Stitch It

“Out of this World” Homecoming Week keychains

“Stitch It is a new club this year offered to high school students. Led by new faculty member Sana Burney, students work on little sewing projects that correspond with events inside or outside of school. During Homecoming week, students made cowboy aliens to clip onto their backpacks to go with the “out of this world” theme. Most recently, students worked on holiday pajama pants as they prepare for the upcoming Christmas season. This club is a great opportunity for students be creative, learn or improve their sewing skills, and just have fun!”

— Kelsey Shaffer, grade 9

Stitch It! club modeling their cozy pajama pants.

Pictured from Left to Right: Andrew Kellum, Sydney Baker, Caroline Gregory, Anna Kreischer, Kelsey Shaffer, Michaela Gaines, Mrs. Burney

Christmas Comes but Once a Year, Time for Joy and Cheer!

The Kindergarten-Senior Buddy Program is one of the most cherished traditions at Saint James School. Last week, buddies paired up to create ornaments together to hang on the elementary tree. Each month, buddies participate in an activity together. In fact, this morning our kindergartners performed their winter play, The Littlest Christmas Tree. All through the audience, senior buddies could be spotted cheering on their buddies on stage. These memories and friendships are so precious to both the children and their buddies.

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“I love my buddies! We have so much fun together. I look forward to our activities every month.”

— Gracie Sullivan, Senior

“My buddy is the best! He and I have a lot in common and it has been fun getting to know him this year!”

— Jack Branham, Senior

May the Best Robot Win!

Mr. Turner’s 6th grade robotics elective had a blast designing, programming, and building robots for a tug-of-war battle. Students worked in groups to build the fastest, toughest, and smartest robots. Using legos and ipads to program, each group made a unique fighting machine. Later, students programmed their bots to retrieve a piece of Halloween candy with a robotic arm. STEM activities like this are offered at all levels and a favorite elective choice in middle school

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“The purpose of the project was to learn how to make a claw or a lever and program it to retrieve something. Our design used a claw to open and close. A lot of people used a loop program, but we just used a single program and kept on restarting it.”

— Luke Catching, 6th grade

“We designed our program to move forward and the trap the candy to bring the candy back to base. Next, our program rises the lever and releases on a loop to drop the candy.
”

— JB Braswell, 6th grade

Faculty Spotlight: Ms. Theresa Straughn

I teach: Elementary Physical Education

I've Taught for: 35 years! This is my first year at Saint James

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida

High school: Pine Forest High School

College/Degree: Bachelor of Science from The University of Montevallo and Master of Education from AUM

STJ Extracurricular: Coach middle school volleyball and basketball

Favorite Book: anything by John Grisham

Favorite Movie: Beaches

Fun Fact: I love gardening!

STeaJ

“In tea club drink all different kinds of tea. We drink seasonal teas and also teas from other countries. While we enjoy them, we learn about how they are made and the culture it comes from. We also are going to make our own personal tea cups! ”

— Rachel Rice, Grade 10

STeaJ Club is one of the many special interest club and organizations at Saint James School. High school students choose two clubs to participate in each year. During advisory time, students attend club meeting and work on special projects for their organizations.

Students learned about mulling spices, the traditions of mulling, and sampled spiced mulled cider at the last STeaJ club meeting.

STeaJ Club #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

Fall Agrees with STJ

Mother nature was showing off this week! Autumn is in full swing at as the beautiful colors of fall have been showcased on our grand 66 acre campus. Saint James School is home to 22 academic buildings and athletic facilities. Come see our collegiate quad, dining hall, performing arts building and stage, modern classrooms, and state-of-the-art laboratories. All students, grades Pre-K3 through twelve, share our campus; this allows for our entire Trojan family to participate in school-wide activities and events like pep rallies, academic honors programs, and school assemblies. Next week we will celebrate our Holiday Convocation, where all students, faculty, and staff will join together to celebrate the holiday season and share traditions.

Campus tours and shadowing opportunities are offered daily.

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Faculty Spotlight: Mrs. Deborah Otis

I Teach: Technology Department

I've Taught for: 15 years - teacher, 7 years in current job -- 22 years in education

Hometown: Aiken, South Carolina

High school: Monroe Area Comprehensive High School in Monroe, GA

College/Degree: Bachelor of Science in Middle School Education and a Masters in Education - Instructional Technology, Doctoral work in Instructional Leadership

STJ Extracurricular: Girls Who Code (Middle School), Band Boosters Band Secretary

Favorite Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Favorite Movie: Princess Bride

Favorite Food: a really great taco or an inspiring hamburger, an awesome stew or soup, crusty warm bread

Married to: Perry Otis

Children: Heather and Trevor Otis

Fun Fact: I lived in Germany for three years. I write poetry. I have a well behaved dog and a very naughty cat

Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, may we remember all of our many blessings. Saint James School is grateful for our dedicated teachers, committed board, hardworking staff, supportive parents and grandparents, and the precious students at our special school. Our hearts are full this Thanksgiving!

PreK3, PreK4, and Kindergarten learned about Thanksgiving traditions and enjoyed a delicious feast. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

Karaoke Club

The word karaoke is derived from two Japanese words 'kara' comes from the word 'karappo' meaning empty or void and 'oke' comes from the word 'okesutura' or orchestra.

Every other week, during high school club rotation, students in Mr. Andy Clinton’s karaoke club belt out their favorite tunes. Students choose songs from any genre, often crossing the generational divide. This week, songs from the 1980s, 1990s, and a tune from a 2019 Grammy nominee were sung. We even witnessed a stirring rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.

High school clubs meet on a rotating schedule during advisory time. Each semester, students can participate in two clubs that meet during the school day in addition to after school extracurriculars.

“Karaoke club was made by Mr. Clinton this year. Everyone is always smiling and happy. It is fun to see people get up and sing and show their talent that we had no idea they had. Clubs are a good way to bring people together and to try new things.”

— Ava Poliquin, grade 10

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Metric System

Eighth graders in Ms. Whigham’s physical science class studied the metric system. This unit included labs on length, mass, volume, density, and temperature as well as conversions (metric to metric and metric to English). These lesson reviewed the metric system and related the size and scale of objects to various metric units, including the very small nano-scale. Students used rulers, triple-beam balances, and other science equipment to learn how to use the metric system of measurements.

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Labs like this allow for interactive practice and challenges in applying what has been learned.