As a reminder, the following Basketball Open Gyms are scheduled for tomorrow evening. Students must have their 2019-2020 Athletics Health Permission Form on file with the school by tomorrow morning to participate.
GIRLS in grades 5 – 8: October 8th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
BOYS in grades 7 & 8: October 8th from 7:00pm – 8:30pm
The SJS Basketball Permission Slip and SJS Athlete Character Contract are due to the school by October 18th.
The September Extended Day statements are now available for pick-up from Ms. Jean. Please be sure to grab yours next time you pick up your child from aftercare.
October 4, 2019
Dear Parents and Guardians of Saint James School Students,
This morning, the Manchester Police Department Traffic Supervisor came to school due to a safety concern brought to his attention regarding morning traffic and illegal parking. He was alerted that many of the drivers coming to school in the morning and afternoon are not obeying the traffic signs posted. Drivers are parking in “No Parking” areas, idling in crosswalks, and dropping their children off in intersections.
I have been advised by the Police Department and by the Traffic Engineer that our school’s parents need to obey the traffic laws. Therefore, I am meeting with them next week and creating a plan that they are requiring for me to have all my families sign off on, acknowledging receipt and understanding of the procedures.
Parking and drop-off on Otis Street tends to be an issue with our drivers. There is no parking on the East side of the street and there are No Parking signs there to remind drivers of this. Cars cannot be parked or pulled over (this includes “jumping” out of the car to walk your child to the crosswalk or getting your child’s back pack on) from the “No Parking” sign to the intersection. Drivers are parking there and creating significant safety issues for walkers in the crosswalk and for traffic turning off of Park Street onto Otis Street.
I would like to remind you that your BEST option is parking at St. James Church parking lot and walking your child up to school. There is plenty of parking there and we have a crossing guard to assist crossing the intersection.
In front of the gym is only for morning drop-off. We cannot have cars parked there at any time during drop-off or pick-up in the afternoon.
Please know that the safety of all Saint James children is our number one priority. Your adherence to the posted signs and our communicated procedures is absolutely necessary. If the person who is dropping off and picking up is a friend, relative, etc. please make sure you inform them accordingly.
Thank you for your support.
Mrs. Zorger
Principal
6th Grade Boys: Open Gym sessions Sunday 10/13 and 10/20 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm;
7th & 8th Grade Boys: Monday 10/14 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm;
4th & 5th Grade Boys: Player evaluations and team selections on Saturday 10/26 from 10:00am -12:00pm. All interested players should attend to be placed on a team;
7th & 8th Grade Boys Varsity Tryouts: Sunday 10/27 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Please remember no players can attend any session without the 2019-2020 Athletics Health Permission Form being on file with the school.
The SJS Basketball Permission Slip and SJS Athlete Character Contract are due to the school by October 18th.
As a reminder, the following Basketball Open Gyms are scheduled for next week. Students must have their 2019-2020 Athletics Health Permission Form on file with the school by October 7th to participate.
GIRLS in grades 5 – 8: October 8th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
BOYS in grades 7 & 8: October 8th from 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Our local Knights of Columbus is hosting a Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, October 6th at Assumption church Hall to raise money for their various charitable activities (which includes support here at Saint James School).
Please check out the attached flyer for details. The Hartford Yard Goats mascot will be in attendance from 10:30am – 11:30pm.
This Friday, in honor of the Feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4th) students may wear dress down attire to school for a $1.00 donation.
All proceeds, which should come to school with the student on Friday, will benefit the installation of raised beds and the planting of bulbs, both of which will tie in with upcoming science lessons for our students. As you may recall, many of the stories surrounding the life of Saint Francis say that he had a great love for animals and the environment.
Please note all student attire must adhere to the Dress Down guidelines on page 11 of the school Handbook.
As a reminder there is a Cross Country meet this afternoon – Thursday, October 3rd – at Nevers Park.
Thursday (October 3):
Nevers Park (vs. Timothy Edwards and Sage Park)
150 Nevers Road, South Windsor, CT 06074
Arrive at 3:00pm
Race begins at 3:45pm
This coming Monday (October 7th) the cross country team will practice after school from 2:05pm to 3:30pm as scheduled.
Schedule Change:
The team will race again on Wednesday, October 9th at Vernon Center Middle School INSTEAD of Thursday at Elizabeth Park in West Hartford. We have made this change to our Cross Country Calendar so if you are subscribed, it should automatically update this in your calendar.
Next Saturday, October 12th, is the Wickham Park Invitational (8:00am arrival).
All after school STEM clubs are full. We will announce the dates for the next group shortly.
Please join us the evening of Tuesday, October 15th at 6:00pm in the school gym as Saint James School presents our 2019 State of the School Address. During this annual, informational meeting Mrs. Zorger will share information on how our school is performing in critical areas such as enrollment, finances, and academics as well as current major initiatives, upcoming initiatives, and more. We encourage all SJS parents to come be part of this informative evening.
In addition, our guest speaker this year will be a local police officer who will be speaking on the latest social media trends, problematic adolescent online behaviors, and tips to help talk to our kids about being safe online. View Flyer Here.
During the meeting, the HSA will be hosting a fun event for our students in the Cafeteria.
Hope to see you there!
Please note that no cars should be parking against the curb in front of the breezeway at afternoon pick-up (on the school side of the street). This areas is marked NO PARKING from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. We have received complaints that cars are parking in this area and it is causing congestion for the buses and other traffic.
Also keep in mind, STATE LAW prohibits parking within 25 feet of a crosswalk or stop sign.