From the Associate Principal

Dear St. Francis Families,
 

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year!  As educators at St. Francis, each of our days are filled with blessings and learning which are both given and received.  I look forward to working with each of you to learn, teach, and grow and help the young adults of our campus do the same.


Topics included in this are:

  1. Course Changes
  2. Course Syllabi
  3. Academic Department Thoughts and Information
    1. FACTS/RenWeb
    2. Google Classroom & FACTS/RenWeb
    3. Tutorial
    4. Communication
    5. Textbooks
    6. College and Guidance Counseling 
    7. Summer School Transcripts
  4. Back to School Night
  5. Parents of Seniors
  6. Online Classes
  7. Pictures from the first days of class

  1. Course Changes

The window to change courses has opened again.  To change courses, students will need to complete a form, have teachers and/or department chairs sign it, have their counselor review it, and then have a parent sign it.  At this point in the process, most course changes will also require a late change fee of $20.  


  1. Syllabi

By the end of Monday, August 19, all teachers should provide the students in their classes with the syllabus for the course.  Please make sure you have taken some extra time to review the course syllabi and if there are questions, assist your student in asking the teacher the questions either in person or via email.  Teachers require at least one parent to acknowledge and agree to the expectations in the syllabus. Please keep your copy of each syllabus in a safe and easily accessible place.


  1. Academics Department Thoughts and Information

It is the responsibility of St. Francis High School to PREPARE students for college and the world beyond our beautiful campus.

  • Preparing them means helping them learn how to learn, how to struggle, how to apologize, how to think of others first, and how to communicate.
  • Preparing means holding them accountable, helping them cope with change, and assisting them as they learn from their mistakes.  
  • We need to encourage them to be uncomfortable with hard conversations, with making a mistake, and without knowing exactly how a situation will end.

FACTS/RenWeb

  • The software formerly known as RenWeb is now called FACTS SIS.  Many of the faculty, staff, students and parents may still refer to it as RenReb.  It is the Student Information System (SIS) that maintains the data for the admissions process, attendance, and grades.  Please be patient as we update our “lingo”.
  • Grades at this point are very artificial - there are not enough grades entered into the gradebook to buffer when a student earns an extremely high or low score - the grade is not authentic to their actual content knowledge.  
  • For example: a student who has not submitted the only assigned homework would be earning a 0%, even though they may know and understand Algebra.  On the other hand, a student who turned in the single homework assignment but did not solve the problems correctly may be earning a 100%, an artificially high score for a student who does not understand the actual math.  
  • FACTS can provide students and parents with up-to-the-minute information regarding attendance and grades, however ….
    • Please do not use FACTS to replace direct conversations with your student.
    • Valuable lessons are learned when young adults have difficult conversations with their parents and teachers and are held accountable for explaining what they need and how to improve going forward.
    • Please help your student email and prepare for conversations with their teacher.

Google Classroom & FACTS/RenWeb

  • Teachers have the option of providing information to students and families via Google Classroom or RenWeb.
  • FACTS SIS is also used by some teachers to digitally post primary documents, such as the syllabus.
  • Google Classroom provides teachers and students with a method for more in-depth communication.  
    • Many teachers provide students access to digital copies of notes, presentations, worksheets and other class materials.  
    • Teachers can also require students to submit their digital documents via Google Classroom.
    • Speak to the teacher of the course to request parent access to Google Classroom.  

Tutorial

  • Monday through Thursday, teachers are available in their classrooms until 3:00pm.  
  • Students are encouraged to make use of Tutorial for individual questions and/or quiet work/study time to ensure their personal success.  
  • Students who need assistance should speak directly with the teacher and request extra help, particularly if there are other students present.  This allows the teacher to prioritize and share their time with the students in the room.

Mandatory Tutorial

  • Beginning Monday, individual students will be contacted regarding their requirement to attend Tutorial.  This requirement may be the result of low grades from June report cards, or at the request of a teacher.


Communication

  • St. Francis makes use of a variety of tools for communicating with parents. In addition to FACTS/RenWeb, St. Francis regularly distributes information through the mail, email, and via text or phone messages.  We encourage you to read all messages to stay informed.
  • Please assist St. Francis in communicating with you by keeping all contact information up-to-date. To update your contact information, please call the main office.
  • If a parent has a concern relating to a specific teacher, please have the student speak with the teacher first. 
    • Following the student-teacher conversation or email, a parent may contact the teacher, particularly if there has not been a resolution. 
    • To request a meeting with a teacher, please contact the teacher via his/her email address.  Email addresses are available on the school website and on the syllabus for each course. 
    • If that process and time for the implementation of any agreed upon decisions does not produce a resolution, contacting the department chair and/or and administrator is the next step.
  • The Administration expects a teacher’s first priority to be the instruction of students, so emails and phone calls are returned during their limited periods of free time or after hours.  
  • If you encounter school employees in the community, please be respectful of their time off and their family time and refrain from “talking shop”.  

Textbooks

  • Please refer to the syllabus of the course and contact the teacher if you have questions about the textbooks.
  • If you have purchased digital versions of the books, please speak with your student to ensure the book is uploaded on their iPad and they have followed the preliminary steps to gain access to the book and all of its related materials.
  • The courses listed on the current class schedule are the only courses your student has this semester.  Textbooks should be purchased for these courses ASAP. Courses during second semester - indicated with an “S” on FACTS/RenWeb will not begin until January and the books for those courses do not need to be purchased now.

College and Guidance Counseling 

  • Mrs. Haydee Lemus is the Freshman Counselor (Class of 2023)
  • Mrs. Patricia Gutierrez is the counselor for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
  • All parents are invited to all informational meetings offered by the Counseling Department.
  • Students and parents are reminded to check email regularly for Counseling Department communications.

Summer School or any other approved courses taken at other institutions

  • Please submit OFFICIAL transcripts to the Main Office at St. Francis High School.
  • Transcript envelopes must remain sealed or come directly from the institution.


  1. Back to School Night

Please mark your calendars for Back to School Night on Tuesday evening, August 27.  The evening will begin in the gym and then parents will follow their student(s) schedules and attend each of their classes.


  1. Class of 2020! 

Parents of Seniors, if your son or daughter has not yet completed their profile/resume, they should start quickly!  That is the document they will hand to their teachers as they ask teachers and school employees to write their letters of recommendations.  The letters are quite time consuming to write, so the more information the student provides, the easier it is for the person to write a strong letter.  Remind them to include the locations and events they work for or with as part of the St. Francis Christian Service Program!  Seniors who have taken an online class in the past, please see the note below.


And stay tuned for information regarding ordering graduation gowns and announcements.  


  1. Online Classes

Students who have taken or are planning to register for online classes must be sure to include the class AND the institution’s name on college applications.  Ms. Gutierrez will include this topic during her College Application Workshops.


Have a terrific semester!

 

Go Sharks,
Ms. Colleen Eagleson
Associate Principal

Published