HOMECOMING WEEK: NASHVILLE NIGHTS! ♥️🤠🐯
Homecoming Week is September 21–25, and it’s taking us straight to Nashville Nights with five days of country-inspired fun for ALL buildings across the district!
🌙 Monday | Hittin’ the Hay
Wear your PJs!
🤠 Tuesday | Country vs. Country Club
Pick your side!
✨ Wednesday | Rhinestone Cowboy
Dress as your favorite country star!
🖤 Thursday | Nashville After Dark
Wear your best black!
🐯 Friday | Tiger Country Pride
Rock your Tiger gear!
Get ready to dress the part and make Homecoming Week one to remember.
Don’t forget, the Homecoming Parade begins at NOON on Friday, September 25, followed by Coronation at 6:15 PM and kickoff at 7 PM. Let’s go, Tigers!
Tiger Spirit at Cheer Camp! 🐾🐯📣
Nearly 90 Tigers from all three schools came together last week for cheer camp! Our veteran cheerleaders led the way, mentoring younger students through team-building activities and teaching them a cheer and a dance. On Friday night, all that hard work came together as the group performed before the varsity football game!
It was a great example of Social Integrity, with STJ Cheerleaders encouraging and supporting younger students while helping them feel like part of the squad!
Mission Monday: From Student Idea to Staff Recognition!
We’re kicking off a new way to celebrate our staff and the qualities they demonstrate every day, and it all started with a student project.
Last spring, students in Mrs. Hance’s high school classes worked on a client-connected project with the district to design a staff recognition program tied to our Portrait of a Graduate. The students designed the pennants, the buttons, and the program's overall concept.
On Friday, district leaders presented the first buttons to 17 staff members! Each staff member has a pennant outside their classroom or workspace, and they earn a button as they demonstrate each of our five core values: Engaged Citizenship, Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Social Integrity, and Future Focused. What started as a student idea is now becoming part of how we celebrate our staff!
Our first two staff members to earn all five are Kaylee Karnes at Lucy Wortham James Elementary and Chrissy Adams at St. James Middle School! Thank you both for the ways you show these qualities in your work every day!
Mrs. Prawitz’s high school Talent students are diving into their first table read, while Tech students are already getting to work preparing set pieces and bringing everything together behind the scenes.
This year’s production, Dead Air: A Horror Trilogy Radio Plays, features three classic horror stories: Poe’s Twisted Tales, Dracula, and Frankenstein. Each night will feature a different radio play, giving audiences a new story to experience with each performance.
There’s a lot of work that happens before the curtain opens, and these students are already bringing their creativity and collaboration to the process!
Arts in Education Week is a great time to celebrate what happens when students bring their talents together.
Mr. Story’s Advanced Drawing and Painting students are creating the visual elements and props for this year’s Red Regiment Band show, Día de los Muertos. Bringing their artwork to the field alongside the music and movement of the performance is a wonderful example of collaboration across the arts!
4th graders in Mrs. Cahill’s art class put a LEGO spin on the classic self-portrait. They designed mini versions of themselves, adding details and personality to create figures that are uniquely their own. Same students, very different portraits!
Mrs. Hodge’s 3D Art students have been putting the principles of design to work through a variety of hands-on projects. Students have explored form and dimension as they created everything from designed cubes to Halloween and self-portrait reliefs.
Students get to experiment with their ideas while exploring how art can take shape in three dimensions!
St. James R-1 School District 2026 Homecoming Royalty! 🎵🐯👢
🎵Senior Queen Candidates: Catriona Murphy, Josie Orton, Vivi Parsons, Adalee Richardson, Jolie Roark
🎵Senior King Candidates: Gabriel Adams, Gentry Beam, Owen Jackson, Gavyn King, Owen Spurgeon
🎵Junior Attendants: Madalynn McCracken (Not Pictured) & Lucas Jackson
🎵Sophomore Attendants: Macy McCurdy & Paxton Lesesne (Not Pictured)
🎵Freshman Attendants: Myrna Engelbrecht & Carter Inman
🎵Mini Queen & King: Whitley Moreland & Enrique Santos Ortega
Mark your calendars for Homecoming on Friday, September 25th! The Homecoming Parade begins at 12 PM. Homecoming Coronation will begin at 6:15 PM, with Game Kickoff at 7:00 PM.
A big thank you to Jordan and Devan for keeping St. James R-1 connected and our technology running behind the scenes. We appreciate all you do to support our students and staff!
Our 5th-grade artists explored the work of sculptor Alberto Giacometti with Mrs. Mendenhall, discovering how a simple figure can express movement and come to life through its relationship with light and shadow.
Students used aluminum foil to create sculptures, then explored light and shadow by tracing and filling in their sculptures’ shadows.
We’re proud to celebrate the creativity and exploration happening in our schools during Arts in Education Week!
LWJE Third Grade Robotics Club kicked off its first meeting with Sphero robots, teamwork, and a little friendly competition. Working in teams of four, students are learning how to program their Spheros and use problem-solving skills to compete in a robot version of bowling!
It’s a fun way for our Tigers to test ideas, make adjustments, and figure out what works, all while building Critical Thinking, one challenge at a time!
From riding carnival rides and showing animals to taking part in the queen pageant and marching in the parade, our Tigers made the most of a St. James tradition!
The Grape & Fall Festival is a great reminder of what our mission is all about: caring relationships, learning beyond the classroom, and strong community partnerships that bring us together!
Excel students in Mrs. Hitch’s 3rd-grade class at Lucy Wortham James Elementary are helping keep the story of their school’s namesake alive with a special birthday video.
Born on September 13, 1880, Lucy Wortham James left a lasting mark on the St. James community. Each year, students share her story to honor her legacy and help others learn about her impact.
🎥 Watch this year’s video and celebrate Lucy Wortham James with us: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LKsu9lsQvJc2ArYMgPRodMxIwYIhSIj8/view?usp=sharing
For more information on Tiger Events: https://www.stjschools.org/page/athletics-and-activities
LWJE Beta students kicked off their first meeting of the year with a STEM team-building challenge! No hands. Just strings, cups, and teamwork.
Students had to listen, communicate, and coordinate every move to stack the cups. A fun way to kick off the year while building their Effective Communication skills!
Our freshmen spent some time getting familiar with the high school library and the resources available to them. Transitions are easier when students know where to go, who to turn to, and that support is always nearby.
Our Tigers are ready for a little festival fun! Students from Pre-K through 8th grade are receiving wristbands at school to enjoy the festival rides, with some going home yesterday and the rest being handed out today. The wristbands are made possible through the generous support of the St. James Chamber of Commerce and St. James Sports Club.
A special thank you to the City of St. James for coordinating this opportunity and helping make the festival a special part of the week for our students. We’re grateful for a community that comes together to make memories for our kids.
Have fun at the festival, Tigers!
Tiger Express Apparel is getting a new home, and the students behind the business are making it happen.
With guidance from Mrs. Jordan Hance, Student-Based Enterprise students have been busy getting their new storefront inside the high school ready for its grand opening. They’re learning by doing, from preparing the space and organizing merchandise to figuring out what it takes to keep a real business running.
These students are Future Focused, building skills and gaining real-world experience they can take with them long after high school.
GRAND OPENING:
🗓️Tuesday, September 22, 2026
🕔4:30–7:00 PM
📍HS Room 120 — located just outside the cafeteria
We’re excited to see what they’ve built!
