January 9, 2020 PARENT NEWSLETTER Greetings from the Dean's Office!
Happy New Year!
We are now nearly half-way through the academic calendar, and it is really a series of sprints to the end. Over the next few weeks our students will finish out the the third marking period in the classroom while contributing all over campus like they usually do. This weekend our fifth form students will take their practice ACT. Many of our winter sports teams are getting back into competition after having a slower schedule over winter break. These weeks will be filled with many college counseling events, athletic contests, and musical rehearsals, not to mention the SJIT over long weekend. As always, our students will be well engaged.
Although we just got back, our next break is just around the corner with Winter Long Weekend, which begins at 12:20 on Thursday, January 30. Students are to return to campus between 6 PM and 9:30 PM on Monday, February 3. Distance boarders are allowed to stay on campus over long weekend.
The article I have to offer this week is from The Atlantic and is titled "Stop Trying to Raise Successful Kids." The authors posit that in order to raise more successful kids, parents (and teachers, advisors, coaches, etc) should focus more on kindness or caring and less on achievement or happiness. At Saint James we place an emphasis on kindness and caring, but at times we can all lose our way and I hope this provides a helpful reminder to each of us about what is really of importance.
Sincerely,
Steve Lachut WEEKEND ACTIVITIES Duty Captains: Mr. & Mrs. Zawie Notes: Closed weekend - no overnight sign-outs
Friday: 5:00 JV Boys Basketball vs Maret School 5:30 Varsity Girls Basketball vs Academy of the Holy Cross 6:00 Dinner (Required)* 7:00 Varsity Boys Basketball vs Maret School 9:00 Fast Food Run 10:00 Check-in at Kemp Hall (Required)*
Saturday: 8:00 Breakfast (Optional) 10:30 Coffee Run 12:00 Lunch (Required)* 6:00 Dinner (Required)* 6:30 Depart for Ice Skating at Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex 10:00 Check-in at Kemp Hall (Required)*
Sunday: 8:00 Breakfast (Optional) 11:00 Chapel 1:00-5:00 Practice ACT for all fifth formers 5:15 Forms II-IV depart for Westview Promenade 6:00 Dinner IMPORTANT NOTES From the Parents Association:
The Parents Association Annual Tuition Raffle is underway! Our ambitions for the students are high this year and selling all 150 tickets will be crucial for us to accomplish our plans of making Kemp a "home away from home" for everyone. You do not have to have a student at the school to enjoy the winnings…we all love cash! We need everyone's help in selling our tickets…please reach out to friends, family, and neighbors. We will need to reach our goal in order to continue to make SJS an amazing place for our students. If you have not purchased your ticket yet, please consider doing so soon! They can be purchased online at www.stjames.edu/tuitionraffle.
We will be hosting our amazing concession stand for a youth wrestling tournament on Sunday, January 12th. We would love for you to help us show our visitors our Saint James School hospitality! Student service hours are available for this event…come out with your son/daughter and help us make this a success. Please check out our volunteer site to sign-up.
Sunday, January 12th at 1pm is our Parents Association quarterly meeting in the refectory board room. All are welcome to attend.
We truly appreciate everyone's efforts in helping to make our organization great. Our campus and chapel looked beautiful, our raffle is underway, and the Annual Fund is in full swing! With the purchase of the new point-of-sale system, we are able to more efficiently run our concession stand. To recap our year thus far: we support the entire staff with birthday and Christmas wishes, purchased new chairs for the academic building, had our first kettle corn pop-up event for students, purchased new TVs and games for Kemp, added 10 new Adirondack chairs to campus, celebrated "appreciation days" each month, added an ice cream truck to cookie day, helped celebrate milestone-events with the staff, presented all the sixth formers with gifts at their dinner, and are preparing to help renovate Kemp Hall for all the students. We are excited to start 2020!
From the Admission Office:
Current day students that are considering converting to boarding (during this school year or for next year) should reach out to the Admission Office before Christmas break. Availability is limited and not guaranteed based on space in the appropriate dorms.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to the Admission Office at 301-733-9330 x3004 or admissions@stjames.edu
From the Director of College Counseling:
Upcoming Fifth Form College Counseling Events:
Sunday, January 12, 1-5pm in Kerfoot Refectory - practice ACT. Required of all fifth formers
Wednesday, January 22, 7pm in Kellam Auditorium - PSAT/ACT Now What: Understanding your practice test scores and how to move forward with test prep. Required of all fifth formers
Wednesday, January 29, 7-9pm in Kerfoot Refectory - The Admissions Game: An Interactive Presentation for students and families regarding the college admissions process. Hosted by noted author and former Dean of Admission, Peter Van Buskirk. Required of all fifth formers; families strongly encouraged to attend
From the Chaplain:
This Week at Saint James Chapel:
January 12, 2020 (THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY: THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD) Holy Eucharist—Rite II at 11:00am Sermon by the Headmaster
Compline at 9:45pm
January 13, 2020 (Hilary of Poitiers, 367) Morning Chapel at 8:00am Rite I Evening Prayer and Low Mass at 6:00pm
January 14, 2020 (Tuesday after Epiphany I) Morning Chapel at 8:00am Rite I Evening Prayer and Low Mass at 6:00pm
January 15, 2020 (CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER transferred) Holy Eucharist—Rite II at 8:00am Sermon by the Rev'd Joanna White, Chaplain to the Clergy, Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
Rite I Evening Prayer at 6:00pm
January 16, 2020 (Thursday after Epiphany I) Morning Chapel at 8:00am Rite I Evening Prayer and Low Mass at 6:00pm
January 17, 2020 (Antony, Abbot in Egypt, 356) Contemplative Chapel at 8:00am
Guest Preachers for 2020 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Observance
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter on January 18 and the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul on January 25. In recognition of this observance, Saint James School will welcome two guest preachers at its January 15 and 22, 2020 Eucharist services.
The Rev'd M. Joanna White will be the guest preacher for our January 15 Eucharist. Mother White serves on the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland staff as Chaplain to the Clergy. She received a bachelor's degree from Wesley College, master's degrees from Yale Divinity School, Long Island University, and Loyola University and practiced psychiatric nursing prior to ordination. Ordained as a Deacon in 1989 and to the Sacred Priesthood in 1990, Mother White has served as a parish rector and in other various chaplaincy and recovery ministry positions. She resides in Annapolis and has three children and four grandchildren.
The Rev'd Rene Pellessier will be the guest preacher for our January 22 Eucharist. Father Pellessier serves as the Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church and Student Center at the University of Louisiana—Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana. He received the Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Saint Joseph Seminary College and the Master of Divinity degree from Mount Saint Mary's Seminary. Ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in 2017, Father Pellessier is a diocesan priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette and will be a United States Navy Chaplain after completing three years of parochial service in his diocese.
We look forward to welcoming Mother White and Father Pellessier to Saint James School.
Confirmation Class Begins January 19, 2020
Confirmation is an intentional time of preparation, giving those desiring to receive this sacrament, as well as those wishing to be baptized into the Christian faith, received into the Anglican tradition, or to simply reaffirm their faith time to reflect on Christianity's most basic tenets and a safe space to ask questions and grapple with the truths proclaimed by the Church. This year's Confirmation Service at Saint James School will take place on April 22, 2020 at 8:00am.
With that said, Saint James's 2020 Confirmation Class will begin on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 9:45am. Class sessions will be taught by the Chaplain and held in the Kerfoot Refectory Conference Room, the topics and schedule being as follows:
January 19—The Episcopal Church and Anglicanism: What It Is and How It Came to Be January 26—The Church's History February 9—The Holy Trinity February 23—The Bible as the Word of God March 22—Baptism and Confirmation March 29—The Eucharist April 5—The Sacramental Rites and the Christian Hope
Students, faculty, staff, and Saint James School friends interested in taking the class in preparation for baptism, confirmation, reception, or reaffirmation are asked to send an email to the Chaplain at bmontgomery@stjames.edu. QUICK LINKS Saint James School |