NEW! Thank You - With all of the COVID craziness just before Thanksgiving, we never had the chance to thank the parents who brought in a ton of assorted snacks and drinks for our teachers on Parent-Teacher conference day! It is a very long day for our teachers and they so appreciated the goodies!
Many thanks, too, to all those who contributed to our sock/undewear and winter coat service projects!
December and January Calendar Notes -- Looking ahead to December and January, we have a few schedule notes for your calendar:
- Our last day of school before Christmas vacation will be Friday, December 17.
- Our first day back to school after Christmas vacation will be Monday, January 3.
- NEW! Our original calendar listed Friday, January 7 as a no After Care day so that teachers and staff could enjoy their holiday party. Due to scheduling difficulties with the venue, the date has been changed to Thursday, January 6. Therefore, there will be NO AFTER CARE on Thursday January 6. Thank you!
- We will have NO school on Monday, January 17 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.
THIS WEEK! Lessons and Carols/Christmas Tree Lighting: Gather the whole family for our Lessons and Carols/Christmas Tree Lighting THIS Friday, December 3 at 6:00 PM in front of the lower campus building! This event will be a beautiful merging of upper and lower campus traditions, presented by our faculty and staff. Following the blessing and lighting of our school Christmas tree, the story of the promise of the Messiah and the birth of Jesus will be told in short bible readings, interspersed with the singing of traditional Christmas carols. All are invited!
NEW! School Portraits -- O’Connor Studios tells us that our school portraits are due to arrive later this week...we will send them home as soon as they do! Please remember that our Retake/Absentee Day is NEXT Wednesday, December 8 at both campuses. Please feel free to reach out to Carol Fiore at [email protected] with any questions.
NEW! Progress Reports - Distribution of Progress Reports on both campuses has been delayed. Lower campus will send Progress Reports home on Friday, December 10 and they will be due back to school on Monday, December 13. Upper campus Progress Reports will go out on Monday, December 6.
Board of Directors Web Page - We have added a Board of Directors page to our website. The page features short biographies of each of our Board members, as well as meeting minutes and a form for contacting the Board with questions. You can find the page by clicking HERE.
NEW! Upper Campus Uniform “Loans” - Please check to see if your student has borrowed any uniform items from the office (oxford shirts, gym clothes, neckties, etc.) and return them at your earliest convenience. Many of our loaner items have gone out, but have not yet been returned. We want to be sure to have items on hand when other students forget that it is "gym day" or "Mass day." Thanks for your help!
NEW! Annual Fund - The second of our three annual fundraisers, the Annual Fund, is underway! Each family was recently sent an Annual Fund letter asking for your support of this effort. Thank you to all those who have already responded with a gift! All gifts to the Annual Fund stay here at Saint Chris and directly benefit our students through advanced academics, updated technology and facilities, financial aid, and other important programs. In addition, because the cost of educating our students exceeds our tuition, EVERY Saint Christopher Academy student receives discounted tuition supported by our fundraising efforts.
Our goal for the Annual Fund is 100% participation from current families, faculty and staff, and School Board members, with $50,000 as our financial goal. When you receive your letter, we ask you to support our mission to provide an excellent Catholic education to all students at Saint Christopher Academy by donating at the level your family is most comfortable. All donations, no matter the size, are MOST appreciated. To donate online, please click HERE. Thank you!
NEW! Snow Days! The snow will be flying soon, so we want to remind everyone of how they will be informed of a snow day! Parents will receive a robocall and text message, as well as an email. In addition, any closures or delays will be posted on WMUR Channel 9 and 95.7 WZID, as well as the school Facebook page and Instagram.
Please note that our notification system is not foolproof….power and internet outages may interfere with delivery of the text messages and emails and we will post the information as soon as we are able. Thank you for your understanding!
NEW! Delayed Openings - Delayed openings are 2 hours. When there is a delayed opening, there is no school for the AM Pre-K. Paid Before Care will take place on both campuses starting at 8:30 AM. Lower campus doors open at 9:30 AM for regular drop-off and school starts at 10:50 AM. Upper campus doors are open for regular drop-off at 9:30 AM and school starts at 9:55 AM. Note: There is no band or fiddle squad on delayed opening days.
NEW! Christmas Service Projects - Each year, our Academy strives to share the joy of Christmas with those less fortunate in our local community through a targeted service project. This year, we are undertaking two different projects...one at each campus! Donation boxes will be available in each lobby for these special donations.
Lower Campus: Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace - What better time than Christmas to share God's love? This year our Saint Christopher lower campus will be helping children in our area to "sleep in heavenly peace" by providing bedding to children who receive beds from Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a local non-profit which builds beds for children who do not have them. When SHP delivers a bed, they like to provide a mattress pad, pillow, blanket, sheets, pillow cases, and comforter so that a child can have a safe and comfortable place to sleep that very night. We ask families to choose one (or more!) of the above items to donate by December 15th. All items should be twin sized and are intended for children aged twelve and under. Families are welcome to contribute a "bed in a bag" in a design that your own child might enjoy! SHP asks that any sheet sets be solid color, and pillows can be inexpensive, standard sized (move comfortable for young children). Likewise, inexpensive mattress pads are also welcome and are key to a comfortable foundation. Learn more about SHP and see their wishlist here https://www.facebook.com/SHP.NH.HillsboroughCo/
Upper Campus: Christmas is in the bag! - Each morning, volunteers at Saint Patrick Parish open the doors of the parish center for "Morning Cafe," welcoming folks with coffee and camaraderie. This Christmas morning our upper campus families will be providing the Morning Cafe guests with a small gift bag of Christmas cheer and care. We ask students to bring the items requested by December 15th, according to their grade/advisory:
6L bag of Christmas candy
6M multipack of travel Kleenex or multipack of disposable handwarmers
6N multipack of lip balm
7th grade package/batch of Christmas cookies
8th grade small size hand lotion
Faculty/staff mens gloves or socks
Students will be helping to decorate and pack our gift bags so that guests receive something "homemade" for Christmas.
NEW! Auction Committee Meeting- The Auction Committee will hold its next meeting virtually on Monday, December 6 at 6:30 PM! We have many details to discuss for this exciting event, so please consider joining us! Please email Marta at [email protected] to receive the Zoom log-in information!
UPDATED! Lower Campus Water Bottles - Installation of our lower campus water bottle fillers is COMPLETE! We have started counting how many plastic bottles we save by refilling our bottles….in two days, we have already saved 209! Because we have the water fillers available to everyone, Mrs. Sheehan will no longer be providing water bottles to students. Please be sure to send your child in with a reusable water bottle as we continue to have all water fountains blocked in accordance with our COVID protocols. Thanks!
SCRIP for Christmas! – Did you know that you can purchase gift cards to most popular retailers and restaurants quickly and easily online through the Shop with Scrip Program…AND benefit St. Chris at the same time? Click HERE, create an account using our school code 751C7D6L13155, order gift cards from a long list of retailers and restaurants and the gift cards will be shipped directly to the school. You’ll usually receive your gift cards in under a week, and the school receives anywhere from 1.25% to 14% of your gift card purchase! Christmas is a perfect time to give the program a try, with gift card options like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, Target, and Barnes and Noble! SCRIP also has an app for your phone! Makes ordering and managing gift cards soooo easy! Check out RaiseRight by ShopWithScrip!
Applications for 2022-2023 - Do you know a family who would like to join the Saint Chris community next year? Do you have a younger child who will be ready for PreK or Kindergarten next year? Applications are now being accepted for new students for the 2022-2023 school year! Veteran families can complete a new student application through their Family Portal. New families should start the process HERE. Note: Reenrollment for all current students will take place starting on January 1, 2022.
Happy Hearts Day Care - Happy Hearts Daycare, located across the street from the lower campus at 12 Cushing Ave, has two openings for extended care. The hours are 6:30 to 8:30 AM and 3:00 to 5:30 PM. They accommodate students on snow days, two hour delay, early release, no school days (except for the major holidays) and even if there is a power outage :) They also provide care on the Christmas, February and April vacation weeks. If interested, please call...880-6575.
Nashua Blast Lacrosse Registration - Registration is now open for the Nashua Blast Lacrosse program for boys and girls in grades K-8. Indoor practices begin in mid-February. See the flyer HERE for more information.