SJA News - November 8, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, November 9

Poetry Out Loud, 7:00 PM, Library Fireside

Graham S. Newell Declamation Contest Night

Saturday, November 11

Veteran's Day Parade, 10:00 AM, Main St.

Tuesday, November 14

Make-Up Photo Day, 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM, Fuller Hall Basement

Wednesday, November 15

Blood Drive, 8:30 - 2:30 PM, Field House

Meet the Winter Coaches, 6:30 PM, Alumni Gymnasium

The Athletic Department will present important updates, and coaches will share key information regarding tryouts and more. 

November 16-18

SJA Theatre presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 7:00 PM

To purchase tickets, click here.

Friday, November 17

Electronics recycling event. More information is coming soon.

Athletics Calendar

We are now using Arbiter as our Athletics Calendar as part of an initiative by the VPA. For this reason, athletic events no longer appear on the school calendar on the website. They can be accessed through the Athletics Calendar on the website or you can bookmark this link for the most up-to-date Hilltopper game and practice times and final scores.

Around Campus

For many years, St. Johnsbury Academy held its Walk for Hunger through the streets of town. Joined by faculty and staff, the group typically exceeded 1,000 people and was a week-long canned food drive that ended with a variety day and community walk. Last year’s event raised just over two thousand dollars in cash and food donations – something to be incredibly proud of. But times have changed, and an updated version of the event that better supports the increasing needs of our community became necessary.

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Nine students attended the Model UN conference at Phillip's Exeter Academy this past weekend. There were 410 delegates from 30 different schools represented.

Left to right - Simon Churchill, Zack Alamuddin, Poppy Shattuck, Orleans Germond, Euan Hale, Carson Farnham, Mark Ponoran, Laura Ponoran, Jonah Raser.

Dr. Howell and Mr. Guckin took delivery of a 2021 Chevy Bolt donated by the Autosaver Group. The fully electric vehicle will be used by the school's driver education program. Joining Dr. Howell and Mr. Guckin are employees of the Autosaver Group.

Students pictured (Daryna Rakhimi, Isabela Saldana Galindo, and Maurizio Cetto) are problem-solving how to create a campaign for marketing Apple Watches to senior citizens as part of their X-Block class, The Invention Factory: Sales, Marketing, and Self-Promotion. At a nearby table, another group is designing an awareness campaign for resident students about opportunities to buy snacks in their dorms.  

Former Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC) principal dancer, Blakeley White-McGuire, will lead master classes for St. Johnsbury Academy Modern Dance and Ballet students November 6-10.  

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Mr. Viles' AP Physics Class spent one of their classes working on a rotational mechanics problem.

The Student Diversity Council set up an altar for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in the library last week. The altar remained up for the rest of the week, and people were encouraged to add a name or photo of a departed loved one. The holiday was also celebrated on Friday in Newell Hall with dances, refreshments, and an additional altar to honor loved ones.

Mr. Palmer's woodworking students displayed their skills and projects during last week's Open House for prospective students.

Dr. Marco Alcocer spoke in Chapel and to a selection of classes and was a guest speaker as part of the Colwell Speakers Series Monday evening in the Library Fireside. He's an expert on organized crime and the cartels in Mexico.

In March 1990, the Academy hosted a group of 30 students from an all-boys school in Tokyo, Japan – Kaijo Gakuen. The Kaijo boys arrived and were swept away by Vermont’s winter landscape, the warmth of their host families, and the novelty of attending school with girls. Thus began a friendship and tradition that many SJA families have cherished. The program has occasionally been interrupted. Our friends did not come in 1991 during the First Gulf War, in 2002 after 9/11, and in 2003 due to the looming invasion of Iraq. The biggest interruption in this program, however, was the pandemic. Their visit in 2020 was canceled and has not resumed...until now.  

From March 20 to 29, the Academy will once again host another group of 30 boys from Kaijo Gakuen. One of the biggest highlights for our guests is the homestay where each student stays with a local family. Our participating families are delighted to spend time with these polite and hard-working 15-year-old boys who are selected from a long list of applicants. Many friendships have been formed and many families are still in touch with their guests.  

If your family would like to become a part of this tradition by hosting one of our guests, please contact Glenn Ehrean, the Director of the Colwell Center for Global Understanding, at [email protected]. He is eager to hear from you.