Girls JV White Practice Notice

Going forward, the Girls JV White team will have practice on Fridays from 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m, beginning tomorrow 12/5.  Practice will be held during Christmas break (12/26 and 1/2).

 

 

Saint James Students Shine at Szopka Competition

This past weekend, Saint James School 6th graders (and some 7th graders) entered the beautiful Polish Nativity Castles (“Szopka”) they have been working on for their religion studies into a contest sponsored by the Polish Cultural Club in Hartford.  Students, with much guidance from middle school teacher Ms. Carol Oleasz, put a lot of time and effort into making these beautiful palaces depicting the Holy Family and Baby Jesus.

We are excited to announce that Saint James students won first, second, and third place as well as four honorable mentions!  The winners are as follows:

1st Place: Kate Leyden & Colleen Truman

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2nd Place:  Angela Gerard & Shreya Chopra

3rd Place: Nathan Melia & Sophia Davillier

Honorable Mentions went to:

Chris Constantine;  Emily Goodwin & Olivia Chomick; Ally Ansaldi & Isabelle Ray; Sophie Kisner & Alex M.

 

Below are additional pictures of SJS students with their castles

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Attention All Band Students

All band students (4th – 8th grade) will rehearse tomorrow (Tuesday, December 2nd) for the concert.  Please make sure all students bring their instruments to school tomorrow.

 

 

Dennis Uniforms 20% Online Today

Dennis Uniforms is offering 20% off online purchases today plus free shipping on purchases over $85.

 

Lunch Menu Changes

Please note, the Hot Lunch for tomorrow (December 2nd) has been switched with the menu item listed on December 11th.  So, tomorrow’s hot lunch is Boneless Chicken Bites with Brown Rice and December 11th’s hot lunch will be the Calzonette with Marinara Sauce.  Please make a note.

 

 

Reminder: Inclement Weather Policy

With the forecast calling for snow tomorrow, we want to remind everyone about our Inclement Weather Policy.  Please remember SJS follows the “Manchester Public Schools” for delays and closings so be sure to look for the “Manchester Public Schools” listing on the TV.  Also, if you have not already done so, please be sure to sign up for the “Manchester Public Schools” delay and closings text-alert from one of the local weather stations.

Below is a copy of the school’s policy for school delays and cancellations due to inclement weather.  For future reference, this document has also been posted on the school’s homepage (bottom right), along with a link to one of our suggested text-alert sign-up alternatives.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school office at (860) 643-5088 or mainoffice@saintjamesschool.net.

Inclement Weather Information

 

 

Principal Appreciation Day

Today was NCEA Principal Appreciation Day, a special day to celebrate Catholic school principals nationwide. Students and staff honored Mrs. Kanute by giving her a very special Christmas tree for her office, along with ornaments hand-made by each class. Some classes used a fingerprint from every child to design their ornament while others had small, rolled up prayers from each student inside a glass ball.  Attached is a picture of several students as they came down to present Mrs. Kanute with their class ornament and a close-up of two of the beautiful, student-made ornaments.

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Author of the Year Project

 

CongratulatiIMG_0004ons to Kylie Rataic, the winner of the seventh grade Author of the Year project.  This month-long English Literature project had students utilizing research, creativity, persuasive writing, and presentation skills to campaign for a classic literary author of their choosing to be named Author of the Year.

There were three parts to the project: 1) creating a campaign poster, with a catchy slogan that incorporated the title of one of the author’s books; 2) creating an attention-grabbing campaign speech that included specific facts about the author; 3) creating a campaign jingle that used a familiar or made-up tune to highlight facts about the author.

After reviewing the posters and listening to all the campaign speeches and jingles, seventh grade students and teachers voted.  A winner was chosen in both the campaign speech category and the jingle category as well as an overall “Author of the Year” winner.

In the jingle category, seventh grader Justin Clark, who cleverly used the tune “Y-M-C-A” by the Village People to sing “V-O-T-E (for Henry David Thoreau),” tied for first place with Kylie’s “Don’t Stop Voting (for Agatha Christie),” which used the tune of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”.

In the speech contest, Noah Percy’s campaign speech for C.S. Lewis tied for first with Kylie’s campaign speech for Agatha Christie.  The overall Author of the Year designation was won by Kylie for her author, Agatha Christie.

 

Below are some additional pictures from the project.

 

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Sixth Grade Plate Tectonics Lab

Monday’s sixth grade science lab used simple grocery items to illustrate what the students 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.

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Reminder: Non-Perishable Food Items

Just a reminder that our Student Council is collecting non-perishable food items (gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, beans, peas, gingerbread, etc.) or monetary donations for the St. Vincent de Paul Society to put together Thanksgiving meals for people in need.

If you wish to make a donation, students should bring donated items to their classroom by the morning of Monday, November 24th.  Student Council will collect all the items that morning (Monday, November 24th) and assemble them in the breezeway for pick-up by a St. Vincent de Paul Society representative.

Thank you for your support in helping provide those less fortunate with a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.