NO AFTERCARE December 8th
As a reminder, December 8th is a 12:05pm dismissal day and there is NO AFTERCARE that day. All students must be picked up at 12:05pm that day.
From The Archdiocesan Director of Catechetical Education
The National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL) and the Federation for Catechesis with Hispanics (FCH) have worked collaboratively with Sony to provide various faith sharing resources, inspired by the new movie THE STAR. Attached please find the family curriculum of catechetical materials in both English and Spanish. This resource unpacks key themes of Advent and Christmas through Scripture readings, Catholic Tradition, and cultural traditions. Included are conversation starters to encourage families to engage in faith conversations as well as activities for families to participate in together.
The Star – Family Resource/Info Guide (English)
TheStar – Family Resource/Info Guide (Spanish)
Sixth Grade Plate Tectonics Lab
Yesterday sixth graders enjoyed a fun science lab that used simple grocery items to illustrate what they have been learning about plate tectonics. Frosting, a fruit roll-up, and graham crackers represented the asthenosphere, oceanic plate, and continental plate. By manipulating the layers based on Mrs. Plante’s instructions, students were able to see how plate movements can create Earth’s major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and mountain building (click pictures to enlarge).
2nd Graders Make Butter
After attending a prayer service in the school gym today (due to the weather, we did not go to Mass), the 2nd grade students made homemade butter – by shaking heavy cream – to enjoy on their cornbread muffins. Even Principal Zorger stopped in to visit and share in the fun! If you have a 2nd grader this year, perhaps a great treat on the Thanksgiving table would be for them to make the butter!
Amazon Smile
Please help us spread the word! Shoppers on retail website Amazon.com can support Saint James School (for free) each time they make a purchase.
To participate in Amazon Smile, Amazon’s charitable giving program, you must enter Amazon by going to smile.amazon.com. The website experience is exactly the same, but you will be prompted to select a charity to support. Search for “St. James Church Corp” (donations go to the school’s account…this is just the name in Amazon’s system for tax number purposes) or by clicking the “Get Started” button below.
Each time you make a purchase using Amazon through the smile.amazon.com link, Saint James School will receive 0.5% of the purchase price in our account.
Please share this information with your family and friends and remember to use the Smile.Amazon address each time you purchase from Amazon going forward. If you have any questions, please e-mail our Director of Advancement, Amy Guenther, at aguenther@saintjamesschool.net.
Reminder: 12:05pm dismissal tomorrow
Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 22nd, is a 12:05pm dismissal day. Aftercare will be in session but students going to aftercare will need to bring a lunch from home as there is no hot lunch served on early dismissal days.
There is no school on November 23rd and 24th in observance of Thanksgiving.
Important Note: Friday, December 8th is a 12:05pm Dismissal – THERE WILL NOT BE AFTERCARE AVAILABLE ON THIS DAY so please plan accordingly.
As a reminder, there is the option to subscribe to our electronic SJS calendar for just days off and early dismissal days. To do so, click HERE and choose “subscribe to filtered calendar” at the bottom.
No Choir Practice This Wednesday
As a reminder, there is no choir practice this coming Wednesday.
Christmas Wreaths
The HSA Christmas Wreath Sale is well underway! Thank you to all the families that have purchased wreaths so far! There is still plenty of time to order beautiful, locally-made Balsam Christmas wreaths. To place an order, please see the order form by clicking here. Once your order is placed, you will receive your redeemable coupon(s), sent home with your child. The farm is now open for wreath pick-up. Please note, all orders must be placed no later than December 15th and coupons have a “use by”date of December 18th. Should you have any questions, contact Jackie Smith, jacqmsmith@gmail.com.
Reading Cafe
Third grade students were surprised (and excited!) to return from lunch yesterday to find their two classrooms transformed into “Reading Cafés” – each with a roaring fireplace (on the smartboard), relaxing piano music, and decorated tables. This special lesson was to teach the 3rd graders about the word “genre” and the different genres of books.
Students sampled several types of books during this “book tasting” opportunity – spending 10-15 minutes at each station to get a taste of books from different genres. Any books the students enjoyed “tasting,” they could make a note for further reading in the future.
Today, students will switch classrooms – Mrs. Moran’s students will go to Mrs. Phelan’s classroom and vice versa – and sample books from a second selection of genres.
Christmas Photo Fundraiser
The Christmas Card Mini Session Fundraiser was a wonderful event. We are grateful to the 22 families that participated in the photo sessions!! A huge thank you goes to Mrs. Daley and Mrs. Fiereck for all their hard work, talent and generosity in donating their funds to our great school!! Thank you also to Mrs. Talaga, Mrs. VanBuren, Mrs. Malinowski, Mrs. Smith, and 8th grade student Isis Edwards for volunteering their time to help with the event.
