Faculty Spotlight: Mr. Wes Smith

I teach: Honors algebra 2 and Pre-calculus

I've been teaching for: 3 years (1st year at STJ)

Hometown: Fultondale, AL

High school: Fultondale High School

College/degree: Huntingdon College with a bachelors in mathematics

Married to: Kennedy Smith, married for 3 years

Children: Bennett, age 17 months. He will be starting PreK2 at Saint James this fall.

STJ extracurricular: Assistant Trojans Wrestling coach

Favorite book: The Harry Potter series

Favorite movies: anything and all Marvel

Favorite food: chicken wings

Favorite thing about working at STJ: the fantastic community that STJ has built!

#wearesaintjamesschool

Prepare for Takeoff

by: Molly Phillips, 5th grade

Molly setting up her plane

One day in science class we constructed planes to measure how mass affects the distance the plane will fly. They were really cool to make, and it took almost two days. Next, we put up our flight line which was fishing line taped to chairs. We defined and tested the standard system multiple times. Then we started to test the variable, mass. We only changed one variable at a time. The mass we used was paperclips, and we added more in increments of two. I figured out that the more mass we added, the less distance the plane traveled. The fishing line was 400 cm long. We measured the distances the plane traveled and wrote it in our science journal. We also had to problem solve when our fishing line wasn’t cooperating. It was a really fun experiment. My favorite part was making the plane with my classmates.

Chalk It Up! 2022 MMFA Flimp Festival

Saint James School art students put their creativity to the test at this year’s Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Flimp Festival. Our talented artists, grades 6-12, turned a simple parking space into a masterpiece. This year’s theme was inspired by the museum’s exhibition, Pairs and Partners: The Road Less Traveled. This year’s Flimp Festival featured traveling chalk artists who worked alongside students as they planned and executed their art. Each parking space took about six hours to complete from start to finish. Thank you to our visual arts teachers Ms. Shoults and Ms. Davis for their guidance on this endeavor.

#wearesaintjamesschool

Eighth Grade Career Week

By: Mrs. Sarah Moncrief, Middle School Counselor

A longtime flagship event of 8th grade at Saint James School has been Career Week.  This nationally recognized program is one our students have looked forward to each year since its inception over 30 years ago. 

During our first semester of 8th grade, students research careers that fit their interests. They learn how to construct a resume, write a cover letter, and fill out an employment application. Students discuss proper etiquette and practice professionalism through mock interviews.

In November, students participated in two zoom meetings. During these sessions, students heard from professionals why they chose their career, the path they traveled to arrive where they are now, and what their job entails. Students were given the chance to ask questions and hear real-life stories about these professions.

Afterward, students shadowed three professionals of their choice. When conducting their shadowing experience, they interviewed professionals in that career position and learned a great deal about all things related to the career they were shadowing. Students shadowed professionals in the medical field, architecture and construction, engineering, design, military personnel, law and the judicial system, first responders, accounting, veterinary medicine, information technology, and so many more.  

Saint James School’s Career Week Program allows students to explore careers they might be interested in; which in turn, helps students with course selections in high school and also college choices. Our students truly enjoy going out into the workforce and learning about life beyond middle and high school!

My College Search

by: Bandgi Patel, senior

Bandgi visiting Pace University in New York City

Applying to college can be a stressful process, but the counselors helped relieve a great deal of the stress by answering any questions I had about my applications. Thinking about what colleges I wanted to apply to was overwhelming, and I submitted applications to a lot of schools, including the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama in Birmingham, and many others. Towards the end of junior year, rising seniors got a chance to have a one-on-one Zoom meeting with our counselors about what colleges we were interested in. I really think that this helped us and the counselors get an idea of where we really wanted to go and what we were interested in studying. I remember being extremely worried about the whole college process during the beginning of senior year, but in the end, all of it worked out.

I started applying to colleges in October and finished up during the beginning of January. My first college visit I went for was in November, which was for the University of Alabama in Birmingham. UAB made a great impression on me. The campus seemed very nice, and I already had friends that went there, which made it seem even more appealing. I wanted to keep my options open, so I did other college visits. The next college visit I went on was in February, which was for Pace University in New York City. I absolutely fell in love with the campus and the surrounding area. I decided right then and there that this was where I wanted to go. I’m both excited and nervous to be going out of state because, after all, it’s very far from home. As the school year is coming to end, however, I am becoming more and more excited for this new chapter in my life as I plan to attend Pace university starting Fall 2022. #wearesaintjamesschool

All State Choral Festival 2022

by: Dr. Sallye York, choir director and performing arts department chair

STJ students at the 2022 All-State Choral Festival in Birmingham, AL

This past weekend, several Saint James choral students attended the Alabama Vocal Association All State Choral Festival at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama. The All-State Choral Festival is a three-day event that culminates in a professionally recorded concert. The Festival is an opportunity for students with outstanding ability and initiative to receive public recognition, to sing under the direction of nationally recognized choral clinicians, and to perform choral literature of the highest quality. The students had tons of fun working in rehearsals with amazing conductors, attending and performing in wonderful concerts, and even had time for some fun at places like Cheesecake Factory at the Summit, Davenports Pizza Palace in Mountain Brook, Dave and Busters at the Galleria, and a late night cookie party! #wearesaintjamesschool

Cabaret 2022: Road Trip!

by: Taylor Potts, junior

Taylor Potts performing a dance routine to the song “Pink Cadillac”

photos courtesy of Mary Catherine Phillips

The elementary Rising Stars performing “Ticket to Ride.”

Cabaret 2022 was a hit! This year, the theme was Road Trip, which featured songs about travel and fun on the road. It was my favorite show yet! We performed songs like “Seven Bridges Road,” “Driver’s License,” “Life is a Highway,” “Freeway of Love,” and many more. Cabaret looks a little different for me because I help choreograph. It is so much fun to put a number together with my friends and then see it come to life on stage through our wonderful cast. Cabaret is a large production that involves students from all three grade levels. The elementary Rising Stars performed several numbers which had the crowd tapping their toes. I remember looking up to the older performers when I was their age, and now it is so fun to perform alongside these budding stars. Some of my favorite full cast numbers were “Get Ready / Dancin’ in the Street” and “Rockin’ Down the Highway.” I also really enjoyed the dance ensemble numbers — “Pink Cadillac” and “Crusin’ for a Bruisin.’” It would not be fitting of me to talk about cabaret without thanking the people who make it all happen; a big thank you to Dr. York, Mr. Harrison, our stage manager Lily Everett, and assistant stage manager Hamilton Cunningham! Also thank you to all of the women working on our costumes and the crew who worked so hard behind the scenes. We could not do it without all of you. It truly takes a village to put a show like Cabaret together, and there is a place for you! Whether you want to be on stage, help with lights, work with the set, or greet people entering on show night, there is room for you in Cabaret! If you couldn’t make it to this year’s show, be sure to make it to next year’s! I don’t want you to miss out! #wearesaintjamesschool

Snowflakes- Unique and Beautiful, Just Like Us!

Elementary school counselor, Mrs. Laura Gibson, encouraged fifth grade students to embrace their differences in a fun and creative way. Students discussed how no two snowflakes are alike, and like us, each one is different and has its own unique qualities. Mrs. Gibson explained how the beauty of snowflakes can inspire us to embrace our differences. Students each crafted a snowflake to display in the counseling classroom. What a beautiful way to reinforce love and inclusion in our elementary school. #wearesaintjamesschool

District 2 Visual Art Achievement Program Exhibition

Congratulations to Mrs. Shoults’s high school students for placing at the District 2 Visual Art Achievement Program Exhibition.

Ann by Alice Chen

Luke Beasley: 2nd Place, 3D/crafts

Aora Jung: 2nd Place, painting

Natalie Magee: 2nd Place, drawing

Cole Williams: 3rd Place, photography/film

Alice Chen: Wild Card selection, drawing

Alice Chen’s artwork was chosen as a wild card and will move onto the State Visual Art Achievement Program for a second round of judging at the state level next month.

L to R: Monster Energy by Luke Beasley, New Shoes by Aora Jung, Famine by Natalie Magee, Crown of Decay by Cole Williams

A pH Cabbage Patch

Mrs. Courtney Whigham and a cabbage harvested from the Saint James School Community Garden

Mrs. Whigham’s Advanced 8th grade physical science class used cabbages grown in the STJ Community Garden to conduct an experiment to measure pH levels. Did you know red cabbage contains a pH indicator pigment called flavin? This water-soluble pigment is also found in other foods like apple skin, red onion skin, plums, blueberries, and grapes. Students boiled cabbage leaves in water to make a juice to indicate the pH levels of common household items.

Students made hypotheses about what household items would be the most acidic and basic. Items like lemon juice, vinegar, hand sanitizer, bottled water, baking soda, and milk were tested and recorded in lab journals. When mixed with the cabbage juice, very acidic solutions turned red in color. Neutral solutions result in a purplish color. Basic solutions make a greenish-yellow or yellow color.

#WeAreSaintJamesSchool

At STJ, students make connections between their lessons and labs in the classroom with real-world applications.  In this case, students harvested their own cabbages from the school’s Community Garden while also using natural and organic materials to conduct their lab.

Mrs. Whigham especially loves lab days, as relating lab experiments to everyday life and the world around us makes the classes more fun. The tools and equipment are excellent precursors to the types of experiments these students will conduct in high school and beyond. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool