Our Cross Country team will have a meet tomorrow at Elizabeth Park in Hartford/West Hartford. Mrs. O’Neill asks that runners meet at the Ana Grace Love Wins Playground on the corner of Whitney Street and Elizabeth Street. The official address of the playground is 178-202 Elizabeth St, Hartford, CT. Please arrive at 3:00pm to walk the course, race begins at 4:00pm.
Good luck Sabers!
Congratulations and Thank You to our 2018-2019 Saint James School volunteers of the year: Mr. Bill Creamer, Mr. Keith Levin, and Mr. Ken Sarpu. All three individuals were honored last night at the 41st HOPES Dinner at the Aqua Turf in Southington where they, along with other outstanding volunteers the Archdiocese, received the St. John Newmann Award for Volunteer Service.
For those of you who don’t know Bill, Keith, and Ken, these three gentlemen have played a pivotal role in organizing our school’s basketball program (which typically has 10+ different teams each season). All three have actively coached countless teams over the years in addition to volunteering in numerous other aspects of the school community. We are very blessed to have so many dedicated individuals in our school community – thank you again to Bill, Keith, and Ken for their dedication to making SJS such a great place for our kids to grow and learn!!
Basketball Open Gym sessions (for boys and girls in grades 4 – 8 that are interested in playing basketball this year) will begin the first week of October. We are asking that all students who are interested in playing basketball submit their Athletics Health Form 2018-2019 (signed by their doctor) to the office by September 28th. No students will be able to participate in the Open Gyms or any tryouts/ practices without this form on file.
Also, please don’t submit any money at this time…program fees, forms, and additional program details are being finalized and will be communicated over the next few weeks.
If you were unable to attend our Scholastic Book Fair (or simply want to get additional books for your child), you can visit our ONLINE Shopping link HERE. The online store is open to us through Friday, September 28th. Our school will still receive 50% credit for your purchase and orders will be shipped for free and delivered to your child at SJS.
If you are still planning to purchase mums through this fundraiser, please send your order and money in before this Friday for optimal selection. After this weekend, the farm cannot guarantee availability. Thank you to everyone who purchased – we have sold 288 plants so far!
Mums cost $4.50 each (for 9″ pots) and you can pay by cash or check payable to St. James School HSA.
Just like our prior flower/wreath sales:
1. place your order using this link
2. print the confirmation email and send it to school in an envelope with your payment
Upon receipt of your payment, we will send home vouchers with your child. Simply take the vouchers to Botticello Farms and pick out your mums/colors.
Any questions, please contact Jackie Smith: jacqmsmith@gmail.com.
The CT Department of Revenue Services has recently confirmed that 529 Education Savings Accounts, which can now be used for private K-12 school tuition, just as they are currently used for college tuition, will not be subjected to any state tax penalties under current state law.
This means that parents, grandparents, and other family members can invest in the State of Connecticut’s CHET Program, and apply funds saved in those accounts to K-12 nonpublic Catholic school tuition bills. They will be able keep their state tax deductions for their CHET contributions, the same as if the funds were used for college tuition.
Information is contained in this document: Connecticut 529 FAQs and the CT Mirror news article we shared last week.
The Connecticut Catholic Conference, which has assisted in achieving this clarification from the State of Connecticut, has asked the State Treasurer’s Office to make this information clearer on the CHET website and to implement procedures that facilitate these withdrawals for K-12 tuition. (The private schools have not yet been assigned “numbers” as has been done for colleges and universities. However, that should not deter anyone as long as he/she can demonstrate that any amount withdrawn for private school tuition was then paid to that institution).
Many families may benefit from the use of this vehicle for saving and for paying Catholic school tuition. Families are encouraged to consult with their financial advisors and/or contact the CHET program directly for more information. Thank you.
Michael S. Griffin., Ph.D.
Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Archdiocese of Hartford
Congratulations to our Middle School Cross Country Runners for a great performance this past Saturday at the Harry Geraghty Invitational at Nevers Park in South Windsor. For the Girls’ race, 8th grader Abby Ray took 1st place overall out of the 60 runners competing, with Kaitlyn Nyberg (8th grade) and Maya Fisher (6th grade) coming in 3rd and 6th respectively. Rounding out our top 5 scorers for the girls were Sammy Creamer (6th grade) and Jillian Vichi (8th grade).
For the boys, our top finisher was Nicholas Kalb (8th grade) in 17th place out of 46 runners, followed by Bradley Bushnell (7th Grade), Danny Chomick (6th grade), Zach Nyberg (6th grade), and Mason Breton (8th grade).
Congratulations Sabers!
As a reminder, there is a VIRTUS class for volunteers tonight: Monday, September 24, 2018 @ 6:00pm at Saint Christopher School in East Hartford.
To participate in a VIRTUS session, you must Pre-Register on the VIRTUS Site. To access the schedule of upcoming sessions and register to attend one, click HERE and select Hartford, CT (Archdiocese). Please remember you must also turn in a background check form to the SJS main office. The next local session coming up will be at St. Paul Church in Glastonbury on Wednesday, October 3rd at 6:00pm.
Please review the following Press Release from the Archdiocese of Hartford.
HARTFORD, Conn. – (Sept. 18, 2018) It was announced today at the Vatican that His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Hartford the Reverend Juan Miguel Betancourt Torres, SEMV, assigning him the Titular See of Curzola. Archbishop Leonard P. Blair shared this announcement with his archdiocesan staff at 10 a.m. EST.
The Bishop-elect was ordained a priest on April 21, 2001. He currently serves on the faculty of The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minnesota, as Vice Rector of Formation, Associate Academic Dean and Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture. He is also the Pastor of the Church of St. Francis de Sales of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I feel honored and very grateful for the Lord’s call to serve with all my heart the people of the Archdiocese of Hartford, under the pastoral and fatherly care of Archbishop Leonard P. Blair,” Bishop-elect Betancourt said in advance of the announcement.
Bishop-elect Betancourt is a member of the Society of the Servants of the Eucharist and Mary (Esclavos de la Eucaristia y de Maria Virgen), which he joined after graduation from college. He presently serves as Vicar General of the community. It is a contemplative community founded in Puerto Rico, centered on Eucharistic adoration and Marian consecration, and is part of the International Schoenstatt Movement.
Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1970, the Bishop-elect is the son of Miguel and Gloria Betancourt, and the older brother of sisters: Gloria and Glorimar.
He is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor in Natural Sciences, and received a Master of Divinity degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce. Following his priestly ordination, he earned a Licentiate (S.S.L.) in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.
Fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, he has proficiency in other languages as well.
The Bishop-elect has served on the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and as a Board member of the National Conference for Seminarians in Hispanic Ministry. His professional experience also includes teaching at the University of St. Thomas and in the Diaconate Program for the Archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis, and at the major seminary, Regina Cleri and the Pontifical University in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
In making public the appointment of Father Betancourt, Archbishop Blair of Hartford said that: “Coming as it does on the eve of the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese in November, the appointment of Father Betancourt is a cause of rejoicing not only for me personally, but for all our clergy, religious and laity. For me and for our clergy it means the welcome arrival of a dedicated co-worker in the Lord’s vineyard who brings a variety of talents and of experience to our shared ministry. For the laity of the Archdiocese in all its present-day diversity, Fr. Betancourt’s Hispanic/Latino heritage will only enhance the pastoral care that he will exercise for the good of everyone of every race and ethnicity. For those in religious life, Fr. Betancourt’s membership in the Society of the Servants of the Eucharist and Mary only serves to underscore the value and contribution that consecrated religious men and women make to the good of the church.”
All are invited to participate in his Episcopal Ordination on Thursday, October 18, at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 140 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105.
Our Middle School Cross Country runners will attend their first invitational at Never’s Park in South Windsor tomorrow, September 22nd. Students should arrive at 8:00am to walk the course and stretch with Coach O’Neill. For spectators that may wish to attend, the boys race kicks off 9:00am, Girls race at 9:25am. Go Sabers!!
The cross country calendar has been also been added to the XC page of our school’s website.