Greetings from the Dean's Office!

Welcome back to school, and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. 

I feel like I say this every week, but this really is one of the most wonderful times of the year at Saint James.  The next four weeks are a whirlwind of activity, which kicks off this weekend with The Admiral Holloway Wrestling tournament. "The Holloway," as it is affectionately known, is an opening season wrestling tournament which features Independent School talent from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.  The tournament is named after Admiral James L. Holloway III '39, who developed a love for the sport while competing for the Naval Academy.  Admiral Holloway is also a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.  If you are at all on the fence about coming, the Parents' Association will be serving up breakfast sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, and fresh gumbo.

Looking ahead, our student musicians and performers will be featured in the annual Winter Soiree (12/8), Lessons and Carols (12/16 & 12/17), and of course, the timeless classic A Christmas Carol (12/21). We invite you to attend any or all of these Saint James performances!

Sincerely,

Steve Lachut
Dean of Students

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES

Reminder to day students that they are welcome to participate in any weekend activity!

Duty Captains: Mr. & Mrs. Zawie
Notes: Open weekend - Holloway Weekend

Friday:

6:00 Girls Varsity Basketball @ Berkeley Springs Tourney
6:00 – Dinner (Required)*
6:30 – Depart for Movies
7:00 – Onderdonk Christmas Party at Dr. Brauner's
7-8:30 – Walk Through
8:00 – Fast Food Run
8:30-10 – Walk Through
10:00 – Check-in at Kemp Hall (Required)*
10-11 – Walk Through
10:30-11 – Check-in on dorm (Required)*

 
Saturday:
7:30 – Depart for the SAT's at Williamsport
8:00 – Breakfast (Optional)
8:30 – Work Squad
9:00 – The Admiral Holloway Tournament
12:00 – Lunch (Required)*
1:00 – Tyson's Corner Mall
6:00 – Dinner (Required)*
6:30 – Dinner Out at Chipotle, Five Guys, etc.
7-8:30 – Walk Through
7:30 – Ice Skating @ Hagerstown Ice Complex
8;30-10 – Walk Through
10:00 – Check-in at Kemp Hall (Required)*
10-11 – Walk Through
10:30-11 – Check-in on dorm (Required)*
 
Sunday:
8:00 – Breakfast (Optional)
11:00 – Chapel
12:00 - Brunch (Required)*
12:30 – Girls on the Run Service Trip at South High
1:00 – Depart for local shopping
1:00 - 5:00 – Library Open
3:00 - 5:00 – Fine Arts Open
6:00 - Dinner
7:45 – On Dorm Check-in for Study Hall
9:45 – Compline

IMPORTANT NOTES

From the Parents' Association:

December 2 is the Admiral Holloway Wrestling Tournament.  If you have never attended this event before, it is a great tradition at the school and an amazing athletic competition.  We have two volunteer opportunities that day: Campus decorating and concessions. Come help out the school and experience this tournament all in one day!  Come taste Mr. Topham's authentic Louisiana gumbo at our concession stand while you enjoy the tournament.  There will be a limited amount, so come early to stake your claim!

Volunteers are still needed at a few school events until the end of 2017  Campus decorating (December 2), concessions (December 2), and teacher appreciation day (December 5).  We will be adding a few more dates in December, so please be sure to check our site weekly.  The SJIT is February 1st-3rd and we will need many volunteers to make the tournament a success! Sign up to volunteer.

Our Annual Fund is still under way!  Please help us reach our 100% participation goal.  Every gift is appreciated and needed to make this drive a success.  If you are able and willing to help with the phone-a-thon next week on December 5, we would love to have you!  Please contact Tim Almany (tdalmany@yahoo.com) or Jan Welty (janelwelty@hotmail.com) if you would like to help.  If you are unable to help make calls, please just be ready to take the call and help us make day two better than the first one!

Our next Parents' Association meeting is on January 28th at 1:00 p.m. in the Biggs Refectory Board Room.  All are welcome!

Chapel Choir CD

The Saint James Chapel Choir is excited to release a new CD, There is No Rose: Carols from the Chapel of Saint James School.  The CD was recorded after Lessons and Carols last year, and includes 19 beautiful tracks.  The CD will be available for purchase online (look for more details soon) as well as in the school bookstore and at the Lessons and Carols services on December 16 and 17. You won't want to miss having this for the holidays!

From the Athletic Department

The winter sports season began in earnest this week as all the basketball teams are back in action and the Wrestling team hosts the annual Admiral Holloway Tournament on Saturday.  Be sure to check out the school website for current game schedules. 

Don't forget to visit our team shops for all your apparel needs and follow Saint James Sports on Twitter @sjsathletics.

Please encourage your students to check out the Lost and Found Area in Alumni Hall.  A large amount of discarded clothing items were collected from the field house and locker rooms over the break. These items will be available until the end of the week.

Go Saints!

From the Chaplain's Office:

Parents and families are always welcome to attend chapel services at Saint James. It is wonderful to have so many join us throughout the year on Sundays and various other special occasions. To assist you with your planning during the Advent and Christmas seasons, please note the schedule of services in Saint James Chapel below.

• December 16: 8:00 pm: Lessons and Carols (Forms II-IV)
• December 17: 11:00 am: Sung Mass, Third Sunday of Advent
• December 17: 8:00 pm: Lessons and Carols (Forms V-VI)
• December 24: 10:00 pm: "Midnight" Mass, Christmas Eve
• December 31 and January 7: No Chapel Services
• January 14: 11:00 am: Sung Mass, Second Sunday after Epiphany (Regular schedule resumes)

In order to enable more families to participate in the service of Lessons and Carols, and to help defray some of the costs, we invite donations in the amount of $20 for flowers — mainly poinsettias. The flowers will be used at the service of Lessons and Carols and at the Christmas Eve Mass. Please complete the form with your donation by December 8, 2017.

From the School Nurse:

As your students return from breaks, weekends home, or are prescribed new medications, please be sure to check any and all prescribed medications in with Mrs. DeWeese in the infirmary.  When leaving for a break, medications can be picked up from Mrs. DeWeese, the Duty Captains, or the Dean of Students. 

QUICK LINKS