Dear St. Francis Community,
John Keats (1795-1821)
TO AUTUMN.
1.
SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells…
Prior to my life as a principal, I made a small living peddling my ideas as an English and Art History teacher. In graduate school I became a hopeless Romantic, and that increased exponentially with my attendance and participation in my first KAIROS sixteen years ago. ‘Tis the season, right? It is that time of year where the leaves and weather change—something still new to my family, as we migrated north to the central coast seven years ago. I always joke with the staff and students that here 82 degrees is sweltering hot but in southern California…that is Christmas Day weather!
I love Keats’ simple ode above because it talks about the quieter activities of daily observation and appreciation. It is at the end of the first quarter, at the transition between the summer and fall seasons of sport, at a time when seniors are frantically applying to college and taking/re-taking their college tests (ACT/SAT), that I can stop to both observe and talk with students. They are fascinating. They can sleep with their eyes open, laugh out loud for unexpected reasons, argue passionately about a topic or tease me about all of the great LA sports teams – Rams, Galaxy, Dodgers, Lakers (Now with King James), and Kings; and, they do it all with a love for their school and each other that is not matched. It is clear that students know they are loved and respected.
Despite the coming chill of fall, the late warmth of summer at St. Francis has given me ample beauty to celebrate: we have amazing students who are absolutely happy and very successful – for example we inducted 24 new students into the NHS this week (This means that 40% of the 11th and 12th grade classes are NHS members!); we have the most qualified and caring staff out of any high school in California; and, the parent and community support we have is unmatched – just look at how many of us will be at the 7th annual Burgundy & Gray Gala, and how much money will be raised for all of our students. Our two most deserving honorees, Mr. Dan Dewig and Mr. Marc Monte, are gracious and authentic in their love for our students and for the mission/vision of our school. Please join us on October 13th for a great community event that raises much needed funds for our great school.
Right now, we are preparing to host our first CEPC meeting on October 2nd. The Council of the Educative Pastoral Community (CEPC) meets 4-5 times a year and the council looks at our Salesianity: do we use reason, religion, and loving-kindness to create a community of faith that welcomes, reflects, socializes, and provides support and insight to help students follow their passions in life. Community members, parents, alumni, Salesians, and students are part of this committee.
I want to remind you that we have a Suggestion Box in the front office and we are always looking at ways to improve everything we do. Suggestions have led to enhanced communications, events, and even calendaring. Please use it. I address your suggestions in the following month after I get the suggestion. All of our administrators subscribe to an open door policy. We are here to listen and we are here to help. Don’t be afraid to share your opinions and observations. In all of my experience with any of our Salesian high schools in California I have never witnessed, or even heard of, any backlash or retaliation against a student or family for sharing their observations and opinions. We are a family and we are always looking to get better.
1st Quarter Grade Reporting & College Application/Information/Scholarship Resources
Friday, October 12 - This marks the end of quarter one. Any work collected by this day must be included in the quarter one grade.
All 9th-12th grade students and their parents should sign up for 2 excellent, and free, resources: info on colleges, majors, locations, and scholarships. Reach out to take interest surveys and then get personal messages and personal contacts from top local and national universities. If you have questions contact Mr. Lee, Ms. Lemus, or Ms. Gutierrez for assistance.
Homecoming Football Game will be Friday, October 19th at home! This will be our first night game on campus. We will have an alumni tailgate event so please be on the lookout for that postcard coming in the mail within the next week. All alumni from the school starting when the Salesians first took over in 1921 are welcome.
Halloween Fun, October 31, 2018:
St. John Bosco knew well the need to have some healthy fun within the school setting. Towards that end, we will be encouraging students to dress in Halloween costumes for classes on Wednesday, October 31, 2018. Those costumes must conform to the following stipulations:
- Costumes must be modest and must not be sexually revealing or sexually suggestive;
- Costumes may not be reflective of violent activities (e.g., no weapons of any kind; no dismembered bodies; no blood; no protruding organs, etc.)
- Costumes may not be degrading or mocking of any person and character, fictional or otherwise.
- We will have a Halloween Contest for $ prizes
It takes a Village…How Can Families Help Grow St. Francis?
The first weeks of October, each family prepares for the change of season, the end of the first quarter, Burgundy & Gray is coming, and the holidays are coming fast. We are asking each family to invite families and friends to visit us at our annual Open House. We are asking you to invite potential incoming 5th – 8th grade students as well as incoming 10th – 12th transfer students to experience our St. Francis Salesian Family on November 11th.
For the 2018-2019 school Year, St. Francis High School will be offering a Student Referral Discount of $150 for referring an incoming (non-sibling) 9th grade student to the Class of 2023. This also applies to transfer students to the Classes of 2022, 2021, and 2020. This is a one-time credit off your tuition account balance and is subject to administrative review/approval. This one-time credit will be applied on the October 2019 tuition statement and it will be evenly distributed across the remaining tuition payments, with one credit per family.
This year our fall Open House will be on Sunday, November 11th from 12-4 PM. We hope all of you can invite friends and families to visit, and that you and your student can help greet, inform and welcome our potential new families. Ms. Lemus will be in charge of this year’s event while Ms. Marheineke is on maternity leave. Please contact her at extension 206 or at [email protected].
The St. Francis Fund annual appeal and the Class Competition!
As reported in last year’s Annual Report, it costs an extra $1,334 to educate each student. That $1,334 difference has to be made up by the annual appeal known as The St. Francis Fund, online day of giving, bingo, and 3rd party donors from outside of the school (mostly business and foundations). We need your help to cover that gap ($1,334 scholarship).
Whether you are on tuition assistance or not our goal is 100% participation from all of our families. I am so impressed with our community; we currently have families give as little as $25 a year through twenty-four payments of $1.04 every two weeks. Every donation matters to each of our students. We also have families give the opposite end of the spectrum; we just ask that you make St. Francis the priority of all of your philanthropic giving and give what you can. This year we will again use our SFPA Grade Level Representatives to facilitate each grade level’s participation.
Saint Francis High School will mail the annual appeal letters home in October. As part of The St. Francis Fund this year we will also be participating in the Feast of SJB Online Giving Day on Thursday, January 31st, 2019.
Finally, we sent home a constant contact on Friday, September 28th in an effort to be transparent and informative. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please feel free to contact me so we can talk. Thank you and God bless!
Mr. Patrick Lee