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Patientia wins the first St. James School House Cup Day

Patientia wins the first St. James School House Cup Day

One of the most exciting and enthusiastic days in St. James School history took place July 2, 2015.


Organized by the faculty & staff, House Cup Day was a chance for the school’s four houses to wrap up the year in style and energy through fun games and activities. At the end of the day, the points were tallied and the winner would have their house name mounted to the house cup for one full year.

Activities included brain games in math, spelling, geography and more. Then the students and staff transitioned outdoors for games of brawn, including apple bobbing, egg walk, balloon toss, and obstacle course.

The afternoon finished with a very lively round of tug of war, then — after a brief visit from school mascot Alley–everyone headed indoors for the announcement of this year’s winner…Patientia!

The energy level throughout the entire day was the highest in school history, with students not only rooting on their teammates and encouraging them along the way, but also wishing other teams good luck as they transitioned through activities.

St. James School introduced school houses in the fall of 2014 as a way to encourage intergenerational camaraderie, community, and fellowship.

About the Houses:

  • Four houses total:

    • Benevolentia (Kindness)
    • Humilitas (Humility)

    • Industria (Diligence)

    • Patientia (Patience)
  • Consists of 3-4 members from each grade

  • Every adult at St. James School is a member of a house, allowing students to create relationships with adults besides just their homeroom teacher or classroom instructors

  • Meet once per week to plan and do activities, projects, games, or to simply talk about what’s going on around the school

Learn more about School Culture here

Houses at St. James School are also a great opportunity for upper school students to step up as leaders for their lower school housemates. Sometimes upper school students lead house meetings on their own, such as during the last week of school when each of the houses’ 8th graders conducted a lesson on sportsmanship leading up to the House Cup Day competitions.

House Cup Day is the culminating event that celebrates every House for their talents and helps decide our annual House Champion.

Houses earn points in three ways:

  1. Every REACH and AGAPE (hyperlink to school culture page on website) point a student earns counts toward their House point totals
  2. Teachers can offer house points for anything from keeping a tidy work space to answer questions correctly
  3. Showing good sportsmanship during House Cup Day on the last day of regular school.

The first House Cup Day was won by Patientia, but every student and adult on campus had enough fun, teamwork, and school spirit that the losing houses couldn’t help but celebrate the win.

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