NEW! Thank You! So many thanks to our faculty and staff and to the lower campus choir who presented our Tree Lighting/Lessons and Carols last Friday night! It was the perfect night and we were blessed to have so many families come to experience this beautiful program!
UPDATED! Re-enrollment Open– In response to interest from current parents, our 2023-2024 enrollment window for CURRENT students has opened a month early! An email with information and a link to the enrollment packet was sent last week to the parent listed as the “primary” contact for each student. If you did not receive an enrollment email, please check your spam folder! The deadline for enrollment will remain January 15 and a $150 registration fee will be required upon submitting the packet. Completing the enrollment packet guarantees your student will have a seat for the 2023-2024 school year. Students who are not enrolled by January 15 may lose their seat to a new student.
Note: The enrollment email is sent to only ONE parent to avoid duplication of enrollment packets in the Renweb system. If you have questions, please contact Enrollment Coordinator, Lorrice Bedard, at [email protected].
NEW! Nurse Absence/Illness Reminder - Like other schools around the country, we have seen an increase in the number of illnesses affecting our students over the past few weeks. These illnesses include COVID, RSV, flu, strep, etc., all of which are highly communicable. Because of this, our nurses would like to remind parents of the following:
- Please keep any student who has a fever at home until he or she is fever free WITHOUT medication (tylenol, advil, cold medicine) for 24 hours.
- If your child has a fever or is sick enough to stay home from school (including stomach issues), please test for COVID and let our nurses know the results. While we do not require a COVID test, it is very helpful in controlling exposure if we know if a child is positive or not.
- If your child is staying home from school, please leave specific information when calling/emailing him or her in sick to school. This should include symptoms and any testing results. Again, it is imperative that our nurses are aware of any illnesses in the school so that we can monitor school-wide conditions and control exposure for all students as much as possible.
- If your student will be out of school for any other reason besides illness (doctor appointment, vacation, etc.), please be as specific as possible when calling/emailing your child out.
NEW! 7th Grade Field Trip Lunch Credit - Our 7th grade will be traveling to the Palace Theater on December 15 for a matinee performance of A Christmas Carol…how exciting! Because of the timing of the show, hot lunch will not be available for 7th grade students (6th and 8th grade will have lunch as usual). Students will be bringing a bag lunch to be eaten upon return to school. A hot lunch credit has been applied in Boonli for any 7th grade student who ordered lunch that day.
Hot Lunch Ordering and Cost Increase - Ordering for January Hot Lunch is now open, and runs through December 15 on Boonli.com. Due to increased cost, our caterer, Celebrations, is increasing hot lunch prices at both campuses by 50¢ per meal. Lunches at the lower campus will be $4.00 and lunches at the upper campus will be $5.00 starting January 1st.
NEW! Food Allergy Reminder - As we draw closer to Christmas and holiday parties, we ask that parents/guardians reach out before sending in treats to school that have not been specifically requested by teachers for class parties. Any students with allergies who will need accommodations can reach out to our school nurses, Mrs. Sheehan ([email protected]) at the lower campus or Miss Thibault ([email protected]) at the upper campus. Our parent-student handbook also has a lengthy section discussing food allergies and how we handle them at Saint Chris and parents are encouraged to read that section carefully. Lower campus parents can find that information starting on page 29 in the handbook HERE and upper campus parents can find it starting on page 29 in the handbook HERE. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe!
THIS WEEK! Fall Upper Campus Varsity Sports Awards - The upper campus will hold its Fall Sports Varsity Awards program at 1:00 PM on Friday, December 9 in the upper campus gym. All parents are welcome to attend. Parents whose children are receiving an award have been notified via email.
TOMORROW! Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Mass – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 celebrates the immaculate conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her sinless life. It is a holy day of obligation in the Catholic church. Both campuses will hold mass at 9:45 AM TOMORROW and parents are welcome to attend either mass. Please enter through the front door of each school to sign in.
NEW! Christmas Free Dress - Our classrooms will be fun and festive over the last two days of school with TWO Christmas free dress days! On Monday, December 19, all students on both campuses are welcome to wear their favorite red, green, and white free dress. On Tuesday, December 20, lower campus students will have a PJ day as part of an extra special surprise being planned by their teachers. Upper campus students may also wear PJ’s on Tuesday, as long as they have donated a pair of pajamas to our Advent service project (see the next news item!). For both days, all students should keep in mind our free dress guidelines outlined in the parent-student handbook!
Pajama Drive to benefit The Pass Along Project – The Pass Along Project collects and distributes clothing bundles to children who enter the foster system. We will be collecting new pajamas for these children who often arrive at a foster home with nothing. Please click HERE for specific instructions! Families on both campuses are urged to participate!
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 Tuesday, December 20.
- Our first day back to school after Christmas vacation will be Tuesday, January 3.
- There will by NO After Care on Thursday, January 5 so teachers can enjoy their Christmas party!
- We will have NO school on Monday, January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Auction Theme and Website – Exciting news….we have selected our Auction theme for our March 25, 2023 event… “Roll Out the Red Carpet for Saint Chris”! The night will include silent and live auctions, raffles, drinks, and a delicious sit-down dinner. Attire of all kinds is welcome…feel free to dress to the theme or not! Look for an Auction email with lots of details this week!
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NEXT WEEK! Christmas Show - All families are invited!
THE GREATEST MESSAGE
presented by the Saint Christopher Academy Drama Club
featuring the Saint Christopher Academy Band, Chorus, and Strings Ensemble
with special music by the Lower Campus students!
NEXT! Wednesday, December 14
6:30 PM in the Upper Campus Gym/Auditorium
Join us as we use God's gifts of music, drama, and song to share the Gospel through the traditional Christmas story with a modern flair!
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Ski Club Registration for BOTH Campuses – It’s that time again! Ski Club sign-up time! Winter is fast approaching and we will be starting our ski program in January this year. We will be going to Crotched Mountain. This year, Ski Club will be a 7-week program, running from 4:00 - 8:00 PM on Fridays starting January 13! There will be 5 weeks of lessons and 2 weeks of free skiing. Cost is $289, or $149 for season pass holders. All sign-ups are made through the Crotched website directly HERE. Deadline to register is now December 14th.
Please make sure you have registered with Crotched Mountain (if needed) AND filled out the Ski Club Selection Form HERE no later than December 14. Please complete the form for each student in your family. This form confirms your student’s Ski Club participation in lessons, rentals, bus, etc. and is REQUIRED for all Ski Club participants.
NEXT WEEK! Feast in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe – St. Aloysius of Gonzaga invites all families to participate in next Monday's Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
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 that makes ordering and managing gift cards soooo easy! Check out RaiseRight by ShopWithScrip!
Applications for 2023-2024 - Do you have a younger child who will be ready for PreK or Kindergarten next year or another older child who you’d like to attend Saint Chris? Do you know a family who would like to join the Saint Chris community next year? We are now accepting applications for new students for the 2023-2024 school year! PreK applications are coming in quickly and spaces are being assigned on a rolling basis, so veteran families with a PreK student for the fall are encouraged to apply ASAP. Veteran families can complete a new student application through their Family Portal. New families should start the process HERE.
Hot Lunch Volunteers - Thank you to our fabulous Hot Lunch volunteers! The schedule for the next week is:
Thursday, December 8
LC: Sarah Daugherty, Tina Bruno, Julie Vincent, Sadie Presenti
UC: Sarah Neary, Nadra Bell
Friday, December 9
LC: Amelia Mickles, Ashley Curreri, Katie Shrieves
UC: Jaclyn Leonardi, Lisa Blanchard
Monday, December 12
LC: Sadie Presenti, Alex Sullivan, Erin Sarette
UC: Nadra Bell, Melanie Dohoney
Tuesday, December 13
LC: Sadie Presenti, Danielle Schuh, Hanna Sullivan, Andrea Rugg
UC: Kathy Maynard, Sue-Ellen Maher
Wednesday, December 14
LC: Sadie Presenti, Elona Cook, Katie Osborn, Erica Lilley
UC: Sasha Shaplyko, Nadra Bell
Popcorn Poppers: Our fabulous popcorn poppers for the week are Danielle and Craig Schuh.
Advent and Christmas Schedule at St. Christopher Parish – Families are invited to join St. Christopher Parish during Advent and Christmas. Please see the schedule below!
- Eucharistic Adoration and Confessions – Mondays of Advent ~ 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
- TOMORROW! Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary – Holy Day of Obligation, Thursday, December 8th. Parish masses at 7:30 am and 7:00 pm with Rosary at 6:30 pm.
- THIS WEEKEND! Consecration of New Altar with Bishop Peter Libasci – Sunday, December 11th at the 10:00 am Mass.
- Christmas Eve – Saturday, December 24th at 4:00 pm in Church and Church Hall and Midnight Mass at 12:00 am.
- Christmas Day - Sunday, December 25th at 9:30 am. (Please note there are no 8 and 10 am Masses on Sunday, December 25)
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Vigil – Saturday, December 31st at 4:00 pm
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God – Sunday, January 1st ~ 8:00 am and 10:00 am
- Epiphany Sunday Vigil – Saturday, January 7th at 4:00 pm
- Epiphany Sunday – Sunday, January 8th at 8:00 am and 10:00 am