Next year, you’ll still find joyful and inspiring classroom spaces for students ages 18 months through 5th grade at St. James, but the order in which everything is arranged on campus will be a little different. The expansion of our early childhood program over the past five years called for a reorganization of all classrooms within the buildings on campus, and summer break gives the perfect opportunity for a reset. Because of this, a number of our St. James teachers spent their last afternoons packing classrooms up for moves! Mrs. Henderson explained the new plan in an email to parents on May 13, 2021:
“We are thrilled to announce that we have a plan for reorganization and relocating classrooms this summer that will communicate order and growth within our school. The new plan will inspire collaboration among teachers and students in grade level clusters. Pelican’s Nest will be housed in Kilgore Hall and will be where our youngest students in the one- and two-year old classes will learn and grow. Our Early Childhood students in PreK-3 and PreK-4 will be on the first floor in Werlein Hall. Our Upper Elementary will be on the second and third floors in Werlein Hall. Homerooms for 3rd and 4th grade students will be on the second floor. As is tradition, our 5th graders will enjoy their “senior year” on the third floor. Lockers and an added learning space will be privileges that our seniors will enjoy there.
Lower Elementary homerooms will be located in Atkinson Hall. Our Kindergarten classes will be on the first floor, and 1st and 2nd graders will be upstairs. Also located upstairs will be an Academic Enhancement teacher who will support first and second grade students. This reorganization will assist with vertical alignment, planning, and sharing of resources. Proximity of grade levels will build excitement among the students as they look forward to ‘what’s next’ each year at St. James. “
A special thanks to Movers and Helpers of Baton Rouge for their assistance in moving boxes and furniture this week. We also are grateful to our teachers for their efforts in packing and unpacking this summer. We can’t wait to show our new spaces to families at our Meet the Teacher day in August!
