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2018 - 2019
School Year
Important Dates
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Jan 21
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day - School Holiday
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| Jan 24 |
General Parent Meeting
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| Jan 27 |
Open House |
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Feb 15
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Faculty Retreat - Student Free Day
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Feb 18
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President's Day - School Holiday |
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Mar 9
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Auction Dinner and Dance
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Mar 22
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Religious Education Congress - Student Free Day
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April 18 - 26
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Easter Break
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May 27
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Memorial Day - School Holiday
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| May 31 |
8th Grade Graduation
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June 14
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Last Day of School
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| Nicholas |
3B
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Juliana
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2A
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| Kayla |
3A
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| Tyler |
3A
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| Vienna |
1B
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Dear St. Francis of Assisi School Parents and Guardians,
This week, St. Juliana Falconieri Parish hosted a speaker, Dr. Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology, from San Diego State University. She was brought in to speak about the impact of technology on the current generation of students in elementary and high school. The name given to this generation, born between 1995 - 2012, is Gen Z or "iGen: The Smartphone Generation." She explained that the reason for this label is that these students have grown up with exposure to diverse technologies throughout their entire life.
Her talk was focused on long-term research done with over 11 million people between 1966-2017, now specifically looking at the impact of smartphones on this particular generation. She stated that the average student receives a smartphone now at age 10. She noted that the speed of development declined in that iGen children experience less independence as they are nurtured more closely and lack the ability to make simple decisions on their own. Depression and anxiety has increased for students in college as this is the first time this generation is faced with independent decision making and they lack the skills and abilities to navigate the challenges they are facing. The iGen students get less sleep due to phone use, socialize less in person with their friends, and have difficulty being present in the moment without tuning into a device. I know when I am out to dinner with my family, I am surprised to look around the restaurant and see how many families are all on their devices rather than having dinner conversation.
So what can we do to help our elementary students? She encouraged us to give our children opportunities for making decisions on their own without constant reminders. She encouraged parents to have all devices turned off an hour before bed and to keep them out of the bedroom when resting, ensuring at least 7 hours of sleep per night. She encouraged face to face social interaction to help our children learn social skills and increase the ability to read facial cues. I loved her statement about all of us working together to see how "devices can light our way rather than darken it." Here at St. Francis of Assisi School, we believe our approach to integrate technology in education has focused on intentionally increasing our students' ability to problem solve, collaborate and communicate with peers, and improve their ability to think more deeply and critically. We believe the technology appropriately used can help to personalize learning and differentiate support and/or challenge for each student as needed. We are excited to have a guest speaker next Thursday at our General Parent Meeting, an Apple Account Executive, who will enlighten us on important information about this generation and the impact the research is having on education today. Please plan on attending this meeting to learn more about preparing your student for their future and how St. Francis of Assisi School is a valuable and integral part of preparing them for success!
Jeannette Lambert
Principal
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No School Monday, January 21
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| Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No School and No Extended Care. |
Come celebrate your child's Catholic Education at our Open House on Sunday, January 27 from 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 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 our link to Volunteer Spot to view the 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, our parishes will be promoting St. Francis School and encouraging families to visit our Open House event by sharing more about our school at all the Masses the weekend of January 19 and 20, otherwise known as Promotional Weekend.
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 School, in school uniform, will earn a "Relaxed Dress" privilege for Tuesday, January 22. |
Open House: Food Donations
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St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will open its doors for our Annual Open House on
January 27th.
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 24th during drop off and pickup, and during drop off only on
Friday, January 25th. 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
Sycamore. 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 - Du
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A case of water bottles (either 8oz. or 16oz.)
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Ed - Hiu
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1 box juice packs (10 per box)
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Hoa - Law
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1 dozen cookies/muffins
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Leo - Mu
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Fresh cut fruit salad (i.e. applies/melon/grapes/berries/bananas)*
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Na - Sch
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1 Box of fresh donuts*
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Sci - Zam
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Cheese and Cracker Assortment |
*If you are assigned fresh donuts or fruit, please bring them on Sunday morning no later than 9am.
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| Catholic Schools Week 2019 |
The annual observance begins with our Open House on January 27 and runs through February 1. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School will celebrate Catholic Schools Week with a special Mass, spirit rally, community presentations and other fun activities throughout the week! Check the list below for a snapshot of all the great activities.
| Sunday, January 27 |
Open House
Come celebrate Catholic education and what makes our school a great "home" for our families at SFAYL from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm. |
| Monday, January 28 |
Catholic School in our Nation
All students who wore Mass uniform to Open House on Sunday can have a Jeans Pass today!
Students can wear shirts and accessories that celebrate our great nation (flags, presidents, eagles, army, navy, air force, marines, stars & stripes, red, white & blue). |
| Tuesday, January 29 |
Catholic Schools in our Community
All School Mass - 9:30 am at Santa Clara (Mass Uniform required).
Special assembly for upper grade students with the Diocesan Director of vocations. |
| Wednesday, January 30 |
Catholic Schools in our Families
Grandparents/Special Person Day and Family Lunch (Chik-fil-A through DC Dining, if you need to order addition meals please do so by 1/28). |
| Thursday, January 31 |
Catholic Schools and our Volunteers
Volunteers are like heroes because they make a difference in the lives of our students.
Today, to honor our volunteer heroes, students and teachers can dress like their own personal heroes or superheroes!
Volunteer Breakfast - All parent volunteers are invited to a free breakfast cooked by the SFA staff! Breakfast times are from 7:00 am - 8:45 am. To go boxes are available! |
| Friday, February 1 |
Catholic Schools for our Students
Relaxed Dress Day for all students and staff.
K - 4 Spirit Rally 9:15 - 10:00 am
Kindergarten = yellow
Grade 1 = green
Grade 2 = red
Grade 3 = blue
Grade 4 = purple
5 - 8 Spirit Rally 11:15 - 11:50 am
Grade 5 = red
Grade 6 = yellow
Grade 7 = green
Grade 8 = blue
Popsicles provided during lunch for all students today!
Movie in the classroom - teachers to choose movie with classes. Students can bring in their own drinks/candy for the movie.
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We have a limited supply of "Proud Parent" Open House Yard Signs. If you like one, please stop by the office. These are on a first come, first serve basis.
Thank you for your support!
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Jump Rope for Heart 2019
Thursday, February 14th
Items needed: Pogo Sticks, Stilts, Balance Boards
Permission slips and donation envelope went home during PE the week of January 14th.
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Little Lambs: Early Childhood Education News
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Monday, January 21st
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NO School & NO Extended Care for Martin Luther King Holiday
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| Friday, January 25th |
Early dismissal 11:30 am - 11:50 am
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Monday, January 28th
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Color Day to celebration our Nation. Pre-K A Students Wear: White
Pre-K B Students Wear: Blue
Pre-K C Students Wear: Red |
| Wednesday, January 30th |
Grandparents Day (mid morning - details will go home soon) |
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| Student Spotlight - Christina Katsaros |
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Christina Katsaros of 6A is the 2018-2019 Karneval Youth Princess representing the Phoenix Club of Anaheim. Christina's royal duties will take her to Las Vegas, San Diego and conclude in Anaheim.
The Kinder Karneval at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim will be her last appearance. This complimentary event on
Sunday, February 24th at 1:11 pm, includes dancing, games and a costume competition. This year's theme is time travel. Karneval season goes from November and concludes the day before Ash Wednesday. Karneval is an international celebration prior to the start of Lent.
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| Order your yearbook today! |
Online ordering of 2018 - 2019 Yearbooks is now open! The cost if ordered today is $45.00.
The final day to personalize yearbooks is February 2, 2019. The final date to order yearbooks online is May 15, 2019.
Click here to place your order! |
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| Our 2019 auction committee is looking for empty baskets to fill. If you have any extra baskets lying around that you are looking to donate, please leave them in the office Attn: Shelly Rangel. |
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Save the Date
Catholic Identity
Ministry Lenten Family Stations of the Cross
Thursday, March 21,
5:00 pm - 7:30 pm
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Tuition Assistance Dances
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If you would like to volunteer for either of these events please visit the Sign Up link. |
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Wednesday lunches throughout the school year are hosted by our 7th and 8th grade students fundraising for their East Coast Study Trip. The DC Dining program offers a variety of meal options from a broad spectrum of local restaurants.
Please order DC Dining for Trimester 2 at St. Francis School. Please be sure to turn the form and payment into the office by
Monday of the week you are ordering a meal. DC Dining on
Wednesday, January 23, we will be serving
Panda Express.
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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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| Catholic Night at the Honda Center |
| JSerra High School Open House |
Santa Clara de Asis - Children's Faith Formation
Volunteers Needed! |
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