St. John’s welcomes new principal
St. John’s Catholic School recently announced Paul Guild has joined the school as principal.
Guild relocated to Hot Springs from the Tampa Bay area in Florida. He has an Master of Education in Educational Administration from the University of Dayton and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Franciscan University. Guild has 30 years’ experience in Catholic schools as a high school teacher, grade school administrator and high school administrator.
St. John’s Catholic School, a fully accredited educational institution, develops the whole person, promotes Gospel values, inspires a love of learning and upholds academic excellence in a nurturing community. St. John’s welcomes children of all faiths.
The school is founded on the four pillars of Catholic education: Catholic identity, academic excellence, affordability and accessibility. While blending authentic teaching of the church with high educational achievement in outcomes and scores, St. John’s has continued to provide all children access to high-quality academic and moral education.
Computer classes are offered to prekindergarten through the eighth grade with a state-of-the-art computer lab. In addition, laptops and Chromebooks are provided for fifth- through eighth-grade writing, social studies and science classes. SMART boards or sympodiums and iPads are utilized in every classroom pre-K through eighth grade.
St. John’s students participate in Parochial League athletics in the grades 3-8. The school offers volleyball, basketball, track and field, and cross-country.
Learning, practicing and exemplifying the connection between God and science is an integral part of the St. John’s School curriculum. At St. John’s, students care for God’s creation by participating in the Stream Team Program in seventh and eighth grade.
Building upon a solid language arts foundation from pre-K, the fifth- through eighth-grade reading course at St. John’s is curriculum-based and encourages students to read often. In their writing, they are expected to research information and use it to support their ideas. Availability of laptops in the classroom allows students to receive immediate feedback and positive reinforcement for their efforts.
St. John’s takes STEM education to a higher level by introducing STREAM, which includes art and religion.
In addition to Spanish for pre-K3 through the eighth grade, Latin is expanding this year to include grades 3-8.
Students show mercy by helping those in need. The annual Thanksgiving food drive provides food for needy families during the holidays. In addition, students have special collections, either money or needed items, during Advent and Lent.
Outreach projects during the year are chosen based on community needs. However, elementary students regularly visit local nursing homes to provide entertainment and interaction with residents.
A Cyber Day Policy for inclement weather days has been reviewed and approved by the ANSAA accrediting body and SJS has five allowable cyber days in which students will work from home on internet assignments and can communicate with teachers online, messaging or email for assistance.