November 27 – December 1 NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break!
December 1 Hot Lunch ordering opens at Boonli.com
December 2 Mass – 9:15 AM – 3F preparing
December 3 Staff Meeting – 7:30 AM – 5M
December 3 Christmas Shopping Set-up – 6:00 PM – Church Hall
December 4 Drama Club Info Night – 6:00 PM – 1M
December 4-6 Christmas Shopping for Kids
December 9 Advent Penitential Service for students – 9:15 AM
December 9 STEM Meeting – 6:30 PM – School Library
December 10 PreK to Grade 2 Christmas Concert – 10:00 AM (Doors open at 9:30) – Church
December 15 Hot Lunch ordering closes at midnight
December 13 Christmas Tree Lighting – 6:00 PM – Front of school
December 16 Christmas Cookies for Parishes Due at 9:00 AM
December 17 Grades 3 to 6 Christmas Concert – 10:00 AM (Doors open at 9:30) – Church
December 18 Christmas Mass – 10:00 AM – 6W preparing
December 18 Paper Wednesday News
December 20 Christmas Free Dress
December 20 Cafeteria Day
December 23 – January 5 Christmas Break
NEW! Thank You – We have a couple of thanks to share this week! First, many thanks to Betsy Hansen for spending time at the school last week taking some fantastic photos for upcoming marketing efforts! And second, thank you to our fantastic Hot Lunch volunteers Karla Chamoun, Staci Felder, and Annette Cameron who bravely served Taco Tuesday lunch today in the midst of a crazy Cafeteria Day!
UDPATED! THIS WEEK! Current Family Registration for 2020-2021 School Year – All students who will be in Kindergarten through grade 2 for the 2020-2021 school year must be registered by this Saturday, November 30 in order to save a seat. Because we are at capacity in several grades and are also enrolling new students at this time, we can not guarantee enrollment for any current students in those grades whose registrations are returned after November 30. If you need the registration email resent to you, please email Marta at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Please note: Students currently in grades 2-5 will register in January unless a family wishes to register early. If you’d like to register your child in those grades now (and get it out of the way!), please send Jackie an email at [email protected]!
New Student Registrations for 2020-2021 OPEN! Registrations are also now OPEN for new students in 2020-2021, from PreK 3 through grade 6. If you have a younger child who will be joining us next year, please visit the front page of the school website at www.StChrisSchoolNH and click the Apply Now button to get started! Please also pass the word to any new families who would like to join our school community in 2020-2021!
Drama Club Meeting – Students in grades 3-6 are invited to “Be Our Guest” in this year’s Drama production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. on April 24 at 7:00 PM at Nashua Catholic! Students may be either actors or as members of the Stage Crew. An informational meeting for parents will be held Wednesday, December 4 at 6:00 PM in 1M.
Annual Fund – The second of our three annual fundraisers, the Annual Fund, is underway! Each family should recently have received an Annual Fund letter asking for your support of this effort. All gifts to the Annual Fund stay here at St. Chris and go directly to benefit our students through advanced academics, updated technology and facilities, and exciting extracurricular activities. In addition, because the cost of educating our students exceeds our tuition, EVERY St. Christopher School student receives discounted tuition supported by our fundraising efforts.
Our goal for the Annual Fund is 100% participation from current families, faculty and staff, and School Board members, with $35,000 being our financial goal. So far, we have raised $16,850 towards that goal…thank you to all those who have donated so far! If you have not had the chance to donate yet, we ask you to support our mission to provide an excellent Catholic elementary education to all students by donating to the Annual Fund at the level your family is most comfortable. All donations, no matter the size, are MOST appreciated. To donate online, please click HERE.
Traveling Marian Statue – We have been blessed with a beautiful small statue of our Mother, Mary. This statue is meant to be a "traveling" icon, to be taken to different homes for family devotionals. Please consider welcoming Mary into your home over the next few months as she is the source of many blessings! In addition to the statue, Mary comes with devotional prayers and rosaries for your family. To sign up, please click HERE.
Winter School Delays and Cancellations – Well, sad to say but winter is coming! It’s time for our annual Delays and Closings announcement! 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 PreKindergarten through 6.
Time for Kids Cyber Issue – It’s a crazy digital world out there! Students in 6th grade received a wonderful outline on how to be cybersafe as part of their Time for Kids subscription last week….and we thought it was valuable information for ALL of our parents and students! Please take a moment to check it out HERE.
Hot Lunch Ordering – Don’t forget! Ordering for January’s Hot Lunch will open while we are on Thanksgiving Break! Ordering will open on Sunday, December 1 and run through midnight on the 15th. Please be sure to order as soon as possible, just in case of technical difficulty! As usual, we cannot accept orders past midnight on the 15th.
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 16 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 HERE and thank you for your contribution to this wonderful project!
Mark Your Christmas Calendar – We are quickly coming up on the busy holiday months, so we thought everyone might appreciate a heads-up on our upcoming Christmas events:
Christmas Shopping for Kids – This event is ALWAYS one of the students’ favorite events of the year! It will take place on December 4 through 6 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! More information is included in this week’s paper News!
Christmas Tree Lighting – Join us for our 6th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on December 13! This year’s festivities will include hot chocolate, treats, caroling, and the lighting of the fabulous St. Chris Christmas tree in the front of the school. (Please note, due to scheduling conflicts, we will not be holding the pre-lighting event in the church hall.) Coordinated by the Parent Group, this wonderful event is a meaningful way to celebrate the holidays with your St. Chris family! An invitation is included in this week’s paper News!
Christmas Concerts –Here’s another festive way to get into the holiday spirit! Our students are busy preparing two wonderful daytime Christmas concerts. The schedule is:
- Christmas Concert for grades PreK-2 – December 10 at 10:00 AM in the Church
- Christmas Concert for grades 3-6 – December 17 at 10:00 AM in the Church
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 Mass – Celebrate the real reason for the season – the birth of baby Jesus! December 18 at 10:00 AM in the Church. 6W will be preparing.
Auction Request – It’s never too early to start thinking ahead to our exciting Auction! This year’s event, “In the Winners Circle with St. Chris,” will have a Kentucky Derby theme and will take place on March 21, 2020. (Be sure to book that babysitter now!) We love to have our families and local and national businesses participate in the Auction through item donations, program advertisements, and sponsorships. Donate an item, get together with another family or two to put together a basket, chat with your boss, ask your barber, talk with your dry cleaner, reach out to your dog groomer….all are invited to participate! If you need more printed flyers, please shoot Marta an email at [email protected]!
Auction Website is Live! This year’s Auction website is now live! The website can be used to purchase tickets, make donations, purchase sponsorships and advertising, and more! Check it out at https://stchrisschoolnh.ejoinme.org/Auction2020.
NEW! Sponsors: We love our sponsors! These proud supporters of St. Christopher School receive a variety of benefits for their sponsorships like program advertising, website links, and tickets to the event, depending on their level of support. If you or your business are interested in being a sponsorship, click HERE to view the possibilities!
Bronze Sponsor: NEW! St. Joseph Hospital
Copper Sponsor: Franklyn Liberatore DMD
STEM Meeting – Our super duper STEM Committee will be meeting on Monday, December 9 at 6:30 PM in the library. We are looking for parents in STEM professions who have ideas on how to share STEM knowledge and experiences with our students. Please join us…we would appreciate your insight!
AmazonSmile for Christmas – Who is thinking ahead to Christmas shopping already? 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/StChristopherAmazon.
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 https://shop.shopwithscrip.com/Login/Enroll, 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, and Barnes and Noble!
NEW! Tips for Staying Safe, Savvy, & Smart Online -- Parents and K-8 student are invited to attend this presentation about important consideration for YOUR child’s digital life. This mom and daughter’s dynamic presentation is appropriate for parents and children ages 6-15. The free session will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown at 700 Elm Street, Manchester on December 2 from 6:30-7:30 PM.
Join Cynthia and Liv as they share five key ideas that matter for connected learners. Hear how Liv’s work as a “book activist” has gone global. Be inspired by how Liv has come to know her place in the world through technology creation and connected learning opportunities. This mom and daughter’s dynamic presentation is for parents and children agaes 6-15. Olivia Van Ledtje (“LivBit”) is an eleven-year-old reader, thinker, and kids' voice believer. Using technology to inspire empathy, equity, and activism, Olivia’s mission is to share messages with the world that are hopeful, kind and true. Olivia is the creator of LivBits—short videos for kids and teachers about reading, thinking, and life. Her work is featured internationally as a model for digital citizenship and kid creation. She is a seasoned keynote speaker, with her own podcast, The KidLit Show, and co-author of Spark Change: Making Your Mark in a Digital World. Recently, Olivia was honored at Google Headquarters in San Francisco, CA with a Digital Rock Star award as well as a #Digital4Good award for her work on LivBits. Olivia looks forward to engaging with authors and educators who share her drive to promote reading, thinking, and digital citizenship for kids. Above all, Olivia prides herself in creating “heartbeeps” for the world. In June, Olivia keynoted the library media specialist breakfast at ISTE19 in Philadelphia. This fall, she is releasing her first book co-authored with her mom Cynthia Merrill.
Nashua Catholic Jr High Applications – Nashua Catholic has moved to an online application process! Parents of 6th grade students should visit the Nashua Catholic Jr. High School website at www.ncrjhs.org to start the application process for the 2020-2021 school year.
Gate City Nutcracker - A number of our current students, two alumni, and one parent (!) will be performing in this year's rendition of Gate City Ballet's Nutcracker on Sunday, December 14 at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM. The performance will be held at Stockbridge Theater at Pinkerton Academy. For more information, see the promotional poster HERE!
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:
Wednesday, November 27 – Friday, November 19
NO School – Thanksgiving Vacation
Monday, December 2
Melissa Francoeur
Tara Canaway
Katie Osborn
Tuesday, December 3
Emily Uong
Julie Maher
Wednesday, December 4
Andrea and Jeff Rugg
Sara Thomas
Erin Sarette