SFB Weekly Newsletter - January 7, 2021

January 7, 2021

A Word From Our Principal

Dear St. Francis Borgia Families,

Happy New Year to you and yours! I sincerely hope that you and your family had a restful

and enjoyable holiday break. It is wonderful to be back at school once again!

There are a lot of things going on at St. Francis Borgia!

We received unsolicited donations from several SFB families for the use of purchasing new interactive boards for the classrooms! The donations that came in enabled us to purchase boards for all classrooms grades 1 – 8. We are very grateful to have this new technology in our classrooms! I image that your children have talked about them already – they are quite outstanding. Thank you again to the families who wish to remain anonymous who helped make this possible for our students!

Thank you also to CG Schmidt Company and Jim Pierce and his crew who worked all day yesterday installing the new boards. The crew arrived about 6:30am and worked until all 16 boards were installed. We are grateful and very appreciative of the time and effort to help us use this new resource for our students.

This month we are blessed to have an opportunity for our students, sponsored by Home and School. The “Kindness Initiative” program is an improvisational way of teaching kids the importance of being kind to each other. Through improvisation and the role playing, the instructors utilize different points throughout each session as teaching moments. There is an instructor for grades 1 – 4 and another for grades 5 – 8. This program was presented to SFB a couple of years ago and received positive feedback. There are four more sessions that will be completed in January.

“Wellness Wednesdays” focus in January is the Kindness Initiative along with another opportunity from Ms. Stecker and the 8th graders leading experiences in learning of Empathy and Tolerance to the other students.

The project is called SPARK and stands for:

S= students P= promoting A= attitudes of R= respect & K= kindness

“Wellness Wednesdays” have evolved since inception. Currently, the full morning is academic-based as usual. The afternoon includes academics, a class with Fr. Patrick every other week in the Church Hall, Adoration every other week, and an activity based on the focus of that month.

The committee is researching virtue programs to adopt after this month. Currently, at the top of our list is “Virtues in Practice” from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville. Virtues in Practice is a program for children in grades preK through eight to grow closer to Jesus by imitating His life and virtues.

I continue to mourn the opportunity to visit with parents during these restrictions of Covid-19. I look forward to a time when we can all gather mask-less and I can get to know you more. Starting tomorrow, I will have a Sign-Up Genius available to sign up for ZOOM to meet me next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. I have carved out time for this because I relish the opportunity to reach out and speak to you. The Sign-Up Genius will be open tomorrow at 12:00pm until Monday at 12:00pm. If all time slots fill up I will find additional time in my schedule.

Thank you for partnering with St. Francis Borgia in educating your child(ren)! We are truly blessed!

Many Blessings,

Mrs. Amy Royes

School News

We are in real need of subs!

Requirements have changed for this year due to COVID. Rather than a substitute license, a bachelor's degree and Protecting All of God's Children training is required. All substitute teachers receive a stipend. Please call the office if interested.

Important Dates

Please visit the calendar on the school website for additional information.

Jan 18 - No School

Feb 4 - Virtual "Evening In The Arts"

Feb 13 - Virtual Auction From The Heart

Last Call for Annual Fund Breakfast Bash Donations

Thank you to the families that have already made a donation to the 2020-21 SFB Annual Fund! 52% of our school families have participated-- it's truly incredible! The winning class will receive an awesome boxed breakfast at school in January.

3B Mrs. Parker's class is in the lead with 88% family participation

4K AM has 80% family participation

3A Mr. Hiles' class has 75% family participation

All donations received by January 12th will be counted towards this competition. Your gift, no matter the size, makes at difference. Annual Fund donations are collected through June 30, 2021.

Save the date!

This year's art show entitled "A Virtual Evening in the Arts" will begin Thursday, February 4th!

Watch new from Mrs. Stephan with more specific details.

School Committee

2020 – 2021 Board Members:

Pastor: Fr. Patrick Burns

Principal: Amy Royes

Chairperson: Joe Dailey

Committee Member: Jennifer Wells

Committee Member: Eric Schmidt

Committee Member: Ceci Bassindale Committee Member: Jason Stenz Committee Member: John Tokarz

Parish Liaison: Tim Schilter

Secretary: Becca Lauria

School Committee meetings are held the 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the large conference room at St. Francis Borgia Catholic School. All meetings are open meetings unless otherwise designated as being Executive.

If you wish to address the School Committee please submit a written petition to the Chairperson one week in advance of the meeting date for approval for the agenda.

Home & School News

Kindness Program at St. Francis Borgia

SFB Home and School is excited to host Doug Jarecki and his colleague Sharon who will present a series on kindness and positivity for our 1st-8th graders. Through interactive games and exercises they will teach the importance of communication, listening, and creative problem solving to build and foster relationships with peers. The series will be presented once a week for a single class period on the following dates:

Wednesday, Jan. 6th
Monday, January 11th
Wednesday, January 13th
Wednesday, January 20th
Monday, January 25th

Please be sure to ask your students to share their thoughts and feelings about this program!

Staff Appreciation Lunches

Show our staff just how much they are appreciated by bringing in an item for their Wednesday lunches. Sign up here!

Subway Lunches for 1/11-1/28

Next Home and School Meeting

Our next meeting will be on 1/12 at Fiddleheads in Cedarburg. Plan on starting at 8:45am. We are hoping to meet upstairs, but we can no longer reserve it, so we may meet outside. Please join us and bring new ideas to our school!