SJA News - February 14, 2024

IN THE NEWS

Senior Serving as Marketing Intern at NVRH

SJA senior Konosuke (Ko) Oi poses with his supervisor at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH), Jill Kimball. Last Friday, Ko put together and then manned a table on Epilepsy for National Epilepsy Day. As part of his work-based learning class, Ko is interning in the marketing department at the hospital. Chef Bystrzycki's baking students made the cookies he handed out during the event.

Ko was also interviewed on Magic 97.7 this week as part of World Epilepsy Day. Listen to the interview here.

Hearing From Hilltoppers: Mr. Jolliffe

This week marks the first edition of a new section of the newsletter by junior Lillian Laskowski, in which she introduces us to members of the SJA community.

Mr. Jolliffe lived in California for twenty years when his love of winter and the gorgeous mountains of Vermont brought him to the Northeast Kingdom and St. Johnsbury Academy.  

Mr. Jolliffe began working at the Academy in 2008 as an English teacher and recently became the Dean of Faculty, a new position at the school. In that role, his job is to provide an outlet for teachers to voice their opinions and support the school's curriculum. He has also been heavily involved in the Advanced Placement (AP) courses here at the Academy, participating in College Board events and helping to conduct the AP Summer Institute. The program is held on campus for three weeks every year, and AP teachers come from across the nation to get recertified in teaching their respective classes.

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Human Services Students Work in Area Businesses

A major component of Mrs. McGarvin's Human Services Professional Services I class is the experience the students gain by working in a variety of office locations like Umbrella (Amelia Clark '24) and Dan Wyand, PT & Associates (Rylee Strohm '25). Human Services encourages students to explore careers while developing a deeper understanding of themselves and our community.  Students learn about human development, ethics, social issues, and conflict resolution through a combination of internships and classroom time. In addition to the Human Services class, Amelia and Rylee have also taken Career and Exploration and Business classes as part of the CTE program.

Nordic Team Members Qualify for Championships



The SJA Nordic team will be well represented next month at the Eastern 16U and High School Championships. Celebrating their selections are (front) Tillie Lange '27 and coach Jolliffe. Back row: Coach van der Linde, Ellie Reed '27, Anya Moriarty '26, Effie Dunn '27, Sam Martin '27, and Sisu Lange '25.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, February 24

Winter Break Begins

Wednesday, March 6

Classes Resume

Athletics Calendar

Athletic events are available through Arbiter.

AROUND CAMPUS

This year's Winter Carnival Spirit Squad was named last week. Representing the Class of 2024 are Spirit Influencers Sam Babcock and Laura Moreno, Top Toppers Yofta Larocque and Siri Jolliffe, and Spirit Meisters Ryan Cusson and Greer Kennedy. Photos from the first few days of Winter Carnival can be viewed here.

New to Winter Carnival this year was a photo contest. The options were: make trash look beautiful, a portrait of an Administrator, and an athlete at a sporting event. The sophomores took first place with the photo above. More events from Friday's events can be viewed here.

SJA has a rich history spanning over 180 years. Over that time, the school has collected many photos and items representing nearly every year. Mr. Barnes has been busy in the library archives room for the past three years, scanning and photographing hundreds of items to share with a wider audience. To see a sampling of those items, click here and bookmark the link to check back as we add more items.

Ms. Darling's Fashion Design 2 and Advanced Fashion Design students produced over 20 heavy canvas potters' aprons for Mr. Chatterley's Clay classes. Split-front pottery aprons are expensive, and the quality of classroom aprons available to purchase has declined. Working with specs provided by Mr. Chatterley, a professional potter, Ms. Darling drafted a simple split front apron pattern so her students could produce high-quality, sturdy aprons to protect the clothing of the Clay students as they learn to throw pots on the wheel. The aprons are made from remnants of canvas material left over from a decade of fashion and theater projects. Only the thread and straps were purchased for the aprons. The project benefits both classes. Clay students will have durable workwear that will last for years, and the Fashion students had a simple project as a warm-up for their more complex construction projects for the fashion show. Collaboration within the art department is the best way to share work, and the success of this project has led to plans for more collaborations within and outside the art department.

Students in Mr. Bugbee's Building Construction class fasten down the decking on a new bridge for the Fairbanks Museum.

The SJA Varsity Girls' Basketball team celebrated Women in Sports Day by inviting area youth basketball teams to their game versus Essex last week. Youth teams from Barnet and Kingdom East were among those that attended, and the National Anthem was performed by 11-year-old Aubree Mitchell of St. Johnsbury, who received enthusiastic congratulations from both teams for her performance. Photos from the event can be viewed here.

The Competitive Cheer team competed at the VCCA competition at Mississquoi Union High School this weekend, where they placed fourth (2.5 points from 3rd place). They'll travel to Vergennes this weekend to compete in the State Championships.

COMMUNITY UPDATES

Yearbook Sales

The 2024 edition of The Lamp, SJA's student yearbook, is available for pre-sales through this link. Books will also be available for sale on Spring Day through the Alumni Office.

REMINDER: Seniors will receive a yearbook as part of the Senior Graduation Package.

Senior families wishing to purchase an ad to celebrate their graduates can do so here.

Questions? Email steve.legge@stjacademy.org.