TODAY!! RE-ENROLLMENT DEADLINE - Today is the deadline for current students to re-enroll for the next school year! All students must be re-enrolled by midnight tonight in order to guarantee a seat for the next school year. New students will be offered open seats beginning January 16. To re-enroll your student, complete the enrollment packet found in the Family Portal of the “primary” parent under “Enrollment/Reenrollment”. Thank you for your prompt attention to this! For any questions, please contact Enrollment Coordinator Lorrice Bedard at [email protected].
THIS WEEK! iReady Testing Continues- The winter session of iReady standardized testing will run through January 24. Lower campus students will test in their homerooms, while upper campus students will test in their computer classes. We encourage you to remind your children to approach these assessments with focus and determination. Their effort and attitude during these tests are important in showcasing their learning and growth. Please also be sure that all students are well rested and have a good breakfast! Thank you for your support in helping your children do their best.
THIS WEEK! End of 2nd Quarter - Grades will close for the 2nd quarter on both campuses on THIS Friday, January 17. Report cards will be issued on Friday, January 24.
NEW! Yearbook Ordering – Parents will receive an email from O’Connor Studios about ordering the Saint Christopher Academy 2024-2025 yearbook on Friday! Please take the time to open the email, read the information, and place your order...the ordering window closes at midnight on February 21! In addition to the yearbook itself, families in all grades may purchase a Personal Message and/or a Family Sponsorship! 8th grade families only may also purchase a 1/4 page graduate ad.
For more information, please see our Yearbook Ordering email HERE that was sent to parents earlier today.
Nurse Request for Parents and Staff - Please remember to inform our school nurses about all student and staff illness, particularly the flu, strep throat, or COVID. It is important for the nurses to have this knowledge so that they may track illness rates in the school and take necessary precautions to keep our student and staff population healthy. Mrs. Sheehan at the lower campus can be reached at [email protected] or ext. 509 and Mrs. Danielson can be reached at [email protected] or ext. 307.
Lower Campus Winter Recess - It’s cold outside! Please remember that all lower campus students will go out to recess as long as the RealFeel temperature is above 20 degrees. Students should be dressed appropriately, including coats, hats, and gloves.If they wear outside boots to school, please be sure to send a pair of school appropriate shoes for the rest of the day. Thank you!
Calendar Notes --
- NEXT WEEK! NO SCHOOL DAY! We will have NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.
- EARLY RELEASE - Wednesday, January 29th will be an Early Release day for teacher professional development.
- NEW! NO SCHOOL Day - Wednesday, February 5th, will be our next no school day following Martin Luther King Jr Day. Teachers will be participating in professional development. Note: Our 5th grade students will be participating in our annual Step-Up Day at the upper campus from 9:00 to 11:30 AM. Parents of 5th grade students will receive more information about Step-Up Day this week.
- NEW! FEBRUARY VACATION - Our February vacation will run from Saturday, February 22nd through Sunday, March 2.
TODAY! Hot Lunch Ordering for February - Don’t forget! Hot Lunch ordering for the month of February is open through midnight TODAY, January 15. Please order early to be sure you don’t run into any technical difficulties (or just plain forget!). Your order is not complete unless you receive an email from Boonli.com and we are unable to add/change any orders after January 15.
Snow Days! It feels like 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/or 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!
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 10:30 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.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
NEW! Catholic Schools Week - Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic schools in the United States…and we are looking forward to a fun and meaningful week here at Saint Chris! It will run from January 27 through January 31 and will include themes and special activities for each day. Please look for an email next week detailing the events of the 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:
- January 21 - Lower campus @ 1:45 PM
- January 27 - Lower campus Catholic Schools Week Mass @ 9:45 AM
And Upper campus students will attend Mass at Bishop Guertin High School
- February 6 - Upper campus @ 9:45 AM
- February 12 - Lower campus @ 1:45 AM (grades 3-5)
- February 18 - Vocation Day! Upper Campus @ 8:15 AM and Lower Campu @ 9:00 AM
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NEW! Class Basket Donations - Themed baskets are some of the most popular items at the Auction! We especially appreciate the special class baskets that are created through the generosity of our families. When you donate to a class basket, the money goes directly towards the purchase of items for your child’s class basket! This year, our super fun class themes are:
PreK - It’s My Birthday!
Kdg - Disney Dreams
1st Grade - Sweet Scoops Ice Cream Fun
2nd Grade - Creative Kids Craft Supplies
3rd Grade - Lego Lovers
4th Grade - Nerf Nation
5th Grade - Outdoor Games
6th Grade - New England Sports
7th Grade - A Few of My Favorite Things (one basket for boys and one for girls!)
8th Grade - Off to High School
To make a cash donation in support of your child’s class basket, please click HERE!
NEW! Sponsor Thank You! Our sponsor list is growing! Many thanks to those who purchased sponsorships this week! Every business listed below is linked to their webpage…please check them out!
PLATINUM Sponsor
NEW! Wanderlust Therapeutic Services
GOLD Sponsor
SILVER Sponsor
NEW! Giorgio’s Ristorante and Bar
BRONZE Sponsor
NEW! Bishop Guertin High School
NEW! Family Chiropractic of Merrimack & Wellness Center
CENTERPIECE Sponsor
NEW! Crown Uniform & Linen Service
Additional Sponsorships Available - Would you, your family or business like to join this fabulous list of Auction sponsors?! We have many levels of sponsorships available, from $250 to $10,000! We also have a great variety of “custom” sponsorships including support of many important parts of the Auction like the Wine Pull, desserts, centerpieces, candy table, and more! All sponsorships provide donors opportunities to reach hundreds of parents, alumni, and friends of Saint Chris through pre-event publicity on the Auction website, on social media, and in the Wednesday News, as well as ample recognition at the Auction itself. To learn more about Auction sponsorship opportunities, please click HERE!
NEW! Our Apologies! Saint Chris would like to extend sincere apologies to two of our leading sponsors from last year’s 20th Annual Auction. Regrettably, Wanderlust Therapeutic Services and Wireless Zone were not included in the Honor Roll of Donors that was published in the summer News and Notes newsletter. We sincerely regret this error as both Wanderlust and Wireless Zone have been ongoing high level sponsors of the auction for several years.
- Wanderlust Therapeutic Services serves many people in the local community with inpatient and outpatient mental health and addiction counseling services. In particular, Wanderlust services the Catholic community, including many Saint Christopher families, through its faith-based counseling program. As part of their mission to give back to local Catholic charities and nonprofit organizations, Wanderlust looks forward to continuing their connection to the Catholic community and the families of Saint Christopher Academy. Please visit Wanderlust HERE for more information about their services.
- Wireless Zone is a Verizon Authorized Retailer, and the largest provider of Verizon products and services with over 700 stores throughout the United States. Wireless Zone has an active community support program, raising a significant amount of money and supporting a large number of local and national charities and causes. Saint Chris parent Albert Pellechia is a local Wireless Zone franchise owner and who has been extremely generous to the Academy on behalf of Wireless Zone through Auction support, donations, and volunteer efforts. To learn more about Wireless Zone, please click HERE.
NEXT WEEK! Auction Committee Meeting - The next meeting of the Auction Committee will be Wednesday, January 22 at 7:15 PM at the upper campus. Plans are moving into high gear as we plan for March 22nd…please join us!
NEW! Videographer STILL Needed! One of our favorite Auction traditions is the school video that opens the live auction portion of the evening! The video often follows the theme of the evening and gets the crowd ready to bid high in support of our students. Due to professional obligations of the wonderful alum who produced the last few videos, we found ourselves in need of a new videographer. We’d love someone with professional experience who can capture the spirit of our school and students and let it shine on the screen! If you…or someone you know…would like to help with this project, please contact Marta at [email protected]. (Note: This would be a GREAT sponsorship opportunity for a local videography business!)
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Student Programs and Activities
NEW! MathCounts Competition - Good luck to our MathCounts team as they compete on Saturday at the upper campus! Many thanks to coaches Shipra Gulati and Krysten Calvanese for preparing the students over the past few months!
NEW! Winter Robotics STEM – Our Fall 2024 After School STEM program was such a success that we are running a Winter version starting the week of February 3rd for students in grades 3 to 8. Our Winter session will leverage Lego's Technics and Spike Prime materials to teach students about Robotics and Engineering. While they learn to Design, Build, Code and Test their Robot, they will also learn about Teamwork, Collaboration and more. View the links below to learn more.
https://spike.legoeducation.com/prime/lobby/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JV7x014U0I
Meeting dates and times will be determined based on coach and student availability. There will be a $40 fee for the 8-week course.If your child is interested, please sign up HERE to receive additional communications. Thank you!
NEW! Step-Up Day Reminder - Parents of 5th grade students are reminded to RSVP for the 5th grade Step-Up Day on February 5th by completing the SignUp Genius HERE. Please RSVP by Friday, January 31so that the upper campus staff can prepare appropriately.
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!
Parent Volunteers
NEW! Parent Group Meeting - Our Parent Group will meet on Thursday, January 23 at 7:00 PM in the upper campus conference room. We will be planning the upcoming Mother-Son Bowling Night on February 4 as well as preliminary plans for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch in May. All are welcome to attend!
THIS WEEK! Faith Outreach Committee - Our Faith Outreach Committee will meet THIS Friday, January 17, at 9:00 AM in the lower campus library to plan our upcoming Vocation Day on February 18. Please join us!
STEM Day Speakers - Are you in a STEM field? Would you like to share your love of or experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math? We have begun planning for this year’s STEM Day, to be held on May 20. We are looking for speakers to present to students about their interest and/or careers in any STEM-related field, whether as a professional or hobbyist. Presentations will be approximately 20-30 minutes in length. If you are interested in speaking, please email Carol Fiore at [email protected].
NEW! Hot Lunch Volunteer Schedule - Thank you to our fabulous Hot Lunch volunteers! The schedule for the rest of this week and the first few days of next week is:
Thursday, January 16
LC: Jill Queenan, Michael Vacca
UC: Nadra Bell
Friday, January 17
LC: Michael Vacca, Erica Lilley, Caitlyn Deblasio
UC: Stacy Cardinale, Nadra Bell
Monday, January 20
LC: No School
UC: No School
Tuesday, January 21
LC: Taylor Barry, Leslie Bellows
UC: Nadra Bell
Wednesday, January 22
LC: Courtney Duran, Melianie Marcu
UC: Stephanie Barton, Nadra Bell
NEW! Lower Campus Hot Lunch Sub Needed - We are in need of a Hot Lunch sub at the lower campus on Monday, February 3rd. If you can help out, please email Marta at [email protected]. Thanks!
NEW! Popcorn - Thank you to this week’s popcorn poppers:
Lower Campus: Megan Hussey, Leslie Bellows, Caroline Belt
Upper Campus: Andrea Rugg, Louis Cardinale
ST. CHRISTOPHER PARISH NEWS
NEW! Eucharistic Adoration at St. Christopher Parish - The parish would like to extend a warm welcome for parents to join them for Eucharistic Adoration on the first Friday of each month from 12:00 - 3:00 PM. This is a great opportunity to spend quiet time with our Lord in prayer and/or contemplation. Adoration is on a drop-in, come-and-go basis, so parents are welcome to come by for whatever time they have available during the Adoration hours…maybe for a few minutes before our 3:00 PM pick-up time? The next Adoration takes place on Friday, February 7. Enter the church through the side door.
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.