Alabama Kidney Foundation: Stronger Together

As a young, active football coach, Jimmy Perry would be the last person you would expect to see on an organ transplant list; however, in the spring of 1999 Coach Perry found himself diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease, during a routine physical. The oldest of five boys, Coach Perry says he was always the one his brothers looked up to. When his brothers heard that family members could be a donor, they jumped at the chance to be tested as a transplant match. Two of the brothers were a perfect match, but it was Scott, the youngest, who ultimately underwent the surgery to donate his kidney. “He is my hero now,” says Coach Perry, “he saved my life.” Scott Perry is also a Saint James Trojan, serving on our maintenance and facilities staff.

Montgomery Advertiser article, fall 1999.

March is National Kidney Month, and we are so proud of Coach Jimmy Perry who serves as this year’s statewide patient chair for the Alabama Kidney Foundation. Alabama has the fifth highest occurrence of kidney disease in the nation, and today nearly 12,000 Alabamians seek costly dialysis treatments weekly.. The Alabama Kidney Foundation serves kidney patients by providing financial assistance, education, and support services. The AKF annual Montgomery Kidney Walk is Saturday, May 1st at 9:30am at RIverwalk Stadium.

This morning, middle school physical education classes participated in our own version of the kidney walk. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes heard from Coach Perry and Scott Perry and learned their story. We kicked off our school fundraising for the AKF by placing blue and gold collection boxes in the school Commons. Students, faculty, and staff, can donate toward team blue or team gold though the month of April.

#GoGold #GoBlue

The winning team will be announced at our upcoming Trojan Day. You can also contribute directly on the Alabama Kidney Foundation website.

Thank you Coach Perry and Scott!

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2021 STJ Cheer tryouts

by: Anna Colson, junior

With this year being a lot different, cheer has had to adapt to changes and has not been normal since last year. We’ve worn masks to games, limited our student sections, modified pep rallies, and overall had to adjust many events to plan and prepare for. On the other hand, things seem to be slowly turning and corner and getting back to normal. We had normal cheer tryouts! It was refreshing to get to be in the gym with girls from grades 6-11 to try out to be a leader for school spirit next year.

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We had a great turn out of girls with fifteen trying out for middle school, seven for junior varsity, and twenty two for varsity. We had UCA staff come in as well as the seniors who are about to graduate to help prepare us for tryouts. We learned a fun dance, a cheer, and a chant to do the day of tryouts. Unfortunately, we had a weather day so we did not get as much time as we usually get, but the UCA staff and seniors did a really good job at preparing us for tryout day. Tryouts are the beginning of a new cheer season which is very exciting. It’s the beginning of preparing for camp that we missed last year, but get to go to this year. It is also the beginning of planning 2021 Friday night football games as well as brainstorming different ways for our students to be more involved in school spirit and how we as a cheer squad can help Saint James achieve the best school spirit in Montgomery. It is truly exciting to see a sneak peek of what next school year will be like for the Saint James community in terms of school spirit. 

The 2021-22 STJ Cheerleader selection will be announced Friday, March 18.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Today, while all of campus glistened with green for St. Patrick’s Day, a certain green was less celebratory. Mrs. Wingard’s 7th grade life science class ended their vertebrate anatomy unit with a hands-on lab: frog dissection. First, students labeled the external and internal anatomy of their subject and identified characteristics of vertebrates. Then, they carefully opened the body cavity of the frog and studied the organs and tissue inside. Students participating via VRL (virtual remote learning) didn’t miss out on the lab, as they were able to follow along using Frogipedia. Frogipedia is an interactive learning app that demonstrates highly realistic augmented reality. What a day to be green!

Screen shots from Mrs. Wingard’s live class, using the Frogipedia learning app.

“The app does a great job of explaining what the class is seeing. While we can’t replace the in-person experience, this is a close second.”

— Grant Phillips, 7th grade VRL student

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“Dissection lets us understnad the lesson better... and it is fun!”

— Sophie Shoults, 7th grade

Rocket Man

Success! This group’s “egg astronaut” experienced a safe landing!

Clear, sunny skies set the scene for Mr. Turner’s 6th grade Earth and space science students’ launch day. The objective: build a shuttle and parachute system to land an egg “astronaut” safely back to Earth. Each group, using resources in the lab (like tape, styrofoam, bubble wrap, and plastic bags), engineered their own padded capsules to keep the egg fully intact.

Watch below to experience liftoff!

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Laugh and Feel: Author Visit with Mac Barnett

We are thankful that technology has allowed us to continue our tradition of inviting children’s book authors to join us at STJ. Each year, our elementary school librarian, Mr. Benji Martin, coordinates and schedules a children’s book author to visit Saint James School and engage with our students. Renowned author Mac Barnett read aloud to our elementary students, grades PreK3 through fifth grade, and answered questions from the audience. What a fun morning we had with Mac Barnett!

Mac Barnett is a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Mac’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Awards, three E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, and Italy’s Premio Orbil. Mac joined us from Oakland, California via Zoom.

“Really I just hope that kids enjoy the book, that it makes them laugh and feel, and, if we’re lucky, that they think about it for a while after the book is closed. ”

— Mac Barnett

Zoom visit with award wining author, Mac Barnett

Hear from student Mae Martin and Mrs. Dubina's PreK4 class.

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PreK3 Face Series

PreK3 students have been working on art inspired by American Neo-Expressionist artist, Tyree Guyton. Guyton specialties in graffiti and urban environmental art. He has waged a personal war on urban blight on Detroit’s east side, transforming his childhood neighborhood into a living indoor/outdoor museum. Through his art, Guyton has drawn attention to Detroit’s forgotten neighborhoods and spurred discussion and action. The bold colors in his work symbolize our society’s diversity, which can be found in his collection, Face Series.

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“My experiences have granted me knowledge of how to create art and see beauty in everything that exists.”

— Tyree Guyton

Our students, using the signature shapes and colors inspired by Guyton, crated their own face series. Reinforcing academic skills, like identifying colors and shapes, happen daily during enrichment time at Saint James School. All elementary students, grades PreK3 through 5th grade, attend formal art enrichment weekly led by full-time art teacher, Mrs. Patti Pelham.

Read, Write, Create: Celebrating Black Americans

“She had different views, both moral or political. She has such an impact on society today. She helped create laws, fought for more equality and equal pay for African Americans and women. She had challenging life when she was young and overcame a lot... Since taking this class, I’ve become more interested in writing. I have learned to express myself in writing, which I didn’t realize I could do before.”

— Asher Hagler, on Maya Angelou, American poet and activist

Students were asked: Why is it important to celebrate and study Black historical figures?

“I think it is very important, especially in our city, to celebrate and study Black History Month. We should honor those who made a difference.” Anne Kingsley Shaul

“We should honor them and their legacy.” Zoe Poff

Read, Write, Create is a semester-long 6th grade elective taught by Mrs. Elizabeth Harber. During the month of February, students selected important African American individuals to research. Using a variety of online sources including Britanica, Biography.com, and other reputable sources, students learned about their selected subject’s life, impact on our society, and meaningful legacy. Finally, students created slide presentations which they presented to the class.

Read, Write, Create combines both reading and writing workshop models with student-directed research projects. Students read and discuss a wide variety of literature developing appreciation of structure and style. Through writing activities, students become more skillful and confident authors themselves. Research and digital presentation techniques are learned as students conduct and share their non-fiction projects. Student hone presentation and public speaking skills and tailoring content for specific audiences. Peer feedback and self-reflection are also important features of this course.

Students were asked: What did you enjoy most about this project?

“It was fun to include so much science in my research. I am interested in science as well. Neil deGrasse Tyson grew up in a household of scientists. Learning about his family helped me understand his life.” - Jacob McNally

“I picked Jackie Robinson because he was a legend in the MLB. I also love baseball and was interested to learn about his life.” Paxton Haigler

“We are learning more about other people’s lives, it is so cool to know their history.”

— Lily Stanford, on American inventor and businessman Garrett Morgan

“ It was surprising that at just six years old she had to be escorted by U.S. Marshals. I felt shocked, but also impressed by her confidence.”

— “Waverly Milligan, speaking about Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in Louisiana in 1960

Celebrity Sighting!

Celebrity sighting! Today our halls were filed with fascinating figures who made unique contributions to our society.

Saint James third graders presented book reports on biographies of a famous people from history. Each student and dressed as their chosen subject. A biography is a true, detailed description about the life of a person. Beyond learning basic facts about their subject, students learned about relationships that person made and their impact on our society. We had so much fun learning about famous people!

Mr. Rogers, Babe Ruth, Joan of Arc, Malala Yousafzai

Amelia Earhart

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Galileo

Dolly Parton, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Serena Williams, Lucille Ball

Bruce Lee

Goodness Gracious, Great (Rubens' Tubes) of Fire!

Last week, Mr. David Beach used a Rubens' tube to demonstrate sound waves to his physics classes. Sound waves are created by the speaker at one end and move through the gas in the tube. The result allowed students to see the waves passing through as the flames get bigger and smaller. A Ruben’s tube, also known as a standing wave flame tube, is an antique physics apparatus invented by German scientist Heinrich Rubens in 1905.

Experiments like this allow students to apply what they’ve learned in a laboratory setting. It is also a creative way to warm up on a cold winter day!

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From the Heart

Last week, our STJ Wonderworks students and staff created special Valentine's Day cards and messages for some of our favorite local organizations. Wesley Gardens Senior Living Community and MACOA, the Montgomery Area Council on Aging, received colorful handmade creations. We really hope the felt the love!

STJ Wonderworks is our after school program offered until 5:30pm. Students enjoy programmed activities, outdoor and indoor play, homework and reading time, and lots of fun. The Valentine’s Day craft is one of the many service projects out students work on throughout the year.

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