SJES NEWS May 2017
St. James Episcopal School 2017 Graduation
How can this be true? You’re not already leaving us are you?
Zane, Dottie, Sebastian, Annabelle and Chloe, we have known you since you were babies, dropping off your brother/and or sisters who were at SJES. That means we’ve been together your whole life!
We met Calla, Cashel, Anna, Hoyt and Mason when they were toddlers, barely big enough to carry their own works. We have thoroughly enjoyed spending these 4-5 years together.
Brooklyn, Benjamin, Noah, Sterling and Ariana, we met each of you more recently, but it feels as though you’ve always been part of our St. James family.
Spending all this time together has been heavenly, but there’s a problem… this connection we have with you makes it really hard to say good-bye.
It is easier when we think of all the great experiences you’ll have as you grow older. You see, in each of you we see a promise of a happy future and a better world…which is something we all look forward to! I’d like to read you a short book that shares this message for each of you, especially on your graduation day.
The title of this book is The Wonderful Things You Will Be, written by Emily Winfield Martin.
When I look at you and you look at me, I wonder what wonderful things you will be. When you were too small to tell us hello, we knew you someone we wanted to know! For all of your tininess couldn’t disguise a heart so enormous…and wild...and wise. This is the first time there’s ever been you, so I wonder what wonderful things you will do. Will you stand up for good by saving the day? Or play a song only you know how to play? Will you tell a story that only you know? Will you learn what it means to help things grow? Will you learn how to fly to find the best view? Or take care of things much smaller than you? We know you’ll be kind…and clever…and bold. And the bigger your heart, the more it will hold. When nights are black and when days are gray-you’ll be brave and be bright so no shadows can stay. Then you will discover all there is to see…and become anybody that you’d like to be. And then I’ll look at you and you’ll look at me and we’ll love you, whoever you’ve grown up to be.
So, off you go to reach new heights, meet new friends and have all kinds of adventures. Remember us once in a while and make our hearts soar by stopping by for a visit now and then. We love you and wish you lives filled with learning, love and happiness. Ms. Loree
Dear Parents:
Here we are at the end of another great year in the classroom! The children have learned so many things from living in a community of friends. Our youngest children have learned by watching the older children. I feel as if I watched each and every one of your children begin to unfold the layer of achievements. This class has been a wonderful journey this year for me and my team. We want to thank you for sharing your children. The work they have done and the growth we have seen, as always, is amazing. We hope you agree that the year has been a success.
We wish a heartfelt farewell to those of our students who will not be returning next year, and we wish them all the best at their new schools. We wish all of our students and parents wonderful and refreshing summer break. We look forward to seeing you return for the 2017/2018 school year. We thank all of our wonderful parent volunteers for their participation in the 2016/2017 school year. We thank the parents who have helped organize events and who come to support events. We know as a volunteer organization it is sometimes hard to juggle all the commitments you have, but the leadership this year has been amazing! Have a safe and wonderful summer! Ms. Eva, Ms. Mary and Ms. Pamela
MDO
Toddler Parents,
It has been a fun year of new experiences and growth in all areas. Thank you so much for making this year so memorable. Our room mom's worked really hard with happy parties and made Mrs. Andrea and I feel very special.
This month we had a scavenger hunt, Mother's Day, Teacher appreciation, a petting zoo visit, celebration of Father Gardner, bitter sweet bridge crossovers of 2nd year toddlers and a lot of practicing our socializing skills.
Getting ready for our scavenger hunt
Have a fun and safe summer! Mrs. Anna and Mrs. Andrea
Toddler 1
Petting zoo rules
Feeding the 6 week old piglet
Graduating 2nd year toddlers
We can't express enough our thanks for all the love during teacher appreciation week. We are blessed to be able to work with the children of St. James and watch them grow. The last month of school is one of excitement, special events, hard work, laughter, and even some tears as we say goodbye to some of our friends. On May 22 we went to chapel and wished Father Gardner many blessings on his retirement. He will be truly missed - as the children love when he comes to visit us monthly for
our birthday blessings. The things the children have asked him over the years are so sweet. “Are you Jesus?" and "Tell us the stories on your scarf." Thank you for all you have done for St. James Father Gardner. It's not goodbye it's only “So long, farewell, until we meet again.”
We will miss these friends next year! It's been a privilege to watch them grow over this year and a several of them since they were 18 months old. We are blessed to be able to have generations of siblings come through our classroom. We love our families! We had the older siblings of two of our friends this year, and we will be getting younger siblings of three of them next year! We look forward to seeing you all in the primary hallways. Have a relaxing summer!
Love, Mrs. April, Mrs, Lilly, and Ms. Annabel
Toddler 2
It's not goodbye, it's see you later!
The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the pools are open! Summer is here! It has been a great year in the Toddler 3 classroom. The children have grown so much physically and individually this year. Gross motor activities, circle time, and the sensorial bin were a few highlights from this year!
The petting zoo was also one of the children's favorite things about the whole year! We are so proud of all the students and what they have accomplished. We will miss them all so much this summer!
We are excited to see returning students and welcome new students to the classroom next fall.
So long, farewell, to you my friend, Goodbye, for now, until we meet again. It's been great to pray and sing together, But now it's time to say goodbye. So long, farewell to you my friend. Goodbye, for now, until we meet again. Love, Toddler 3 Team
Toddler 3
Dear Toddler 4 Parents,
This year has flown by so quickly! Can you believe it’s already the end of May and the end of the school year? The month of May has been such a busy, yet exciting time. The children have learned many things, made wonderful friends, and have created lasting memories. The second year students have been introduced to several primary works to aid in their transition for the next school year. Our classroom Sound Book is continuously being incorporated during circle time as well as an individual work that the children may choose. The teachers will repeat each letter with the sound, and eventually the children are able to repeat the correct letter and sound as a group. The younger children learn from the older children and will sometimes receive lessons from their older peers. Repetition is the foundation of many aspects of learning. Daily repetition in the Montessori environment allows the child to practice, master, and retain the material.
Logan is working with the Sound Book!
“To have learned something for the child is only a point of departure. When he has learned the meaning of an exercise, then he begins to enjoy repeating it, and he does repeat it an infinite number of times, with the most evident satisfaction.” –Maria Montessori
Mrs. Amanda and I would like to thank all of the parents for sharing and allowing us to teach your precious children. It has been a pleasure watching them grow into strong independent Montessorians! As the end of the year approaches, we wish our second year students all the best and for a smooth transition into Primary. We are excited to see our first year students grow into strong second year leaders.
Mae and Amelia are petting a chick in the Petting Zoo!
We wish you all the very best and have a safe and wonderful Summer break! Ms. Ashley and Mrs. Amanda
Toddler 4 enjoying a freeze pop on the playground!
Toddler 4
Congratulations Kinder
Calla, Sebastian, Benjamin, Hoyt, Dott Sterling, Mason, Zane, Ann
rgarten Class of 2017!
tie, Brooklyn, Cashel, Ariana, Chloe, nabelle, Anna, and Noah
Happy Anniversary
to the women who mold, shape, and love your children everyday!
Dear P1 Families and Friends,
Primary 1
This year has gone by so quickly! The Kindergarten students are buzzing with the anticipation of graduation, it's been interesting to overhear some of their conversations as they reflect back. They have been talking lately about the things they will miss and even remembering their time in toddler and nap rooms. This graduating class will be the first one where I have been with the students for the three years - making it just a little extra special for me.
We have been quite busy this past month with works, and the family picnic and the petting zoo, as well as many other things. We have witnessed the students grow in so many ways and will miss them all over the summer.
To my students who are leaving, it's bittersweet to see you go. To my students who are staying, we have much more to learn and many ways to grow. Have a safe and joy filled summer! Ms. Amaris Ms. Anna
Primary 2 Another school year has come to a close. We have learned, made friends, had disagreements, had fun, had a few tears, had a lot of laughs, and made a lot of memories. We have truly enjoyed teaching your children. We have learned that if we relax and enjoy them we can learn so much from the students. When exposed to lessons children learn so much by themselves. They have the ability to absorb information so quickly. It has been enjoyable watching each child move forward and mature in the daily works and tasks in the classroom. We will miss the students that are leaving this classroom. We wish you the best of luck forever and always. May God Bless you and be with you in all that you do. We look forward to seeing all of the returning students in August.
Enjoy Life. Enjoy your children. Enjoy the summertime. Much love, Mrs. Barrineau and Ms. Sheila
Primary 3 Primary 3 parents,
Welcome to the end of the school year! We are so proud of every child in the class and can't believe how much growth we have seen. We want to thank each and every family for the support we have received this year. We are so appreciative of all of you and thank you for trusting us with the responsibility of teaching your sweet children. We would like to congratulate our Kindergartners, Chloe, Mason and Sterling. They have been such amazing leaders in our class this year and we know they will do amazing things in 1st grade! We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed summer! With love, Mrs. Eloise & Ms. Jaymie
Primary 4 Times flies when you’re having fun!
What a joyful year this has been for me and Ms. Bianca! We greatly enjoyed watching your children learn and grow during this school year and we absolutely appreciated every valuable minute we got to spend with the children of Primary 4. As much as this year was filled with delightful experiences, the end of the year is always a bittersweet time for us teachers. We were blessed with 4 confident and intelligent Kindergarteners; 9 thoughtful and hard-working second levels; and 11 eager and loving first levels. As we all know, children grow up and have to move on and we wish nothing but the best for our children who will be leaving the Primary 4 nest!
This year is also bittersweet for me, as well, as Kindergarten graduation will mark my last day as a teacher here at St. James. The past two years have been nothing short of an incredible experience and I have been so blessed to walk into a school every day that is filled with love, support, and a true focus on the Montessori Method. Your children have taught me so much and I know that every wonderful experience here will follow me down the road in my future endeavors—both as a new parent and an educator. Thank you so much for allowing me to grow and learn along with your children! Have a fabulous summer! Ms. Sarah and Ms. Bianca
“Within the child lies the fate of the future. Whoever wishes to confer some benefit on society must preserve him from deviations and observe his natural ways of acting. A child is mysterious and powerful and contains within himself the secret of human nature�. -Maria Montessori
in the children’s
Garden
The Little Plant In the heart of a seed, Buried deep so deep, A tiny plant Lay fast asleep. "Wake," said the sunshine, "And creep to the light." "Wake," said the voice Of the raindrops bright. The little plant heard And it rose to see, What the wonderful, Outside world might be.
This poem makes me think of the work we do with the children here at SJES... it's been a pure joy to garden with these children this year. Have a wonderful summer, do a little gardening and a lot of playing! Mrs. Loree
I can’t believe it is the end of the year already! It has been a wonderful year filled with creativity and fun. This month in art class the second level students made clay pots, which they thoroughly enjoyed! We used air-dry clay, and once they were dry, the children painted them with lots of fun colors! The Kindergarten students finished their 3-D sculptures and then they made solar prints outside in the garden. Solar prints are so fun and easy, and would be a great project to do this summer! The children wandered through the garden collecting different leaves and flowers. They placed them on their sun-sensitive paper (which is blue) and put the paper in the sunshine. A couple of minutes later, it was done! The blue paper turns white! We took the paper inside and soaked it in tap water for a few minutes. When the paper turned blue again, we took it out of the water and let it dry. The part of the paper that was covered by the leaves and flowers turned white! It is a very neat process and the kids had a lot of fun with it.
The Kindergarten Showcase was an a amazing evening. I am so proud of all the Kindergarten students for their hard work on their PowerPoint presentations and for getting up in front of all of the families and reading their slides!! They did a great job! I send home a flash drive with each Kindergartner that contains their PowerPoint presentation, as well as all of their photographs. I hope you enjoy it! I will miss all of the students who aren’t returning next year, but I know you will do amazing things at your new school!! Have a wonderful summer! Ms. Hanna
art & Technology
Another year has flown by and somehow we are in May again. The days are long and the years are short. I have enjoyed this year tremendously. There has been such growth since August, tears have been replaced with smiles. In the last couple of weeks I have noticed the second year toddlers are looking like primary students. Not only do the second toddler students look like primary students, they act like a primary student. They have grown and are becoming leaders.
The primary students continue to be a continuous burst of energy and that is what makes ASC such a fun place to be in the afternoon.
It has been a wonderful year and I thank you for allowing me to watch your children “after hours”. I have loved getting to know them and share in their day. Have a safe and wonderful summer and can’t wait to see all of you in the fall!
Lisa Wilson & The ASC Staff
ASC
“This is how God showed his love among us, He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.� 1 John 4:9 This last month of chapel we started with Father Gardner giving the children with summer birthdays their birthday blessing. What a large group that was!
We then turned to the story of Jesus admonishing the the disciples for turning away the children, " let the little children come to me....the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these" Mathew 19: 13-15. St. James wants all of the children to know how important they are to God and to His work. I closed my part of chapel for the year with a lesson very close to my heart - Gods love letter to all of us - the Holy Bible. I encouraged the children to keep reading his word or having their parents read to them, so that we continue to grow in faith and draw near to God.
Mother Rebecca led our final service to honor Father Gardner, as he is retiring from St. James. It was a beautiful service with the toddler classes joining us to sing a sweet farewell song and the kindergarten class came up to pray a blessing over Father Gardner. That makes me think back to all of the times in the last few years that those same children received blessings from him. We all wish him well! Have a wonderful summer! Ms. Amaris
chapel