Dear St. Francis Friends and Families,
This last week of February, we celebrated Ash Wednesday and Black History month all in the same day. The following day we welcomed just under 8% of our families for our 3rd quarter “Cafecito” with the Principal. The venue helps us build community, support clear and consistent communication, and it allows parents to meet in a small environment and ask questions of the school staff and me. Our topics for this Cafecito were Battle for the Paddle (B4P), Prom, academic support systems, pathways, and course selection.
With a lovely Ash Wednesday liturgy completed, we’ve entered Lent and anticipate Easter and all of God's blessings that come with this holy season. Thank you for supporting the St. Francis High School community. Please continue to remember our students and staff in prayer. You can also be assured of our prayers for you and your families throughout this Lenten season.
As a lifelong learner and as an educator in a Salesian school, I am constantly reading. Currently, I am reading Mindset by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck. Mindset is a simple idea discovered by decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.
Mindset explains:
- Why brains and talent don’t guarantee success
- How brains and talent can stand in the way of success
- Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them
- How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity
- What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, and athletes know
In what the author describes as a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. This belief is very Salesian and is very much at the heart of my educational philosophy – all students can learn and can be successful!
This is not a belief that everyone gets a trophy just for showing up; on the contrary, it challenges us as parents/educators to push all students and staff members to go further and work harder. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. It enhances relationships, which is again our hallmark. I encourage all of you to read about a growth mindset and you’ll see how the conversations about our children, students, and our faith become a little clearer. And, like me, I would imagine more questions would arise. This is the type of dialogue I would like us to engage in as a community so that St. Francis High School students succeed (mindsetonline.com).
God bless you all! And may St. John Bosco intercede for all of our intentions.
Yours in Christ,
Mr. Patrick Lee
President and Principal
Annual Appeal: Faith. Family. Service.
$150k here we come!
This is what we need to make up the actual cost of educating each and every student at St. Francis - $15,497 versus what we actually charge for tuition - $13,850. The $1,647 difference must be made up through our Annual Fund primarily from parent giving and then secondarily from outside donors.
If you haven't had a chance to contribute, don’t worry- you still have time. We have the Annual Report envelope and the spring Annual Fund mailer to go out.
Like last year we are collecting the data on donations for the Annual Appeal by grade level and calculating the percentage. The class with the highest percentage of giving by Thursday, April 9, will win free dress and lunch on Friday, April 24, 2020. So far, here is the breakdown:
- 9th parent donation %: 25%
- 10th parent donation %: 35%
- 11th parent donation %: 21%
- 12th parent donation %: 43%
This Annual Appeal calculation only reflects donations through the Annual Appeal and not other giving opportunities – i.e. Burgundy & Gray, sports/arts program donations, Golf Tournament, etc. The Annual Appeal is just one segment of the overall Annual Fund that does include donations to each of these other areas of the school community.
This March you can still support our schoolwide Annual Appeal fundraising efforts by making your donation online, with a check, or in person. Your support helps all of our students, and your specific support assists your child’s opportunity for a free dress pass and free lunch provided by the school.
The dollar amount does not matter. Even families on tuition assistance can donate – whether it is the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks or the amount your child spends at the lunch truck…yes, $5 or $7 makes a huge difference in the life of our school community! When I speak to donors or foundations about supporting our school, they always ask:
- Does your Board donate? Yes, 100%!
- Do your parents donate? Yes, but not enough. Change this statistic and help us reach our goal of 100% participation in this year’s Annual Appeal!
With your support, we are looking forward to closing in on our $150,000 Annual Appeal goal in the next four months.
