November 28-30 Christmas Shopping – All Day – Church Hall
November 29 Drama Club Production of Peter Pan – 7:00 PM – Court St. Theater
November 30 Drama Club Production of Peter Pan – 7:00 PM – Court St. Theater
November 30 In-House 2019-2020 Registrations for Current PreK to Grade 1 DUE
December 4 Auction Committee Meeting – 7:00 PM – Margarita’s
December 5 Staff Meeting – 7:30 AM – 5M
December 5 Lifetouch Portrait Retakes
December 6 Penitential Service – 9:15 AM – Grades 3-6
December 7 Christmas Tree Lighting Festival – 5:30 PM – Church Hall
December 7 Parish Vigil Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – 7:00 PM
December 8 Parish Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – 8:00 AM
December 10 Cookies Due for Parish Appreciation Project – 9:00 AM – Lobby
December 10 STEM Committee Meeting – 6:30 PM – Library
December 11 PreK to Grade 2 Christmas Concert – 10:00 AM – Doors open at 9:30 – Church
December 12 Barnes and Noble Night – 6:00-7:30 PM – Barnes and Noble, South Nashua
December 13 Monthly Mass – 9:15 AM – 6E preparing
December 14 Christmas Cafeteria Day!
December 14 NO After Care – Staff Christmas Party
December 18 Grades 3 to 6 Christmas Concert – 10:00 AM – Doors open at 9:30 – Church
December 19 Paper Wednesday News
December 20 Christmas Free Dress
December 20 Christmas Prayer Service – 9:15 AM – 2nd grade preparing
December 20 EARLY RELEASE – 12:30 PM – NO HOT LUNCH OR AFTER CARE
December 21-January 1 NO SCHOOL – Christmas Vacation
January 2 School Resumes
NEW! Thank You – Thank you, thank you to our most wonderful Hot Lunch volunteers last Tuesday! Not only did these amazing ladies come in early to get lunch served before we left for our unexpected early release day, but they also served a multi-course Thanksgiving feast AND helped with our crazy Cafeteria Day! Our sincere thanks go to Emily Uong, Heather McCorry, Lisa Blanchard, Jennifer Fisher, and Beth Dargin!
More Help Needed! Parish Appreciation Christmas Cookies – ‘Tis 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 and deliver them to the front desk on Monday, December 10 at 9:00 AM. We will use everyone's delicious treats to create giving plates of cookies and candies for delivery to each of the 11 parishes in our Deanery in appreciation of their support of Catholic schools. Please sign up using the SignUp Genius at https://tinyurl.com/ParishCookies2018 and thank you for your contribution to this wonderful project!
New! 3D Design Club at St Chris! Is your child interested in 3D printing? Using 3D design software, the students will learn how to create a design that can be transformed into a 3-dimensional object, and then printed on the school's Makerbot printer. No experience is necessary, and the club is open to 4th - 6th graders. The club will meet in the computer lab, beginning on Friday January 11th at 7:45 AM. The club will meet every other Friday, for 5 Fridays. Parents - interested in helping out Club Coordinator Tom McCarthy? You don't need to be experienced with the software in order to lend a hand! Sign up’s for both students and adult helpers can be found at https://tinyurl.com/3DClub2019.
Birthday Book Program - If you are interested in a purchasing a book for our school library to commemorate your student's birthday, please contact Mrs. Noon at [email protected]. Feel free to send in an email or a note. I will help them hand pick a library quality birthday book that suits their interests. Books typically range in price between $10 - $15. It doesn't matter if their birthday passed…all birthdays are worth celebrating! Thank you for helping our library grow!
Back Parking Lot Reminders – With winter’s messy weather on the horizon, we wanted to remind parents of the importance of following our rules so that everyone can continue to pick up children safely and efficiently in the back parking lot! Parents should be sure to:
- Wait until the cones have been removed from the entry and the children have left the parking lot before pulling in to the lot. Please do not remove the cones yourself.
- Fill the spots around the outside of the lot first before filling the middle section.
- Back into spots around the outside of the lot. This is VERY important for safety when cars are pulling out.
- Pull into a parking space, even if you are late and your child is waiting. Do not pull up to the top of the stairs and ask your child to jump into the car.
- Get out of your car and meet your child at the top of the stairs from the school. Again, do not ask your child to run across the parking lot to your car.
- Leave the lot as soon as your child has been dismissed and you have returned to your car. Our lot is not big enough for all our cars, so we need to make space for others to enter the lot!
Winter School Delays and Cancellations – In the case of inclement weather, school cancellations or delays will be posted on the website, on our Facebook page, on radio station WZID 95.7 FM and also on TV channel 9 (WMUR). Parents will also receive text messages on their cell phones, voice messages on home phones, and emails through our Notify system.
Please note that our Notify system is not foolproof….power and internet outages may interfere with delivery of the text messages, robocalls, and voice messages. We will post the information on the school website and Facebook, as well as contacting WMUR, as soon as we are able. Please also know that we do not post school delays or closings until we receive confirmation from the appropriate administrator in the Nashua public schools, which may delay notification in some cases. Thank you for your understanding!
St. Christopher School follows the Nashua Public School System for all cancellations and delayed openings. Therefore, delayed openings are 2 hours. When there is a delayed opening, there is no school for the AM Pre-K. Before Care will take place starting at 9:00 AM and morning enrichment activities will begin 2 hours later than normally scheduled. Please note that there will be NO Band or Fiddle Squad on delayed openings. Doors are open for regular drop-off at 10:30 AM and school starts at 10:50 AM for all grades Full Day Kindergarten through 6.
DEADLINE THIS WEEK! Current Family Registration for 2018-2019 School Year – In-house registration for students currently in grades Pre-K to 1 is currently underway, with a deadline of THIS FRIDAY, November 30! (Students currently in grades 2-5 will register in January.) Please know that because we are also enrolling new students at this time, current students whose registrations are returned after that date will not be guaranteed a seat for next year.
Families with children currently in grades Pre-K to grade 1 were sent an email with a link to the registration form on November 1. The link was sent to whoever is listed on the student online registration as the “primary” contact. If you did not receive the email, or would like the email to go to someone else, please contact Marta at [email protected]. The online registration form must be completed and submitted by November 30, along with a $160 registration fee to be paid online at the time of registration.
Note: New students from current families -- Current families who would like to enroll a child who is not currently a student at St. Chris are also welcome to complete an admission. The admission form can be found on the school website by clicking on the “Apply Now” button in the middle of the website.
Project Safeguard – Mrs. Clarke is looking for assistance in planning our 6th grade Project Safeguard program. This off-campus day for 6th grade students and their parents features speakers and activities designed to help students navigate the sometimes challenging years ahead in junior high and high school. The day is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9. Please contact Mrs. Clarke at [email protected] to volunteer.
NO After Care on December 14 – Please note in your calendar that there will be NO After Care on Friday, December 14 so that the staff and faculty can attend their annual Christmas dinner. Thanks!
THIS WEEK! Drama Club Production at NEW Location – You don’t want to miss this! Our Drama Club has been hard at work preparing Peter Pan, Jr and it’s going to be a great show! Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are moving the production to the Court Street Theater (home of the Peacock Players!) and adding a second show! Tickets are EXTREMELY limited for the Friday show and may not be available at the door. The Thursday show has more availability, and tickets should be available at the door, but preorders are still encouraged! Please click HERE for more information and a ticket order form!
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the year….Mark Your Christmas Calendar! – Be sure to add the following events to your calendar:
THIS WEEK! Christmas Shopping for Kids – This event is ALWAYS one of the students’ favorite events of the year! It will take place this Wednesday, November 28 through Friday, November 30th in the Church Hall. Each class will visit the “store” and shop for gifts for family and friends! Each item is $6 or under and will be wrapped before the kids leave the event. Many, many volunteer elves will be needed! This is a HUGE effort, so please help us by:
- Completing a shopping list with your child so he/she knows who to shop for. Please also indicate how much your child can spend on each person.
- Fill out at least one gift tag for every person your child is shopping for.
- Place shopping list, gift tags, and money (cash or check) in an envelope or sandwich bag with your child’s name on it. Each child in your family should have his or her own envelope/bag with list, gift tags, and money. Please do not combine children into one envelope, as each class comes down separately and it is difficult to track family purchases throughout the 2 ½ days.
Penitential Service – Students in grades 3-6 will attend a Penitential Service on Thursday, December 6 at 9:15 AM. Students who have already completed their First Reconciliation will be invited participate in the sacrament of reconciliation as individuals with Fr. David and other priests.
Christmas Tree Lighting – Join us for our 5th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on December 7! This year’s festivities will once again include “pre-lighting” fun and festivities in the Church Hall starting at 5:30 PM! Coordinated by the Parent Group, this wonderful event is a great way to celebrate the holidays with your St. Chris family!
Immaculate Conception Vigil Mass – Immediately following the Christmas Tree Lighting, St. Christopher Parish invites all families to attend the Vigil mass for the Immaculate Conception at 7:00 PM. Immaculate Conception is a holy day of obligation for Catholics and celebrates the belief that Jesus’ mother Mary was conceived without original sin. The parish will also hold a mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday, December 8 at 8:00 AM.
UPDATED! Christmas Concerts –Here’s another festive way to get into the holiday spirit! Our students are busy preparing two wonderful daytime Christmas concerts. Both concerts take place at 10:00 AM in the church, with doors opening at 9:30 AM. Please note: Students should dress UP in their Christmas best for the day of their concert! The schedule is:
- Christmas Concert for grades PreK-2 – December 11
- Christmas Concert for grades 3-6 – December 18
Barnes and Noble Night – Plans are underway for our annual Barnes and Noble night on December 12 from 6:00-7:30 PM! This amazing evening features performances by many of our student groups, a raffle for a Barnes and Noble gift card, free dress certificates for all students who attend, and more! A percentage of every purchase made that evening benefits the library. Barnes and Noble Night is the perfect time for Christmas shopping fun, so mark your calendar now!
Christmas Cafeteria Day – Oh what fun! Our next Cafeteria Day will be Friday, December 14! All students will eat lunch in the Church Hall according to their regular lunch schedule.
Christmas Free Dress – Students will get into the holiday mood by wearing their favorite red, green and white on December 20! Santa hats, jingle bells, flashing necklaces, and other Christmas accessories are welcome and encouraged!
Christmas Prayer Service – Celebrate the real reason for the season – the birth of baby Jesus! December 20 at 9:15 AM in the Church. 2nd grade will be preparing the service.
Christmas Early Release – December 20 at 12:30 PM, with no Hot Lunch or After Care.
Christmas Vacation – Enjoy this most blessed season with family and friends from December 21 through January 1. We will resume school on January 2, 2019!
Lifetouch Portrait Retakes – If your child was absent on the original portrait date, or you just don’t like the portrait taken of your student, Lifetouch will be here for retakes on Wednesday, December 5. Students should wear regular uniforms.
AmazonSmile for Christmas – Who has started their Christmas shopping? If you are like most parents, at least one of the gifts you purchase this holiday season will arrive in an Amazon box….so don’t forget to use the school’s AmazonSmile program! AmazonSmile doesn’t cost you a penny extra, but St. Chris receives money from each purchase. The shopping interface is identical to the regular Amazon (with the exception of the AmazonSmile logo!) and the selection is exactly the same also. To start supporting St. Chris through AmazonSmile, visit https://tinyurl.com/stchrisamazon.
And SCRIP for Christmas, too! – 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? Visit www.shopwithscrip.com 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, Toys R Us, and Barnes and Noble!
Hollis Town Band and Christmas Chorus Annual "Christmas, Chanukah, Winter, Kwanzaa, New Year's, Whatever You Want To Call It Concert" -- On Saturday, December 8th, at 7:00 PM, the Hollis Town Band and Christmas Chorus, under the direction of Mr. Bailey, presents its annual Holiday Concert at Hollis Brookline High School Auditorium. The only admission fee is to bring packages of non-perishable food items (not in glass containers). The concert is presented in conjunction with the Women's Fellowship of the Hollis Congregational Church, which sells desserts during the concert and accepts cash donations. Following the concert, the Women's Fellowship uses the money raised at the concert to purchase perishable items to put together with the donated non-perishable items in food baskets to distribute to area families in need during the Holiday Season. The band underwrites all the expenses of the concert from its annual operating budget so that all the money raised at the concert goes directly to purchasing the perishable items. The concert includes a narrated musical version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" along with many other seasonal favorites and concludes with a performance of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from "Messiah" for which audience members are invited to join the chorus, and ends with a audience sing-along of familiar Christmas Carols. A great concert for families and a great way to really get into the Christmas spirit.
Hot Lunch Schedules – Thank you to everyone who stepped up to volunteer for the Hot Lunch program! Your help is MUCH appreciated. Volunteers for the next week are below:
Thursday, November 29 (Hot Lunch will be served in the Lobby)
Joanne Thurston
Danielle Pray
Tara Stolz
Friday, November 30 (Hot Lunch will be served in the Lobby)
Lisa Blanchard
Catherine McQuaid
Kate Aquino
Monday, December 3
Cindy Reardon
Tara Canaway
Katie Osborn
Rochelle Roberts
Tuesday, December 4
Emily Uong
Heather McCorry
Kathleen Kenosian
Theresa Scanlan
Wednesday, December 5
Sasha Shaplyko
Alicia Maffei
Annie Wong
Erin Sarette