1st Day Reminders
We are looking forward to a GREAT 1st day of School tomorrow – Thursday, August 31st. A few reminders – particularly pertaining to our K-8 families:
*Parents: please remember to park in the Saint James Church parking lot or designated areas if you are not using the drop-and-go line. Please do NOT park in any of the school lots or the Pre-Kindergarten staff parking area (behind the blue house).
*Dismissal is at 12:05pm on the first day – no lunch will be served. For students being picked up by a parent or caregiver, afternoon pickup will take place in the parking lot between the main school and the Pre-Kindergarten. Please park in a designated spot and walk over to this lot to pick up your student. Kindergarten will be closest to the grassy area and 8th grade closest to the street – with all other grades sequentially in between. Please wait for the teacher to dismiss the child to you in an orderly fashion (don’t encourage them to run over to you). If you also have a student in the Pre-K, please pick that child up first – then proceed to the “big school.”
*After-care/before-care is available on the first day of school. After-care students should bring lunch from home (no hot lunch served at all this day). You must be registered for the program for the 2022-2023 school year to have your child attend. Please email Ms. Jean (jburdick@saintjamesschool.net
*All students should bring a snack and bottle of water on the first day of school. Per school policy, please limit snacks to fruits and/or vegetables or a healthy protein only – cheese/yogurt. A bottle of water should be packed with the snack every day.
*For the K-8 program, please arrive between 7:30am and 7:50am – allow yourself plenty of time to park, particularly on the first day when it will be extremely busy around the school. After 7:50am, your student is tardy and you must come to the main office with them to sign them in.
*Please check your child’s temperature and assess their overall health before leaving the house every day.
Teachers will be reviewing all school guidelines with students over the first few days of school, however, we wish to remind K – 8 parents of the following for the first day (from our school handbook):
*No makeup, nail polish, artificial nails, or artificial “tattoos” are allowed
*Boys’ hair must not touch their shirt collar and must not cover their ears or eyebrows
*Hairpieces, mohawk-style haircuts, designs cut into hair, and outlandish hairstyles are not allowed
*Hair must not be dyed, highlighted, or bleached
*The following jewelry is allowed: one watch, one ring, one thin chain necklace with or without a cross. Smart watches are NOT allowed.
*Girls are allowed one pair of post earrings worn in the earlobes (Boys are not allowed to wear earrings)
*Hair must be neat, clean, and well cut
*Students must be in the proper uniform attire
Please allow extra time in your day for drop-off and pick-up so you are not rushing in at the last minute. Extra staff will be on hand at both drop-off and pick-up to help guide you to where you need to be during the first few days.
Thank You!
A huge Thank You to 8th grade parent volunteer, Mrs. Freund, for helping beautify our front gardens for the start of school! We are very grateful for our volunteers who help make our school such a wonderful place for our students to grow and learn!
A sign up form for other volunteer opportunities within the school community will be forthcoming in the days ahead.
School Council
We are happy to announce that Kevin Flood – a parishioner of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish – will be the new Chair of our School Council (formerly called the “School Board”). Please join us in welcoming Kevin to this new role!
Covid Policy
Just a quick reminder, Saint James School follows CDC and town protocol with regards to Covid. At this time, that means if your child tests positive for Covid, they will need to stay home for five days (starting from the onset of symptoms or from the first day of your child’s positive test) and wear a mask when they return for 5 days. There is no remote learning this year.
Last Call: Saint James School Spiritwear
Show your SCHOOL SPIRIT with Saint James School Spiritwear! Click the link below to view all items:
Products – Saint James School (saintjamesstore.com)
For students running Cross Country (gr. 5-8), the following items may be worn to school on gym day:
* Cross country navy shorts (not the cadence trainers)
* Limitless pants
* Limitless warm up jacket
The Gray t-shirt required for gym day, however, must be the uniform one from Lands’ End or Dennis Uniform company (spiritwear t-shirts are not permitted on gym day)
The following general spiritwear items may be worn to school on gym day OVER the required gray uniform t-shirt:
* Faith Love Hope Hoodie
* Gray 2 Stripes Hoodie
* SJS Distressed Hoodie
* Navy Basic Hoodie with Gold Crest
Orders must be placed by August 30th and will be available for pick-up at SJS around mid-September (we will send an email when items are in). There is an additional fee if you would like items shipped directly to your home.
A portion of each sale will be donated back to SJS. Please direct any questions to Amy Guenther at aguenther@saintjamesschool.net.
Last Call: Cross Country Paperwork Due Thursday
For students in grades 5 – 8 interested in running Cross Country this year a quick reminder that the Athletics Health Form (signed by your child’s doctor), the Cross Country Permission Slip, and the $60 sports/activity fee are due to the school office by Thursday, August 31st.
Runners must have the endurance to run distances of 1-3 miles (without stopping) at the start of the season.
Reminder: September Saber Stories Newsletter
In case you missed it, below a link to our Saber Stories Newsletter for September. There is lots of important information in this document, please take a few moments to read through at your convenience.
In addition to the link below, the September lunch menu can be found in our school app and at the bottom of our website homepage (Quick Links area).
SJS Monthly Events Calendar
Attached is the link to our full Monthly Events Calendar for the 2023-2024 School Year. Please note dates are subject to change based on weather, scheduling conflicts, etc. We will inform you of any changes via our school emails and Saber Stories Newsletter.
This document will not be posted on our website due to the nature of the information, but a rolling calendar of events can be viewed by logging in to our SJS app. It will also be posted at the bottom of our SJS email blasts under the “In Case You Missed It” section.
2023-2024 Calendar Pages Final
Medicine Reminder
As a reminder, the Extended Day staff does NOT have access to student medications in the nurse’s office. If your student will require medication to be available to him/her in after care (for example, inhalers or epipens), you will need to provide a 2nd supply of medication for the Extended Day Staff.
For families that need to drop medicine off, the nurse will have office hours tomorrow – Tuesday, August 29th from 9am – 2pm – and Wednesday, August 30th during the “Meet-the-Teacher/Classroom Visit/Supply Drop-off” Event (8:30am – 11:30am).
