In light of the State of Connecticut’s mandates for schools to resume in-person learning in the fall, we want to assure our families that Saint James School has been, and continues to be, planning for a safe return to in-person learning when school resumes in August.  Today our RIIS Committee  (Return to In-Person Instruction Strategy Committee) formally met for the first time to review the lengthy document put forth by the State as well as the information we have received from the Archdiocese of Hartford.  As part of our planning process, we will be sending a survey to families very early next week to gather your feedback as well.  A big part of this process will be communication and we look forward to sharing information with you throughout the summer as plans continue to unfold.

Here is the link to the Saint James Parish Virtual Mass for this weekend.   It may be viewed at your convenience.

https://youtu.be/z_2-sr4i7O8

During the past several weeks, we have been sending out tips on Social Emotional Learning that we thought might be of interest to parents.  Today we wanted to share information on Goal Directed Behavior, another one of the 8 critical areas of importance for well-being.  As noted in our earlier emails, studies show that developing and nurturing important skills in our children can help them become happy, productive, and successful adults as they appreciate how to think and act in stressful or challenging situations.

Here is some information about developing goal directed behavior – a child’s initiation of, and persistence in completing, tasks of varying difficulty:  Goal Directed Behavior

Being able to set and achieve goals is a valuable life skill. Everything that goes into setting and achieving goals (having a clear, specific vision of what we want to learn or accomplish; having a plan that we can actually carry out, if we stay motivated, tracking and measuring our progress along the way; and creating a timeline for reaching our goal so that we are reminded to stay on track) help to prepare us for work life, for higher education, and for contributing to our families and communities in ways that are meaningful for us.

Generally, setting goals is the easy part! It’s following through and accomplishing them that can be tricky. Carrying out our action plan can become difficult or we may start to lose interest. But since setting goals, sticking to our plan, and then achieving our dreams helps build habits for a lifetime, it’s worth it in the long run!  Here are some helpful tips and ideas from Parents.com.

 

If you want to refer back to any of our prior posts on Social Emotional Learning, links are below:

Optimistic Thinking

Self-Awareness

Self-Management

Social Awareness

Relationship Skills

 

 

As you may recall, last year’s Annual Fund Campaign (2019) was focused on raising money to help offset the cost of replacing one final roof on our school campus – the roof on our Pre-Kindergarten building (the former Saint James School Convent).   We are excited to announce that construction on this project will begin next week.  Thank you again to everyone who supported this important initiative.

Information kicking off our 2020 Annual Fund Campaign will be sent out via postal mail next week.

Please remember that a NEW Parish Affiliation Form must be submitted each year to receive the Catholic tuition rate.  If you have not yet turned yours in, please do so by the end of June: 2020-2021 Parish Affiliation Form

For returning families, please note that FACTS (our tuition management company) will be sending an email with your 2020-2021 tuition information around the second week of July (families new to SJS will receive theirs shortly).  If you are planning to apply for financial aid for the 2020-2021 school year, you may do so now by logging on to your existing FACTS account (please do not wait until you get the email in July).  As a reminder, you must reapply for financial aid each year.

If you have any questions regarding your tuition account, please reach out to Denise Mayo via email at dmayo@saintjamesschool.net.