FCA: Fellowship of Christian Athletes

FCA faculty advisors with guest speaker Charlie Trotman

FCA guest speaker Charlie Trotman

by: Anna Fett, senior

The FCA club is back! Every Tuesday the club meets to discuss the future gatherings of the big FCA meetings which includes all middle school and high school students. At these large meetings, students gather in the big gym for breakfast, worship, and listen to a special guest speaker. During the club time on Tuesdays, the club members sometimes have small Bible studies, and they also have smaller meetings with former athletes to speak to the group. FCA is not just for athletes, it’s for anyone who wants to grow closer and learn more about the Lord!

We were blessed to have Charlie Trotman come speak to our FCA. Charlie is a former Auburn quarterback who currently is a real estate developer in Montgomery. He was open and spoke to our kids about his struggles and gave our students hope and encouragment. Thank you, Charlie, for the great message.

-Dane Hawk, FCA advisor

Tri-M Music Honor Society "Instrument Petting Zoo"

Recently, the Saint James Chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society presented an “instrument petting zoo” to our 5th graders. Students rotated to different stations to learn about and hear different types of instruments. The stations included higher woodwinds, saxophones, low brass, strings, percussion, and choir. Tri-M members led the discussions and enjoyed performing for the 5th graders. Tri-M is a national honor society for student musicians who strive to promote music education, appreciation, and service through monthly projects. Currently, there are over 2,100 chapters in all 50 states, involving more than 84,000 students.

Tea Club is Fab-Brew-Lous

Kate McDevitt, Tea Club president

Kate McDevitt with tea club member Kate Rees

2022 Lunar New Year Tea samplings and oranges

The Tea Club, one of the High School clubs, meets every Tuesday and is sponsored by Mrs. Shoults. On February 1st we celebrated the Chinese New Year! The Chinese New Year is a celebration dictated by the lunar cycle. This year’s Chinese New Year started on February first and ends on February fifteenth. It is the most important celebration in China because it indicates that spring is beginning, and a new year has begun. We began the meeting by eating oranges. Oranges are important to the Chinese New Year because tradition states that they bring wealth and happiness. After the oranges, we tasted tea. This meeting’s tea was the Harley & Son’s 2022 Lunar Year Tea. A majority of the Tea Club members said that the tea was too bitter for them, but they enjoyed learning about the culture. We learned about the culture by watching videos and reading pamphlets while drinking our tea. We learned that this year is the Year of the Tiger, and that it symbolizes courage and bravery. It is believed this year will bring confidence and boldness to everyone. We also explored the traditions celebrated during the Chinese New Year. Some traditions include the following: eating dinner with family, setting off firecrackers, and giving red envelopes to friends and family. Although the Tea Club did not set off firecrackers to celebrate, we played two rounds of Chinese New Year Bingo! The winners received two red envelopes that contained a five dollar prize. To conclude the celebration, all members received a fortune card and tokens to scratch the card with. The Saint James Tea Club wishes you a Happy New Year!

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Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communite

The official slogan of the Olympics is “Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter,” which translates to “Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together.” We have enjoyed watching the 2022 Winter Olympics and cheering on team USA. Students in first grade hosted their own classroom Olympic games, complete with gold medals and Olympic torch snacks. Students built a miniature ski jump and crafted ski jumpers with craft paper and tongue depressors. Students took turns launching their skiers down the slope and practiced their math skills by measuring the distance to determine the winner. What is your favorite Olympic event?

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Beauty from Nothing

By: Dakota Alexander, senior

How can a simple sheet of white printer paper be beautiful? Given just a few materials, we were able to explore light and dimension, ultimately discovering unexpected creativity.

Mrs. Shoults opened our Photography II class by explaining that we would each be given two sheets of paper: one called “the practice sheet,” which we could crinkle, fold, or destroy without much consequence, and one “final sheet.” We would be taking photos of this sheet, and it would not be replaced upon being damaged. Each crease, tear, or crinkle (made by accident or not), or any other marking would remain on the sheet. She then gave us one miniature lamp, a bucket of colored balloons to stretch over the lamp’s bulb (Voilá! instant colored lights), and two pieces of foam board as a backdrop. She instructed us to take twenty-four decent photographs with these materials, producing three finals to be displayed for critique.

Naturally, a lot of the class was intimidated or at the very least puzzled by the assignment. How does one take interesting photos of such a bland subject as paper? That is not even to mention the stipulation that the final paper could not be replaced, meaning we had to carefully plan out our future photos so as not to produce unwanted creases that would interfere later. It was intimidating to me at least, since I started out with no idea of what to do, but also provided an exciting challenge.

We were given a week to photograph our sheets. During that time, we experimented with different colors and folds, adjusting the angle at which the light struck the paper. This produced a complex interplay between light and shadow, highlighting the forms that we made. Going further into the week, we noticed a certain obscure beauty in that blank sheet. It was something universal, a blank canvas, unto which we may convey a message (albeit not written). Each of our final sheets, despite being torn and ripped, had become true art captured through an 18-55 mm lens.

Responsive Classroom: Furthering our School Culture

Last week, Kindergarten and first grade teachers participated in Responsive Classroom® training. Responsive Classroom® is a program designed to train teachers to better integrate academic and social-emotional learning in an experiential, informative, and supportive environment. Creating safe, joyful, and engaging classrooms leads to a healthy school community. Saint James School embraces these ideals and is excited to further offer this professional development opportunity to other grade and division levels in the future. Our values of character, courage, community, and commitment are central to our ethos, and this training supports our mission. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

Responsive Classroom is a student-centered, social and emotional learning approach to teaching and discipline. It is comprised of a set of research, and evidence-based practices designed to create safe, joyful, and engaging classrooms and school communities for both students and teachers.

2-2-22

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Yesterday our STJ first graders participated in a special activity to celebrate a unique date on the calendar, 2-2-22. The date doesn’t normally fall in a sequence like this, so this date was especially fun as the next sequence like this, 3-3-33, will fall during these students’ senior year of high school.

Mrs. Edwards’s class took some time to write letters to their future selves. They wrote what was happening in their lives and in school and what they were looking forward to learning as they anticipate 3-3-33. Each student sealed his or her letter in an envelope to keep safe until they open them in eleven years.

Building the Foundation For Our Youngest Learners

By: Andrea Harris, M.Ed

Elementary School Principal

The most important developmental stage of life occurs during a young child’s early years.  From birth to age 5, a child’s brain develops and grows more than at any other time in their life. In fact, 90% of brain growth occurs before Kindergarten.  Because we understand that these early years in a child’s life are so critical, our early childhood educators take their roles very seriously. 

We focus our curriculum on being very developmentally appropriate, ensuring that activities in the classroom center on building children’s confidence, creativity, and love for school and learning.  

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We are fortunate to have educators in our preschool who understand the growth and development of young children.  These educators are veterans and experts in their field who pour their hearts into our littlest learners.  Daily, we see our youngest Trojans involved in a variety of activities, including learning centers, literacy and numeracy instruction, character development, fine and gross motor development, and free play.  We help children discover a world of ideas, encouraging their natural curiosity to further their natural growth.  

The preschool program at Saint James begins the foundation for building a future here that is robust, challenging, and full of opportunities.  Along with the warm, nurturing, and expert care they receive every day, we are cultivating lifelong learners.  

I always tell people that if you need to have your day brightened, just come down to preschool!  The giggles and laughter are contagious and can put a smile on anyone’s face.

“We help children discover a world of ideas, encouraging their natural curiosity to further their natural growth.  ”

— Andrea Harris, elementary principal

Students Helping Students: STJ Peer Tutors

by: Foster Rasmussen, Peer Tutor

The Saint James Peer Tutor program has developed into an amazing asset for students at Saint James. Even though the writing center is still new, peer tutors have been able to assist many students and help with various assignments. Mrs. Ramsey, our awesome librarian, saw a need amongst students for an efficient and trustworthy tutoring center. Since last year, the program has expanded to both Senior and Junior tutors, who can connect with all different types of students. This year’s peer tutors are Foster Rasmussen, Selina Sun, Anna Dickey, Taylor Schofield, Jordan Wesley, Kelsey Shaffer, and Kiya Jupiter. Mrs. Ramsey selected this amazing team to help with essays and other writing assignments. The Writing Center team meets roughly once a month to discuss major upcoming assignments in any English classes, and to also break down certain scenarios they have encountered in order to improve as tutors. The tutors are skilled writers and are proficient in their English classes. Peer tutors also participated in training over the summer, and under the guidance of Mrs. Ramsey, prepared for situations they might encounter with students. 

Peer Tutor, Foster Rasmussen, with sophomore student Logan Hartson

Most of the students seeking assistance are looking for help with English essays, and tutors typically help with works cited pages, thesis development, and essay structure. Since last year, arranging an appointment has become even easier and students can now go directly to their desired tutor. Students can make an appointment with a tutor by signing up on a Google Doc or by simply emailing the tutor they wish to meet with. Appointments last for around thirty minutes and are typically held in the library before school, though students can arrange for a zoom meeting on most days. Peer tutors enjoy helping students who are eager to improve their writing skills, and we all share a common goal of making lasting writing habits that will carry on throughout the rest of their schooling. We look forward to helping students with all of their writing needs, and go Trojans!

Go Gold for Nolan and Childhood Cancer Coin Drive

by: Haley Brightwell, STJ Senior Class President

This year the senior class was excited to hold the first ever Saint James Go Gold for Nolan and Childhood Cancer Coin Drive. This was done in addition to the annual go gold dress up day during homecoming week. This day is to honor and remember Class of 2015 alumni Nolan Fields who passed away from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2016. This event was organized by the senior class officers. It was a joint effort that allowed for the day to be a success. However, this could not have happened without the help of other seniors. Many showed up very early the morning of and stood outside in the rain collecting money. The senior class held this event entirely on their own, and it went off without a hitch. This was possible because of the generous help of the seniors who participated. The turn out was fantastic and everyone really showed up and donated. Everyone had a little something to give, and it showed. The final total ended up being $1,431.60! All of this was collected in just one morning, showing how the Saint James family truly stepped up and did their part. The seniors could not have imagined anything better. All of this money will be donated directly to St. Jude’s Hospital. St. Jude’s is a research hospital that focuses on Childhood cancer research and treatment. At St. Jude, none of the families receive a medical bill, and they help countless families year after year. Every penny will go to this deserving cause and all in Nolan’s honor. We hope that our donation will help keep a family from feeling the loss that the Saint James community has felt. We hope this coin drive will become an annual tradition as a way to honor Nolan for many years to come. 

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