NEW! Veterans Day Thank You’s - Many thanks to all those who helped us honor our veterans last Friday! Between the two campuses, we had 33 veterans join us! We especially thank Nadra Bell for giving the keynote speech at the upper campus and Tom Bolton who addressed the lower campus, as well as teachers Tom Mechin,Scott Purcell, Jordan Quigley, and Melissa Emond. We also thank Mary Lou Wefers for her special assistance in planning at the lower campus.
NEW! Donation Thank You! Thank you to Beth and Brad Kreick for the donation of a new shop-vac for our lower campus Hot Lunch program!
NEW! Congratulations! Please join us in congratulating 7th grade student Juan Alzate as the winner of the Christmas Card Art Contest! Juan’s sweet depiction of the Nativity will be featured on our school Christmas cards this year.
NEXT WEEK! November Early Release - Please mark your calendar for the Early Release next Thursday, November 21st. 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 as teachers will be conducting Parent-Teacher Conferences. Note: PreK students are released at 11:40 AM and Kindergarten students are released at 11:50 AM.
Thanksgiving Vacation - In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, we will have NO SCHOOL from Wednesday, November 27th through Friday, November 29!
NEXT WEEK! O’Connor Portraits Absentee / Retake Day – Portrait packages from O'Connor Studios were sent home with all students on November 7. All questions and concerns about the portraits should be addressed with O’Connor Studios at 978-640-6250
Absentee / Retake Day at both campuses is on Wednesday, November 20th.
- Students who were ABSENT on Picture Day, October 2nd will have their photo taken for the yearbook. If you are placing an order, these students should bring their original order form to the photographer (which is preprinted with the student’s name). If you misplaced the original order form and would like a replacement, please contact Carol Fiore at [email protected] and we will send a blank order form home.You can also place an order by calling O’Connor Studios at 978-640-6250.
- Students who already purchased photos and want a RETAKE may have their photo taken again.
Simply fill out the “Retake Form” printed on the back side of the portrait envelope that contains your student’s portrait package. (You do not need a new form.) *Note, you must send the entire portrait package back to school with your student on Retake Day.
- Students who are NEW to Saint Chris since October 2nd will have their photo taken for the yearbook. We will send an order form home with your student before Retake Day. If you are placing an order, please send the completed order form to school on Retake Day. You can also place an order by calling O’Connor Studios at 978-640-6250.
Students should be in full uniform. For the upper campus, students should wear the oxford shirt (with tie for boys), and may wear the quarter zip sweater.
If you have any questions, please contact Carol Fiore at [email protected].
NEW! Pajama Drive to benefit The Pass Along Project – We are happy to be participating in a Pajama Drive for The Pass Along Project again this year! The Pass Along Project collects and distributes clothing bundles to children who enter the foster system. We will be collecting 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 until December 13!
NEW! Upper Campus Car Riders - As a reminder….at the end of the day NO students who are car riders should be going out with walkers to be picked up on Columbia Ave. Car riders should be picked up on Bartlett Avenue, in front of the school, only. Columbia Ave. is reserved for bus student pickup ONLY. We appreciate your cooperation with this as we work to keep our students safe at all times.
Lower Campus After Care - Mr. Soucy would like to remind parents that ALL After Care students go outside every day for an extended period of time as long as the temperature is above 35° and it is not raining….therefore, students should bring appropriate warm clothes!
THIS WEEK! Hot Lunch Orders for December Deadline - Ordering for December’s Hot Lunch will run through midnight on THIS Friday, November 15th on Boonli.com. Please be sure to place your order early in case of technological difficulties. You will receive an email confirmation once your order has been placed….if you do not receive that email, your order has not yet been placed and your child will not receive Hot Lunch for the month. Thank you!
NEXT WEEK! Lower Campus Parent-Teacher Conferences - Parent-teacher conferences at the lower campus are scheduled for NEXT, 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.
NEXT WEEK! Upper Campus Parent-Teacher Conferences - Upper campus parent-teacher conferences will take place for NEXT 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.
Current Student Re-enrollment for 2025-2026 - Re-enrollment for current students opens Friday, November 1st and runs through January 15! The parent marked as the primary in each student’s account will receive an email on Friday with instructions on completing the re-enrollment process for 2025-2026. The re-enrollment packet is accessible through your Family Portal. Because we have high demand and waiting lists for several grade levels, any student who has not been re-enrolled by January 15 will forfeit his or her seat for the following year. There will be a registration fee of $200 due as part of the online re-enrollment. Please contact Lorrice Bedard at [email protected] if neither parent received the re-enrollment email or if you have questions.
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 Saint Chris at the same time? Click HERE, select “Join a Program,” and create an account using our school code 751C7D6L13155. Gift cards are available from a long list of retailers and restaurants and all 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!
UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
THIS WEEK! Desserts and Volunteers Needed for Father-Daughter Dance - Help us make the Father-Daughter Dance a night to remember! We are in need of desserts and packaged snacks, as well as a set-up and clean-up crew. Please see the SignUp Genius HERE!
THIS WEEK! Photographer Needed! We are in need of a volunteer photographer to help our father-daughter guests remember the evening! We'll be setting up a photo corner in the gym and would love to offer digital photos for everyone! If you are handy with a camera and would like to be part of the party, please email Marta at [email protected]. Thanks!
CLOSES THIS WEEK! Spirit Store Open Again! Back by popular demand…our Wildcat Spirit Store will be open again for orders through THIS Friday, November 15th! In addition to the items offered previously, we’ve added smaller sizes for our spirit shirts to fit our littlest PreK and Kdg friends! This will be the last ordering period before Christmas, so now is a great time to get those gifts! Visit Maverick’s Stitch and Screen HERE!
NEW! 3S Monthly Food Collection - Mr. Spidalier’s class has decided to do a monthly food collection for the Corpus Christi Food Pantry. All families are welcome to donate! Students may drop donations in the 3S classroom at any time.
Auction Theme! Let’s get the ball rolling…we are excited to announce our theme for this year’s Auction…March Madness: Get in the Game for Saint Chris! Our 21st Auction is sure to be one for the record books with 250 parents, alumni, faculty, and friends gathered for a night in support of the students of Saint Chris! More details on plans for the evening and how to get involved will be coming soon!
December Activities - We have a busy month of Christmas events coming up in December, so be sure to mark your calendar now! More details to follow on every event, but here’s the dates:
- Tuesday, December 3: PreK to grade 2 Christmas Concert at 9:30 AM in the church hall
- Friday, December 6: Christmas Tree Lighting at 6:00 PM at the lower campus (No After Care that day)
- Wednesday, December 11: Christmas Concert for grades 3 to 8 at 7:00 PM in the gym.
- Friday, December 13: Upper campus Snowflake Dance
- Wednesday, December 18: Upper campus Lessons and Carols at 9:45 AM in the gym.
- Wednesday, December 18: Lower campus Prayer Service at 1:45 PM in the church.
- Thursday, December 19: Christmas Free Dress and lower campus Christmas Crafternoon
- Friday, December 20: PJ/Polar Express Day on both campuses
- December 21 - January 5: Christmas Vacation!
NEW! Christmas Tree Lighting and Blessing of the Bambellini: Gather the whole family for our Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday, December 6 at 6:00 PM in front of the lower campus building! This event is a beautiful tradition in the Saint Chris community and includes the blessing and lighting of our school Christmas tree, the story of the promise of the Messiah and the birth of Jesus told in short bible readings, and the singing of traditional Christmas carols. Families are also invited to bring their bambellini…the baby Jesus from their home nativity…for a special blessing….just like at the Vatican! All are invited!
Christmas Tree Lighting Help Needed - We are in need of two volunteers to help prepare and serve hot chocolate at the December 6 Christmas Tree Lighting! Please email Marta at [email protected] if you'd like to help us. Thanks!
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:
- UPDATED! November 18 - Lower campus CANCELED (see below)
- December 5 - Upper campus
- December 9 - Lower campus Immaculate Conception Mass @ 9:45 AM
- December 9 - Upper campus Immaculate Conception Mass @ 9:45
- December 18 - Upper campus Lessons and Carols @ 9:45
- December 18 - Lower campus prayer service @ 1:45
NEW! November 18 Mass Canceled - This weekend, Fr. David announced that the church will be undergoing a painting refresh project for the next few weeks. Because of the work, we will not be able to hold our November 18 mass. We do plan on holding our December 9 Immaculate Conception Mass noted below!
Immaculate Conception - The Vatican and the USCCB have designated Monday, December 9 as a Holy Day of Obligation for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast day is traditionally celebrated on December 8, however because December 8th is a Sunday, the Holy Day is transferred to Monday, the 9th. Both campuses will have a mass on December 9 at 9:45 AM.
Student Programs and Activities
NEW! Cheerleading for Grades 5 to 8 - Gooooo Wildcats!! Grade 5 to 8 students are invited to join our upper campus cheerleading squad! The squad will cheer at select JV and Varsity Basketball games throughout the winter. Practice times and dates to be determined as soon as the squad has been created. If your child would like to join the squad, please sign him or her HERE. If the squad is full, please use the waitlist!
NEW! 5th Grade Basketball Invitation - The upper campus would like to formally invite any fifth grade student-athletes to try out for our Tri-County basketball teams this winter. We are asking that if you have already made a commitment to the Lower Campus CYO basketball program that you please honor that commitment and not attend a tryout. Since those teams were made in advance, it would not be fair to that program to pull players away and leave them shorthanded.
Tryouts will take place throughout the remainder of this week. Please note that there is no guarantee that players who attend tryouts will definitely make a team. This is strictly a tryout. Please see the bottom of this email for the full schedule of tryouts for the remainder of the week. For those interested in attending, please send an email to me at [email protected] to let me know your son or daughter is planning on attending.
Tryout Dates & Times
Wed 11/13, Thurs 11/14, and Fri 11/15
Girls 2:30-4:30 PM
Boys 4:30-6:30 PM
THIS WEEK! Upcoming Campus Ministry Event – Visiting the elderly at Aynsley Place (80 Lake Street) next week from 3-4pm THIS Thursday, November 14th. All UC students are welcome! Remember to coordinate your transportation.
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].
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. It is a 6 week program beginning Friday, January 10th. 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].
$408 is the cost for lift tickets, lessons, and rentals for all 6 weeks. There are also a la cart options for lift, rentals and lessons so you can get only what you need. 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.
IMPORTANT: All students must be registered for Ski Club using the form HERE by December 1st!
Just Added - Ski and Snowboard Rental Fitting Night will be Wednesday November 13th from 5pm to 7pm at Crotched Mountain. This is a great opportunity to explore the base lodge, meet some Ski School staff and have all your rental equipment fitted so you are ready to go on night #1 on January 10th.
Lower Campus CYO Basketball - Team practices are starting but there's still time to sign up for 3rd/4th grade coed, 5th/6th grade boys and 5th/6th grade girls teams. Contact Mrs. Beauregard ([email protected]) if your child is interested in playing.
Chess, Checkers & Cribbage Club! New members are ALWAYS welcome to the Chess, Checkers, and Cribbage Club. To view the schedule for upcoming meetings, please click HERE!
UPPER CAMPUS UPDATE: Due to low student interest, we will not be providing Chess, Checkers, and Cribbage Club for the upper campus at the moment. If there is interest in the future, we will start it up again. Please contact Carol Fiore, [email protected] with any questions.
Parent Volunteers
NEW! Parish Appreciation Christmas Cookies -- Tis almost the season of giving! Please help us share our Christmas joy with the pastors and parish staffs of our Deanery! Bake your favorite Christmas goodies (or bring your favorite Christmas candy!) and deliver them to the front desk on either campus on Monday, December 9th by 9:00 AM. We will use everyone's delicious treats to create giving plates of cookies and candies for delivery to each of the parishes in our Deanery in appreciation of their support of Catholic schools. Please sign up using the SignUp Genius HERE and thank you for your contribution to this wonderful project!
NEW! Parish Christmas Cookies Delivery - We also need parent volunteers to deliver the cookie plates to the parishes on the morning of Tuesday, December 10! Please see the SignUp Genius HERE!
NEW! Hot Lunch Volunteer Schedule - Thank you to our fabulous Hot Lunch volunteers! The schedule for the next week is:
Thursday, November 14
LC: Christin Morrison, Amanda Vargas
UC: Nadra Bell, NEED A VOLUNTEER
Friday, November 15
LC: Christine MacNeil, Krista Spadano, Ann Marie Pellecchia
UC: Sarah Neary, Heather Bowen
Monday, November 18
LC: James Rappaport, Amanda Vargas
UC: Lisa Censabella, NEED A VOLUNTEER
Tuesday, November 19
LC: Dorene Krauss, Jen Liba
UC: Nadra Bell, NEED A VOLUNTEER
Wednesday, November 20
LC: Melanie Marcu, Rugi Mercier
UC: Carol Cyran, Lorraine Barry
NEW! Popcorn - Thank you to this week’s popcorn poppers:
Lower Campus: Donna Walton, Ami Stevens, Rachel Franco
Upper Campus: Nadra Bell, Jennifer Squillace
ST. CHRISTOPHER PARISH NEWS
St. 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.
COMMUNITY NEWS
THIS WEEK! Care-E-Oke! Get ready for an unforgettable night of fun and local talent at Care-E-Oke, hosted at the beautiful and state of the art Nashua Center for the Arts! Support the United Way of Greater Nashua and 22 other amazing local nonprofits by joining us for Care-E-Oke on Friday, November 15th from 7-10pm. Enjoy incredible performances by hometown stars, from soulful solos to high-energy group numbers, all in a family-friendly atmosphere. This is the perfect chance to support your community and have a blast without breaking the bank. Whether you're there to cheer for your favorite singers or just enjoy an impressive show, Care-E-Oke promises a night of fun you won't want to miss! Tickets can be purchased here: https://tinyurl.com/Care-E-Oke24Tickets. The purchase of a ticket gets the purchaser a discount for service at Best Ford Nashua and entry into a raffle for a fully electric Segway Scooter!
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.