A Hanukkah Lesson with a Tasty Spinning Treat

Mrs. Cappilouto with her grandson, Charlie Sommer

by: Michelle Roark, first grade teacher

Corrine Cappilouto, past faculty member and Saint James School Grandparent Club officer, shared the story of Hanukkah with 1st grade students this week. She brought menorahs from home and explained their significance. She taught us how to play dreidel, and even brought each student little dreidels with a copy of the rules so they can teach their families and play at home. She also showed us how to make a edible dreidel using marshmallows, pretzels, and chocolate kisses. Our students had a great time learning the story of Hanukkah and playing (and eating!) their dreidels. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

First graders enjoyed making and eating their dreidels!

Gifts of Love

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Saint James School recently completed our annual community service project for the patients at the UAB Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. Due to the amount of time the bone marrow recipients spend in the hospital, the medical and household bills they have to pay, and the sheer exhaustion from their treatments, many of the families cannot provide a cheerful holiday for their children and families.

Since 2001, Saint James students have helped make the Christmas season for the UAB Bone Marrow Transplant Unit patients and their families a little brighter. This year, the entire school joined together to provide Christmas presents to patients in the unit, whose families are often so physically and financially strained during their treatment that Christmas gifting becomes difficult.

Fifth grade students traveled to The Shoppes at Eastchase to shop in-person for gifts using funds donated by the class. Students enjoyed browsing the aisles and thoughtfully choosing items to purchase for the BMT families. Raising the money was one arm of this initiative, but the shopping experience provided another dimension to their giving. Community service and engagement is one of our school’s most cherished core values. We strive to reflect on the blessings we have and do our part to give back. Saint James School is proud to partner with the UAB Bone Marrow Transplant Unit for the 20th year in a row.

“Witnessing my daughter and her classmates shop intentionally for these families really warmed by heart.”

— Brittany Willis, 5th grade parent

How to Catch a Gingerbread Man

After reading the classic folktale, The Gingerbread Man, first grade students were challenged to build a trap to catch him.  They eagerly accepted!  First, they brainstormed ways they could trap to catch the Gingerbread man. They then planned and built their designs using a variety of manipulative materials from around the classroom.

Hands-on STEAM activities like this make learning fun and exciting.

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A capella: Blending Voices Without Accompaniment

by: Selina Sun, junior

STJ now has its own a cappella group: Fortissimo! What started as just a fun idea for an extracurricular activity has become a special opportunity for those who love to sing to come together and perform beloved songs with the beautiful harmony of just their voices, no instruments. Right now, a number of students and I are rehearsing “Mary, Did You Know” by Pentatonix, an a cappella classic that tugs at the heartstrings of Christmas spirit believers. Every Monday afternoon, we head up the stairs to the choir loft and annoy each other with our aca-jokes (“Don’t we just sound aca-awesome? Aca-scuse me??” are classics) and warm up our voices. When we first started the song, we realized that we had to become our own backup singers and make some interesting sounds; there are “ooo”s, “hoo”s, “dum”s, and “ah”s all over the sheet music. Tenors/baritones/basses have to deal with some high notes, altos have some difficult low notes to master, and sopranos have their own challenges to overcome. When we begin to sing; however, it all becomes okay, and it is simply magical to hear our voices blend the way they do. I get goosebumps after almost every run-through. “Mary, Did You Know” is the perfect song to showcase our talents: everyone gets the chance at the melody, and each section supports one another in every measure of the music to create this a cappella Christmas classic. As Dr. York guides us with her expert ear and musical gifts, we work out our challenges and enjoy each run-through as an opportunity to make our voices sound better together. By the time of the winter choral concert in December, our hard work and passion for music will have made something truly wonderful. I can’t wait for our a cappella debut in December; it will be the beginning of something that will surely last a long time. I cherish those Monday afternoons in Dr. York’s room where our amazing group gets to do what we love most: sing our hearts out—this time, without accompaniment.

Turkey Teamwork

Second graders in Coach Straughn’s elementary P.E. class worked together to build turkeys out of exercise equipment. Each team raced from one end of the gym to the other with hula hoops, jump ropes, balls, and other items to build their birds. Gobble gobble! #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

Gobble Gobble

We have Thanksgiving on the brain in elementary school at STJ! Students in lower elementary, grades PreK3-2nd grade, have been working on crafts and art projects for the Thanksgiving season. Students built turkeys out of construction paper, which reinforces fine motor skills, following multi-step directions, and identifying colors, numbers, and shapes. We have so much to be Thankful for and this holiday reminds us of the blessings in our lives.

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Blessings are Bountiful with Senior Buddies

Seniors went on a Thanksgiving letter scavenger hunt with their Kindergarten buddies last week. They followed clues to lead them to letters placed all around campus. Working together and problem solving, he teams eventually were able to spell “give thanks.”

We certainly are thankful for the special friendships our Kindergartners and seniors have!

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From Garden to Table

Cristian Pintovidal, STJ Commons Dining Coordinator, harvesting herbs from the community garden with our Kindergarten students.

Fresh, fragrant herbs can really elevate a meal. It is a special privilege to have on-campus grown produce at Saint James School. For the first time this year, students were able to see (and taste!) their hard work!

Earlier this fall, Kindergarten students planted 50 herbs, including basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, and rosemary in a special “Kinder-garden” bed within our school garden. Each kindergarten class took part in digging holes in the soil and planting all of the herbs.

Cristian Pintovidal and Travis Humphrey from the STJ Commons taught our Kindergarten students about harvesting fresh herbs.

After about seven weeks since the initial planting, the Kindergarten classes joined the school’s FLIK dining coordinators in the garden to harvest their herbs. The FLIK team was able to make a special connection between planting, growing, and harvesting plants. The FLIK team then prepared a delicious fresh basil and tomato salad with herbs harvested by our students as part of that day’s lunch selection. This project has truly been a joy! Memories have been made along with deep, hands-on learning connections that we can enjoy! #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

More Than A Garden

by: Jeremy Turner, Community Garden Co-Coordinator

The Paideia School in Atlanta, GA

This fall, Saint James garden co-coordinator Carissa Gibbons, middle school principal Dr. Shelaine Taylor, and I traveled to Atlanta to visit the Paideia School. The purpose of our trip was to tour their farm and see how they were able to use their farming and gardening areas to enhance the curriculum taught at their school. This trip also helped us see what ideas and methods we as STJ faculty could incorporate into our own garden at school.

Our farm tour guide was Tania Herbert, a 20 year teaching veteran. She was able to make the farm a place where both students and the community could work together. She explained how sustainable farming was the key to the continuation of a community as well as offering skills to others that could be implemented into their own daily living.

gardening tools at Paideia’s on-campus garden

One thing that we saw at the school was how the farm not only helped others, but also worked with the community to bring in foods and items that were shared across the board with those outside of the school. They kept track of what they grew, how much was harvested, and how much was donated to others within their shared garden storage. They had on-site refrigerators to store any crops that were harvested and planned to be given out to the community.

We also learned how the school utilized the farm in their curriculums. For example, Paideia’s AP Biology students raise a chicken and as part of their final exam, students process the chicken utilizing the information they learned while going through the course.

Ms. Gibbons and Mr. Turner, Saint James Community Garden Coordinators, with Paideia’s goats on their school farm

One thing that was heavily stressed was the link with the community on the farm. Mrs. Herbert discussed how they worked with food-insecure communities as well as local prisons to assist in distributing healthy foods. She discussed how many in their region may not have good access to nutritional, healthy food so she wanted to find a way to help them learn their own growing skills but also turn around and donate the food to others who might also be in need.

They also invited children from nearby local schools to plant and engage in the process of growing food. Everything about their farm and garden was about working together to ensure that whenever things were left to the next generation, they would have items in place to continue this wonderful endeavor.

We are excited to evaluate the wealth of knowledge shared with us and work to implement new initiates with our own community garden. We are in the early stages of our garden journey, but we know Saint James School has the potential to “grow” our program to be just as impactful.

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The Kinder-Garden

by: Megan Deal, STJ class of 2009 and Kindergarten teacher

We are growing gardeners in Kindergarten at Saint James School! With a wonderful donation from Bonnie plants, plus a lot of help and planning from Principal Harris and science lab teacher Mrs. Gibbons, our students planted 50 herbs including basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, and rosemary in a special “Kinder-garden” bed within our school garden. Each kindergarten class took part in digging holes in the soil and planting all of the herbs!

Each week, our three Kindergarten classes visit the garden to inspect and maintain each garden bed. With each garden visit, students help pull weeds and even spray natural remedies for certain worms and insects. The students have learned so much about protecting the plants and the sunlight, water, soil, and air needed to grow healthy plants. They have loved watching the progress of the herbs over many weeks and excitedly anticipate harvest day!

Saint James School’s community garden provides a vibrant, outdoor space for learning, enhances opportunities for community-building and recreation, strengthens lessons on environmental stewardship, and gives students ownership in growing healthy produce.

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