November 15 Parent Teacher Conferences – 4:00 – 8:00 PM
November 16 Faith Outreach Committee Meeting – 9:00 AM – Library
November 20 Crazy Sock Day!
November 20 Thanksgiving Prayer Service – 11:30 AM – 4D preparing
November 21-25 NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Vacation
November 26-30 Drama Club Tech Week
November 27 Teacher Soup Lunch – Parent Group preparing
November 27 Christmas Shopping Set-up – 5:30 PM – Church Hall
November 28-30 Christmas Shopping – All Day – Church Hall
NEW! November 29 Drama Club Production of Peter Pan – 7:00 PM – Court St. Theater
November 30 Drama Club Production of Peter Pan – 7:00 PM – Court St. Theater
NEW! Thank You – Thank you (in advance!) to our very own John Levesque who is running around today preparing us for the winter months! With a bit of snow in the forecast for tomorrow night, John has moved from Fall cleanup to winter preparations. It’s no easy task with a campus as large as ours, so we really appreciate his efforts!
NEW! 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 (or bring your favorite Christmas candy!) and deliver them to the front desk on Monday, December 10 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!
UPDATED! Ski Club Registration closes TOMORROW! Ski Club is open to skiers in Grades 3-6, runs for 5 weeks and will start-up on Friday, January 4th. Please contact Tara Canaway at [email protected] if you are interested. To register, purchase your passes on the Crotched Mountain website. Please register by Thursday, November 15th. Passes, equipment and lesson prices will go up after registration closes. An awesome benefit this year: kids get season passes valid at all 7 Peak resorts with their ski club pass!!!
- Go to https://www.crotchedmtn.com/voyager-program/
- Scroll down, click the “BUY NOW” button.
- At the VIP Login page, use the following user name and password to access St. Chris Ski Club: User Name: CMSTCHRSC Password: scscmember (case sensitive)
- Click ‘See Available Items’, then ‘Friday Youth Cards’ for the 5-week program pass. Youth Season passes are also available. (Lessons will be listed as an optional add-on after you select the pass.) Follow directions for checkout.
- Important! If your child will need to ride the bus to Crotched please email [email protected] to reserve a seat.
If you have questions about which passes/options to purchase, please contact Tara. If you have questions or issues with the website, please contact Barb Martin at Crotched Mountain – 603.588.3668 ext 232. Thanks!
THIS WEEK! Humane Society Donations – It’s not too late to donate much needed items for our friends at the Nashua Humane Society! Donations can be made through Friday! You can find a list of suggested donations HERE!
Birthday Book Program - If you are interested in a purchasing a book for our school library to commemorate your student's birthday, please contact Mrs. Noon. Feel free to send in an email or a note. I will help them hand pick a library quality birthday book that suits their interests. Books typically range in price between $10 - $15. It doesn't matter if their birthday passed…all birthdays are worth celebrating! Thank you for helping our library grow!
NEW! Back Parking Lot Reminders – With winter’s messy weather on the horizon, we wanted to remind parents of the importance of following our rules so that everyone can continue to pick up children safely and efficiently in the back parking lot! Parents should be sure to:
- Wait until the cones have been removed from the entry and the children have left the parking lot before pulling in to the lot. Please do not remove the cones yourself.
- Fill the spots around the outside of the lot first before filling the middle section.
- Back into spots around the outside of the lot. This is VERY important for safety when cars are pulling out.
- Pull into a parking space, even if you are late and your child is waiting. Do not pull up to the top of the stairs and ask your child to jump into the car.
- Get out of your car and meet your child at the top of the stairs from the school. Again, do not ask your child to run across the parking lot to your car.
- Leave the lot as soon as your child has been dismissed and you have returned to your car. Our lot is not big enough for all our cars, so we need to make space for others to enter the lot!
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.
UPDATED! Current Family Registration for 2018-2019 School Year – In-house registration for students currently in grades Pre-K to 1 is currently underway, with a deadline of November 30! (Students currently in grades 2-5 will register in January.) Please know that because we are also enrolling new students at this time, current students whose registrations are returned after that date will not be guaranteed a seat for next year.
Families with children currently in grades Pre-K to grade 1 were sent an email with a link to the registration form on November 1. The link was sent to whoever is listed on the student online registration as the “primary” contact. If you did not receive the email, or would like the email to go to someone else, please contact Marta at [email protected]. The online registration form must be completed and submitted by November 30, along with a $160 registration fee to be paid online at the time of registration.
Note: New students from current families -- Current families who would like to enroll a child who is not currently a student at St. Chris are also welcome to complete an admission. The admission form can be found on the school website by clicking on the “Apply Now” button in the middle of the website.
NEW! Project Safeguard – Mrs. Clarke is looking for assistance in planning our 6th grade Project Safeguard program. This off-campus day for 6th grade students and their parents features speakers and activities designed to help students navigate the sometimes challenging years ahead in junior high and high school. The day is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9. Please contact Mrs. Clarke at [email protected] to volunteer.
NO After Care on December 14 – Christmas may seem a looooong ways away, but we’re looking ahead to December already! Please note in your calendar that there will be NO After Care on Friday, December 14 so that the staff and faculty can attend their annual Christmas dinner. Thanks!
TOMORROW! Parent Teacher Conferences – Just a reminder that Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for TOMORROW, Thursday, November 15 from 4:00-8:00 PM. You should have made an appointment on Meet the Teacher night. If not, please contact your child’s teacher ASAP to schedule an appointment. At least one parent/guardian must meet with each child’s teacher at this time in the school year!
NEW! Last Minute Larry – Oops! We forgot to share the link to the SignUp Genius for teacher treats for tomorrow’s Parent-Teacher Conference! The day is a VERY long one for our teachers, who will arrive before 8:00 AM and leave after 8:00 PM, and our Parent Group traditionally provides some tasty treats to help the teachers get through the day. Please check the link HERE to see what is still needed! Thanks!
NEW! Drama Club Production at NEW Location – Our Drama Club has been hard at work preparing Peter Pan, Jr and it’s going to be a great show! Due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we are moving the production to the Court Street Theater (home of the Peacock Players!) and adding a second show! Please click HERE for more information and a ticket order form!
NEXT WEEK! Thanksgiving Vacation – Don’t forget our Thanksgiving vacation will run from Wednesday, November 21 through Sunday, November 25.
THIS WEEK! Hot Lunch Ordering – Boonli.com will be open for December’s Hot Lunch ordering until TOMORROW, November 15. 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.
NEXT WEEK! Crazy Sock Day and Thanksgiving Prayer Service – November 20 will be a busy day around school! Students can wear their craziest socks with their uniforms on the 20th, plus we will have our Thanksgiving Prayer Service (prepared by 4D) at 11:30 AM. Please note: Although it’s during the winter uniform schedule, boys MAY wear shorts on November 20 IF they are wearing crazy socks!
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:
UPDATED! Christmas Shopping for Kids – This event is ALWAYS one of the students’ favorite events of the year! It will take place on November 28 through the 30th 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! A paper packet of information is being sent home today with oldest and only students. This packet includes instructions, a shopping schedule, raffle tickets, and gift labels to be completed BEFORE shopping day!
TONIGHT!! HO-HO-HO! Christmas Shopping Pricing Night -- Calling all elves! We need helpers TONIGHT to sort and price our Christmas Shopping goodies in the Church Hall! We have boxes and boxes and boxes of great items for the shopping event, but we need to organize ourselves so that set-up the night before the event is speedy and efficient! We’ll get started at 6:30 PM, so come on by!
Christmas Tree Lighting – Join us for our 5th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on December 7! This year’s festivities will once again include “pre-lighting” fun and festivities in the Church Hall starting at 5:30 PM! Coordinated by the Parent Group, this wonderful event is a great way to celebrate the holidays with your St. Chris family!
Immaculate Conception Vigil Mass – Immediately following the Christmas Tree Lighting, St. Christopher Parish invites all families to attend the Vigil mass for the Immaculate Conception at 7:00 PM. Immaculate Conception is a holy day of obligation for Catholics and celebrates the belief that Jesus’ mother Mary was conceived without original sin.
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 11 at 10:00 AM in the Church
- Christmas Concert for grades 3-6 – December 18 at 10:00 AM in the Church
Barnes and Noble Night – Plans are underway for our annual Barnes and Noble night on December 12 from 6:00-7:30 PM! This amazing evening features performances by many of our student groups, a raffle, free dress certificates for all students who attend, and more! A percentage of every purchase made that evening benefits the library. Barnes and Noble Night is the perfect time for Christmas shopping fun, so mark your calendar now!
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 Prayer Service – Celebrate the real reason for the season – the birth of baby Jesus! December 20 at 9:15 AM in the Church. 2nd grade will be preparing the service.
Christmas Early Release – December 20 at 12:30 PM, with no After Care.
Lifetouch Portrait Retakes – If your child was absent on the original portrait date, or you just don’t like the portrait taken of your student, Lifetouch will be here for retakes on Wednesday, December 5. Students should wear regular uniforms.
AmazonSmile for Christmas – Who has started their Christmas shopping? 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/stchrisamazon.
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 www.shopwithscrip.com 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, Toys R Us, and Barnes and Noble!
UPDATED! St. Christopher Youth Ministry News:
Junior Group News – Instead of meeting at the Pennell Center this Sunday, Teen/Junior Group will be helping the St. Vincent de Paul Society with their Thanksgiving basket drive on Monday. Bring your upper body strength to help carry all those turkeys! See you in the church hall from 4:00-7:00 PM on Monday, Nov. 19. (PS – There is free pizza involved)
Kid Group News – Why can’t women be priests? Come find out the answer at Kid Group this week! See you in the Pennell Center from 5:00-7:00 PM on Saturday, Nov. 17.
For any questions, email Emily Murphy at [email protected].
Hollis Town Band and Christmas Chorus Annual "Christmas, Chanukah, Winter, Kwanzaa, New Year's, Whatever You Want To Call It Concert" -- On Saturday, December 8th, at 7:00 PM, the Hollis Town Band and Christmas Chorus, under the direction of Mr. Bailey, presents its annual Holiday Concert at Hollis Brookline High School Auditorium. The only admission fee is to bring packages of non-perishable food items (not in glass containers). The concert is presented in conjunction with the Women's Fellowship of the Hollis Congregational Church, which sells desserts during the concert and accepts cash donations. Following the concert, the Women's Fellowship uses the money raised at the concert to purchase perishable items to put together with the donated non-perishable items in food baskets to distribute to area families in need during the Holiday Season. The band underwrites all the expenses of the concert from its annual operating budget so that all the money raised at the concert goes directly to purchasing the perishable items. The concert includes a narrated musical version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" along with many other seasonal favorites and concludes with a performance of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from "Messiah" for which audience members are invited to join the chorus, and ends with a audience sing-along of familiar Christmas Carols. A great concert for families and a great way to really get into the Christmas spirit.
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, November 15
Lisa Campbell
Nadra Bell
Susette Parks
Friday, November 16
Gina Samarel
Karen Hutchins
Heather Reardon
Jaclyn Leonardi
Monday, November 19
Lorraine Barry
Lisa O’Connor
Rochelle Roberts
Stacey Marino
Tuesday, November 20
Emily Uong
Joe Lamere
Jennifer Fisher
Wednesday, November 21 – Friday, November 223
No School!