Emily Y.
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1A |
Madison
|
1A |
Laurie B.
|
3B |
| Andrew J. |
1A |
| Samuel H. |
2B |
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November
21 - 25
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Thanksgiving Break |
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December 21 - January 3
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Christmas Break |
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January 18
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MLK Holiday |
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February 20
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President's Day |
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April 13 - 21
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Easter Break |
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May 29
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Memorial Day |
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June 16
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Last Day of School |
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Dear St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School Families,
I experienced a 'wow' moment at the Parent Advisory Board meeting last Thursday evening. As Principal, I attend several meetings and, after four busy weeks, my energy level was a bit low. However, as the committee chairs reported on work in progress and goals for the school year, my energy level went up. I got excited about the great work being done by the parents and staff. The PAB committees help make our school a dynamic place to learn and grow as individuals and families.
Safety and Security
Catholic Identity
School Spirit
Technology
Development
Marketing
Volunteer
Finance
These committees
,
and all of our parent volunteers
,
contribute to a great school experience for our kids and their families, but there are several areas
where
we need more
energy and
help.
I understand everyone has tight schedules and the last thing you want to do is commit to another project or group, but
unfortunately I see many of the same people going to meetings, planning, and executing events
, which in turn
leads to burnout. The
benefit of becoming involved is the
ongoing social, academic, and emotional success of our kids and
the bonds created in
our community. The success of our school is heavily dependent on the amazing network of parents.
As the saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child," and the same is true for creating and maintaining a positive and nurturing environment for an entire school community. While teachers and administrators are responsible for providing enriching academics and professional support, our school is much more than classroom learning. Building a tight knit community of parents who dedicate their time and resources to building a solid foundation of support creates a lasting impression on staff and students and enriches the parental experience. Planning and organizing events, donating time and energy,
as well as
using professional connections to benefit the school takes serious manpower. Your child's village is your school, and you are the villagers, so you have a vested interest in supporting our children as well as the community.
St. Francis of Assisi School needs you so please do yourself, and our school, a favor and become a volunteer in whatever capacity you can offer.
There are dozens of volunteer opportunities and there is an activity that can accommodate any schedule. There are immediate needs for the following: carline help in the morning, room parents, Book Fair, and the Technology, School Spirit, and Development Committees. Talk to your child's teacher and/or check on SignUp.com. If you have any questions you can contact Tracy Foye at
volunteer@sfayl.org
.
Another way to support your school is to attend school sponsored events. I hope to see a large turnout for our annual Fall fundraiser, Fall Fest, this Friday, September 30, from 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm, in the school courtyard. This very popular parent event features great brews, wine, hor d'oeuvres, and
a DJ to dance the night away.
SFA Parent volunteers
have put
in
a lot of effort to make this a very fun night for our school community.
Thank you for your support. Your participation is vital to the success of our school.
Tom Waszak
Principal
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WASC / WCEA Parent Survey
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This year our school is completing a self-study in preparation for the WCEA/WASC accreditation visit in the 2017-2018 school year. The self-study requires information from all shareholders of our school.
St. Francis parents can contribute valuable information relevant to the self-study. Please complete the
Parent Survey by
Sunday, October 2 at midnight. As a thank you for completing the survey, your student(s) will receive relaxed dress. Please print out the webpage once you have completed the survey. Write your student(s) name on the paper and turn in to their homeroom teacher the next day, this will be their free dress day. Free dress passes will expire on
Monday, October 3. For details on free dress guidelines, please refer to the
2016-2017 Parent-Student Handbook (p. 39).
Thank you for your valuable input for our WCEA/WASC self-study.
Shannon Kwan
WCEA/WASC Chair
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Blessing of the Animals - October 4
|
On Tuesday, October 4, 2016, St. Francis of Assisi students will celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, our school's patron saint. St. Francis loved God and man, as well as all God's creatures. In this light, we plan to celebrate this feast day with the "Blessing of the Animals."
Our special day of celebration will begin with Mass at
9:30 am. in the beautiful St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School Courtyard with Fr. Fred as our celebrant.
Following Mass, all students will return to their classrooms and resume their regular morning schedule.
"Blessing of the Animals" will take place in the afternoon followed by regular day dismissal. This event is open to students, parents, family guests and invited media only.
Attendees for this special gathering should begin arriving, with or without pets, between
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm. Please enter through the side gate and move to the athletic field area. Guests do not need to obtain a visitor's pass for this occasion. Parents will be able to join their children and unite them with their pets.
At
1:45 pm. all grades will proceed to designated areas on the field area. The animal blessings will take place between
2:00 pm. and 2:30 pm.
Dismissal for the day will begin once the "Blessing of the Animals" is concluded. All students must be picked up from their classrooms. Students with parents in attendance MUST check in with their teacher before leaving campus.
Pre-K students will remain in the Pre-K yard during the Blessing of the Animals where they will have stuffed animals or photos of family pets blessed. Families who wish to have their Pre-K student(s) participate in the live blessing, can check their student(s) out early following the usual sign-out procedures.
Please be aware that the parking lot will be closed from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm. Spaces will be reserved for special groups and media participating in the event only. Please plan accordingly.
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As part of their annual Christian Service Project, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School fifth graders will be collecting pet food, toys, and gently used blankets and towels during the first week of October to donate to OC Animal Care, Orange County's open admission animal shelter.
The project coincides with St. Francis' annual Blessing of the Animals event held on October 4, the Feast Day of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment, and the school's namesake.
Donations can be dropped off at the school
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Current price:
$40.00
After
November 19, 2016: $45.00
Deadline for Personalized books:
January 31, 2017
All orders must be completed
online
(no orders accepted through the front office).
Share your photos with the Yearbook Committee! Upload your class and event photos from the first day of school, Kona Ice fundraiser, sports, field trips, etc. to our Josten's school website at
www.replayit.com. Be sure to choose St. Francis of Assisi (Yorba Linda) to upload to the correct school.
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WOLF NEWS - St. Francis Student Reporters
|
Meet Our
Student Reporter
Mia F.
- Mia F. has attended
St. Francis since Kindergarten.
- She is currently a seventh grader in 7B.
- Mia plays competitive soccer for the OC Strikers.
- She loves to read fantasy and biography books. Her favorite series is Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling is someone she admires as a writer.
- Mia would like to play for the US Women's National Soccer Team or be an architect when she grows up.
| "What I love about St. Francis is how welcoming everyone is. If you are a new student there are people excited to show you around and tell you about everything that is happening." |
|
Mia F. is someone who works hard to reach her goals. Last year when Mia ran for the Student Council position of Publicity Commissioner, she expressed the need for a student perspective on life at St. Francis. Mia did not win her election, but that did not stop her from making her vision of a student reporter in the school newsletter a reality.
"Wolf News" is a project she has worked passionately on over the Summer break, completing a long list of tasks that included reading and breaking apart the structure of news stories, preparing for and conducting interviews, learning the research process required for story background, verifying information from credible sources, and writing mock articles in order to develop her writing style and a unique voice for the students at St. Francis.
Once a month, Mia will be contributing an article to our eNewsletter on a variety of topics related to life as a student at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School.
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On Tuesday, October 4, Pre-K students will remain in the Pre-K yard during the Blessing of the Animals event where they will have stuffed animals or photos of family pets blessed. Families who wish to have their Pre-K student(s) participate in the live blessing, can check their student(s) out early following the usual sign-out procedures.
Please note, the parking lot will be closed from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm on October 4. Plan extra time to park in the Santa Clara Church lot and walk up the hill or the Eastside Park lot and walk down the hill.
Pre-K's music class starts next Wednesday, October 5.
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Not able to make it to our sports team games? Not to worry, we now have Live Game Updates on the
SFAYL website
! Under the athletics tab of the website you will find live game updates for all of our teams. Want to know how our teams are doing in previous weeks or find out when our football or volleyball teams play at home next? Every teams schedule and results are on the SFAYL website!
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Parents if you need school service hours but aren't available on the weekdays, sign up to volunteer for our Boys B Football Tournament at St. Francis. The tournament will be the weekend of
October 21-23. Positions open for volunteers are admissions, snack bar, grill, and down marker. Please contact Blake Warye at
bwarye@sfayl.org
if you would like to volunteer for our tournament.
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| DC Dining - October 5 - Wise Guys |
As part of the fundraising efforts for our Annual 8th Grade East Coast Study Trip, SFA offers lunch from a variety of local food vendors each Wednesday. Next week our vendor is Wise Guys.
Orders are due
8:00 am on Monday, October 3 in order to accurately tally the number of meals needed.
DC Dining Season Pass Order Form
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| Mixed Bags - September 9 - 30 |
Two more days left to sell Mixed Bags for SFA!
Supporters can shop online and have the items shipped, or they can look through the catalog and order on paper. Encourage your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, etc. to please take a look!
Remember our school ID is 365500. Be sure to mark the name of the St. Francis student you are supporting.
www.mixedbagdesigns.com
|
3 Days Until Fall Fest!
Friday, September 30 from 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm.
Join us in the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School Courtyard
|
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Thank you to all our Fall Fest Sponsors!
Event Sponsors: The Queiroz Family; Aitken, Campbell, Heikaus, Weaver, LLP
Decor Sponsors: The Nguyen Family; Paulus Engineering, Inc.; Horizon Senior Services
Cocktail Sponsors: The Associates Realty Group; Bradley Brown Construction, Inc.; Todd Hennigar Real Estate Group; Julie Paino-Montez (The JPM Group); The Tornatela Family
Food Sponsors: Don Jose Mexican Cafe; La Reina Markets
Dessert Sponsors: The Griffith Family; The Mulvey Family
Tent Sponsors: The Schulze Family; The Douglas Family; The Curran Family; Nick & Meeghan Kaufman; Liam Privette
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Our first round of Spirit Wear sales of the 2016 - 2017 school year was such a hit we have decided to offer a second offering right away. Please look through the available items on the document below, print the form, and turn payment in to the office or your teacher in your child's Thursday folder.
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Please donate your shoes for the Angel Bin Shoe Drive! The proceeds from this activity will benefit our eighth grade students traveling to Boston, Washington DC, and New York on our East Coast Study Trip in the spring. You can drop off your gently used shoes now and throughout the fall in the box labeled "Shoe Drop" in front of school. All shoe types are accepted. Thank you!
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| Box Tops and Labels for Education |
To help raise money and earn free educational merchandise for our school, we collect both Box Top for Education® and Labels for Education® which can be found on many of your favorite products.
You may even have some in your home right now!
Please, send the box top and labels to school with your child. They may turn them in to the school office or to their teacher. Don't forget to get the word out. Everyone can help collect box tops and labels....grandparents, friends, uncles, and even your neighbors. Thank you for your support!
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Thank you to the parents and staff who volunteered at our Ice Cream Social!
Check out the list of school opportunities available on our SignUp.com page or visit our website for more details about volunteering.
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San Antonio's Homemade Italian Dinner Fundraiser
|
October 15, 2016 from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm in Glynn Hall.
Join the fun, fellowship and a real Italian dining experience - Family Style!
Our "Real Italians" will be cooking and serving an a
ll-you-can-eat pasta dinner served family style!
The menu includes antipasto, garlic bread, r
igatoni with marinara sauce or meat sauce sprinkled with shredded mozzarella cheese, and Italian meatballs. C
annoli with coffee or tea for dessert.
Adults:
$8.00 Children under 12:
$4.00.
Beer, wine and soft drinks available for purchase.
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Join the Cherub Choir at San Antonio Church!
|
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:16
San Antonio Catholic Church invites St. Francis students (starting at age 6) to join the Cherub Choir. Rehearsals are on Mondays from 4:45 pm to 5:30 pm (starting 9/26) in the Multi Purpose Room (2nd floor of The Religious Education Building). The children sing once a month at the 10:00 am Mass with concerts at Christmas and in the Spring.
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Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Open House
|
Sunday, October 16
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Santa Margarita Catholic High School invites all families to attend our annual Open House.
This is the best way to see our beautiful, 42 acre campus. Student led tours are available and many faculty, administrators and coaches will be on hand to answer all of your questions. You will have the opportunity to meet our Principal, Mr. Ray Dunne, our President, Mr. Andy Sulick '91, and our Admissions Director, Mr. Ron Blanc and experience firsthand why Santa Margarita remains the school of choice by families seeking a premier, Catholic, college preparatory education.
Reservations are not necessary; simply drop by any time between
11:00 am and 2:00 pm. If you should have any questions, please call our Admissions Office at
949-766-6076.
The campus is located at 22062 Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita.
www.smhs.org
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Bichon FurKids Rescue Fundraiser - October 1
|
Sunday, October 1
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Turtle Rock Community Park
1. Volunteers - (we will provide certification for service hours)
2. Auction item donations
3. Sponsors or advertisement
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