Dear St. Francis Families and Friends,
The school year is definitely in full swing as we move from the freshness of a new school year to the calmer days of autumn – though I must admit the warm southern California heat from this last Homecoming weekend was greatly appreciated. As I right this newsletter article today, a few weeks after Halloween, I am touched by the playfulness of our student body and our staff. Our community embraces the playground and creates a nurturing home where all are welcome – current students, potential new shadows, and alumni.
As part of our culture, we have all 9th-11th grade students take the test; we all know that one test does not make or define a student, but these tests are used as benchmarks for future success on the SAT and AP tests as well as a tool to place your student on the radar for some of America’s top universities and scholarships. Thank you to Ms. Gutierrez and Ms. Lemus for running a well-oiled machine that day, including the necessary accommodations for students who needed the extra time.
As en educator in this system of schools for 30 years and the parent of 2 teenage boys – one in college and one here – I also know this is the time of year when some students start experiencing shifting tides – changes with peer groups they grew up with in elementary and middle school and the new ones they’ve made here at St. Francis. It is not uncommon for your student to come home and say school is too hard, the teachers aren’t teaching me, the teachers are not available, the coach doesn’t like me, and I don’t have any friends. This is a natural part of growing up. As a parent, I know your first instinct is to go in and solve the “problem” and relieve their social anxiety. Don’t. Let them navigate these waters on their own with your support and affirmations from the sidelines; let them, “be comfortable being uncomfortable.” I am quoting our SFPA President and father of a senior and freshman, Mr. John Morin. Your child (our students) belongs to our great Salesian family. They need to experience frustration, failure, and loneliness in a safe place to learn how to problem solve, to learn how to cope and self-soothe, to really appreciate joy and success. When they leave St. Francis, you and we want them to be confident, dynamic men and women of character with good Catholic values. They can’t do that if you solve all of their problems and never let them experience failure and loneliness. It’s OK. This very topic comes up at this time of year every year, especially with freshmen and sophomores. Ms. Eagleson covered this topic last week at the Counseling presentations; this is also what Mr. Morin and I spoke to the incoming freshmen parents at during Open House. Your children will be fine, as long as we partner together, and you don’t try to do their homework for them and save them from all sadness or frustration. Let them talk to their teachers about improving in classes, without asking for extra credit; let them advocate with a coach on what s/he can do better to increase playing time without you yelling at a coach or me because your child didn’t play at the Kaiser Arena. Trust in your children; trust in your great foundation; and, trust that together we will get them to where God and you want them to be.
This November we have many activities – cross country in the CCS playoffs and our winter sports season is now under way; here are a few key dates to calendar:
- Campus Clean Up Day on November 10th from 8:30 am to 12:30 PM
- November 11th fall Open House from 1-4 pm and we ask that all students and parents join our family to welcome prospective families
- Finally, the coveted Thanksgiving Week Holiday – November 19th – 23rd. We have much to be thankful for and this week gives us a chance to stop, reflect, and say thank you
- If you want to earn service hours then you can check-out fall Open House lawn signs any time this week or next (October 5th -November 10th) from Ms. Haydee Lemus. The signs are only good the week of the event (Open House is November 11th, 2018) because we intentionally left off the date; we did this so the signs may be re-used year after year. For every 3 signs you take, place around your business/parish/neighborhood, you will get 1 service hour. Heck, if you want to put up 30 signs in your community you can earn 10 service hours! We ask that you bring them back to Ms. Haydee Lemus after our event, too. This commitment to presence and the brand allows more of the communities in the 4 counties we serve to feel they can join our Sharks family – even if they live in a different city, county, or diocese. It extends the welcoming arms of the St. Francis family.
As part of our recognitions, I want to thank Mrs. Lisa O’Rourke, Mrs. Deanne Cagnacci, Mrs. Frances Basich Whitney, and Mr. Edward Kelly for their leadership with our 7th annual Burgundy & Gray Gala. We again saw record attendance this year and record fundraising as we honored two critically important figures in our school’s life – Mr. Marc Monte and Mr. Dan Dewig. Our goals were simple: add 3% in ticket sales and attendance as well as a net increase of 5%. We exceeded both. Thank you to all of our sponsors, donors, auction winners, and volunteers for making this the best event ever. This event continues to grow as our signature SFPA fundraiser for the school. The support for the event also saw us complete our 5th annual fund-a-need goal to update and expand our security cameras. We will install the new system this Christmas holiday season; then, we will add the rest of them as planned for next summer.
Thank you to Ms. Katie Kelly, Mr. John Morin, Mr. Anthony Valdivia, and Ms. Colleen Eagleson a great VAPING presentation to the students and parents. All learned a lot. Your attendance at this event counts for the mandatory SFPA meeting requirement, but more importantly it connects you to the pulse of the school. You are also welcome to attend any SFPA Board meeting on the first Monday of each month to share your ideas and fulfill your parent meeting requirement.
Finally, we are ready to launch our 2018-2019 Annual Fund Campaign – affectionately re-labeled THE ST. FRANCIS FUND; and, I am happy to say that we collected 2017 alumnus testimonial from Stanford attendee Nathaniel Ramos. The stuffing and mailing for the annual fund will take place next week. Please notify Ms. Lina Silva or Ms. Michele Bowling if you can come in during the day to stuff the mailers. All of your help counts as service hours and this is pretty easy and not too taxing on the brain or body. All help is appreciated!
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. The class with the highest % of families participating will get a free dress day and a free lunch. Every dollar counts in bridging the $1,334 gap between what we charge for tuition versus the actual cost to educate each student. We make an effort to keep tuition affordable and THE ST. FRANCIS FUND success means we manage it even better.
We are committed to offering the best Catholic college-prep education in the smallest classroom sizes with the best teachers who genuinely care about each and every student. I heard this exact statement and felt this at our alumni Homecoming gathering for football.
Yours in Christ,
Mr. Pat Lee
President and Principal