conference where they will learn how to engage technology in new ways and learn best practices for maximizing student achievement. We look forward to this group of teachers helping us to become truly proficient in utilizing the iPad as an invaluable teaching and learning tool.

We are also looking forward to unpacking our new Language Arts curriculum, the Journeys Series, which arrived just last week. It is an excellent new program for both our teachers and students that will roll out in the fall.  

Also this summer, the school will get a new roof. During installation, the office will be closed from June 30th until July 14th.

I know many of you have exciting plans for the summer. I, for one, am going to Rome with my husband. We will cruise the Mediterranean and maybe along the way we will catch a glimpse of the Pope.

Whether you remain in Arizona for a staycation poolside or in the mountains, or travel elsewhere, I hope you have a safe and fantastic summer. Be sure to spend quality time with your family. Please don't forget to spend time reading every day. Summer is the time to stretch your reading boundaries by reading challenging and thought-provoking materials. And, whenever possible, take the time to help and serve others less fortunate than you.

Bulldog News

Send us a selfie of your summer vacation! Hiking the Grand Canyon, catching a Broadway show, or wherever you and your family are going this summer, the Bulldog News would love to receive a digital copy of your favorite snapshot. Please send them to mcarlos@sjbosco.org anytime before the first day of school.