February 1, 2017

Dear St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School Families,

We have a lot going on at St. Francis of Assisi School so I look forward to our General Parent meetings to share information about student achievement, school programs, and school activities. The agenda for last Thursday's mid-year "State of the School" address included reports on several important topics including preparations for our upcoming WCEA/WASC accreditation, school wide assessment results, budget planning, strategic goals, and plans for our Library/Tech Lab redesign.  

The new school promotional video was presented to parents by Allison Clewett, our Communications Coordinator.  Mrs. Clewett explained the purpose of the video and the steps taken to produce the final version. Filmed over the last 10 months, the video includes a variety of school events and classroom activities.  To no one's surprise, the students are the highlight of the video.  Their words and images really capture the spirit of our school.  I encourage you to view the video by visiting our school website.  The video is located at the bottom of our homepage under the heading "Featured Video."

The inspirational video was followed by a nuts and bolts, data-driven report on student achievement delivered by Vice Principal, Andi Watanabe. The STAR Renaissance system of assessments helps to provide our teachers with data about their students' reading and math skills.  They use the different reporting features to set student goals, plan for student needs, monitor their progress, and to help maximize student growth each year.  Our students are consistently performing at strong levels in reading and math. While each grade level is experiencing growth, it's important to also look at your child's individual performance at each trimester to monitor their own personal progress.   Your teachers, in partnership with you, can address strengths as well as areas of focus at each trimester to help your child succeed using information provided in the STAR Renaissance reports.  

Mrs. Kwan, our WCEA/WASC chair, described the work being done by the faculty and administration to prepare for the accreditation visit scheduled for next fall.  Using data derived from surveys completed by our stakeholders, the faculty will identify our successes and areas of focus.  Areas of success that stand out include:  technology integration, dedicated teachers, strong Catholic identity, committed parents, and our learning support program. The areas of focus will lead to goals to enhance the math and science curriculum, as well as supporting student learning through differentiated instruction. The process requires an in depth review of all school programs so our work will continue for several months.

I explained enrollment trends over the last five years at St. Francis as well as throughout the Diocese.  Our enrollment forecast for the upcoming school year is healthy.  We project four grades at full capacity (Preschool, PreK, 3rd and 8th) and at near capacity in all other grades (25 - 29).  The growth in enrollment has lead to a balanced budget with the opportunity to consider additional school improvement objectives that include instructional and office aides, expanded science instruction, and STEM science curriculum. The Finance Committee is reviewing expense and revenue assumptions as well as strategic and tactical objectives in order to meet school operational needs in 2017/2018.  Tuition and fees for the upcoming school year will be announced at the March 30 General Parent meeting.

Finally, Vice Principal Jeannette Lambert, presented plans for redesigning our library and technology lab to be an innovative space for not only reading and technology instruction, but also STEM and diverse project based learning.  The redesign will help prepare our students for academic success and the future that lies ahead.  The goal of this year's Auction Fund-An-Item is to raise money to fund this project.  More information about the Auction Fund-An-Item will be shared with parents in a letter that will be sent home on Friday.

The purpose of the General Parent meetings is to keep parents informed about our school.  The material presented at the meeting is the result of collaborative input, good planning, and hard work.  The faculty and administration are proud to partner with parents to provide superior programs and an excellent Catholic school experience.

Tom Waszak

Principal

A St. Francis Student Comes Home to Teach

The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2017 is "Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service." The annual observance starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which in 2017 is January 29 - February 4. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will celebrate Catholic Schools Week with a Open House, a special Mass, and other activities for students, families, parishioners, and the community at large.

Listed below is an outline of our remaining activities and events for National Catholic Schools Week:

Thursday, February 2

Catholic Schools in our Community Mass Day - 9:30am at Santa Clara-Mass Uniforms required.    Father will be blessing rosary beads and students will participate in an activity of making handmade rosaries to donate to the St. Francis Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center as well as making cards to thank our priests/pastors of our tri-parish community for their involvement and support of our school.    Students can also add on their favorite hat after mass.

Friday, February 3

Catholic Schools in our Students Today is Student Day! Students in K-4 will enjoy a "Spirit Rally" at 9:15 am today. Students in 5-8 will enjoy a "Spirit Rally" at 11:00 am today.  As part of the Spirit Rally fun, students may also have a 'Relaxed Dress' day using the following colors: Kindergarten = Yellow              Grade 1 = Green   Grade 2 = Red Grade 3 = Blue  Grade 4 = Purple Grade 5 = Red                     Grade 6 = Yellow                          Grade 7 = Green                          Grade 8 = Blue Popsicles will be provided to students at lunch today!   Students can also enjoy a movie in the afternoon in their classrooms. Students can bring in their own favorite drink/candy for the movie.

Christian Service Project

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will be presenting it's first musical production, Seussical Jr., this Spring.  We will be hosting a parent night tonight at 6:30 pm.  Auditions and rehearsals will begin Tuesday, February 28.  The production will be managed by Stagelight Family Productions.  

We are excited to branch out and offer a new way for our students to be exposed to performing arts.  No theater experience is necessary to participate. All students who participate will have a part.  Thank you for your support as we launch this new activity. For more information, please download the file below.

Seussical Jr. Flyer