Dear St. Francis Families and Friends,
Spring has sprung and with Easter behind us we have quickly jumped into the celebration season. For many, it is a time for celebrating first communions, confirmations, Mother’s Day, and Graduations. There is anxiety and excitement about moving on to the 9th grade or college as well as a mad dash to do well in class and on AP tests. For athletes, it is a time to PR in track and swimming or shoot your lowest score in golf; or, even hit a homerun in softball or baseball. I can also share that Mr. Dewig and his cast and crew presented three remarkable performances of the “Damn Yankees” musical the weekend of April 27th-29th. All three nights were at capacity and all of us were again impressed with our students and Mr. Dewig. Thank you to the students as well as the parents who are part of the VAPA Booster’s team. You helped with the setup, take down, selling of food, selling of raffle tickets, and basically ensured all had a great experience.
At this time I would like to thank and congratulate our two valedictorians – Mr. Nathaniel Ramos and Mr. Riley Scherr. They worked very hard and the Academic Council recognized their individual and combined efforts. They unanimously recommended them both for valedictorian status and I completely agreed. Both have spoken at multiple events this year: Grandparents Day, President’s Reception, the HS Ecology Symposium, and even the Junior Seminarian Reunion. They both are eloquent and will represent their class well at Graduation this year. We have also secured Sr. Laura Goedken to fly in and be our keynote speaker. She has a graduating senior award and scholarship named after her for her Advancement work for the Diocese of Monterey and for the early capital campaign years of St. Francis High School. We are also getting her to come out and assist during the quiet phase of our VISION Capital Campaign this May.
I want to thank Mr. Hazel, Mr. Kelly, the entire men’s and women’s basketball coaching staff and players, Mr. Nakagawa, and Mr. Kane for a great basketball season. We travelled to Arizona for a showcase tournament for the men’s and women’s program; we played well, placed well, but more importantly found the true meaning of “team” at St. Francis. The titles won along the way, the bus ride up for the state championship, the game, and the luncheon afterwards were firsts for the school and for the city of Watsonville. I am really proud of all of you. Now the goal is to develop all of our programs at this level all of the time.
On May 17th all of you are invited to attend our morning liturgy to celebrate our Salesian Marian Day. Immediately following we will recognize the members of Animas for their year of service and then transition into a recognition and celebration of our men’s basketball team. The team will present the trophies to the senior class president as we celebrate their successes and unveil four new banners: SCCAL, CCS, Nor CAL, and then State Finalist banners.
Last week on May 5th we hosted our 5th annual Spring Open House. This year, it was tailored to 6th-8th graders at a “Glow in the Dark Dance Party” while their parents attended an informational meeting. Learn to Discover was here early on to let students do hands on STEM activities.
Included in this newsletter is our flyer for the summer Virtual Reality Academy and Robotics Academy this July. If you sign up by June 15th you qualify for a $50 scholarship per class you take, with a maximum of 4 class offerings over two weeks – July 17th-28th.
We have back-to-back events occurring – the 4th annual Concert on the Green on May 12th and the Junior/Senior Prom May 13th. We look forward to our students responsibly participating in the prom with appropriate dress and grooming.
Spring has sprung and with Easter behind us we have quickly jumped into the celebration season. For many, it is a time for celebrating first communions, confirmations, Mother’s Day, and Graduations. There is anxiety and excitement about moving on to the 9th grade or college as well as a mad dash to do well in class and on AP tests. For athletes, it is a time to PR in track and swimming or shoot your lowest score in golf; or, even hit a homerun in softball or baseball. I can also share that Mr. Dewig and his cast and crew presented three remarkable performances of the “Damn Yankees” musical the weekend of April 27th-29th. All three nights were at capacity and all of us were again impressed with our students and Mr. Dewig. Thank you to the students as well as the parents who are part of the VAPA Booster’s team. You helped with the setup, take down, selling of food, selling of raffle tickets, and basically ensured all had a great experience.
At this time I would like to thank and congratulate our two valedictorians – Mr. Nathaniel Ramos and Mr. Riley Scherr. They worked very hard and the Academic Council recognized their individual and combined efforts. They unanimously recommended them both for valedictorian status and I completely agreed. Both have spoken at multiple events this year: Grandparents Day, President’s Reception, the HS Ecology Symposium, and even the Junior Seminarian Reunion. They both are eloquent and will represent their class well at Graduation this year. We have also secured Sr. Laura Goedken to fly in and be our keynote speaker. She has a graduating senior award and scholarship named after her for her Advancement work for the Diocese of Monterey and for the early capital campaign years of St. Francis High School. We are also getting her to come out and assist during the quiet phase of our VISION Capital Campaign this May.
I want to thank Mr. Hazel, Mr. Kelly, the entire men’s and women’s basketball coaching staff and players, Mr. Nakagawa, and Mr. Kane for a great basketball season. We travelled to Arizona for a showcase tournament for the men’s and women’s program; we played well, placed well, but more importantly found the true meaning of “team” at St. Francis. The titles won along the way, the bus ride up for the state championship, the game, and the luncheon afterwards were firsts for the school and for the city of Watsonville. I am really proud of all of you. Now the goal is to develop all of our programs at this level all of the time.
On May 17th all of you are invited to attend our morning liturgy to celebrate our Salesian Marian Day. Immediately following we will recognize the members of Animas for their year of service and then transition into a recognition and celebration of our men’s basketball team. The team will present the trophies to the senior class president as we celebrate their successes and unveil four new banners: SCCAL, CCS, Nor CAL, and then State Finalist banners.
Last week on May 5th we hosted our 5th annual Spring Open House. This year, it was tailored to 6th-8th graders at a “Glow in the Dark Dance Party” while their parents attended an informational meeting. Learn to Discover was here early on to let students do hands on STEM activities.
Included in this newsletter is our flyer for the summer Virtual Reality Academy and Robotics Academy this July. If you sign up by June 15th you qualify for a $50 scholarship per class you take, with a maximum of 4 class offerings over two weeks – July 17th-28th.
We have back-to-back events occurring – the 4th annual Concert on the Green on May 12th and the Junior/Senior Prom May 13th. We look forward to our students responsibly participating in the prom with appropriate dress and grooming.
How is St. Francis High School building a strong foundation for college and career? We are doing it two ways next year:
1) By hiring 1.5 Academic Counselors for the retiring Ms. Green. We have hired an experienced college and career counselor with college admissions experience, Ms. Patricia Gutierrez, to be the lead Counselor focusing on 10th-12th Academic, College, and Career Counseling. We will also hire a part-time 9th grade Academic and Personal counselor, Ms. Haydee Lemus, to focus on our new students and navigate the high school experience.
2) By immersing students in activities like practicing suturing and constructing body structures from clay, the PLTW Biomedical Science Pathway empowers students to build knowledge and skills in biomedical science, as well as in-demand, transportable skills like problem solving, critical and creative thinking, communication, and collaboration. Next year we are launching the third class in the series - Medical Interventions where students delve into activities like designing a prosthetic arm as they follow the life of a fictitious family and investigate how to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.
Currently we are collecting all of the necessary information for our Awards Ceremony this May, and we are preparing students for their graduation or their new class schedule for 2017-2018. We are also following up on 100 resident and international applicants to grades 9-11 for next year in an effort to sustain and grow the school. Historically, the school has seen 70% of the resident applicants and about 55% of the international applicants be accepted and attend our great school. Consequently, we are following up with each potential new or transfer student with our trademark “Tiffany’s/ Nordstrom’s” customer service. All students, parents, faculty, and staff need to be thanked, as each of you plays an integral role in this effort. Again, thank you.
On June 5th we will have the BAC set up with tables and bleachers for students to share or sell their books and uniforms. We will have MerryMart here for uniform purchases/orders as well as Sharkwear open. The primary focus of our June 5th get together is to welcome incoming 9th students and parents along with transfer students. It will be the first new Orientation for the 2017-2018 school year. It will be an ice cream social for incoming students and our own ambassadors as well as an orientation for new parents. This allows us to introduce all of the unique opportunities, services, and programs available for all students. This year’s freshmen parent reps are working with Marie and me to address new-parent questions/concerns. This way, we start out communicating clearly and often to our new families/students. We will also host a football meeting prior to our orientation, and we will discuss bingo and the annual fund.
The Business Office is currently tallying service hours and Bingo work attendance along with preparing to close out all outstanding tuition and fee balances. Ms. Lilia Reyes will be sending out information next week to conclude this year. April 28th was the first deadline to register at the current cost, secure the class schedule your student would like, and to sign/accept your tuition assistance award – even if you are appealing. If we didn’t get the signed paperwork turned in by April 28th, we will award the tuition assistance to other families who have signed theirs and registered their student(s). Since I will be in Columbia next week on assignment for the Salesians, the Tuition Assistance Committee and I will review all appeals the week of May 15th-18th. We will send out notifications May 18th.
Our goal is to continue to demonstrate great outcomes for all young people who choose St. Francis High School as their home during their high school years. For that reason, whether you have a graduating senior or not, we hope to see you at the Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation Ceremony.
We are grateful for your leadership and support in this endeavor. God bless and GO SHARKS!
Yours in Christ,
Patrick Lee
President and Principal