NEW! Thank You - Many thanks to all of our new parents who were able to join us earlier this week at our New Parent Orientation! We were so happy to welcome you to our Academy community! And many thanks to our faculty and staff who were there to welcome our new friends. We know it’s a long day and we appreciate all you do for Saint Chris!
NEW! COVID Updates - Please note the following updates to our COVID policies and procedures:
-- Notification Emails - As we did last year, we will be updating all Academy parents if we should have a positive COVID case among our students and staff. Parents of students in a class with a positive COVID diagnosis will be informed with an email confirming the diagnosis in the class. Parents of children seated in close proximity to a COVID positive student will also receive a phone call from one of our school nurses. No student names will be included in any email. Parents in the greater school community will receive a more general email noting the positive diagnosis by campus, but it will not include classroom information. Our goal is to be as transparent in our communications as possible, but remain mindful of student and staff medical privacy.
-- COVID Testing - All student COVID testing must be administered by a doctor or a reputable testing lab/facility. We will not be accepting home COVID-19 tests for students because we cannot guarantee their validity. PCR tests performed by a health care professional are the preferred COVID test. Rapid/antigen tests are not as accurate, with an increased chance of false-negative results.
NEW! Scholastic Book Fair - The online Scholastic Book Fair is now OPEN!!! Shop our online book fair HERE for some great books! Do you need gifts for upcoming birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas? Feel free to shop for yourself or forward the link to family or friends who might be interested! The book fair runs from September 13th - September 26th. Thank you for shopping at our book fair! Happy Shopping! Happy Reading!
NEW! LC Cross Country- Our lower campus students are ready to run! Registration for the program is now closed. We have a large number of students participating this year and could use a few more parent volunteers. Please contact coach Tracy Beauregard at [email protected] if you can help out! No running experience necessary... just a willingness to help the kids run like the wind!
REMINDER! Visitors and Volunteers- Please note that in accordance with our COVID policies and procedures, ALL visitors and volunteers in the school must wear a mask at all times when in either the lower and upper campus buildings. Thank you for helping us keep our community safe!
NEXT WEEK! DROP-IN PARENT INFORMATION NIGHTS: This new format will be on a drop-in basis so that we can minimize the number of parents in our buildings at one time. Parents are welcome to visit their children’s teachers at either campus from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on the night indicated by the first letter of their child’s last name below. To avoid COVID exposure, we respectfully ask parents to wear a mask, visit their child’s classrooms only, and not wander throughout the buildings or socialize with other parents in the building.
- Families with last names starting with A to K attend on Wednesday, September 22 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at both campuses.
- Families with last names starting with L to Z attend on Thursday, September 23 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM.
NEW! Online Athletic Calendar - Our website now includes a page dedicated to the upper campus Athletic Events calendar! Please click HERE to keep up with all that’s happening with upper campus sports!
NEW! Volunteers and Safe Environment Training - All parents who will be volunteering in the school (Hot Lunch, cross country, FLL, etc.) must complete the mandatory Safe Environment training through the Diocese of Manchester. All volunteers must fulfill the following requirements:
- Visit the Diocese of Manchester volunteer webpage HERE and complete a Diocese of Manchester Volunteer Application. The Diocese will forward your application to the school;
- Complete background checks for all states in which you have resided during the past 5 years. (Links to background checks are listed on the Diocesan volunteer webpage.) The background check form must be printed, notarized, and returned to the school. Do NOT include payment with the form;
- Complete child abuse awareness training online through the Safe Haven training site by following the directions HERE;
- Read and acknowledge our diocesan Code & Policy (you will complete this at the end of your online training). You may print out the completion certificate, but it is not necessary. The school receives automatic notification of your completion of the training.
NEW! Substitutes Needed - Saint Chris is looking for substitute teachers on a per diem basis! Substitute teachers are needed periodically throughout the year starting immediately. Our subs are very valuable to us and we would be happy to talk with you about joining our school family. College education or experience working with children is preferred. Substitutes are paid per day worked. Please contact Mrs. Clarke at [email protected] if you are interested!
NEW! Bike Racks - For safety sake, students who are riding their bikes to school should be sure to lock them to the bike racks at each campus. The lower campus bike rack is located by the church alongside the upper parish parking lot. The upper campus bike rack is located near the teacher’s parking lot in the rear of the school.
NEW! Mask Wearing on School Buses - It has come to our attention that a number of Academy students are not wearing masks while riding the bus to and from school each day. Please be aware that masks are required on school buses by a January 2021 order from the Center of Disease Control. If your student is not wearing a mask while at school, he or she must still wear a mask while on the bus. Please speak with your student about the importance of following this regulation. Thank you for your help with this important matter!
NEW! Lower Campus Band and Fiddle Squad to Start -- Band and Fiddle Squad at the lower campus start next week! Students in grades 3-5 may participate in either Beginner Band or Fiddle Squad. Both are before school enrichment programs that meet on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 7:45 AM. Registration forms are due by THIS Friday, September 17. Please see the sign-up sheet HERE for Band and HERE for Fiddle Squad.
Look Us Up on Social Media – Don’t forget that we have very active social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram! Each account usually has different material, so be sure to follow both! You can find us at https://www.facebook.com/SaintChrisAcademy and https://www.instagram.com/saintchrisacademy/
TODAY! Hot Lunch Ordering Closing - The Hot Lunch program will begin on both campuses on September 27. Online ordering at Boonli.com closes at midnight tonight! No orders can be placed after midnight, so please place your order before midnight incase of technical difficulties!
Hot Lunch Ordering Instructions: Ordering for Hot Lunch is done through Boonli.com. Full instructions for ordering can be found HERE for the lower campus and HERE for the upper campus. Please be sure to read all instructions carefully!
UPDATE! Calendar Raffle Fundraiser – We are halfway through our September sales period for the Calendar Raffle! At this time, we have sold just under 700 tickets towards our 3,500 goal….keep those tickets coming! We have some GREAT prizes this year, including gift cards to fabulous stores and lots of CASH! Every family is asked to sell a minimum of 10 tickets at $10 per ticket. This is the first of our three (and only three!) major fundraisers, so we are really counting on your support!
- Don’t forget, as in the past, for every 10 raffle tickets your family sells, you will earn one entry into a raffle for a $1,500 Tuition Credit or $1,000 Cash!
- We’ve started awarding Surprise Prize Free Dress passes to student sellers!
- 5E is in the lead for our lower campus class competition, while Mrs. Matson-Champagne’s Advisory is in the lead at the upper campus.
- Don’t forget...new this year...the student seller of each daily winner in October will receive a Free Dress pass!
THIS WEEK! Water Walk - All families are invited to support the Thank You Project’s upcoming Water Walk this Saturday, September 18. The Thank You Project (https://thankyouproject.org/) was started by Charles Okorie, native of Nigeria and parent of two alumni. The goal of this Christian-based nonprofit organization is to significantly impact the lives of individuals in a rural area of Nigeria by:
- Providing the equipment necessary to dig fresh water wells.
- Establishing a scholarship fund for deserving students who cannot afford the cost of university tuition (only $2,000 per year).
- Building a spiritual center.
Families may support the Water Walk by downloading a pledge form HERE, getting sponsors, and participating in the actual walk (details HERE). They may also donate directly by using the Venmo and Paypal links on the Thank You Project website.
In addition, we have Water Walk buckets at the front office of each campus through this Friday, September 17 for loose change donations from our students and families. We are happy to support the wonderful efforts of the Thank You Project with our donations!
St. Christopher Parish Grade 2 Students! RECONCILIATION begins 10/3 -
Baptized students in Grade 2 and up from St. Christopher Parish who are seeking Reconciliation should register for this class. Students and a parent attend 8 Sunday evening classes and prepare to receive this wonderful sacrament. Visit stchrisparishnh.org for registration information. Questions? Email: Christine Mercurio at [email protected]
St. Christopher Parish Grade 3 Students! CONFIRMATION begins 10/3 -
St. Christopher Parish students in grade 3 who received their Reconciliation last Fall may register for this CONFIRMATION class. This class meets on approximately 7-8 Sunday mornings. Families will attend the 10:00 AM Mass and then proceed downstairs for class from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Students and a parent participate together as they learn and prepare to receive both Confirmation and Eucharist in Spring 2022. Students registering for this class also register for First Eucharist, which runs from January to May 2022. Sacrament prep forms can be found at the parish website to print and return- stchrisparishnh.org Questions? Contact Alex Sullivan at [email protected] or Christine Mercurio at [email protected].
NEW! Women’s Bible Study at St. Chris Parish -- Are you exhausted? Has striving and hustling left you feeling frazzled and out of control? Do you crave a life of holiness but have no idea how to get there? We can help!
Walking with Purpose is offering the perfect Bible study for you: Keeping In Balance. In this study, we’ll explore Biblical ideas for managing life’s pace and pressure while living with calm and steadiness. And the best part? You get there by journeying with a group of women eager for the same things.
Ladies, this is not one more thing on your plate—it’s THE plate that will help you carry everything else with the grace and strength that can only come from a Christ-centered life. Sessions start on Tuesday, September 28th and will go until the beginning of March - with some breaks built in. We will meet weekly, downstairs in the church hall, from 7-8:30 with every 3rd Tuesday off.
For more information or to register contact Danielle Schuh - [email protected]. Also feel free to visit Walking with Purpose online www.walkingwithpurpose.com for more information and or to order your book.* We hope to see you there! A life of simplicity and rest awaits you!
*Financial assistance is available upon request - we want everyone to have a chance to deepen their faith!!