VIRTUS Training Class Added – Sept. 30 6:30pm – Saint James Church

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Saint James School will host a VIRTUS (protecting God’s Children) class on September 30th at 6:30pm in the Saint James CHURCH basement.  If you plan to attend, please register by calling the Saint James School office at 860.643.5088 (option #1 on the main menu).

If you are in need of a background check form (required for all school volunteers, along with VIRTUS), please stop in the SJS office for a copy or you can download it here.  You only need to complete the VIRTUS training one time (you do not need to retake the class each year).

Scholastic Book Fair

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Just a reminder that the Scholastic Book Fair is being held this week in the Saint James School gym.  Proceeds from purchases benefit Saint James School.

Students will be brought down by class to browse through the available books.  During this time, they may fill out a “wish list” of books they want.  This list will come home for your review.  Then, later in the week they will have an option to return to the Scholastic Book Fair during class time to purchase books.

The Scholastic Book Fair will also be open during this week’s Meet The Teachers events.  Please remember to stop by and check to see what items are on your child(ren)’s teacher’s Classroom Wish List.

In addition, if you wish to place an order for books online, you can visit the Online Book Fair for our school by clicking here .  Book ordered will be shipped to the school and delivered to your child.

Volunteers Needed: Scholastic Book Fair

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Our Scholastic Book Fair event chairperson, Heather Meyer, is in need of parent/grandparent volunteers to help out at the school next week.  Volunteers are needed for shifts during school hours and the evenings of the Meet the Teachers nights.  To find out more information or to volunteer, please contact Heather at grizmeyer@cox.net.

SJS Basketball Open Gym/Sports Forms Required

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We are excited to announce that Saint James School will be offering basketball open play clinics towards the end of September  for students in grades 4-8 interested in playing basketball.  If your child will want to participate, please submit the 2013-2014 Athletic Health Form to the main office within in the next week.

Dates for the clinics will be announced shortly.  Please note, under no circumstances will any student be permitted to attend the open play if they do not have a current year health form on file at the school by the date of the clinic.

Fall Fundraiser

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This week your child(ren) should have brought home the school’s Fall Fundraiser catalog.  We have received some questions regarding the penguin prizes and realize the turn-in dates were not provided in the packets.  The 1st turn in day is on or before September 6th (this Friday).  The second turn in day for the penguin prizes is September 10th (Tuesday) and the third day is September 13th (next Friday).

1st HSA Meeting of the Year/Please Note Date Change

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Please join us for the first HSA (Home & School Association) Meeting of the 2013-2014 school year on THURSDAY, September 5th (please note date change) at 6:30pm in the Pre-Kindergarten building.  The HSA – which is similar to a PTA or PTO – is open to all St. James School parents.  Unlike many PTAs there is no fee to join and no minimum time commitment required.

At Saint James School, the HSA is comprised of parent volunteers who organize and support numerous events and fundraisers for the school.

We are always looking for new ideas and suggestions on how to improve the HSA and our school events. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and help make our childrens’ years at Saint James the best that they can be.  Thursday’s meeting will be brief and informational for anyone who may be interested. If you can’t make it this time, our meetings are always open to everyone and usually occur the first Wednesday of every month. We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, please let us know: Diane Parsons (diane@parsonsphoto.org), Linda Carpenter (tcarpenter2005@cox.net), Darcy Donnelly (tdonnelly4@cox.net).

First Day of School

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We hope that everyone has had a wonderful, relaxing summer and our students are ready to start another great year of learning tomorrow (Wednesday, August 28th) for our first day of school.  Just a couple of reminders and updates:

  • Tomorrow is a half day, with dismissal at 12:05pm.  Please make sure every student knows how they are getting home tomorrow so they can relay that information to their teacher (aftercare, bus, or pick-up in the church parking lot).
  • Kindergarten parents will be able to go to the classroom with their child in the morning and will be asked to confirm after-school transportation plans (aftercare, bus, or pick-up in church parking lot).
  • Please remember aftercare students will need to bring a lunch from home.
  • RAIN PLAN:  If there is rain tomorrow morning, all students will come in through the main doors of the school (formerly red, now pained green to match the new windows!)  and proceed right to their classrooms with their supplies.  Kindergarten parents will accompany their children to the classrooms as may any parents of our new families and younger students if necessary. Fortunately,  the weather forecast appears to have changed from yesterday and it looks like we will be able to meet outside (parking lot between the Pre-Kindergarten and K-8 school building) as we traditionally do.
  • Due to scheduling conflicts, we will NOT be having a new parent information session in the cafeteria this year.  Our Director of Advancement, Amy Guenther, will be on hand in the cafeteria after the morning bells if any of our first year parents have any last minute questions they wish to discuss.
  • If anyone needs a new oval “SJS” sticker for their car (or for any new families that did not get one at the meet & sweet last night), they will available in the main office throughout the year at no charge.

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning!

Events Calendar

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The Monthly Events Calendar for the 2013-2014 school year is now available on our website under the “Calendars, Forms, & Docs” quicklink (yellow bar on the right hand side of our homepage).  In addition, you can easily add the Saint James School events right to your e-mail or mobile calendar by going to the calendar on the homepage and selecting the”View Calendar” button.  A monthly calendar will appear.  If you scroll down to the bottom of the monthly calendar, you have an option to “Subscribe” or “Add to Google Calendar.”   Clicking on the individual events also gives you an option to add that specific event directly to your e-mail or mobile calendar.

2013-2014 SJS School Bus Schedule (Manchester residents)

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The 2013-2014 school bus schedule (for Manchester residents only) can be accessed by clicking on the link below.  Please note, this is only the portion of the bus schedule that relates to Saint James School.  The full bus schedule for all schools in town is available on the Manchester Board of Education Website.

 

2013-2014 Bus Schedule SJS

New Windows Currently Being Installed at SJS

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We are excited to announce that Phase 1 of the Window Replacement Project is currently underway at SJS! Among the many benefits of these much-needed new windows will be a significant improvement in the energy efficiency of the impacted classrooms. A huge Thank You to all the SJS parents, grandparents, alumni, Saint James Church parishioners, and many wonderful friends of the school who have given their support to this important initiative during the past several years.  We would also like to specifically recognize sizable donations from our great friends at Highland Park Market and CL&P (through the Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit Program) that helped us close the gap on our funding needs for this project.