Dear St James’ Parents,

We are busy preparing for the new school year!

All Families must complete the online School Emergency Form by August 30th. You may find this on our website:

Emergency Form

NEW Families must complete the New Family Health Forms included in your packet.

Mark your calendars!
Please download the school year calendar from our website: http://stjamesparishdayschool.org/

Tuesday September 10 @ 7:00 p.m: Nursery & Pre-K Back-to-School Night. For adults only.

(see below for Kindergarten Back to School Night date)

Wednesday, September 11: Orientation Day for all children.  Children visit classrooms with their parents.

9:00 – 11:30 a.m. Pre-K & Kindergarten
9:00 – 10:15 a.m. T/Th Nursery
10:15 – 11:30 a.m. MWF Nursery & 5 Day Nursery

Thursday, September 12: First day of school : T/Th Nursery, 5 Day Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten classes

Friday, September 13: First day of school: MWF classes

Monday, September 23 @ 7:00 p.m: Kindergarten Back-to-School Night. For adults only.

We look forward to welcoming you and your children back for a terrific school year!

Dear Parents,

4/25/13 & 4/26/13

On your marks, get set… go Trike a Thon!  The annual St James Trike a Thon will be held on Thursday and Friday April 25th & 26th. Parents mark your calendars and join us to cheer on the children as they race around the track on the patio!  The class schedule will be posted outside our classrooms, and on our school website for your reference.

5/5/13

You are cordially invited to our annual Open House, held on Sunday, May 5th .  The special event begins with a family friendly church service at 10:15.  Bring the family as you hear your children sing their favorite chapel songs.  The service will be followed by refreshments on the patio, and the opportunity to tour all the classrooms.  This is a wonderful time to see your children’s creations from the school year.

 5/6/13

Please remember school is CLOSED on Monday, May 6th.

Thank you! 

Dear Parents,

First, I want to thank the Parents’ Association for a fantastic evening!  The Parent Social at Mijares was a great success, due to the hard work of our parents.  We are so grateful to all of you!

Our next wonderful school fundraiser is well underway!  Original Works is a great way to enjoy the creativity of your child through this fun and creative way to support our school.  Orders are due tomorrow, Friday 3/15.  Please drop off the order forms with payment in the office.

Looking ahead:

Spring break begins Friday March 29th and school resumes on Monday April 8.

Please join us on Thursday April 18th for our Spring Parent Education Night entitled “Managing Emotional Mayhem”,  hosted by Miss Sicka! The event will be held from 6-8pm in the Parish Hall, with childcare and pizza available for the children.  Flyers are available in the office.

Summer School 2013 enrollment is in full swing!  Classes are beginning to fill up, so please register! Packets are available in the office if you need one!

Thank you!

We are excited to see everyone on Saturday night at 6pm for our Annual Parent Social and Auction at Mijares!  There are so many exciting items to bid on.  Thank you to the Parents Association for your hard work, enthusiasm and generosity in preparing for this great event!

Looking ahead:

Spring break begins Friday March 29^th and school resumes on Monday April 8.

Please join us on Thursday April 18^th for our Spring Parent Education Night entitled “Managing Emotional Mayhem”,  hosted by Miss Sicka! The event will be held from 6-8pm in the Parish Hall, with childcare and pizza available for the children.  Flyers were sent home in cubbies today.

Summer School 2013 enrollment has begun!  Packets are available in the office if you need one!

For those of you planning ahead, our Fall 2013 key dates have been added to our website calendar.  You may find them here:

http://stjamesparishdayschool.org/calendar/

See you on Saturday night!

Dear Parents,

For your reading pleasure…

“Self-regulation is the ability to manage emotional upset and behavior.  The way adults handle emotional upset when children are throwing fits, back-talking, name-calling, being defiant and withdrawing will either foster or inhibit their ability to develop self-regulation.”

Our teachers have been trained in the Dr. Becky Bailey method of Conscious Discipline.  Dr. Bailey is an award winning author, renowned teacher and expert in childhood education and development psychology.  She is the creator of Conscious Discipline.

Interested in learning more?  Here are some helpful links and book titles that our faculty recommend.

Websites:

Conscious Discipline, Loving Guidance

www.consciousdiscipline.com

You Tube: Dr. Becky Bailey Conscious Discipline

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j3gF1dh_t4

Books:

Easy to Love Difficult to Discipline

I Love You Rituals

Dear Parents,

School Tour:

Our second school tour will be held on Monday November 5th.  This is a great opportunity for new families to see our school!  Please tell any friends who are interested in St. James’ that they may register for an upcoming tour on our website. www.Stjamesparishdayschool.org

School Attendance Questionnaire:

For our nursery families, please complete this questionnaire indicating whether your child will remain at St. James’ next year.  This will help us plan our classes and serve our families best.  Questionnaires were sent home in cubbies.  Please return them to the office.  Thank you!

Fire Drill:

We will have our second Fire Drill on Friday November 9, 2012 at 11am.

Veteran’s Day:

School will be closed on Monday November 12, in honor of Veteran’s Day.

Pre-K and K Parent Teacher Conferences:

Parent-Teacher conferences will be held on Friday November 16 for Pre-K and K only.  School will be closed for Pre-K and K only on that day.

Thank you!

Dear Parents,
We hope you had a wonderful Columbus Day weekend break.  Here are some important updates for this week:

• Chapel began this week!
  • The children enjoyed their first visit into the chapel for the year, and we talked about this month’s virtue, respect.  Parents are welcome to join us at Chapel anytime.

• Kindergarten & Beyond Coffee:
  • This event will be held on Wednesday, October 17 at 9am in the Parish Hall, sponsored by the Parents’ Association:
  • This is a chance to learn about your choices after St. James from parents who have children enrolled in local public, private, and parochial elementary schools.  You will speak one on one to parent representatives about their experiences at the schools you are interested in.
  • Application packets, timelines, and other important school information will be available for you that day.

  Great California Shake Out:

  • St James will participate in this important Earthquake preparedness exercise on Thursday October 18^th at 10:18am.  Your children will practice “drop, cover, hold on” in their classrooms.  They will also ready a story called, “We Shake in a Quake.”  All families received a yellow Disaster Procedure note at the beginning of the year.

• Halloween:

• Halloween is fast approaching!  We will have a Pumpkin Patch on the school patio, and the Halloween Carnival will take place on October 29^th & October 30^th.
• For the safety of our children, please do not bring any weapons with Halloween costumes.  Also, we do not allow witches, ghosts, or devil costumes at St. James.

• Welcome New Families!
  • We would like to welcome David Kemper and Atticus Sapori-Emanuel to St. James!  Both boys will be in the Bluebirds class.

Thank you and have a great weekend!
Rebecca Ford

Dear Parents,

Here are your important updates for the week!

• Mad Science was a blast!  Thank you to the Parents’ Association for funding the fantastic Mad Science program for Pre-K on Friday.  The children were thrilled.  Your generosity directly enriches the children’s school experience.  Thank you!
• After School Classes & Picnic both begin this week!  Sign-ups are posted in the school office.  Picnic is available on a drop-in basis, and is a wonderful way for your children to extend their social time with friends.
• Morning Play will be available on a Drop In basis beginning next Monday October 1st,  for a $8 daily fee.  Parents who use Morning Play on a drop in basis will fill out a Morning Play sign in form in the Morning Play binder       (similar to Picnic).  We will continue to open the playground at 8:45 for all other families to enjoy!
• School pictures will take place next Monday and Tuesday October 1st & 2nd.  We are sending the photographer envelopes home in cubbies today.  Thank you to those parents who are offering to help that morning!  Here is      the tentative classroom schedule:
  • Monday, October 1st  : Bunnies , Kangaroos,  Bluebirds, Owls, Koalas
  • Tuesday, October 2nd : Kindergarten, Bunnies,  Bluebirds, Owls, Pandas, Teddies
• October Tuition is due on Monday October 1st.  Tuition statements were sent home in cubbies.
• A Note from the Parents’ Association:
  • “Thank you to those families who have become members of the Parents’ Association!  Your membership dollars help us fund educational and social events, as well as facility enhancements.  If you have not yet done so, please return your FALL  PACKETS as soon as possible!  Also, don’t forget about our playground fundraising campaign!”
  • “Wall tile hand printing will take place before school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week!  If you have purchased or would still like to purchase a wall tile, please come see us in the courtyard.”

Thank you!

Dear Parents,

The school year is off to a great start!  The children are settling in nicely in their classrooms, and I am enjoying getting to know them as I visit the classrooms each day!

Here are some important updates:

Morning Play: You spoke and we listened!  We want our very new Morning Play program to best serve the needs of our families, so we are adding these new features to Morning Play:

Playground access: We will continue to use the sandbox/playground area for Morning Play children from 8:00-8:45am.  At 8:45, the Morning Play children will come inside the school building, and all families may enjoy the playground for those 15 minutes before school starts.

Drop In:  In order to offer more flexibility, we are currently exploring ways to offer the Morning Play program on a Drop In, daily basis.  We will update you on these plans next week.

Please note: there is no Morning Play on Tuesday October 2, due to our monthly faculty meeting.

 After School Classes: Today is the last day to register for After School Classes!  The classes begin on Monday September 24th.  Sign-ups are posted in the office.  We still have space in Tuesday Science- this class is designed specifically for T/Th children.

Picnic: Begins on Monday, September 24th.

Kindergarten Back to School Night: Monday, September 24th @ 7pm.  Adults only, please!

School Photos: Say cheese! October 1st & 2nd.  Sign-ups will be placed in cubbies next week.

August 2012

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school!

Please note these important fall dates:

• Tuesday September 11, 2012 at 7:00 p.m  Back-to-School Night – for adults only

  T/Th, MWF, 5 Day and Pre-K

• Wednesday, September 12, 2012:  Orientation Day for all children

Children visit classrooms with their parents.

          9:00 – 11:30 a.m. Pre-K & K, 5 Day Nursery

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. T/Th

10:15 – 11:30 a.m.  MWF

• Thursday, September 13, 2012:  First day of school for T/Th, 5 Day Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten classes

• Friday, September 14, 2012:  First day of school for MWF classes

• Monday, September 24, 2012:  at 7:00 p.m. Kindergarten Back-to-School Night – for adults only

Thank you!