St. Bridget’s is hosting their annual Winter Snowball Dance this Friday evening Dec. 13th from 7 to 10 pm.  This is a semi formal dance. Girls are encouraged to wear skirts and dresses, no strapless or sleeveless tops are allowed. If your top is strapless or sleeveless a cover up will be required throughout the evening.  Boys are encouraged to wear dress pants and a polo or button up shirt, please no jeans, T-shirts or sneakers, and as always no hats.  Admission is $5 and must be accompanied by a completed permission slip, which can be downloaded here .   We look forward to seeing everyone dressed in their finest this holiday season.

Yesterday we e-mailed out a DRAFT version of the Saint James School Family Directory to SJS parents/guardians and staff.  If you have not already done so, please take a moment to check your family’s listing and provide any changes you wish to make by the end of day today (Tuesday).  If you did not receive the e-mail with the directory information, please e-mail us at info@saintjamesschool.net.

After making changes, we will be printing the directory and sending it home with students (next week).

This Friday (12/13) students may dress down in Red & Green for a $1.00 (or more) donation, with the proceeds going towards a Scholarship Fund being set up in the name of our retiring Archbishop Henry J. Mansell.

In keeping with the annual tradition, Saint James Pre-Kindergarten through 5th Grade students left one shoe outside their classroom this morning in celebration of St. Nicholas day.  A popular tradition in Northern Europe, St. Nick celebrations include leaving a shoe by the fireplace, in which children later find a treat or gift (the origin of our American Christmas stockings).

In addition to the fun that goes along with this special tradition at Saint James, it is also a time that our students learn about Saint Nicholas, who was renowned for his great kindness and generous aid to those in distress.

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.  We are so proud of our students, who put a lot of time and effort into making these beautiful places for the Holy Family and Baby Jesus to be born.  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 – Hailey  and Maggie  (grade 6)

2nd Place – Olivia and Ana  (grade 7)

3rd Place – Eleri and Clarice (grade 6)