NEW! Thank You! We have several thank you’s to share this week!
- Thank you to Wanderlust Therapeutic Services and the Moran family for the amazing spread of breakfast goodness at the lower campus today!
- Thank you to Bishop Guertin High School’s music department for bringing their Honors Chorus, String Orchestra, and Jazz Ensemble to present a very special concert this morning to all of our students!
- Many thanks to our upper campus students who participated in the Spirit Week coordinated by the National Junior Honor Society. Over the week, they collected $1,550. Half of that total, $775, will be donated to Stepping Stones in Nashua!
- Mrs. Joyce would like to thank her parents who provided a pancake breakfast this morning for the 3J students after their presentation of the Lord’s Supper!
NEW! Auction Proceeds - We are SO excited to announce that our Auction was officially the most successful EVER! The 242 guests at the event raised a record $167,000 for the students and staff of Saint Christopher Academy! This incredible amount is in addition to the $400,000 donation by the Keegan Family Courage & Faith Foundation. All proceeds from the event stay right here at Saint Chris and will be used to enhance curriculum, technology, extracurricular activities, financial aid, and more. In addition, funds raised as part of our Faith in Action segment of the evening will be added to our new Fund for Teachers endowment. What an amazing night…thank you everyone!
NEW! Auction Video - And, speaking of the Auction, did you see the amazing video that got the party started? Created by talented alumna Natalie Sheehy “14, the video captures what makes our school great…from the perspective of our students! Check it out HERE!
TOMORROW! Easter No School Dates - Please remember that we have several no school dates surrounding Easter Sunday. There will be an early release TOMORROW, April 6, with the upper campus releasing at 11:30 and the lower campus releasing at noon. We will also have no school on Good Friday, April 7 and Easter Monday, April 10.
NEW! Free Dress Tomorrow - Today’s awesome Principals of the Day, Mr. Queenan and Mr. Queenan, awarded our lower campus students with a Free Dress Day tomorrow, April 6!
NEW! Silver Knights Education Day Tickets - It’s time to order tickets for the field trip to the Silver Knights on May 31st! Students in grades 1-6 will bring home a packet today with an order form for student tickets and a permission slip. Both must be completed and returned to school with a $6.00 fee by next Friday, April 21 for all grade 1 to 6 students who will be attending the baseball game. Please note that students who do not choose to attend this field trip will need to stay home from school on May 31.
Parents are welcome to join us at the game also! The Silver Knights have reserved 30 parent seats for us. Tickets must be purchased through the Silver Knights by using the link HERE and the group password EDUCATION. Parent tickets are on a first come, first served basis through the Silver Knights website. No parent tickets will be available from the school.
NEW! Vocation Day SignUp Genius - Our Vocation Day on April 18 is fast approaching! For the 31st consecutive year, we will welcome priests, nuns, brothers, deacons, and lay people to both campuses to discuss their religious vocations. Our theme this year is “Spring into Faith.” The morning will start with a mass for all students on both campuses and a brunch for our honored guests. Later, the lower campus will complete a special craft. Volunteer assistance is needed for all parts of the day…please see the SignUp Genius HERE to see how you can help!
NEW! Upper Campus Phone Reminder - Upper campus parents are reminded that students do not have their cell phones with them during the school day. All cell phones are left in either Advisory or with Mrs. Coker. If you need to get a message to your student during the day, please call Mrs. Coker at 603-882-7442, ext. 300 and she will forward the message to your student. Thank you!
NEW! Freeeee Daylilies! Spring has sprung…and so have the daylilies in the beds along the front of the lower campus building! We have been working on cleaning up those areas for the past year, including pulling out many of the daylilies and other plants that overwhelm the bushes during the summer. But, like daylilies often do, they have come back yet again! We welcome any families who would like to add these lovely plants to their garden to come on by and dig out as many as they would like from the beds right up against the front of the school. All we ask is that you pull them up carefully and smooth over the spot where you pull them from. These are your typical New England orange daylilies and will add a great pop of color to your summer garden!
NEW! Lower Campus After Care Phone Number - Parents who use the lower campus After Care program are reminded that they can contact the After Care staff directly after school hours at 603-438-4735.
NEW! 8th Grade Helen J. Horan Scholarship Applications – Applications for the Helen J. Horan Scholarship for graduating 8th grade students are now being accepted. This scholarship provides support to a deserving Saint Christopher Academy 8th grade student who plans to continue his or her education at a Catholic high school next year. Established by the late Father Denis Horan in loving memory of his sister Helen, the Helen J. Horan Scholarship is the top award for our graduating students and will be awarded at the Baccalaureate Dinner on June 1st. The deadline for applications is May 5. Please see the description HERE for qualifications and other important information.
Willy Wonka Jr. – Step into a world of pure imagination with our Drama Club's upcoming production of Willy Wonka Jr.! Performances will take place Friday, April 14 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, April 15 at 2:00 pm at the upper campus gym. Drama Club students in grades 3 to 8 have been working hard to prepare this amazing show and can't wait to share it with you!
Shuttle Bus – We are also excited to announce that Bishop Guertin will be providing a shuttle bus between the lower and upper campuses for the Friday night production of Willy Wonka Jr! Parking around the upper campus can be a challenge for these big events, so make life easy for yourself and park in the big back lot at the lower campus! The shuttle bus will pick up in the bus drop-off on Brookline Street next to the lower campus building and will drop off at the upper campus. After the show, the bus will return to the lower campus. Thank you BG!
Summerbook Summer Skills Workbooks - – A copy of the catalog of Summer Books is being sent home today with students in grades Pre-K through 7. Summer Books offer a 10-week summer review for students entering Kindergarten through Grade 8. Books may be ordered individually by phone, online or by mail. Please do not send order forms into school. Saint Chris strongly recommends that students complete summer work in addition to summer reading assignments!
April Vacation - Not that your kids will EVER let you forget, but here’s a reminder that we will be closed from April 24 to April 28 for our annual April vacation!
FINAL Hot Lunch Ordering – Hot Lunch ordering for May is open on Booli.com through April 15. Hot Lunch will end on Friday, May 26 on both campuses. This is the last Hot Lunch ordering period for the school year! As of Tuesday, May 30, all students on both campuses must bring a bag lunch through the end of the year!
Upper Campus Forgotten Lunch - Upper campus students who forget their lunch will now be given a bagel and cream cheese as a forgotten lunch rather than the lunch of the day. Parents will be charged $3.50 in Boonli for each forgotten lunch. This mirrors the policy at the lower campus.
Trees, Hills, and Planters…Oh my! - Now that the weather is (sometimes!) getting warmer and students are enjoying their "freedom" after school, please remember that no children should be climbing any tree on school property (including the one right by the back door at the lower campus), nor should they be rolling down the hill in front of the kindergarten classrooms. In addition, we ask that students do not climb or walk on the stone wall by the St. Francis statue by the rectory. Students know that they are not allowed to do any of these things during the school day and the rules still apply after school has ended. We appreciate our parents' help in keeping everyone safe!
Earth Day Free Dress - On Friday, April 21, we will mark Earth Day with a Free Dress Day on both campuses! Some classes will be involved in a campus clean-up and several others will be planting flowers, so it makes sense to wear something a little more casual than our regular uniforms! Students must follow our Free Dress guidelines.
CMC Heart & Hands Scholarship – The CMC Heart & Hands Scholarship is presented to two students entering grades 7-12 in a diocesan Catholic school who have made a significant contribution or impact in their community. Learn more about the eligibility requirements and how to apply at www.catholicnh.org/scholarships. The deadline is May 5 for all applications.
NEXT WEEK! Lenten Service Project Ends - In this season of Lent, in addition to prayer and fasting, we make a particular effort to "give alms," and donate to those who are less fortunate. This year we are focusing our efforts on the Saint Patrick Day Cafe in downtown Nashua. The volunteers at the Day Cafe open the Saint Patrick Parish Center each morning to provide an oasis of calm and dignity to those who don't often find it. They provide a peaceful and safe space where those who live on the street can have a few hours of respite from the elements, enjoy a cup of coffee and snack, engage in conversation, and be seen as a child of God. Their work is entirely funded by donations. We would ask that our lower campus students please "give alms" by donating funds in the jar on the counter in the lobby at school. All funds will be used for the purchase of the particular coffee, creamer, sweeteners, and snacks used by the Day Cafe. The deadline for donations is NEXT Friday, April 21!
We would also like our friends served by the Day Cafe to know the joy of Easter. Our upper campus students will be donating items for Easter gift bags that will be distributed to Day Cafe guests. To ensure we can create what we need, a sign up can be found HERE. If upper campus families prefer to make a monetary donation, they may send check or cash in an envelope to Lorrice Bedard. Thank you for your generous support of this worthwhile ministry.
End of the Year Dates - The end of the school year may seem like a long way away, but it will come quickly! Please put the important dates below on your calendar! (Note: Specific student dress code requirements for Field Day, Baccalaureate Mass & Dinner, Convocation, and Graduation will be shared with applicable parents in the next few weeks.)
Friday, May 19
- Lower campus Field Day
Friday, May 26
- Family BBQ at the upper campus (all current families invited!)
Thursday, June 1
- 5:00 PM – 8th grade Baccalaureate Mass at St. Christopher Parish (graduate and two parents only)
- 6:30 PM - 8th grade dinner at the upper campus (graduate and two parents only)
Tuesday, June 6
- Last day of school for 5th and 8th grade students
- 5:30 PM - 5th grade Convocation at the upper campus
Friday, June 9
- Early Release and final day of school for grades PreK to 4, 6 & 7
- 7:00 PM - 8th grade Graduation at the upper campus
School Mass Schedule - All parents are invited to attend our weekly school masses! Parents must enter through the front door of each campus facility, sign in, and receive a nametag to attend. All masses are at 9:45 AM on both campuses unless otherwise noted. The schedule for the remainder of the year is:
April 12 - Upper campus
April 18 - Upper campus Vocation Day @ 8:15 am
April 18 - Lower campus Vocation Day @ 9:15 am
May 2 - Upper campus, followed by May Crowning
May 8 - Lower campus
May 18 - Ascension - both campuses
May 24 - Upper campus
May 30 - Lower campus
June 7 - Upper campus
Hot Lunch Volunteers - Thank you to our fabulous Hot Lunch volunteers! The schedule for the next week is:
Thursday, April 6
LC: No Lunch - Early Release
UC: No
Friday, April 7
LC: No School - Easter Break
UC: No School - Easter Break
Monday, April 10
LC: No School - Easter Break
UC: No School - Easter Break
Tuesday, April 11
LC: Sadie Presenti, Marnie Gordon, Irene Owuor
UC: Kathy Maynard, Sue-Ellen Maher
Wednesday, April 12
LC: Sadie Presenti, Greidy Medrano, Courtney Duran
UC: Becky Kosterman, Teresa Carlton
Popcorn Poppers: No school this Friday, so no popcorn poppers this week!
THIS WEEK! Holy Week Schedule - St. Christopher Parish invites families to join them for Holy Week and Easter this week! Please see the schedule below:
