The Saint James Home & School Association (similar to a PTA/PTO) will hold its first meeting of the new school year tomorrow evening, Thursday  (9/17) via Zoom from 7:00-8:00pm.  We strongly encourage parents to attend to learn more about the HSA and to hear about what events are upcoming in the next few months.  If you are unable to attend the Zoom call but would like to volunteer to help at various times throughout the year, please reach out to our HSA President (parent volunteer, Jodi Talaga) at hsa@saintjamesschool.net.

The Zoom class information is as follows:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/74698664177?pwd=cUhLcW5nK1hUN0wrdjhxQWtHcmNhdz09

Meeting ID: 746 9866 4177
Passcode: sGMQ9h

Please remember if you are calling in an absence, those calls must be left with the school nurse.  When you call in to the school, hit ‘3’ to be directly connected to that extension.  Please do not call absences into the front office.

We are excited to announce a couple of new additions to the Saint James School faculty and staff.

Mr. Carlos O’Neill will be joining us later this week as our new Spanish Teacher (Grades 3-8), replacing Senora Nixon who – as you may recall – retired in the Spring.  Mr. O’Neill has vast experience teaching Spanish and bilingual education in the Hartford, East Hartford, and Bloomfield public school systems.  He is a graduate of Mercy College in New York and has his Master’s of Education from UConn with a focus on second language and bilingualism.  He will start teaching Spanish classes this Friday.  We look forward to welcoming Mr. O’Neill to our school community!

Another new addition to our staff, beginning tomorrow, will be Ms. Sara Zukowski.  Ms. Zukowski will be filling in for Mrs. Sager as our front office secretary while Mrs. Sager remains on medical leave for a few more months.  Emails going to the main office should still be sent to lsager@saintjamesschool.net as this is the email Ms. Zukowski will be checking.

Thanks to a grant that has been extended to all of Manchester, students at Saint James School (1st – 8th grade) are now eligible to receive Hot Lunch each day at no charge.  This free hot lunch program is in effect until the end of this calendar year (Dec 31, 2020) OR until the funding runs out (whichever comes first).   In the event a student would like to purchase milk only or extra food items, normal charges will apply. 

For all new students and 1st grade students, you should have received an email with your child’s SJS hot lunch account number.  Students do NOT need to memorize this number.

Currently the cafeteria does NOT have water bottles for sale like we did last year, however our water bottle filling stations are working and can be used to fill a refillable bottle at appropriate times throughout the day.

This Sunday, September 13th at 9:00am, Saint James School will host our first children’s Mass of the new school year.  All Saint James School students and their parents are invited to attend in a show of support for our school!  One of our 8th grade students will be doing the readings.  Unfortunately, we won’t have students serving in other capacities at this time due to the current safety protocol.  Please remember masks are required in church.

Saint James School students are encouraged to wear their school uniforms.  This is a great way for the Saint James Church parishioners (many of whom very generously support our school) to see the exceptional students they are investing in.

All Saint James School families are welcome regardless of faith or home church.