Our annual back-to-school “Meet & Sweet” event for all NEW Saint James elementary/middle school (K-8) students/families and buddy families will be held the evening of Tuesday, August 29th from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.  All incoming Kindergarten students and their families (even if they have older siblings already at the school) are also invited to attend.  If you have any questions regarding the Meet & Sweet event, please contact our Advancement Director, Amy Guenther at aguenther@saintjamesschool.net.

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, please join us in welcoming the following new staff members:

Mrs. Lisa Anderson – Assistant Principal
Mrs. Lisa Anderson has joined the Saint James School staff in the role of Assistant Principal. Mrs. Anderson most recently served as Principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel school in Meriden, CT, and has over 15 years of middle school teaching experience (at Corpus Christi School in Wethersfield, CT). Mrs. Anderson has a degree in Business Management, a Master’s Degree in Education, and also has her Professional Educator License from the State of Connecticut.  Mrs. Anderson’s office will be located on the Middle School floor.

Mrs. Jennifer LaMarche – 2^nd grade teacher
With Mrs. Zorger moving into the Principal position, we are pleased to announce the addition of Mrs. Jennifer LaMarche in the role of 2^nd grade teacher.  Mrs. LaMarche comes to us from Saint Joseph School in Baltic, CT, where she taught 1^st and 2^nd grade for over 10 years as well as serving as the school’s Assistant Principal during the past year.  In addition to having her Professional Elementary Educator License from the State of Connecticut, Mrs. LaMarche has a BA in History and Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Education.

Mr. Robert W. Viara – Technology and Middle School STREAM Teacher
Mr. Robert Viara will be taking over for Mrs. McNamara, who has decided to pursue another opportunity outside of SJS.  Mr. Viara comes to us from EO Smith High School in Storrs, CT, where he taught Technology and Engineering.  A Manchester native, Mr. Viara has been involved in Manchester youth sports for many years. He has a Master’s Degree in Education and is certified through the State of Connecticut to teach technology to Pre-Kindergarten through 12^th grade (with experience teaching technology to grades 5-12).  Prior to his teaching career Mr. Viara worked as a manufacturing engineer at Pratt and Whitney.

(STREAM is an acronym for practical learning applications that combine Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Math and is part of our middle school course schedule).

We are excited to have these three new educators joining our school staff! Please join us in welcoming them to the Saint James School community!

In addition to Mrs. McNamara, Mrs. Reilly (part-time, middle school math teacher) has also decided to pursue other opportunities outside of SJS.  Mrs. Zorger is currently interviewing candidates and plans to make an offer to fill the position by the end of next week.

A couple of notes/reminders:

Summer Hours:   The school office will be open Monday – Friday from 9:00am – 1:00pm.

Soccer Uniforms:  Soccer uniforms must be returned to the school or the coach.

Openings: We still have space available in some of our grades (including Pre-Kindergarten) if you know anyone who is looking at school options for their child(ren).

Documents, Forms & Calendars:  All documents, forms, and calendars  will be available on our website under the DOCUMENTS & FORMS page (yellow quick link on the right side of the page).  This includes:

• 2017-2018 K-5 School Supply List
• 2017-2018 Gr 6-8 School Supply List
• 2017-2018 Dress Code
• 2017-2018 One Page Calendar
• 2017-2018 SJS Athletics Health Form (form must be signed by child’s doctor and is required prior to participation in all SJS Sports)
• Fall 2017 Cross Country (Informational letter from the Coach for students entering grades 5th – 8th)

Please note, additional documents will be added to the website over the next few weeks as they become available (class lists will be e-mailed the week before school starts).

Summer reading assignments for next year’s 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are online under Documents & Forms.

As a reminder, field day is on Thursday:

Wear:  SJS Gym Shorts, Gym sneakers, and any T-shirt in the color designated for the grade.  Don’t forget to apply SUNSCREEN (hope we need it)!

T-Shirt Colors

1^st                     Purple (or something close…this is a tough color)

2^nd                    Blue

3^rd                    Green

4^th                    Yellow

5^th                    Orange

6^th                    Red

7^th                    Tie dye or navy

Teachers         Pink          

Just a heads up that dismissal for walkers will take place in the lot between the main school and the Pre-Kindergarten facility today.