January 17 Fine Arts Festival – 6:00 PM – Church
January 21 NO SCHOOL – Martin Luther King Day
January 22 Spelling Bee – 1:15 PM – Church Hall
January 23 Paper Wednesday News
January 25 After Care in 1st Grade
January 27 Parish/School Mass and Coffee Hour – 10:00 AM – Church
January 27 Open House for Prospective Families – 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM – Lobby
January 28 Auction Committee Meeting – 7:00 PM – Margarita’s
January 27 – February 1 National Catholic Schools Week/St. Chris Spirit Week
January 29-20 Many Gifts, One Nation: Day of Giving to Catholic Schools – Online
January 31 Catholic Schools Week/St. Chris Spirit Week Mass – 9:15 AM – 5M/2J preparing
NEW! Thank You – This week’s thanks go to Emily Uong for her lovely Valentine’s Day themed Faith Outreach bulletin board and to Sarah Rol for her fun Auction themed bulletin board! Both boards brighten up our lobby during these dreary January days!
NEW! Patriots Free Dress! THIS Friday, January 18, we will celebrate our New England Patriots with a Free Dress Day! Students are invited to wear their favorite Patriots gear, or red, white, blue. (Students who support another NFL team are also welcome to wear their team’s gear.) As usual, please be sure that students follow our free dress guidelines in the parent/student handbook HERE.
NEW! NO SCHOOL! Don’t forget that we will not have school on this coming Monday, January 21, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
UPDATED! Annual Fund– We are so thankful for all those who have chosen to support our students through the Annual Fund! As of today, we have raised $20,581 towards our $34,000 goal! All of these gifts, along with any made before April 1st , will be included in our Honor Roll of Donors published in our summer News and Notes publication!
Every gift to the Annual Fund is important, no matter how large or small! All gifts remain here at St. Chris and directly benefit our students. In addition to providing advanced academics, updated technology, and exciting extracurriculars, the Annual Fund assists in covering the cost of educating students that is not funded by tuition. In other words, EVERY family receives financial aid through the Annual Fund!
Please support us in our mission to provide an excellent Catholic elementary education to all students by donating today! Thank you!
Donating to the Annual Fund is easy! You may make your donation using any of the following methods:
- Return the remittance envelope included in your Annual Fund letter along with a check, cash, or credit card number.
- Send a check or cash in to school in an envelope marked “Annual Fund”.
- Call Business Manager Murrayann Abucewicz at 882-7442, ext. 113, to have your credit card charged manually.
- Or donate online through Paypal HERE.
However you choose to donate, please know that we are MOST grateful!
NEXT WEEK! January Paper Wednesday News – We have moved this month’s paper Wednesday News to January 23 rather than January 30 to allow us more timely distribution of information for the first few days of February. If you have information to be distributed, please be sure to send it to either Marta at [email protected] or Jackie at [email protected] by this Friday, January 18. Thank you!
NEW! After Care in 1st Grade – Due to a parish event, After Care will be held in 1st grade on Friday, January 25. Please go to the Before Care drop-off door by the 1st grade to pick up your child!
NEW! 3rd and 4th Grade Recorders – Our 3rd and 4th grade students will be starting to learn recorder in February! Those students who do not already have a recorder and book will need to order them through the school by January 25. Please download the order form HERE and return it with payment to the school. Thank you, from Mrs. Skelly!
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.
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Auction News -- Our 15th Annual St. Christopher School Auction will be here before you know it! The “St. Chris Rocks” Auction will take place on Saturday, March 23 at Sky Meadow Country Club…and we need your help! Please consider getting involved in any of the following ways:
Item Donations: Item donations are at the heart of the evening’s action! We need over 200 items to make the night a success! We are looking for both “small” items like restaurant gift cards or popular electronics for our Silent Auction, and “large” items like vacation rentals or concert/sports tickets for our Live Auction. Looking for some ideas? Check out this list HERE!
Donations this week include:
“Slush” Husky Beanie Boo (so cute!)
Thirty-One bag embroidered just for St. Chris
Thirty-One crossbody thermal tote
2 Night stay with breakfast at Nashua Homewood Suites
Tickets to Palace Theater show
American Girl Doll basket
And more! Check out the list HERE!
Business Participation: We love to have local and national businesses participate in the Auction through item donations, program advertisements, and sponsorships! This is a great opportunity for businesses to reach over 200 potential patrons! Chat with your boss, ask your barber, talk with your dry cleaner, reach out to your dog groomer….almost any local business is happy to participate! If you need an Auction information packet to pass along to a local business, you can download the Auction packet on the school website HERE or contact Marta at [email protected] for a printed copy. Thank you!
Businesses can get involved through:
Item Donations –Businesses are welcome to send along business cards, brochures, or other information for display with any item they may donate.
Sponsorships -- Sponsorships run from $250 to $5,000 and include many perks, like Auction tickets and at-event promotions.
Thank you to these current sponsors:
St. Joseph Hospital – Bronze Sponsor
Catholic Medical Center – Copper Sponsor
Advertising -- Program advertising runs from $50 to $250. Every Auction attendee receives a program for the evening. Because the program describes EVERY Live Auction item in detail, these are guaranteed to be read by everyone!
Auction Committee Meetings: Our Auction planning is in high gear! Many hands make light work…please consider joining us at our next Auction Committee meeting on Monday, January 28 at 7:00 PM at Margarita’s!
Ticket Purchases: Our invitations won’t go out until early February, but you can get a jump on things and purchase your tickets now! When purchasing your ticket, you can choose you meal and indicate anyone who you’d like to sit with! Click HERE to purchase your ticket online. Tables of 10 or 12 can be also reserved ahead of time by sending a list of attendees to Marta at [email protected] or Ellen Valade at [email protected].
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Financial Aid Applications for 2019-2020 – As always, our goal is to make a St. Christopher education affordable for any family! To that end, applications for Financial Aid for the 2019-2020 school year are open and will run through March 15 and all families in need are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. All oldest and only students will be sent home with a packet of information regarding the Financial Aid process today. The packet can also be accessed HERE. Please read the information carefully. All families interested in financial aid MUST follow the packet instructions or aid will not be given. If you have any questions, please contact either Mrs. Clarke at [email protected] or Business Manager Murrayann Abucewicz at [email protected].
2019-2020 Registration – Parents of students currently in grades 2 through 5 were sent an email with a link to the registration form for the 2019-2020 school year last week. (Due to volume constraints on our system’s email system, the link will be sent to whoever is listed on the student online registration as the “primary” contact. Please contact Marta at[email protected] if another parent should receive the registration information.)
The online registration form must be completed and submitted for these students by January 31, along with a $160 registration fee to be paid online at the time of registration. Please know that students whose registrations are returned after that date will not be guaranteed a seat for next year.
Please note: Early registration keeps tuition low! Each year, the Diocese requires that we create our budget for the next school year based on the number of completed registrations we have as of January 31. The more registrations we have, the less we must charge for tuition to meet our budget! Therefore, by registering early, you are actively saving yourself money…hooray!
NEW! From Nashua Catholic to 6th Grade Parents: Nashua Catholic Junior High has accelerated the winter acceptance and registration process. Getting the best start for each class has us planning earlier each year! NC acceptances for your 6th graders to 7th grade were sent early in January. As an incentive to registering early, each student registered with a fee paid by January 25th will receive four of our very coveted NC Out of Uniform Passes, one for each quarter on designated days! The students look forward to out of uniform days with great excitement. This incentive will give a bit of joy throughout the year! Have questions? Reach out to our Admissions Office today at [email protected] or 603-882-7011.
NH CYO Basketball Tournament – Information about the NH CYO Basketball tournament is now available! Please click HERE to view!
TOMORROW! Winter Fine Arts Festival – Our student musicians and artists have been hard at work preparing the Winter Fine Arts Festival scheduled for TOMORROW, January 17 at 6:00 PM and they can’t wait to share their talents! Our bands, Fiddle Squads, and choruses will all perform. All are invited to attend, including those who do not yet have a student involved in one of the musical programs…this is a great way for parents and students (especially in younger grades) experience all that our Fine Arts programs have to offer!
NOTE: 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students have been preparing to sing at the Fine Arts Concert and are welcome to perform at the concert! Please arrive by 5:30 PM. We hope to see you there!
School/Parish Mass and Coffee Hour – Please join our school and parish family on Sunday, January 27 at the 10:00 AM mass, followed by a Coffee Hour immediately after! This is a great time to reconnect with friends after the busy holiday season! All students who attend mass in uniform will receive a Free Dress pass for Tuesday, February 5.
Open Houses for Prospective Families – Start spreading the word! We will be holding two Open Houses for prospective families in January and we’d love to fill the halls with new friends! The first Open House will take place on Sunday, January 27 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM, immediately following our Parish/School Mass and Coffee Hour. The second Open House will take place on Tuesday, January 29 from 9:30-11:00 AM. Please share with friends and family!
NEW! Diocesan Excellence in Education Awards: The successes of our Catholic schools and their students would not be possible without the selfless support of committed educators, administrators, clergy, and lay partners in the community. This year, the Diocese of Manchester is holding its second annual Recognizing Excellence Awards Gala at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord on Thursday, June 20, 2019. All are invited to attend this exciting event to officially honor the School Leader of the Year, Clergy Member of the Year, Community Partner of the Year and most especially our Teacher of the Year.
Nominations from the St. Christopher community are now being accepted. To nominate someone you think deserves to receive this special recognition for this year, please read the award descriptions HERE.
The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2019. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Catholic Schools Office at (603) 663-0140.
THIS WEEK! Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest: The Knights of Columbus are pleased to announce their annual Free Throw contest for boys and girls ages 9 to 14. This FREE contest will take place THIS Saturday, January 19 from 9:00 – 11:00 AM at Resurrection Parish gym. The competition will be the best of 25 free throws, with winners advancing to the State Free Throw contest. For more information, please contact Joel Ackerman at 603-594-0299 or Jack Balch at 603-882-7646 or see the flyer HERE.
NEW! Youth Ministry News:
Junior Group Field Trip – Think you have what it takes to beat your friends at laser tag? The Teen/Junior Group is heading up to the Space Entertainment Center in Hooksett on Monday for a game of laser tag. All 6th-12th graders are welcome to come. If you’re interested, email Emily so she can get you the permission slip and waiver form.
Kid Group News – Why are third graders getting confirmed this year? We’ll be talking about this idea of “restored order” at Kid Group this week. See you in the Pennell Center on Jan. 19 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM.
For any questions, email Emily Murphy at [email protected].
Got craft yarn? A friend of the school is looking for surplus craft yarn for her mother-in-law who crochets charity projects in the winter to keep busy. This grandmother is the lovely lady who donated all of the hand crocheted items that the kids received in their classroom stockings on the day before vacation! If you have yarn to donate, please send it in to school to Marta Nissen’s attention. Thanks!
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, January 17
Nadra Bell
Mary Schreiner
Lisa Campbell
Friday, January 18
Jane Gill
Stacy Cardinale
Liza Tirado Cazada
Karla Hall
Monday, January 21
NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, January 22
Karla Chamoun
Gwen Beaudet
Annette Cameron
Wednesday, January 23
Jen McGowan
Ramona Telford