Alumni Newsletter***** *October 1, 2008
The story of St. James School is a proud story of commitment to academic excellence, the sacrifice of a community to provide quality Catholic education for all children and people who believe in nurturing each child's spirit and gifts. St. James has been involved in educating youngsters since 1905. The Notre Dame Sisters of Milwaukee opened the school in 1905 and continued to staff it for many years. Today a dedicated staff continues the work they began so long ago.
Originally a neighborhood school, St. James Catholic School more recently serves the population from all over the city of Madison as well as from places outside the city: Verona, Oregon, Marshall, McFarland, Waunakee, DeForest, Sun Prairie, Middleton, Stoughton, Middleton, Poynette, Brodhead, Monticello, New Glarus, Belleville, Brooklyn, and Fitchburg. Its cultural diversity adds a richness to its school profile. Students come from over twenty different churches in our school as well. Pride in one's heritage, one's faith, and seeking common values and goals are hallmarks of St. James School. Today the school is surrounded by university housing, and so recruitment is both a challenging and exciting venture.
Traditions of all these years are many:
~ traditions of welcoming all who come
~ traditions of celebrating faith and family
~ traditions of educating children in faith formation
~ traditions of reaching out in service to the community
~ traditions of building our future for generations to come
Some people call St. James "the people's parish;" some call the school "the best kept secret in Madison." Today the school welcomes students from pre-k (4-year-old kindergarten) to 8th grade. St. James School offers an alternative program to families in the Madison community; our vision drives us to meet the changing needs of our students. Our graduates attend many different high schools and "do us proud" by their leadership academically, in the arts, in athletics and in service to others in the schools they attend.
100th Graduating Class
This past May - 2008 - St. James School celebrated its 100th graduation class! The group represents families of many generations and many ethnic groups. The leaders of tomorrow roam our halls today! What a rich array of experiences they have had at St. James: a strong academic program, integration of performance and technology with classroom curriculum, outreach to the larger community of our needy world, and celebrations of Fine Arts and Cultural Arts.
St. James School remains a cornerstone of parish and community activity for the families of St. James School and Parish in 2008. Celebrating the milestone of 100 years of graduations is an amazing accomplishment. We are proud of this long tradition despite times of financial crisis and need for continual updating; funding comes not only from school families, but from our generous parishioners, our alumni, many friends of St. James, as well as grants that are secured from a variety of sources.
Alumni
You, the alumni of St. James, are still a part of our tradition. We pray for you; we hope you have good memories of your days at St. James, and we would like you to share any memories of your days at St. James with us. When our students help with an alumni mailing, they are amazed at the many places our alumni live today. We are proud of the ways so many of you have contributed great things to communities across our country. We continue to work toward that goal as we teach students today.
SJS on the Web
Take a look at our website: www.stjamesschool.org That site gives an overview of who we are today in the Madison area. You can see from the pictures, from the stories, and from the activities that we still have some of the same things you did when you were here; at the same time you will see or read about some new things that happen at St. James these days. How were things different when you were here? We would love to hear from you.
Changes Ahead
At this time St. James Parish and our sister parish St. Joseph's are working together in a process of merger. That is both challenging and exciting for our school as well. Know the spirit of St. James' early visionaries, the commitment to education for all children will remain!
Pre-K at St. James
Our four-year-old pre-kindergarten program is flourishing. Our enrollment has reached capacity in just four years! People are signing up already for next year. The young faces bring a special joy and laughter to our school.
Pint-Size Hero Program
This fall St. James School is participating in an exclusive American Red Cross Program, Pint-Size Heroes. It is a program made up of three elements: an educational segment, a blood drive and a recognition program. A Pint-Size Hero is a child who helps recruit blood donors to the school's blood drive.
The St. James School Blood Drive will be on November 14th in the school gym. Our older students will greet donors, direct them to stations, and serve refreshments.
Please come and donate if you are able. You can schedule a time on-line at the Red Cross web site.
our zip code is 53715
