I look forward to the Christmas Around the World projects every single year. I enjoy them so much. The students are so intrigued by the presentations and soak up the new knowledge. I believe it is important for children to see that the world is larger than the area where they live. Taking a deeper look into a country, especially specifically into a beloved holiday, helps the children see the similarities and differences they have with others a world away. Plus, it is fun. They love to try the treats, toys, and games from other places. I’m always surprised by how adventurous the students are with trying the new foods, I am certain the sugar helps entice them.

In addition to bringing light to foreign cultures and traditions, Christmas Around the World requires the students to practice speaking in front of an audience. This is the first project where the student is solely responsible for presenting their information. Speaking in front of a group of your peers is hard at any age. At St. James public speaking and presenting is valued and practiced frequently. The children start performing, speaking, and presenting to peers and adults at a very young age. This better equips them for higher education and their careers. Speaking with confidence is a skill that carries you far.

To say I am proud of my students is an understatement. Every child did a terrific job and put so much work into their project.

Community service is something greatly valued at St. James Day school. We focus a great deal of our attention on acts of service and supporting our local community. When we are intentional about caring for others and giving back, we teach the students that the world is larger than we are. It also opens the student’s eyes to situations they don’t typically see. First grade partnered with PreK for this year’s community service project. We are working with the local United States Marine Corps Reserve and have been collecting Toys for Tots. This is an amazing program that our Prek students have been working with for a couple of years now. It’s simple, we collect toys (brand new) for tots who otherwise would not get toys for Christmas. It is so eye-opening for our students to hear the Marine Corps Reserve officers describe how there are children who don’t get presents on Christmas. It’s such a good opportunity to teach our children how blessed they are and how we are called by God to take care of those who are in need. We, as a school, collected 150 this year! It has been so heartwarming to see the students excited to donate toys. It’s definitely made a lasting impression on me and I’m sure it has the children as well.

With Thanksgiving being next week the children took some time to think of the things they are thankful for. We are still unable to have our traditional program and feast. So, we made this video of the children telling what they are most thankful for. I hope you all have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving break!

This week in language arts one of the focus stories concentrated on the phases of the moon. What a great way to incorporate science into language arts, right? To help the children have a better understanding, and to have some fun, the children were grouped and used Oreos to create the phases of the moon. I gave each group a paper with all of the moon phases and assigned each group a couple of the phases. Once everyone finished they shared their moons and a little about their experience. Such a great and yummy way to teach moon phases!

St. James had the opportunity to watch Tiger Theater’s presentation of Annie. There were two current St. James students in the play and several St. James alumni. It was a terrific production. We have so many talented students in our community.

With cooler temperatures in the forecast, it has finally starting to feel like fall around campus. First grade partners with a parent, or a loved one, to build a Mayan or Aztec style temple. This hands on project concludes our study of these early American civilizations. It’s a great way to have a shared learning experience and bring to life some of the concepts we discussed in social studies. It also helps teach children at a very young age what history is and how different cultures have shaped our current culture. My goal is to teach children to respect others no matter what they believe and what their background is. At St. James it is part of our mission statement to include project-based learning and hands-on experiences for our students. Research has proven that this is the best way for children to learn. So, any opportunity we get to enrich the child’s learning we take it! These temple projects are the first of many project based experiences these children will have while attending St. James. While, at the first grade level there is more teacher and parent support, as they grow each year they have more projects that they are responsible for completing independently. I will frequently say that this event or that project is my favorite. The truth is, I love them all for different reasons. My favorite aspect of the temple project is that it’s the children’s first time to participate in a school project on campus. This is their first year in lower school and, like a grade level states, it’s the first for so many things. Getting to experience these milestones with every group of first graders has been so fulfilling and brings me so much joy. I hope you enjoy these amazing replicas of Mayan and Aztec temples!

Science is a subject first grade gets really excited about. Last week we had a class pet for a day. Beardie the bearded dragon visited first grade for the day. Cooper, Beardie’s owner and Mrs. Kandice’s son, brought Beardie to school to enrich the Prek students’ Pet Study and to teach first grade about this unique reptile. Cooper let, if they wanted, the children pet Beardie and answered all of the fabulous first grade questions. Cooper taught us that bearded dragons come from Australia and require a desert like environment. Cooper shared stories about Beardie, the students loved those. The class had so much fun watching Beardie and having a class pet for a day!

One of the best experiences that I see regularly take place amongst students on campus is mentoring one another. The “big” kids frequently reach out to the “little” kids and involve them in a shared learning experience. The fourth graders read to the preschool students, the older middle school student teach the younger middle school students the traditions of chapel, and many times the middle school students teach and reinforce lessons to the lower school students. The most recent example of this mutually beneficial relationship between the “big” and “little” kids was last week. The seventh grade students put together five stations, a worksheet, and a digital wrap up game to teach the science topic living and non living to the first graders. Both classes learned lessons by working with one another. First grade learned characteristics for living and non living, along with seeing examples of both living creatures and non living items. It is so amazing to see these kids working together and problem solving. I say this often, and it is true every time, this is one of my favorite parts of St. James - having the flexibility and opportunity for the children to work and learn with each other. 

Mrs. Gordon