SJA News - January 16, 2025

HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE

Connecting with Joy at SJA

In our first morning chapel of the semester, welcoming our students back for the Spring Term in Fuller Hall, three things gave me particular joy.

The first joyful thing was getting to read the list of Career and Technical Education “Students of the Quarter” from last term; this is an honor roll of students across the CTE courses we offer, from Electricity to Entrepreneurship to Culinary Arts. The students singled out for accolades by teachers have contributed in myriad ways–not just in skill and mastery but in leadership and attitude, and I am always thrilled to be able to recognize them in front of a full assembly of their peers.  

The second joyful thing was a trio of students promoting–in the form of a trivia contest– a 10th grade class fundraiser: selling cookies during the month of January. The trivia was creative. While I was not surprised that Oreos are the best-selling cookies of all time; I was quite surprised to learn that for all these years Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster has not been smash-eating real cookies, but rice cakes painted to look like cookies. Most notable to me was the statistic that Chef Paula Bystricki contributed: during her 24-year tenure as our Master of Baking, she and her classes have made at least 250,000 cookies. Now we just need the data on Maple Donuts.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Career and Technical Education Students of the Second Quarter

Front Row: Josie Royer ’28 (Career Exploration), Toby Gilbert ’27 (Intro. to Auto), Britton Shippee ’25 (Intro. to Electricity), Oliver Johnson ’25 (Intro. to Construction), Carter Bunnell ’25 (Heating & Plumbing), William Bowman ’28 (Career Exploration).

Second Row: Alex Gendron ’26 (Entrepreneurship 1), Heaven Walton ’26 (Intro. to Business), Karley Balch ‘26 (Human Services 1), Jacob Witter ’27 (Intro. to Woodworking), Molly Larrabee ’27 (Intro. to Construction), Sam Dunn ’26 (Advanced Woodworking).

Third Row: Alex Ibey ’25 (Intro. to Electricity), Casey Prue ’25 (Electricity 2), Ethan Girouard ’25 (Advanced Welding), Levi Thompson ’27 (Intro. to Heating & Plumbing), Logan Farnsworth ’27 (Intro. to Auto), Iona Blake ’25 (Work-Based Learning), Lea Dodge ’27 (Intro. to Baking).

Fourth Row: Richard Corbeil ‘25 (Auto Technology), Teagan Berquist ‘27 (Intro. to Culinary), Ashlyn Rivard ’27 (Intro. to Culinary), Cassidy Kittredge ’25 (Entrepreneurship 2).

Missing from photo: Ava Hovey ’26 (Electricity 1), Kahlen Stone ’25 (Human Services 2), Everett Blake ’26 (Culinary Arts), Sydney Roper ’27 (Intro. to Culinary), Sebastian Eldred ’26 (Construction Technology), Elana Kosmas ‘26 (Intro. To Human & Professional Services).

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, January 20

Martin Luther King Day, No Classes

Wednesday, January 22

Colwell Speaker, Grace Stuart Orcutt Library, 7:00 p.m.

Esther (Brown, '08) and Adam Hodges-LeClaire spent most of the summer of 2024 walking the Via Francigena from Canterbury, England, to Rome, Italy. Adam is a public historian and tailor by profession and Esther is an architect with a focus on historic structures. Adam worked at Fort Ticonderoga for a number of years and now runs his own business, AHL Tailor and Naval Clothier. Esther spent the past eleven years working in the architecture field in Boston and now has her own firm, Johnston House Studio. Both Adam and Esther enjoy adventures, especially those focusing on history and architecture. 

The event is free and open to the public. View the flyer here.

Thursday, January 30

Semester Two Meet the Teachers, 6:30 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cultural Exchange

From March 20 - 29, SJA will host 30 boys from our partner school in Tokyo, Japan. Each 15-year-old boy will stay with a host family. This is a great opportunity for your own child to learn about another culture and to develop their skills as a host and a representative of our community. It's also a chance to have a lot of fun and to make a new friend. There is a modest stipend for participating families. If you're interested in hosting, please reach out to Glenn Ehrean at glenn.ehrean@stjacademy.org.

Senior Ads and Yearbook Sales

Senior ads are now on sale for families who want to celebrate their graduate. Ads can be purchased until January 31, 2025.

Yearbooks can also be purchased now. The cost is $60. For senior families, please remember that your student will receive a book as part of the fee they pay in the spring for their cap and gown and prom tickets.

Use this link to purchase ads or yearbooks.

AROUND CAMPUS

Photos from Varsity Basketball's game versus Rutland can be viewed here. JV Girls' Basketball photos can be viewed here, and JV-B Girls' Basketball photos from their game against Woodsville can be viewed here.

Photos from Saturday's Hockey game vs MMU can be viewed here.