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2017 - 2018
School Year
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Feb. 19
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Presidents
Day
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| March 10 |
Auction Gala |
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March 29 - April 6
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Easter Break |
| May 28 |
Memorial Day |
| June 15 |
Last Day of School |
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| Ethan K. |
KB |
| Gabriel H. |
1B |
| Isla R. |
2B |
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January 17, 2018
Dear St. Francis of Assisi Parents and Guardians,
At this time of year, 8th grade students applying to Catholic high schools are completing their applications. The application includes teacher recommendations, transcripts, standardized test scores, an entrance exam, and a personal interview. The annual ritual is followed by a period of anxiousness, waiting for a letter of acceptance. It is good preparation for what's to come when students apply to college. Whether it is high school or college, each school is looking for insights about the applicant's interests, abilities, and how they fit the school's profile. The process also sheds light on the role of a St. Francis Catholic School education as an integral part of each student's journey.
Completing the high school application is a revealing process. The application involves both quantified measures of aptitude as well as qualitative attributes that reflect interests, attitudes, and work habits. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School students are blessed with many opportunities in and outside the classroom that help prepare them for high school. Our academic and extracurricular programs challenge students to grow and reach their potential. Another key part of our mission is to prepare students to be leaders. We strive to transform the mind and heart. Rooted in gospel values, our students are taught to love and display empathy and compassion, and to put these traits into action.
Those opportunities are impacted by the adults and peers who influence their development and by the school's Catholic identity. When you look at the big picture over a span of time, you will be amazed at your child's accomplishments and milestones, and you will be thankful for all who shaped them along the way.
The high school application process motivates our students to think about their future. It is never too early to spend time with your children exploring their interests, finding things they're excited about, things that bring joy, and help them on their search to find their purpose in life. This is not easy and there is no timeline, but it can be a rewarding experience. Listen more than talk and ask questions. Support them and allow their abilities and interests to evolve with time.
Watching my children grow up, it is abundantly clear that the sacrifices made to provide a strong Catholic school foundation were worth it. Their Catholic school education laid a strong foundation for academic, personal, and spiritual growth. Our job as parents is to teach our kids to be prepared for life and to contribute positively to the world. A Catholic education cannot guarantee either, but it does increase the odds for both!
Come celebrate your child's Catholic education at our Open House on Sunday, January 28, between
9:30 am - 1:30 pm. It is an honor and a privilege to partner with you on your child's journey! Thank you for all you do to make St. Francis Catholic School an amazing community.
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| General Parent Meeting: January 25 |
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All parents are invited to attend the General Parent Meeting on
Thursday, January 25, at
7:00 pm - 8:15 pm. We look forward to sharing our mid-year 'state of the school' report as well an update on the Master Facilities Plan. In addition, we'll be raffling four tickets to our musical Aladdin, one DC Dining pass for the third trimester, and students whose parents are in attendance may enjoy relaxed dress the following day,
Friday, January 26. Child care will be available for K - 8th grade students. Get connected with your school community! See you next Thursday!
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| Father/Daughter & Mother/Son Dance |
Both dances have been postponed pending a volunteer chair to coordinate and plan the events. Please contact Tawna Khamo at Tawna.khamo@gmail.com.
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Come celebrate your child's Catholic education at our Open House on
Sunday, January 28, between
9:30 am - 1:30 pm. You won't want to miss this special day as we celebrate our school and showcase what makes St. Francis School such an amazing "home" for our visiting families.
In order to have a successful Open House, we are in need of some friendly parents to serve as tour guides during Open House. These parents play a critical role by serving as ambassadors to visiting families, welcoming them and answering questions. You are the face of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School to new families visiting us for the first time; it's an inspiring and fun role to play as you may be the one that helps a family make that important school decision. Please visit
here on our school website and scroll to bottom of the volunteer opportunities available in the Open House section and sign up for a shift or two! Should you have any questions, please contact Tammy Clarida in our Admissions Office for more details.
In preparation for Open House, all three parishes will be promoting St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School and encouraging families to visit our Open House event by sharing more about our school at all masses the weekend of
January 20 and 21.
If you are one of our tri-parish families, you should have received an email from your parish liaison identifying some fun ways to get involved. Please consider signing up to serve as an ambassador. All St. Francis students should be dressed in full mass uniform when participating and/or attending mass during Promotional Weekend. All students dressed as ambassadors of St. Francis, in school uniform, will earn a "Relaxed Dress" privilege for
Monday, January 22.
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| Open House Food/ Refreshment Donations |
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will open its doors for our Annual Open House on
January 28. This event is part of a weeklong celebration for Catholic schools and Catholic education.
The Spirit Committee is in the process of planning for our Open House hospitality. We respectfully request assistance from all St. Francis families by providing food and beverages for the event. Please check the list below for needed items. The list has been designed to provide for an assortment of items and is sorted according to your last name.
A wagon will be outside our school entrance to collect donations on
Thursday, January 25 during drop off and pickup, and during drop off only on
Friday, January 26. If we miss you, please seal your perishable items, mark items "Open House", and drop them off in the kitchen at the Seamus Glynn Center. All items except for donuts and fruit can be dropped off at the wagon on Thursday and Friday.
If you would like to donate an additional homemade baked item (quantity of 2 dozen or more for cookies, cupcakes, brownies, etc.), you may do so in order to earn 2 hours credit towards family service hours. If you wish to bake an item for Open House, please advise Michelle Leo at
mleo@sfayl.org what kind of baked item you will be bringing. Bakers please log your own volunteer hours online through
http://sycamoreeducation.com. We ask that you still bring in your assigned item (below) so that we can be sure to have an appropriate assortment of refreshments needed to make our Open House a success.
Thank you in advance for your continued and generous support of our children and our school.
Blessings,
Michelle Leo
Family Last Name begins with:
A thru Du
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1 dozen muffins
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ED thru Hiu
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A case of water bottles (either 8oz. or 16oz.)
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Hoa thru Law
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1 box juice packs (10 per box)
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Leo thru Mu
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1 dozen cookies
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Na thru Sch
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Fresh cut fruit salad (i.e. applies/melon/grapes/berries/bannanas)*
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Sci thru Zam
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1 Box of fresh donuts*
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| Musical Production, Aladdin Jr. |
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will be presenting its 2nd musical production, Aladdin Jr., February 8th- February 10th. The production will be managed by Mrs. Lambert and Stagelight Family Productions and will be held at the Servite Theatre.
Rehearsals for next week are:
Monday, January 22
K- 3rd: 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm.
4-8: 3:45 pm - 4:55 pm.
Leads: 4:55 pm - 6:00 pm.
Tuesday, January 23
K-3rd: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
*If practice does not start immediately after school, please make sure your child is signed up for extended care. |
CHARTING THE COURSE - SFA 2018 AUCTION
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GALA BASKETS NEEDED
Please send any baskets you have at home or leftover from Christmas in to the office. We do not have any baskets to start wrapping Auction Items for our Silent Auction.
ITEMS NEEDED - ALL SIZES
We are in need of auction items - both large and small - to raise monies for SFA. Start with unused gifts received during the holidays - gift cards, candles, jewelry, spa items, movie tickets, etc. Next, if you regularly go out to dinner with family and/or friends, ask the restaurant if they would be willing to donate a gift certificate for our auction.
We also need live auction items! If you own a timeshare, vacation home or rental, consider sharing a week or a weekend as a donation. The value is tax deductible and the memories created by our families who win the item are priceless.
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| Classroom Treasure Donations |
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Classroom Treasures family donations are due
now.
Each classroom is working with their Classroom Treasures volunteer to put together a beautiful themed basket for this years auction. We still need your help. If you haven't turned in your family donation, it's not too late. Donations are still being accepted in your classroom. Attached
here is the sheet to fill out your information.
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| Reminder: Parking Lot Rules |
| Do not use cell phones once you have entered the parking lot. 100% of your focus needs to be on the safety of the children. |
| The Innovation Center computer lab is open for students in 3rd - 8th grade to work on ALEKS, Mathletics or Reflex on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:50 pm- 3:30 pm. Students must be picked up promptly at 3:30 pm or they will be sent to daycare. |
Session Two (8 weeks divided into two 4 week blocks):
November 27 - December 22
January 8 - February 2
NOTE: No School on Friday, 1/12 and Monday, 1/15 (MLK Holiday)
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| Logic Club will take place on the second and fourth Monday this month. The next class will be on January 22. |
Order Your Yearbook Today!
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Online ordering of 2017 - 2018 Yearbooks is open at a cost of
$45.00.
Order now to avoid the final price increase!
The final date to personalize yearbooks is January 31, 2018. The final date to order yearbooks online is May 14, 2018.
Click
here to place your order!
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Friday is Pajama Day for Pre-K.
Students may wear PJs with closed toed shoes.
Here are the links to Pre-K's January Newsletter and Pre-K Calendar.
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WOLF NEWS- Student Journalism Program
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A WOLF News Press Corps Movie Review by Student Journalist, Maya D.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio is an inspiring book that has now been made into a movie. The main theme of both the book and the movie is that, even if you're different, you should be treated with an equal amount of respect as everyone else. It is exciting to see the book of Wonder come to life on the big screen because viewers can learn a lot from the story and it can reach a larger audience as a movie. Read more
HERE.
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Please order DC Dining for Trimester 2 at St. Francis. You may fill out the entire form at once, or print and order on a weekly basis. If you are ordering weekly, please be sure to turn the form and payment in to the office by Monday of the week you are ordering a meal. Next week, January 24, we will be serving Wienerschnitzel.
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AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support our school every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at
smile.amazon.com
, you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School. Simply click here to begin shopping through AmazonSmile.
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| Important Reminder- Check your Service Hours! |
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The annual period for 2017- 2018 Service Hours ends
March 31, 2018. Each family is expected to complete 20 hours of service each school year. You can check the amount of service hours that you have for the current school year in the Sycamore portal. If you do not complete 20 hours of service by
March 31, 2018, you will be billed at the rate of $15 per hour on your FACTS account in April.
Check Volunteer Spot or with the front office for volunteer opportunities. With Open House coming up on Sunday, January 28, it is a great way to complete your commitment.
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| Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed! |
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Volunteers for hot lunch are needed for
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from
11:00 am - 12:30 pm. This volunteer opportunity can help you earn two hours of volunteer AND lunch credit. If this is something that you're interested in, please reach out to Jenny Lagazo at jlagazo@sfayl.org. Thank you!
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Santa Clara de Asis - Children's Faith Formation
Volunteers Needed! |
| Mater Dei High School- Upcoming Events |
1. Mater Dei's Entrance Exam is this Saturday, January 20 at 7:45am. Registration is required and can be done so here. The Entrance Exam is required for admission.
For more information, please click:
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| Santa Margarita Catholic High School Upcoming Events |
| Jserra High School Upcoming Events |
JSerra Catholic High School invites you to our Open House Sunday, January 21, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm! Our coaches will be available beforehand to answer any questions about our athletics program.
Meet teachers, students, participate in valuable raffles, and experience what it's like to be a Lion! For JSerra Catholic High School applicants, we offer the HSPT on two occasions: Saturday, January 20 and Saturday, February 3 from 7:30 am - 12:00 pm.
Our early application deadline is
January 19. Apply by then to receive an early admissions decision! Our financial aid application deadline is
February 4.
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Servite High School - Upcoming Events
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For students interested in experiencing Servite first-hand, a
Shadow Day
can be arranged. This gives them a glimpse of "a day in the life of a Friar." They do this by attending classes, exploring our campus, and spending break and lunch with their host. A brief presentation and campus tour is also offered for interested parents once the Shadow students head to their first class around 9:00 am. You may sign up by completing an inquiry form
HERE
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2. Application Process
Servite High School is accepting applications for the Fall of 2018. You may find details regarding the Application process by clicking
HERE
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Anaheim Ducks Host Catholic Night
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| The Anaheim Ducks are hosting Catholic Night Friday, February 9. Click here to see further information on the event. |
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