We are excited to announce the return of the SJS Ski & Snowboard club for another fun year on the slopes!  Ski & Snowboard Club is for students in grades 3 – 8 (students in grades 3 & 4 MUST have a parent or guardian present at all of the sessions – including riding on the bus – in order to participate. Parent/guardian does not have to ski).

Below are instructions on how to register for Saint James School’s Ski/Snowboard Club. Please be sure to review our Informational Flyer before completing/submitting the paperwork.  Space on the bus is limited and spots will be filled first come first served based on your bus payment to the SJS main office.

** Purchase of Lift Tickets, lessons, and rental equipment (for participating adults and students) must be done through Mt. Southington’s website. PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS IN THIS DOCUMENT.  It is very important that you register with our SJS group information in order for the tickets to be processed correctly.

Submit to the SJS Main Office:

**2025 Ski Club Permission Slip

**A check for $120 for each person riding the bus, made out to St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish and submitted with the permission slip.  One check with the total amount can be written per family.  The $120 covers all four dates.  Please include “Ski Club” and names of bus riders in the Memo field.

We are excited for a great season and look forward to seeing everyone on the slopes!  Please feel free to email aguenther@saintjamesschool.net or our Ski Club parent volunteer coordinator – Steve Joyner (joyner11@cox.net) – with questions.

The SJS Spiritwear Store for Basketball, Cheer, or General Spiritwear items will close today, Tuesday December 3rd:  https://sjs.brand—essentials.com/shops/sjs/

If you would like to review the original email, you may do so HERE.

“Let us begin again, for until now we have done nothing.” – St. Francis of Assisi

Happy liturgical new year! With the start of Advent, we have the chance to reflect on the spiritual growth we have made over the past year as well as make some “resolutions” for the year ahead. I have heard of Advent be referred to as a “mini Lent” in the sense that while the secular world has already begun Christmas celebrations, the Church asks its people to take the time to prepare for the coming of Christ. In fact, did you know that Advent is a season that is not only supposed to prepare us for the birth of Jesus, but also for how he comes to us now, as well as for when He comes at the end of time? That’s a lot of preparation to pack into three and a half weeks!

Most of us have routines and traditions that help us prepare for the celebration of Christmas. As an adult, I still refuse to let my father buy an artificial tree for his house, because one of my favorite traditions is going out with him to a tree farm and selecting the perfect tree to cut down and bring home. He likes to tease me and claim he already went to the store to get a fake tree, but I know he enjoys the trip as much as I do. Hopefully, your family also has a Christmas tradition that brings you all great joy and helps make the holiday feel “just right.”

I wonder though, how many of us have routines or traditions this time of year that brings us into deeper relationship with the Lord, the One who is “the reason for the season?” If your response to that is “not any,” or “it’s such a busy time of year already,” or “we usually light the candles on our Advent wreath at home,” I’d like to challenge you to make the effort to try something new this year. Stop at St. James Church in Manchester M-F between 9a-4p for 15 minutes of Adoration; sign-up for an Advent “program” that sends you a daily email which includes a meditation or prayer of the day; use one of the many Catholic apps available that provide podcasts, videos, recordings, etc. that you can listen to or watch that will provide you with ways to spiritually enhance your Advent. Pick up a book that has daily readings to ponder; St. Teresa Parish provides an Advent aide called The Little Blue Book at each of its four churches in Manchester that you can take for free! Any of these options could really help you grow in your faith and appreciate the season even more.

I pray that whatever you do to prepare for and celebrate Christmas this year, you remember that what Jesus desires most is your love and trust in Him. December 25th is His birthday after all, consider ways to give Him the gift of your time and gratitude. May this season be full of joy and wonder for your families; I wish you a most blessed Advent and a very, merry Christmas.

-Stephanie