HSA Meeting Tonight

The Saint James School HSA (Home & School Association) will hold their monthly meeting this evening – Thursday, 1/6 –  from 7:00-8:00pm via Zoom.  We encourage all of our SJS parents/ grandparents to attend to learn about the many fun (and fundraising!) events that will be happening here at school over the next few months and throughout the year.

Here is the link to the Zoom meeting:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84234305574?pwd=RkdnNHpZdlY4b0xsTWhLQjFqelRwQT09

Meeting ID: 842 3430 5574
Passcode: 510498

And here is the agenda for this evening:  HSA Agenda January 2022

 

Hope to see you there!

Epiphany & Home Kit Reminder

If you will be utilizing your Epiphany Home Blessing Kit today, tomorrow, or this weekend, we would love for you to send a picture of your student/family with the sign to possibly share with our community.  You can send that to your child’s teacher or aguenther@saintjamesschool.net.  Thank you to those who have already sent in pics!

Update on Covid Policies & Extracurricular Activities

January 5, 2021

Dear Parents,

With the current surge in Covid-positive cases in our area and the CDC’s recently-updated guidance, we want to share another update regarding our policies here at Saint James School.

Quarantine Policy
At this time, we are maintaining the 10-day quarantine policy for any students and staff who are Covid-positive and for unvaccinated individuals who have been in close contact** with a Covid-positive individual.  This policy has served us well as we strive to prevent in-school transmission of the virus.

We will reevaluate this policy when cases in our area begin to decline.

** Please note, close contact is defined as:
Outside of a school setting:  6 feet, or less, from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period;
Inside a school setting: 3 feet, or less, from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.

 

Health Screenings
Parents should continue to do a daily health assessment of their child before they come to school to monitor for symptoms of illness (see below).  If your child has any Covid symptoms, please keep them home and notify the school.  We ask all families to continue to err on the side of caution during this time.

Signs and symptoms of Covid can include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting or diarrhea, and skin rashes.  A full list can be viewed here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care-quick-reference.html.

 

Contact Tracing
Based on guidance from the State Department of Education, Saint James School is discontinuing the contact tracing portion of our protocol effective immediately.  The guidance from the state, and our subsequent adoption of this change, is based on the fact that even in times of high community transmission, classroom mitigation strategies have successfully prevented in-school spread.  In addition, the state is encouraging schools to move their health staff away from the investigation of relatively low risk in-school exposures and toward the identification, early isolation, and clinical management of student cases.

 

Extracurricular Activities
At this time all school-sponsored extracurricular activities, including basketball practice and games, will be suspended through January 14th.  We will reevaluate next week and will communicate the update via email.

 

Thank you again for your patience and support as we navigate what is hopefully a short-lived increase of Covid cases in our area.

Sincerely,

Bridget Zorger
Principal

Epiphany Home Blessing Kits

Reminder

Please remember that students should have a few extra masks in their backpack each day.  Please take a moment to check your child’s backpack and replenish if needed.

Also, some classrooms are running very low on cleaning wipes.  If anyone has an extra tub of sanitizing wipes at home and is willing to send them in (or grab an extra next time you are at the store), we would appreciate it.  (Thank you to those who brought some in today!)

Ski & Snowboard Club Update

For those that stated interest in our Ski & Snowboard Club prior to break (via our online form), we wanted to advise that additional information will be forthcoming early next week.  Please note the 1/14 date has been cancelled due to the high Covid numbers at this time.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out to Amy Guenther at aguenther@saintjamesschool.net.

January Newsletter and Calendars

Please find below the January Saber Stories Newsletter from Mrs. Zorger along with the January Event Calendar and Hot Lunch Menu.

Saber Stories JANUARY 2022

Updated Calendar Page JANUARY 2022

St. James Menu – January

12:05pm Dismissal Tomorrow 12/23 (11:00 for Bus)

Tomorrow – Thursday, December 23rd – is a 12:05pm dismissal day, and the start of our Christmas Recess.

As previously communicated, the school buses will depart SJS at 11:00am tomorrow (due to a conflict with the public school schedule).  For students that normally take the bus, the information submitted from parents through the Google form will be passed along to the teachers, but please make sure your student is also aware of how they will be getting home tomorrow.

AFTERCARE WILL BE IN SESSION tomorrow.  Please remember students going to aftercare tomorrow will need a lunch from home.

Ski Club Interest?

We are looking to bring back the SJS Ski & Snowboard Club again this year.  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 in order to participate – they do not have to ski).

Before we move forward with booking the buses, etc. we need to know what the interest level is this year.  Please fill out this form if your student(s) will be participating and if you or a member of your family will be attending as well:  https://forms.gle/KSaFFrk4tBJA4Rpo9

Some things to keep in mind:

* Dates would be 1/14, 1/28, and 2/11.

* If there is a Covid exposure on the bus, students may need to quarantine

* Ticket/rental/lesson costs will be as follows:  Lift Ticket Only $96 (3 visits x $32); Lift Ticket with Lesson – $135 (3 visits x $45); Lift Ticket with Rental Equipment – $150 (3 visits x $50); Lift Ticket with Lesson & Rental Equipment – $180 (3 visits x $60).

* There will be an additional cost for the bus – depending on how many families wish to participate and how many buses we need will determine this cost.  We anticipate approximately $100 total per participant but need to understand how many families are interested to provide an accurate number.

* The bus will depart from Saint James School at 2:00pm and will return to SJS at approximately 8:45pm.

 

Red & Green Dress Down Tomorrow (12/22)

Wednesday, December 22nd will be a (free) Red & Green/Christmas-themed dress down day for students and staff.  All standard dress down guidelines from the handbook apply, including:

  • Leggings are not permitted (unless the student is wearing a long shirt that comes down to mid-thigh)
  • No shorts, halter tops, half shirts, tank tops, and see-through tops
  • Waistbands must not sag below the waist. Pants legs must not drag on the floor.
  • High heels, platform shoes, flip-flops, open-toe sandals, and shoes with no backs are not allowed.
  • Clothing must not be torn, ragged, or have holes.