IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Calendar Raffle Winners - Looking for a list of daily winners? We have a running post HERE on the school website and a pinned list of winners HERE on Facebook!
NEW! Tuition Raffle Drawing Winners! Congratulations to the Coates/Guilmette family, winners of the Tuition Raffle Drawing last Friday! As the winners, they have the choice between a $1,500 tuition credit for next year and $1,000 in cash. So exciting!
NEW! Winter Uniform begins November 1 - Friday, November 1st, marks the beginning of our winter uniform season on both campuses! Please be sure that students are dressed appropriately and all uniform pieces have been purchased from Red Brick Clothing. Thank you for your cooperation in making the following changes….
Lower Campus:
- Boys must now wear navy blue uniform pants. Shorts may be worn again on April 1.
- All students must wear navy uniform sweatpants over their shorts for gym class.
Upper Campus:
- Boys must now wear khaki uniform pants. Shorts may be worn again on April 1.
- Girls must now wear either khaki uniform pants or plaid skorts. Shorts may be worn again on April 1. Note that skorts can be no more than 3” above the student’s knee.
- All students must wear the blue long sleeved oxford shirt with the SCA logo. Short sleeve polo shirts may be worn again starting April 1.
- All students must wear uniform sweatpants over their shorts on gym days.
NEW! 1st Quarter Grades - 1st quarter grades on both campuses will close Friday, October 25. Report cards will be issued Friday, November 1st.
NEW! Lower Campus Parent-Teacher Conferences - Parent-teacher conferences at the lower campus are scheduled for Thursday, November 21 from 12:45 - 8:00 PM. Conference sign-up's were done in most classrooms on Parent Information Night in September. If not, you will hear from your teacher shortly. At least one parent/guardian must meet with each child's homeroom teacher at the lower campus at this time.
NEW! Upper Campus Parent-Teacher Conferences - Upper campus parent-teacher conferences will take place on Thursday, November 21, from 12:20 - 7:40 PM, in the upper campus gym. All meetings will be 10 minutes in length and MUST be pre-scheduled using the Sign-Up Genius HERE (click the tabs across the top to view each teacher’s conference schedule as well as a waitlist for teachers whose conferences are full.) Parents are encouraged to review their student's schedule and prioritize meeting with teachers whose class is challenging a student most. Parents are not required to attend or to speak with all of a student's teachers.
NEW! Student Absence Notifications - Please remember that when your child is going to be absent from either campus, you must notify the school office first thing in the morning by emailing [email protected] or [email protected]. Please include the reason for your child’s absence, particularly if he or she is not well. Our school nurses need to be aware of all illnesses affecting students in the school. Thank you!
NEW! Parent Alert System – We will be doing a test run of our Parent Alert system for both campuses on Friday, October 25 at 9:00 AM. We use Parent Alert for sending out mass communications, including text messages, robocalls and emails, to notify you of weather-related school closings, as well as any emergency information we might need to get to parents in a timely manner. By providing your consent, you are enrolling in Saint Christopher Academy's Parent Alert system. You may opt out of text messages by texting STOP to 31706 at any time. Please note that message and data rates may apply and subscription to the alerts is not required by the school. Please review the FACTS Parent Alert Privacy Policy HERE. Any text alerts from our school will begin with “Parent-Alert: SCA-NH” and calls will show from “603-882-7442”.
On the 25th, we will send out a test message to all parents using all forms of communication. Therefore, you should expect to receive several versions of this test message, both through your phone and email. If you do NOT receive the messages, please contact Marta at [email protected].
Note: Per Telephone Consumer Protection Act we have to provide all recipients the option to Opt Out of receiving our text alerts. Anytime we send out a text alert you will see “Stop to End”. If you reply “Stop” you will no longer receive ANY text alerts from Saint Chris.
NEW! Education Tax Credit Scholar Highlights - Children’s Scholarship Fund NH (CSFNH) would love to hear from you! CSFNH enjoys seeing pictures of ETC Scholars and their families, as well as listening to their stories. Please send pictures and/or short write-ups about ETC Scholars to [email protected]. The ETC Scholar's story and Saint Chris may even be featured in one of CSFNH’s publications or social media platforms!
NEW! Scholarship Verification Reports (SVRs) - Children's Scholarship Fund NH (CSFNH) participating parents with students who were awarded a 2024-25 ETC scholarship are required to complete the SVRs in the Fall and Spring to ensure the correct ETC payments are made to the school.
Fall 2024 SVRs will open on Wednesday, October 16th and must be completed by Wednesday, November 13th. You will be receiving specific instructions by email about the Fall 2024 SVR on Wednesday, October 16th.
School Car Magnets - We have a limited number of the new blue car magnets available! Please email Marta at [email protected] if you would like one sent home. Once we have depleted our supply, we will start a waitlist and order more!
Applications for 2025-2026 - Do you know a family who would like to join the Saint Chris community next year? Applications for new students for the 2025-2026 school year are now OPEN. New families should start the process HERE. Note: Re-enrollment for current students will take place starting on November 1, 2024, but we will be accepting new students for open seats next year based on current enrollment numbers.
NOW OPEN! Planning on PreK, Kindergarten or 1st Grade for Your Little One at Home Next Year? - Applications for new students for the 2025-2026 school year are now OPEN! If you have a child at home who will be joining us for the first time next fall, we highly recommend that you apply immediately so that we may reserve his or her space. With PreK and kindergarten enrollment currently at capacity and high interest from new families in both grades, as well as 1st grade, we encourage you to submit your application right away. Veteran families can complete a new student application through their Family Portal. While siblings of current families do have priority, we can only honor that if we know you are interested! Please reach out to Lorrice Bedard, Enrollment Coordinator, at [email protected] with any questions.
Forgotten Lunch at the Lower Campus - Hot Lunch service is underway! Because all of our food is pre-ordered through Boonli.com, there are no extra hot lunches available if a student forgets his or her lunch. If a student forgets to bring a lunch, the student will be asked to call home. If a parent cannot bring in a lunch, the child will be given our standard “forgotten lunch” which consists of a bagel and cream cheese and a fruit cup. Parents will be notified of the forgotten lunch and a $3.50 charge will be added to the family’s Boonli account. Please remember that parents should not rely on this as a replacement lunch on a regular basis. It is ONLY if a child forgets a lunch and the parent cannot bring in a lunch.
UPCOMING EVENTS
NEW! Early Release Reminder - Next Friday, October 25, is an early release day so that teachers may attend professional development. Upper campus students will be released at 11:30 AM and lower campus students will be released at 12:00 PM. There will be NO After Care on either campus.
NEW! Orange/Black/White Free Dress - Thursday,, October 31 will be a booooo-tiful day on both campuses as our kids dress in their favorite orange, black, and white Free Dress outfits! Please keep our Free Dress rules in mind when picking out an outfit. Those rules can be found in our online Parent-Student Handbook HERE for the lower campus and HERE for the upper campus.
NEW! Veterans Day Commemorations - Both the upper and lower campuses are looking forward to their annual Veterans Day Commemorations on Friday, November 8. The upper campus ceremony will take place at 9:45 AM and the lower campus will take place at 1:45 PM. We would especially like to honor and thank all veterans who are members of our Saint Chris community as part of these programs. Veterans who can attend are asked to please RSVP HERE.
NEW! Lower Campus Cross Country Championship - This Saturday, October 19th is the Nashua Elementary School Championship for cross country at Nashua High School North. Our 2nd - 5th grade team will be competing against many of the other schools in Nashua and our 4th/5th grade groups (girls and boys) are looking to bring home the championship trophies!
2k GIRLS (2nd & 3rd grade) - race time 10:00 am
2k BOYS (2nd & 3rd grade) - race time 10:30 am
3k GIRLS (4th & 5th grade) - race time 11:00 am
3k BOYS (4th & 5th grade) - race time 11:30 am
AWARDS - 12:15 pm
NEW! Father-Daughter Dance - Dads and their daughters should mark their calendars for the upcoming Father-Daughter Dance on Saturday, November 16 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM in the upper campus gym! This event is open to all families from Prek to grade 8 and tickets are $15 per family. Parents will receive a special email invitation this week!
Upcoming School Masses - All parents are invited to attend our school masses! Parents must enter through the front door of each campus facility, sign in, and receive a nametag to attend. All upper campus masses are at 9:45 AM and lower campus masses will be at 1:45 PM unless otherwise noted. The schedule for the next month is:
- October 24 - Upper campus
- November 1 - All Saints Day Mass - 9:45 AM on BOTH campuses
- November 7 - Lower campus
- November 13 - Upper campus
- November 18 - Lower campus
Student Programs and Activities
NEW! Upper Campus Fall Dance - All upper campus students are invited to attend the Fall Dance on Friday, November 1 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM in the upper campus cafeteria. Tickets are $5 and will only be sold in advance at lunch through October 25. No tickets will be sold at the door. The dress for this dance will be casual. Questions about the dance can be directed to Katie Osborn at [email protected].
NEW! PAL Cross Country – Nashua PAL Gate City Striders (GCS) is a Junior Olympic National Champion team (USATF), recognized for being one of the largest youth running programs. Registration is open for the season which begins the week of October 28th. Runners will be on teams by gender and two year age groups, with a goal of making it back to the National Championship in Indiana in December. Sign up HERE!
NEW! Praying for All Souls - Ms. Thompson would like to invite all upper campus students to join together in praying for all souls in Purgatory during an evening event on All Souls’ Day, November 2nd. Students will gather for an evening of camaraderie (and pizza!), learn about Purgatory and the history of All Souls’ Day, and then participate in a candlelit procession to Edgewood Cemetery to pray for all those who are buried there. For more information, please contact Ms. Thompson at [email protected].
NEW! Upper Campus Students: Your artwork could be chosen for the official Saint Christopher Academy Christmas card! The chosen design will be printed and mailed to all families and friends of our school! Please read the flyers posted around upper campus, or click HERE to read the details. Pick up a template paper outside the offices at upper campus to make sure you meet all size requirements. All entries due by Oct. 31st.
NEW! Lower Campus Library News - Mrs. Noon has lots of great information to share!
Birthday Books - It's Birthday Book time for lower campus! If your student's birthday falls between September - December they received a birthday book flyer this week. Students whose birthdays are after January will receive their flyer in January. It is a great way to commemorate your child's birthday, and the book they choose will be shared with others for many years to come! Books typically cost between $14-$21 and are typically library bound. If you have more than one student, please consider ordering books for all of them at once even if they haven't received their flyer yet. Feel free to have your student order a book anytime. You can find more information HERE. If you have any questions please email Mrs. Noon at [email protected].
Destiny Online Catalog - Students in Grades 2-5 have all been assigned a password and username to fully utilize the online catalog. Students' usernames and passwords do not change from year to year. Once they are assigned a username and password it will stay with them through 5th grade. This week, students will receive a label with their username and password which will be adhered to the inside of their planner for your convenience. Upon logging in, students can look up the books they have checked out, they can put books on hold, and browse the online catalog from the comfort of their home! You may access our online catalog 24/7. Please visit Mrs. Noon's class page to access the online catalog as well as under the Student Life tab on the lower campus home page. Please feel free to email Mrs. Noon at [email protected] if you are having trouble logging in.
Self Check-In and Self Check-Out - Independent check-in and check-out in the library for students in Grades 1-5 has begun. Students are now checking in and checking out their own library books. Students love being part of the library process, and it also fosters their independence in the library.
Happy Reading!
Ski Club - Registration for this year’s Ski Club is now underway! The Saint Chris Ski Club is a fun opportunity to learn how to ski or snowboard through Crotched Mountain Ski and Ride in Bennington, NH. It is a 6 week program beginning in January. We will ski on Fridays. Students depart school about 2:45 pm to arrive at the mountain for a 4:00 pm lesson. Lessons run an hour long after which students are welcome to enjoy dinner in the lodge and ski the rest of the evening. Buses depart, heading back to school, at 8:00 pm sharp. For more information, please email Mrs. Beauregard at [email protected].
The cost is $408 (including lift/lesson/rentals). There will be a separate charge for the bus which will be posted once we get a final head count. NOTE: Only students in grades 3-8 are permitted to ride the bus. Our younger students are welcome to join Ski Club but must be accompanied by a parent and will need to have transportation to and from the mountain.
* New this year - There is an a la cart option for lessons and rentals if you have an Epic/Epic Local/Northeast Value pass and for those who rent, there will be a fitting night in early November at Crotched Mountain.
IMPORTANT: All students must be registered for Ski Club using the form HERE by December 1st!
UC Campus Ministry Volunteer Activity - Upper campus students are invited to assist PLUS Company bowling athletes in the Special Olympics at Leda Lanes every Wednesday in October! Volunteers will help athletes at Leda Lanes from 4:00 - 5:15 PM. Please contact Ms. Thompson at [email protected] for more information!
Lower Campus CYO Basketball - Calling all basketball players in grades 3 - 6 to represent Saint Christopher Academy in the CYO Manchester League. The season will run November to March with one weekday practice (days TBD) and games on Saturdays in the Manchester area. Click HERE for more information and to fill out a form to indicate your interest. Contact Mrs. Tracy Beauregard with questions ([email protected]).
Chess, Checkers & Cribbage Club! The Chess, Checkers, and Cribbage Clubs on both campuses are off to a great start! New members are ALWAYS welcome. To view the schedule for upcoming meetings, please click HERE! (Note: There will be no Upper Campus meeting on October 21.)
Upper Campus Faithful Fridays - Come adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament before school begins on Fridays from 7:00 - 7:30 AM at the Upper Campus Chapel! Parents, teachers and students are welcome to join our Campus Minister, Miss Abbey Thompson, and Mrs. Lester for Faithful Fridays. Stop by and join us as you are able for a moment of prayer. This is a great opportunity to spend quiet time with Jesus as you begin your day and end your week!
Parent Volunteers
NEW! Parent Group - Many thanks to those parents who attended last week’s first Parent Group meeting of the year! The group is currently working on plans for the upcoming Father-Daughter Dance (grades PK to 8) on November 16, a Mother-Son Game Night in mid-winter, Family Bingo this spring, and monthly Teacher Appreciation treats on both campuses. It’s not too late to get involved! The Parent Group’s next meeting will be Monday, November 4th at the upper campus. Please join us!
NEW! Hot Lunch Volunteer Schedule - Thank you to our fabulous Hot Lunch volunteers! The schedule for the next week is:
Thursday, October 17
LC: Amanda Vargas, NEED A VOLUNTEER
UC: Nadra Bell, Lori Gordon
Friday, October 18
LC: Christine MacNeil, Krista Spadano, Ann Marie Pellecchia
UC: Sarah Neary, Heather Bowen
Monday, October 21
LC: James Rappaport, Amanda Vargas
UC: Lisa Censabella, Lori Gordon
Tuesday, October 22
LC: Dorene Krauss, Jen Liba
UC: Nadra Bell
Wednesday, October 23
LC: Melanie Marcu, Rugi Mercier
UC: Carol Cyran, Lorraine Barry
Cheer Coach - Goooooo Saint Chris! Our cheer squads raise the spirit at our CYO basketball games throughout the winter season. We are looking to have TWO squads this year, one for grades 3-5 and one for grades 6-8. Coaches would begin meeting with students once or twice a week in October and continue through the season until approximately late-February. For more information, please contact Mrs. Clarke at [email protected].
NEW! Popcorn - Thank you to this week’s popcorn poppers:
Lower Campus: Parissa Khayami, Taylor Barry, Elizabeth Vaquerano
Upper Campus: Andrea Rugg, Louis Cardinale
ST. CHRISTOPHER PARISH NEWS
NEW! Saint Christopher’s Moms & Minis – Meet with other moms for hot coffee, light treats and conversation in the church hall. Our minis get to play while we chat and grow in faith and fellowship! We meet every 1st and 3rd Wednesday at 9 - 10:30 AM during the school year, with play dates throughout the summer. For additional information call or text Alex Sullivan at 603-479-4554.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL NEWS
NEW! Bishop Guertin Boo Bash - National Honor Society students at Bishop Guertin invite students and their families to attend their annual Boo Bash on Sunday, October 27. See the flyer below for more information!
Trinity Open House - 8th grade students and their families are invited to join Trinity High School in Manchester for their 2023 Open House for 8th graders and transfer students on Wednesday, November 15th, from 7 pm - 8:30 pm. During the Open House, you will have a chance to meet administrators, faculty, students, visit classrooms, learn about the curriculum and meet members of the club advisors and athletics. Join their admissions mailing list to learn more about upcoming Trinity Admissions events, click here. Please email our Admissions Office with any questions- [email protected] or call 603.668.2910 ext. 220.
Bishop Guertin Open Houses: Bishop Guertin High School will hold two upcoming Open Houses for prospective students and their families in October. The first will take place from THIS Sunday, October 20 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm and the second will take place on October 24 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Students and families will tour the building, meet faculty and staff, and discover the BG difference. Registration for the event can be completed HERE.
COMMUNITY NEWS
NH Knights of Columbus Respect Life Essay Contest - The New Hampshire Knights of Columbus is once again sponsoring a Student Respect Life Essay Contest. The contest is open to any 6-12 grade students in NH. The NH Knights of Columbus will make up to six cash awards of $100. Applicants do not have to be a member of the Knights or a Catholic.
The theme for this year’s contest is: “What does the Catechism say about our cooperation with evil (para # 2271,1868,1869) and how does this correct Catholics who have given scandal by supporting abortion and infanticide?”
Essays should be no longer than 500 words, typed, and submitted as a PDF or Word document. It should be emailed to [email protected] by midnight on Sunday, Dec. 15.
Happy Hearts Day Care - Happy Hearts Day Care, located across the street from the lower campus at 12 Cushing Ave, has one opening for before and after care. The hours are 6:30 to 8:30 AM and 3:00 to 5:30 PM. We accommodate on snow days, two hour delays, 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 Linda at 603-321-9320.