From the Principal's Desk

Dear St. James Families,

What a busy and joy-filled week it has been as we move closer to Winter Break! With Advent in full swing, our classrooms and after-school clubs have been alive with energy, creativity, and a quiet sense of expectation. I hope that this week, our students experienced firsthand how faith, beauty, learning, and community can reveal Christ’s presence among us.

Art Club has been hard at work creating handmade Christmas cards, with cookies to follow next week for people in our community. With so many students involved, it has been moving to watch their creativity emerge. This is not as an isolated skill, but as a response to being seen, encouraged, and the joy of making a gift for someone else.

Similarly, because of the adjusted Music and PE schedule leading up to the Advent Program, students enjoyed mixed-grade activities in PE. It was a delightful to observe older and younger students do some fun activites together, helping one another naturally and forming connections that transcend age.

Next Friday, we will celebrate another meaningful moment in our community. Representatives from the VFW will visit St. James to present awards to three of our students for their remarkable entries in the Patriot’s Pen competition. This well-deserved recognition highlights the dedication of our students, the support of their families, and the guidance of teachers. More broadly, it is a reminder that being part of St. James connects us not only to our school and the St. Joseph community but also to the larger fabric of our country.

Moments like these, both big and small, always reveal something essential to me: we understand ourselves more deeply when we discover that we belong to a community that welcomes us as we are, while inviting us to give the best of ourselves.

Finally, as we enter the final stretch before Winter Break, thank you for supporting our school and helping create a place where children truly experience what it means to be welcomed, known, and loved. Your partnership allows us to cultivate a community where faith is not simply taught but lived in friendship, ilearning, celebrations, and the quiet moments that make this Advent season so meaningful.

God Bless,

Mr. McDonnell