If you don’t already have our SJS App installed on your mobile device, please visit the App Store or Google Play Store and search for St. James School Manchester CT or use THIS LINK. Be sure to say “YES” to receiving notifications. Please note: returning families should confirm they are still logged in if they have not checked the app in a while. Any questions or problems regarding our SJS App, please email aguenther@saintjamesschool.net
Mrs. Pennington, our school nurse, will have availability to accept student medicines and medicine authorization forms on August 23rd (Friday) and August 27th (Tuesday). Please email her at kpennington@mpspride.org to schedule an appointment if you would like to come on one of these two dates. She will also be available during the Back to School Open House event on August 28th, but the line to see the nurse can be quite long on that day.
Saint James School and Saint Bridget School are proud to be supporting The Wall That Heals during its time in Manchester this September.
There will be several ways that our schools will participate – one of which is hosting a joint choir to sing at Charter Oak Park (where The Wall will be stationed) during the POW/MIA ceremony on Friday, September 20th.
If your (4th – 8th Grade) student(s) would be interested in performing a couple of patriotic songs and has transportation to/from Charter Oak Park on the evening of September 20th, please fill out the Google Form below. Our Middle School Music Teacher, Mrs. McKeever-DeLeon, has volunteered to work with interested SJS students after school hours (2:00pm – 2:40pm) on 9/4, 9/11, and 9/18 to put together a performance.
Please note, parents/guardians of participating students must be able to bring them to Charter Oak Park on Friday, September 20th for 6:30pm AND stay with them throughout the event.
Please sign your student(s) up using this link if they would like to participate and can make all the dates: https://forms.gle/1mMafTzZXMuuoPNAA
The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along with a mobile Education Center, is coming to Manchester, CT on September 19- 22 at Charter Oak Park and will be open 24 hours a day and free to the public. The Wall That Heals honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed forces in the Vietnam War and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
Bus assignments for our K-8 students that will utilizing the bus this year were emailed out earlier this week. If you registered to use the bus and did not receive this, please email aguenther@saintjamesschool.net.
Lands’ End is offering a 50% off sale this weekend (August 23-25) on uniform pants and shorts. Please remember that all boys in K-8 will need uniform pants for class picture day on September 18th. Please use code: SCHOOLPANTS, AND pin: 8180 at checkout.
While we have a volunteer coach in place to run this year’s Cross Country Team, we are still need of additional parent volunteers to assist on practice days. Practices will typically occur after school (2:00pm) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you like to run and can be available for most practice days please reach out to our our Athletic Director, Mr. Green, at CGreen@SaintJamesSchool.net to get additional details. Thank you!!
The cost for Hot Lunch at Saint James School for the 2024-2025 school year will be as follows:
Grades K-4: $3.50
Grades 5-8: $4.50
Milk only: $0.40
Please check the balance on your child’s hot lunch (EZSchoolPay) account if they will be purchasing Hot Lunch this school year.
Yesterday, all kindergarten families and any families new to the Saint James School K-8 program should have received an email with their child’s hot lunch account ID. Returning families are welcome to reach out to the Saint James School office if they have forgotten their child’s lunch account ID.
Please note the following:
* Saint James School is now required by the State to serve lunch on early-dismissal days. This means that students should bring a lunch from home or be prepared to purchase hot lunch on the 1st day of school (if you were planning to go out to lunch after dismissal perhaps just send a light snack).
* As per our standard protocol, a monthly hot lunch calendar will be sent via our email blast each month, posted on our website homepage (quick links section), and available on the SJS App.
* You may add money to your child’s account online using the EZSchoolPay app (a $3.00 convenience fee will apply) or by sending in cash or a check to the school with your child (no fee). The check must be made out to “Manchester Public Schools” and please be sure envelopes are labeled with your child’s name.
* An application for Free or Reduced Lunch may be found online at ezmealapp.com. Details and eligibility income guidelines can be found by clicking this link: MPS Paper FAQ. If you would like to print a paper copy of the application, you can do that HERE. Our district for this is Manchester Private Schools.
* Allergies: Students who require hot lunch modifications for food allergies or other dietary restrictions are required to provide the below form, signed by the child’s physician. Please note, this does not refer to dietary preferences but rather a physical condition that restricts the child’s die: Meal Modification in School Lunch Form. If your child has allergies but will never purchase lunch at school, please just inform the nurse.
Congratulations to Mrs. Linda Carpenter on being named the Director of Saint James School’s Pre-Kindergarten program! Mrs. Carpenter has been working with students at Saint James School for many years, most recently as our Pre-K4 teacher. In her expanded position, Mrs. Carpenter will continue to be the lead teacher for the Pre-K4 classroom, with Mrs. Rataic returning as her classroom aide.
In other staffing news, Ms. Page (Pre-K3 teacher) and Mrs. Lerner (Pre-K4 aide) have decided to pursue other opportunities for this upcoming school year. We wish them well in their new endeavors!
With these changes, we are also excited to share that Mrs. Rebecca Duval will be taking on the role of lead teacher in our Pre-K3 program. Mrs. Duval was originally hired to support Saint James School as an aide, but with her experience running a daycare/preschool program for many years she jumped at the opportunity to teach our youngest Sabers when the position opened up. Mrs. Davis, who has been part of our Pre-K3 program for 6 years will continue to be part of the Pre-K3 teaching team as a classroom aide.
Also joining our Pre-K team as classroom aides this year will be Ms. Louisa Afoakwa-Abrokwa, who was previously an aide in the Saint Bartholomew preschool program, and Mrs. Fionnuala Purcell, who also works with the Pre-K students in the SJS aftercare program.
We are excited for a great year!
As a reminder, any parents, grandparents, etc. that would like to volunteer at Saint James School must go through a VIRTUS training session and complete a background check. This includes volunteers for any field trips or classroom parties. This process only has to be completed ONE TIME during your family’s time with SJS.
The VIRTUS training session is currently being held online so we encourage families to complete this requirement now while it can be done at your convenience. The VIRTUS session is focused on identifying signs of abuse in children so you will want to complete this while your children are NOT in the same room.
To register and begin the online session, please go to: https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/.
Choose the green box titled, “FIRST-TIME REGISTRANT” in the left-most column and follow the prompts including the drop-down menu to choose HARTFORD Archdiocese. Select the online class option (a link will be emailed to you). At the end of the course, please print off the CERTIFICATE and send it in to the Saint James School office so we can have a copy in your file.
Please reach out to Mrs. Thornton in the main office to get a copy of the background check form (jthornton@saintjamesschool.net). Once you complete the form, return it to Mrs. Thornton and Saint James School will send it in for processing.
If you are still in need of uniform items, Lands’ End just announced a 30% off flash sale for August 16 – 18 with Code: BOOKBAG and Pin: 5321 at checkout.
Please remember, as per our published SJS Dress Code all items except gym sweatpants, gym sweatshirts, gym shorts, socks, belts, and shoes MUST be purchased from either Lands’ End or Dennis Uniform company.