St. James' Episcopal School Los Angeles

For password information, please email info@sjsla.org.

Abacus, Animal Invasion, Chess, History, Literature, Mathemagic, Creative Writing, and ISEE Prep are examples of the many academic classes offered in the After-School Enrichment program.

After-school arts and crafts programs include art, ceramics, origami, and cultural studies of arts and crafts. Drama games and Shakespeare for Kids are for students who would like to take part in theatrical activities. Cooking classes are offered to students of all ages. Students learn new recipes, make a recipe book, and experiment with creating new and delicious meals.

St. James’ believes that physical development is an integral part of its overall curriculum and the School emphasizes the acquisition of skills, good sportsmanship, and a sense of team commitment in athletics. Students in Grades One through Six participate in intramural contests during the day and have the opportunity to pursue additional athletic programs after school. Occasionally, St. James' competes against other schools in athletics. After-school athletic programs include Dance Exploration, Fencing, Karate, Outdoor Games, and Volleyball.

At St. James’, our community service projects have a dual purpose:
To be of genuine service to the local community and to the wide world community
To stir in our students a sense of compassionate engagement with the world in which they live and to nurture their sense of belonging with and within the communities served.

Community Service begins with a sense that in our world there is no “us and them.” We are all a part of one world community, we all share one planet, those who are in any way “other” than ourselves are not distant and alien, but are a part of “us” whom we have yet to meet and know.

Community Service activities at St. James’ take place at each grade level. In addition, we have after-school opportunities, such as the Stitching Kindness group and Club Six.

At St. James’ Episcopal School, we encourage our students and families to be mindful of their use of the earth’s resources. This instruction takes place in the classroom as well as through extra-curricular activities including:

Planting, watering, and harvesting vegetables from the organic garden to give the produce to the St. James’ Church soup kitchen
Bringing reusable water bottles for their lunchtime drink
Emptying the recycling bins around the school
Helping to organize and sell used school uniforms
Helping to donate unclaimed items from the Lost and Found table
Walk-to-School Day in October when many of our families walk, bike, or take public transport to School to understand the health and environmental benefits.

Spanish is introduced in Kindergarten and taught two or three times each week through the Sixth Grade. The program introduces Spanish and Latin America language and culture to all students. Optional languages classes for all grades include Chinese and Korean.

St. James’ Episcopal School offers several unique musical opportunities for children:

The St. James’ School choir sings at the monthly All-School Chapel services, at St. James' Church once a month, and at special concerts.

The Bell Choir is a hand-bell ensemble which plays at special events.

The Korean Drumming group performs at St. James’ Church on Korean Sunday and at other events during the school year.

The St. James’ Strings Group includes students from Grade Two and above. After one year of classes and practice, students have the opportunity to play in the String Orchestra.

St. James' Church sponsors a scouting program, including Cub Scouts and Webelos.

These programs are open to boys from St. James' Episcopal School as well as to students from other schools.

We currently have two sister schools around the world.

St. James’ in Haiti
St. James’ School ("Ecole St-Jaques") in Haiti is situated in a remote area of northern Haiti, near the border of the Dominican Republic, a 12-hour journey by road from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The school has approximately 120 students ages 5 through 14. The Head of School and three other teachers cover the four classes taught at St-Jaques. Students, the children of subsistence farmers, come from the surrounding area and often walk many miles each way to get to the school, a plastic tarp supported by four poles in the middle of a cleared area. A group from St. James' Los Angeles visited the area in Spring 2008 but was unable to reach the school owing to heavy rain which rendered the roads impassible. We met the Head of School and several students who had hiked for three-and-a-half hours to meet us. They are delighted to be partnering with us. We expect this to be a beneficial and educational relationship for both schools and hope that families from St. James' Los Angeles will visit St. James' in Haiti early in 2009.

The Munui School in Korea
The Munui School in Korea is situated in the countryside village of Munui, Chungwon-goon, Choongchung Book-do, a two-hour journey by road from the capital city, Seoul. The school has 180 students ages 5 through 12. Mr. Kwanho Roh is Head of School and 25 teachers and staff members work there. Students and staff from the Munui School visit Los Angeles each January to participate in our Fifth and Sixth Grade classes, stay with American families, and tour Southern California. A group from St. James' Los Angeles visited the Munui School in Summer 2008 and studied Korean culture and language, and visited Jeju Island and several historical sites. The partnership between the two schools was established in 2006 and we are steadily developing strong ties between the two schools. This is a wonderful opportunity for students on both sides of the Pacific to understand each others' culture and increase their knowledge of the world.

The technology program at St. James’ aims to prepare students to use technology in various ways, including accessing information, presenting information, and communicating with other students. State-of-the-art equipment allows us to stay ahead of the ever-changing technology curve. There are computers in every classroom, and the computer lab is fully networked with multi-media capabilities.

Students are encouraged to use their creativity, curiosity, ingenuity, and knowledge to explore various subjects, create new things, communicate their ideas, collaborate with their peers, and make important classroom connections using technology. The most important thing is that students enjoy their time in the computer lab and become more and more comfortable using various technologies.

Yearbook Video is a popular after-school class which provides students with the opportunity to learn digital photography and editing skills to create a DVD. Students work throughout the year on capturing school memories.

Strategic Computer Gaming is offered for students who are interested in historical simulations, science fiction role-playing, and societal infrastructures.

Daily worship is at the center of St. James’ Episcopal School. Each day begins with a prayer, and the children worship in the Church one day each week. The first Wednesday of each month, the entire school worships together in the Church for “All-School Chapel”. We encourage children to bring an offering of non-perishable food for distribution to needy families through St. James’ Church’s Food Pantry. Parents are welcome at Chapel.

After the academic day, St. James' students participate in a variety of enrichment opportunities.
Classes are offered according to student interests and academic needs.

WINTER 2009
Class Descriptions
Letter to Parents
Sign Up Sheet