A Peek Inside Saint James School
Congratulations to our second grade spelling bee winners! Students practiced all year and were challenged with an end-of-year spelling bee. The winning word was “sentence.” Well done!
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2nd grade overall winners:
Levi Toussaint, Bethany Stanton, and Hina Aoki
Our third graders have been studying the life-cycle of mealworms. Weeks ago, when this unit began, students observed tiny, neutral colored larvae in the elementary science lab. Students had a chance to handle them, watch them move, and notice behaviors. Students selected their own worms, named their new crawly creatures, and created habitats from small plastic containers. After the pupae stage, the adult darkling beetle emerges. Students discussed the process and characteristics of the adult insect. To celebrate the end of this unit, Mrs. Gibbons, our elementary science lab teacher, facilitated a beetle release ceremony. We had fun celebrating with “Beatles” themed 60s attire, Beatles songs, and ultimately the release of Mrs. Gibbon’s adult mealworms, now turned beetles (appropriately named George, John, Ringo, and Paul).
Beetle release playlist: Hey Jude, Don’t Let Me Down, Come Together, Here Comes The Sun, and other Beatles favorites. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool
by: Zoe Tatum, junior
A new addition to the elective choices at Saint James is the Leadership Seminar class. Dr. McLemore teaches this class, and it surrounds around encouraging, educating, and supporting students in their journey of become better leaders: school and community wide. The class includes learning about the best historical and current leaders. Each Monday starts by reading out a quote that will stick with each member as the week progresses. The class memorizes poems and writes reflection-based papers. I particularly enjoyed memorizing “If,” written by English Noble laureate Rudyard Kipling. We have the poem displayed in our classroom and it serves as a motto for our course.
Additionally, we are proud to have started a school-wide leadership project. This year’s project is “Picture This!” The goal is to showcase each member of the high school student body to enhance community. The Leadership Class is so thankful of the consistent leadership of Dr. McLemore and the opportunities we’ve had to make a difference through the school this year!
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Dr. McLemore’s leadership seminar is a selective course for high school students grades 10-12. Students in the leadership seminar develop their skills in leadership as service, practice understanding and addressing complex problems and questions, learn effective communication, identify and act on values, build character strengths, learn goal setting and about planning and implementing initiatives. The year-long course requires an application, interview, and teacher/sponsor recommendation.
Our annual Kindergarten undersea unit has been a splash! Students have spent the past two weeks exploring sea life, underwater ecosystems, ocean geography, and coastal nature. This co-curricular unit covers reading, writing, science, art, and math. Students also enjoyed ocean themed centers, sensory activities, and crafts. Kindergarten is hotter under the water! #WeAreSaintJamesSchool
by: Lauren Taylor, senior
Lauren Taylor, class of ‘21, is an STJ Ambassador, member of Spanish Club, Interact Club, IPPRYL, and serves as the senior class treasurer.
Lauren on a college visit to the University of Washington.
Being a student at Saint James means being surrounded by a large amount of people who do nothing but support you. The teachers, counselors and other students push you to be the best version of yourself, as well as supporting the dreams that you have. The counselors at Saint James are incredible. They help you throughout the college application process, as well as being a support system for you. When students are in their junior and senior years, they are allowed college visit days, that allow them to go and look at prospective colleges and learn more about them. These college visits help us students get an idea of what college is like, let us scope out the area, and see if it is a right fit for us. We are also able to meet other students at the colleges, as well as the staff there. The administration is extremely supportive of the students as well, allowing them to go on these visits and make up any work that they may miss while they are out. Saint James also has a variety of schools come to speak to us. Typically, all the interested students meet in the college rep room and talk with the representative from the college. This gives us an opportunity to ask any questions that we may have and learn more about that specific school. This also helps us get an idea of what to expect during the college application process, and eases the nerves that we have about college. Personally, I would not have been able to get through this experience without the help of my counselor and teachers. They have helped me apply for scholarships, to colleges, and have even helped me decide what major to choose to prepare me for my future. I am extremely grateful for all of the help I have received, as it has made a lasting impact on me.
Lauren on a college tour of Seattle University.
During my own personal college search, I toured many colleges in Washington including the University of Washington, Seattle University, and Western Washington University. When I stepped foot on Seattle University’s campus I knew it was the school for me. I was able to look at the classrooms, meet teachers, and meet other prospective students. Once I committed to the school, I was able to meet with a counselor over zoom and talk about what major would benefit me best for my career goals. I plan to take the MCAT to get into medical school, so we found the major that is going to best prepare me for that test and my career. I will be majoring in biology and minoring in psychology! Go Redhawks!
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the men and women who teach our children each day! They have been unwavering in their love and dedication to their students. Through their extra work and willingness to problem-solve through an extremely challenging year, we have been able to remain open and in-person this school year. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We are Trojans, 24/7
This past Saturday, Coach Jimmy Perry was caught by surprise as the Trojans football team loaded up trucks and drove though the Montgomery Kidney Walk at Riverwalk Stadium. The Alabama Kidney Foundation is a nonprofit benefitting local kidney patients in need. The annual kidney walk provides financial assistance to low-income dialysis and transplant patients, kidney disease education and awareness, and various patient support services. This year’s socially distanced walk raised more than $100,000 and counting. Volunteers, past patients, and supporters of the Alabama Kidney Foundation enjoyed the beautiful spring weather and fun activities at this year’s walk. Saint James School is pleased to support such a wonderful cause.
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Saint James School is so proud of Coach Jimmy Perry, who served as the patient chair this year. We are thankful for his younger brother, Scott Perry, who saved his sibling’s life when he was a kidney donor over 20 years ago. Saint James School is proud to support Coach Jimmy Perry and Scott Perry.
The beloved children’s book, “Hey, Little Ant,” by Phillip Hoose, Hannah Hoose, and Debbie Tillery, is a favorite among STJ kindergarteners. Students read this book during their insect unit each spring. The book connects English Language Arts, science, and ethics. The book was written to show us a different perspective and help us empathize with insects. Students discussed the dilemma of whether the boy should “squish” the ant or not. There is no definite conclusion to the story, so the students get to use their imaginations and decide the ending. They get to choose what they themselves would do. Students then practiced their writing and spelling skills to display in the pod.
During the inset unit, students learn about insects, their life cycles, and metamorphosis. Each classroom also houses caterpillars and watches them build cocoons. Students patiently wait for their butterflies to emerge and end the unit with a fun bug hunt around campus.
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by: Kate Rees, junior
by: Kate Rees, junior
state champion, Bailey Anderson
Tennis season at Saint James starts in late January and runs through April. We have a JV and Varsity Girls team and a Boy’s Varsity Team. The Varsity Girls’ coach is Geoff Warning at Lagoon Park. The Varsity Boys’ coach is Ben Bradshaw at O’Conner. Tryouts are typically held in November. I am on the Girls’ Varsity tennis team here at Saint James. I enjoy playing tennis and having the opportunity to represent STJ on an athletic team is a unique honor. I also enjoy getting to know my teammates. We have players in grades 7th-12th! The team bonds over the season and makes countless memories. Sometimes we reminisce over past events or matches, and we make new ones with new members. The friendships made are special. It is a privilege to have a group working together towards the same goal to push and motivate one another. We wish each other happy birthdays, congratulate each other on other accomplishments, and reach out when someone is sick or injured. We practice after school Monday through Friday during our season. In late January, preseason practice begins and the first match is early February. Once we have our first match, we hit the ground running! We have matches through April and wrap up with Sectionals to qualify for State. Most matches are played in town, but we enjoy traveling for out of town matches. One match consists of three doubles lines and six singles lines. Five wins are needed to win a match. Saint James has had both Boys and Girls State Champions in tennis. The Varsity Girls Team won the State Championship in 2019. Our daily practices include warmup, drills, scrimmages, conditioning, and serves. During matches, players cheer for teammates on adjacent court. Whether you are having a hard match or made a good shot, it is uplifting to have your peers encourage you!
Last week, we had both the girls and boys varsity teams compete in the 4A Sectional Tournament at Lagoon Park in Montgomery. We had a fantastic end to the season, with senior Bailey Anderson taking home a 4A-5A AHSAA state championship for singles line 6. Congratulations, Trojans!
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Mr. Beach’s environmental science class enjoyed a campfire favorite, minus the fire. Students engineered their own solar ovens made out of boxes and aluminum foil to cook s’mores. Solar ovens use the sun’s light to heat without electricity, fuel, or any emissions. During the class period, the solar ovens heated the marshmallow and chocolate to make clean, delicious, scientific treats.
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