Hello Jaguar Family,

Tomorrow is Eucharist Chapel and the Diocese will be here to film the service. They are making a video about St. James. Please help us make St. James shine!

Upcoming Dates

Notes of Importance

Primary School Parent Meeting

Join us Wednesday, November 4, from 2:15–3:15 p.m. in the Middle School Assembly Hall for a special parent meeting focused on exploring child development! We hope all Primary School parents will join us, and parents of scholars in other grade levels are welcome, too. Complimentary 2:00 p.m. aftercare will be available for scholars whose parents attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Scholastic Book Fair

We are excited to announce that our Fall Book Fair is just around the corner opening November 9th. This is a great opportunity to build your child’s home library with new books that will get them excited about reading, while also earning funds for our school. The easiest way to let your child shop the Fair independently is by creating a Book Fair eWallet through the school homepage. It’s easy to set up and easy for family and friends to add funds. With eWallet, you’ll also have the chance to contribute to Share the Fair™—the giving program that supports students at our school who need help buying books. Consider participating so that no child leaves the Fair empty-handed! Preview the books coming to the Fair by taking a 360° virtual tour via our school’s Book Fair homepage and explore the titles, watch video book trailers, and more. We can’t wait to see you at the Fair and help every student discover a book they’ll love!

Annual Giving Campaign

Annual Giving Campaign Kickoff!

Our goal for the Annual Giving Campaign is simple but powerful:

100% participation from St. James families.

Did you know that some of the foundation grants that help support our operating budget are influenced by community giving? These foundations look at the percentage of our families who contribute to the Annual Giving Campaign as a measure of support for our school. When every family gives, we strengthen our ability to secure funding and provide the best possible opportunities for our scholars.

Every gift, no matter the size, is an investment in our scholars, our mission, and the future of St. James Episcopal School. Together, we can show our collective Jaguar Pride and help pave the way for the next 80 years of excellence.

Giving is easy and flexible!

- Pledge now, pay later. Your pledge now counts toward our 100% participation goal, even if you make your payment later.

- Give a little at a time. Set up recurring payments throughout the school year to make your gift more manageable.

- Pay once by cash, check, Venmo, or Credit Card.

Can your family help us make history? Join us in reaching 100% participation by December 2026 and show what is possible when our entire St. James community comes together.

Thank you for investing in our scholars, celebrating 80 years of Jaguar Pride, and helping shape the next 80 years of St. James Episcopal School!

Donors

Parents

Carla and Josh Bolton

Krystal Zamarripa and

Gustavo Canchola

Amanda and James Doughty

Samantha and Jake Fuller +

Alexis and Friedrich Harborth +

Whitney and Kyle Hendley

Lindsey and Richard Lomax

Genelle and Ricky Sanders

Amy and Keith Tucker

Alumni

William Fuller

Parents of Alumni

Cynthia and Steve Cox

Grandparents

Sylvia and Robert Budd

Patt and Ben Wallace =

Friends/Other Supporters

ARC Fire Services, LLC

Board of Trustees

Haley and Travis Bennett *=

Susan Bonner =

Janie and Dane Bruun *+

Michelle and Matt Ezell *+

Samantha and Dos Gates +

Christina and David Gibson *+

Janet and Duane Herbst +=

Ashlee and Justin Lee +

Kimberly and John Lopez *=

Gayle and Phillip Neessen <

Christel and Christion Rice =

Steve Stone

Erin and Corey Survant *=

Blaire and JR Turnbull *

SJES Faculty and Staff

CC Alexander

Ana Alvarado

Sherri Ballard

Devin Batey

Madison Bell *

Janelle Benavides

Maria Elena Blanco =

Melissa Brooks

Christie and Kyle Bushnell *

Claire and William Campbell *

Lauryn Clark

Robert Daugherty

Alexis Deluna

Yvonne Doan *

SJES Faculty and Staff (cont.)

Mary Enriquez

Coreen Flores

Amanda and Jacob Gonzalez *

Ashley and Gary Graves *

Robert Haertig

Sonia Hall =

Ian Hoffberg *

Galen and David Hoffstadt, Jr. =

Kayci Hunt *

Amy Jacobs

Bradey Kemp

Sandy Klemm

Necile Kummer *

Eliza Leal

Nicole and Pete Leal *

Kimberly Loomis +

Rachel Michel *=

Velma and Robert Moreno

Lindsey and Kevin O’Connor *=

Kat Perkins

Neriah Ramos

Tommy Rios

Yvonne Ruggles

Terry Sapp

Paula and Mark Smith =<

Cydia Sosa

Cyndy Treviño <

Aubrey Valdez

Melanie Van Maren

Meredith Waterhouse =

Key

Parent(*)

Alumni (+)

Parent of Alumni (=)

Grandparent (<)

Blue indicates “Circle of Excellence” – donors who have given $1,000 or more

Purple indicates “Headmaster’s Circle” – donors who have given $2,500 or more

Red indicates “1946 Circle” – donors who have given $5,000 or more

Green indicates "Via, Veritas, Vita Society” – donors who have given $10,000 or more

Leadership Circle

Donors who have given $1000 or more to the Annual Giving Campaign

Friends of St. James

Church of the Good Shepherd

Kingdom Kids

Kingdom Kids is an evening of fun, food, and fellowship for children from Good Shepherd and St. James. There are games and free-play in the gym, as well as dinner and a bible story for children in Junior Kinder - 6th grade.

The nursery and Kid’s Zone are available for younger children (6 months to preschool). The cost is $8 paid online at cotgs.org.

You must register online to attend, and spots fill up fast!

Operation Christmas Child

It's Shoe Box Time! All are welcome to join the Church in sending gift-filled boxes to poverty-stricken children around the world and share the love of Christ. Boxes can be picked up at church this Sunday or in the Church Office anytime.

This is what to do:

1. Pick up a box at the Church. (You can also use your own shoebox.)

2. Choose an age and gender of a child.

3. Pack the box with small gifts.

4. Include a $10 donation in the top of the box. (Checks go to Samaritan’s Purse.)

5. Do not seal the box. Place a rubber band around the box to keep it closed.

6. Place a label on your box and pray for the child.

7. Bring your box to the Church Office by Monday, November 13.

Head of School Message

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:5-6

We all want to pray effectively. Here are some tips to help us:

 Strong Faith. We have to believe in God’s character and dependability and put our trust in Him. Even when we can’t FEEL His presence, we have to be strong in what we believe. Faith is not believing He can; it is knowing He will.           

Right Motives. We have to pray for the right things for the right reasons to receive a yes from God. He wants us to pray for His will to be done—not ours.

Positive Relationships. Being encouraging and kind in our interactions with others positively affects communication with the Father. This is especially important as we reconnect now.

Generosity. God loves a cheerful giver who is aware of other people’s needs and gives willingly to help. He hears us asking for a blessing and gives “as we give” to others.

Interest. God has given us the Bible so that we might know Him and serve Him wholeheartedly. Interest in reading His word and remembering to apply His Word consistently increases our ability to maintain a godly lifestyle.

It takes effort and commitment to develop a strong prayer life and the rewards are great. Our prayers are always answered…according to His purpose. To foster a better prayer life, we can start by personalizing the prayers we read in the Psalms or elsewhere in God’s Word and memorizing scripture to pray when our own words fail us.