St. James R-1 School District

Just a reminder that next week the district is "Warming Up" for our Tiger Trot race with spirit days! MONDAY - DRESS LIKE YOUR FAVORITE ATHLETE TUESDAY - DRESS LIKE A RUNNER #tigertrot #spiritdays #stjschools #tigerpride

Learning Highlight! High school students in Mrs. Lorts' class experienced a taste of the real world with a recent activity: Fab Life - A Zero-Based Budget Project. They were tasked with creating a zero-based budget from a career and income assigned to them. Imagination transported the students to their upper twenties and they were given a specific life scenario they were to follow: married/single, kids/no kids, occupation, education completed, net and gross salaries, etc. During the activity, each student visited fourteen different expense stations and had the opportunity to earn supplemental income if needed. They could also play a game of chance and pull a special card which was either a positive or negative outcome to their budget. In the end, they learned the cost of real world expenses and how to develop a budget. #academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride

Mission Monday Highlight! Last week, our first grade students from Lucy Wortham James Elementary held a canned food drive for their service learning project. Non-perishable food items were donated from our Tiger families and by the end of the week, first grade had collected over 2,000 items which far surpassed their initial goal of 1,000. All of the items were donated to St. James Caring Center Thrift Store to be used for their Benevolent Services. At the end of the week, first grade gathered to load up the biggest single donation ever into The Caring Center’s truck. Students from the St. James High School Senior Beta Club volunteered their time to help our LWJE Tigers carry and load the items. Congratulations to first grade on their successful service learning project! #communitypartnerships #caringrelationships #stjschools #tigerpride

Learning Highlight! Mrs. Fels’ second grade class has been learning about the plant life cycle and what they need to grow and thrive. The students had a special guest last week who helped them revive the flower bed behind Lucy Wortham James Elementary. Mrs. Sue Spehle-Heiberg, a former St. James educator, taught the students how and when to plant tulip bulbs and read them a story. This experience was full-circle for Mrs. Fels who built and planted the flower garden in 2002 when she was a third grader in Mrs. Spehle-Heiberg’s class. When asked about the activity with her students, Mrs. Fels said, “Mrs. Spehle-Heiberg inspired me to become a teacher and it was so special to have her share her love of learning with my class.” Our District empowers our students through caring relationships so seeing a real example of how impactful student-teacher relationships can be reaffirms our mission. #caringrelationships #academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride

Lifelong Learning Highlight! A group of educators from across our district participated in an Instructional Leadership Workshop facilitated by David Holden, CEO of American Alliance of Innovative Systems (AAIS). During the workdays, our educators developed a vision of instruction, performed classroom walkthroughs, and then identified strategies to make our newly developed vision a reality. The St. James R-1 School District values lifelong learning and we support our teachers as they continue on their education journey. #lifelonglearning #teachertuesday #stjschools #tigerpride

Reminder! There is no school on Friday, November 11, 2022. Teachers will be participating in a planned Professional Development Day. #lifelonglearning #stjschools #tigerpride

Mission Monday Highlight! With the holidays rapidly approaching, the District will be involved in many outreach projects to give back to our community. Last month, we had a group of middle school students organize a food drive as well as volunteering during Commodity Day. Each month various high school students also volunteer their time and distribute food for The Caring Center. This week our first grade students' service learning project is in full swing. They are holding a canned food drive with all items being donated to the St. James Caring Center in time for holiday food distributions. The students hope to collect 1,000 cans. If you would like to donate, please contact the elementary building! With the combined effort of our educators and community organizations, our students are learning the value of civic participation. #communitypartnerships #strongschoolsstrongcommunity #stjschools #tigerpride

It's hard to imagine on a day like today that winter is inching closer. Before the season truly begins, we want to review inclement weather information and procedures for the St. James R-1 School District: https://www.stjschools.org/page/inclement-weather Quick Tips: *Make sure your contact information with the school district is accurate; *Download the St. James R-1 District App for push notifications prior to mass notification alerts; *Review the Emergency Communications: Guide for Families sent out recently. Any additional questions: communications@stjschools.org #winteriscoming #stjschools #tigerpride

Don't forget! Daylight Saving ends this weekend on November 6th. #daylightsavingends #stjschools #tigerpride

Tuesday, November 8th is Election Day! Our students see a real world example of civic engagement by you partaking in the democratic process. Don't forget to vote! For more information: https://www.usa.gov/voting #yourvoicematters #stjschools #tigerpride

Tigers Teach Percussion to Head Start! Last week, jazz studies students from the District visited with St. James Head Start to present percussion instruments. Student-led teaching opportunities help students learn how to break down information to make it easily accessible to others as well as develop confidence and communication skills. #communitypartnerships #academicexcellence #stjschools #tigerpride

Congratulations to our October Leading the Tiger Way winners! LWJE: Holly Kleinheider and April McNece Middle School: Emily Turner and Phelicia VanWagner High School: Kim Morton and Candy Walsh The "Leading the Tiger Way" teacher and staff of the month program is designed to spotlight one teacher and one classified staff from each building every month. We want to recognize our most dedicated and talented employees. Our entire District gets the opportunity to nominate a teacher and staff member who exemplifies the character and professional traits we strive for as a District. #leadingthetigerway #stjschools #tigerpride

Something wicked this way comes for our Mission Monday! Art students from John F. Hodge High School created pumpkins for local businesses to help our community get in spooktacular shape for Halloween. #communitypartnerships #pumpkinart #stjschools #tigerpride

Learning Highlight! Mrs. Halaz’s second grade class did an experiment where students used frozen water balloons to create snowmen. Students worked together to build the snowman and spent time observing matter changing states from solid to liquid. #academicexcellence #lwje #stjschools #tigerpride

Don't forget! St. James R-1 School District will release early tomorrow, Thursday, October 27th and there is no school on Friday, October 28th. #stjschools #tigerpride #tigerfamily

Mission Monday! Last week, National Honor Society (NHS) members hosted their Fall blood drive partnering with Community Blood Center of the Ozarks(CBCO). This drive is only open to students and staff of the high school, oftentimes giving students their first opportunity to give blood. Students aged 16+ can give blood throughout the day while NHS members perform various tasks to help the CBCO. The Fall goal this year was thirty successful donations and they were able to collect thirty-six donations. The next blood drive is May 3rd, 2023.

Learning Highlight! High school students in Family and Consumer Science recently learned about communication skills and how it affects the various relationships in their lives. As an in-class exercise, students were assigned part of a well known duo or trio (example: Romeo and Juliet) and asking only three questions to another member of class, students had to establish who they were and then find their match(es). Students quickly learned how to better communicate with their remaining classmates to guide their choices. #communication #stjschools #tigerpride

Just a reminder that Parent-Teacher Conferences are next week. If you have any questions, please contact your child's school building. #stjschools #tigerpride

St. James Fire Protection District visited third grade yesterday! Students learned proper safety protocol and went through the Smoke Trailer: a simulation of fire emergency scenarios. They traveled through a “mock house” where they discussed real life situations that could be a danger in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Examples covered were leaving items on a stove, cords under a rug, lighters/matches, a newspaper by a fire, sleeping with your charging device in your bed or using chewed-up wire. After discussing the dangers in each area, “smoke” filled the room and students had to navigate through the space to find the door that was warmed to indicate a fire. Finally, they escaped through the window. After their journey through the Smoke Trailer, students toured the fire engines and learned about the tools used by our firefighters. A big thank you to St. James Fire Protection District for providing these learning opportunities for our District! Please talk with your child about fire safety at home and develop an emergency plan for your family. #learning #communitypartnerships #stjschools #firesafety

Mission Monday Highlight! Middle school students in Mr. Vince Perona’s Citizenship class organized a Fall Food Drive for The Caring Center. Non-perishable food items were gathered by the middle school from the first week of September through October 7th. After sorting the donated food, students from the Citizenship class delivered the items to The Caring Center and they will be dispersed on Commodity Day. We hope to empower all our students to positively contribute to our community and world. #missionmonday #communitypartnerships #stjschools #tigerpride