December is always a chaotic but exciting time at St. James! While keeping the students engaged and learning, we celebrate this Christmas season to remember and honor the birth of Jesus Christ. Here are some highlights of the month:

• Acrostic poem titled, Christmas

• Winter penguin art (inspired by our novel study, Mr. Poppers Penguins

Christmas Tree String Art

Made with ♥️

🌟 Why students love it:

• It’s hands-on and fun

• Builds fine motor skills

• Encourages patience and focus

• Mixes art and math (patterns, shapes, symmetry)

From sanding, staining, to nailing and stringing, this project allows each student to take ownership of their art work. After 8 years, this Christmas tradition in still going strong in 3rd grade at St. James!

2025 Lower School Candlelight

Words cannot express how special this traditional event is each year! Our candlelight program is a special way to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

— John 1:5

On this night, grades 1-4 are trained, beginning in August, to sing and perform for friends and families of St. James Day School at St. James church downtown Texarkana. This event helps us pause, reflect, and focus on the true meaning of Christmas through scripture readings and singing hymns.

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🥳 Party Time!

We continued to celebrate the Christmas season with a class pajama party! We snacked, laughed, played games, and enjoyed the fellowship!

Merry Christmas from 3rd grade! May God continue to bless you in the upcoming new year! ✌🏼

Writing is so much fun to teach in third grade! Students have been busy polishing their writing skills! Through the writing process, they published a Personal Narrative piece titled, Games I Like To Play.

What is a personal narrative?

• Is about YOU

• Tells a true story

• Is written in first person (I, me, my)

• Has a beginning, middle, and end

• Includes feelings and details

Students are gaining confidence with each writing piece!

Thanksgiving Chili Feast

Our Thanksgiving chili feast is important because it helps us feel thankful, brings our families together, and makes our classroom feel like a family.

Here are a few pictures of our St. James families!

Here at St. James, Halloween Book Character Day is a fun traditional event where students and teachers dress up as their favorite characters from books instead of traditional Halloween costumes.

Here’s what it usually involves:

• 📚 Focus on reading: The goal is to encourage a love of books and literacy by connecting reading with something exciting and creative.

• 👕 Dress-up day: Students choose a character from a book they’ve read and come to school dressed as that character.

• 🎭 Presentation: Students use presentation skills to, show off their costumes while holding the book that inspired their outfit.

It’s a great way to make Halloween school-appropriate, fun, and educational—all at once!

A Poetry Café is a fun, cozy classroom event where students read their own poetry aloud in a setting that feels like a real coffee shop.

Teachers usually dim the lights, play soft jazz, put out “café-style” tablecloths, battery candles, and maybe serve hot chocolate or cookies. Students take turns going up to the “mic” to perform or read their poems while the audience snaps (instead of claps!) when finished — just like real poetry slams.

Purpose:

• Celebrate students’ writing in a special, meaningful way

• Build confidence with public speaking

• Let students experience poetry as performance — not just on paper

It’s also a great end-of-unit showcase for families.