What’s Happening at St. James

Click here to download our Winter 2010 newsletter

Goldman Sachs Gives Back

Tuesdays, from 7:15am-7:45am, our board members from Goldman Sachs tutor our students in math, writing, and public speaking. The goal is to not only help them get better grades but also to help them become more confident and excited about speaking and learning. Stay tuned for more!

ELA Scores Soar!

The results are in! 86% of our 4th and 8th graders passed the ELAs this year. This is a great change from last year where 70% of 4th graders passed and 58% of 8th graders passed. Let's aim for 100% next year!

St. James Students Win the District 2 Speech Contest!

Michelle Lee in the 6th grade took first place and Kristin Ramcharan in the 8th grade took third place!  The students will now be competing in the city wide competition hosted by Manhattan District Superintendent of the Archdiocese.  We wish them the best of luck!

The Eigth Grade Class Gets High Marks for High School

Four of our 8th graders got into specialized high schools, with three of them getting into two, including Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, and Bard.  Three of our students received partial scholarships to Notre Dame and one student has received a partial scholarship to Aquinas. We are proud of them for their excellent work!

The Christmas Concert and Party Were a Hit!

At our annual Christmas Concert on Friday December 12th, each class sang beautiful holiday songs for parents, teachers, and friends to enjoy. The concert was followed by a party hosted by our parents which included home cooked food, a DJ, and raffles. More than 200 people enjoyed the music and food of our community. We thank the parents for all of their hard work and the students for their excellent singing. We look forward to next year's event!

Our Students Are Blogging!

Once a week a group of 7th and 8th graders gather in the computer lab to research a social issue of personal importance and share what they are learning on a blog.  The goal is to get kids reading, writing, and reflecting on important issues.  The workshop combines community service and speakers for hands on experience as well.

Read the students’ blogs:  stjames1.blogspot.com (teens abusing prescription drugs)
stjames2.blogspot.com (homeless teens and spirituality)
stjames3.blogspot.com (help dealing with gangs)

Let’s Welcome the St. James Student Council!

This year St. James started its first ever Student Council.  On November 4th the cafeteria was turned into a polling place and students in grades 5 through 8 cast their ballots for president, secretary, treasurer, and class representatives.  This semester the selected students have been working on a constitution and next semester they will begin planning events and launching a blog and webpage to share what they are doing with the community.  Stay tuned!