MESSAGE
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
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A few days ago, I found myself all alone in the school courtyard, standing right there in the middle between the Church, school building, and Friary. And as I stood there, I was struck by a thought… how many people over the last 125 years stood in this exact spot and looked around at the sight that is St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School. How many students have played in this courtyard, walked from the school into the Church through the breezeway, or lined up outside for morning assembly? I stood, in awe of the moment, and in the history of our school.
But then, another vision flowed through my mind’s eye. What was it like for St. Francis himself as he stood in the fields below Assisi, looking up at the walled city, with the Friars on the site that is now the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels. The wonderment of his beloved city above him combined with the thoughts of the mission he was undertaking. By no means am I comparing Francis with our corner of the world in Sacramento, but rather thankful and proud as we stand on the shoulders of St. Francis, the Friars, the Sisters, all our alumni, and holding on to the tradition and heritage that makes our little mission so special.
On this 125th birthday of our school, I want to say thank you to all our alumni and all those that have ever graced these hallowed grounds. This important day reminds me of what it means to be part of St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School and it is incumbent upon all of us to continue to spread the message of community, inclusivity, and love. I believe that St. Francis and St. Clare, standing side-by-side with our school communion of Saints, are looking down on upon us, watching over us, and guiding the way for another 125 years.
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Happy Birthday St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School!
Sincerely
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125 YEAR CELEBRATION NEWS |
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On November 6 we will be holding a drive-thru legacy tunnel on the playground. Alumni and the wider community are welcome to drive through boards with enlarged archive photos attached. Boards will feature photos from 1895 through to present day. Tunnel will be open from 1:30 - 5:30pm. |
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To celebrate the birthday safely during the pandemic, the front of the school will be decorated and each class will have their own birthday banner. Our students have completed their own drawing, poem or note, which has been put together to make one giant birthday card. Each class has also decided on a item to be placed in a time capsule that will be buried during the day alongside the 100th year time capsule. Father Des will conduct Mass, which will be streamed to all classrooms and to students at home. |
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After being approved a waiver by Sacramento County the school opened on September 21 to in-person teaching of the lower grades. Families continued to have a choice regarding sending their students in or staying on distance learning. Covid numbers dropped and on October 16, school opened for the remaining grades. Strict protocols continue to be followed. |
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On October 5, 2020 we celebrated St. Francis Feast Day and Blessing of the Animals. Families sent in photos of their pets or stuffies. These were placed on boards and Father O'Reilly gave them a blessing. Father also visited each classroom and blessed all of the students at the school.
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ST FRANCIS SCHOOL OPENS 1895 |
Parish School opens. Two story (4 room) clapboard structure located next to church on 26th St, site of current Friary. Cost of school = $3,600. Students = 37 boys and girls. Teachers - Two Sisters of Mercy borrowed from St. Joseph’s Academy: Mary Columba & Mary Bernard joined soon by two lay teachers; Miss Catherine McGinity and later Miss Anne Feeney from Yolo Co. |
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NEWS FROM 1944 - 50TH CELEBRATION |
All the latest news from our 50th Birthday newspaper edition.
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1994 - ST. FRANCIS ELEMENTARY CELEBRATES 100 YEARS |
All the latest from our 100th Birthday newspaper edition.
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125 YRS OF ALUMNI - A STUDENT FOR EVERY DECADE |
1895
First student entered in the school ledger on November 5 1895 was Willie Bunke. Willie entered into the 3rd Intermediate class and graduated in 1897. By 1910 Willie was working as a boiler man in Fresno. Unfortunately there is no record of him after this time.
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Edward P Scollon graduated in 1909. His father Thomas Scollon emigrated from Ireland in 1850. Edward's brother, Thomas Scollon, who also graduated from St. Francis was the Mayor of Sacramento from 1934-35, as well as a Senator. Edward was a member of the submarine service during World War I and went onto enjoy a career as Maintenance Supervisor for the City of Sacramento. He died in 1972. |
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Emmett Patrick Roddy, son of Mr Patrick Roddy from Ireland graduated from SFE in 1917. Patrick went onto St. Anthony's College and then to St Anthony Ecclesiastical College. He became a Priest in a Monastery and died in 1949 in Arizona.
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Dorothy Arata nee Bliss graduated SFE in 1920. She was the daughter of Mr Andrew Arata, who owned Arata Bros Grocery and Valley Wholesale Grocery in Sacramento, where she worked until she got married. Dorothy loved helping Father Dan Madigan with his work at the Sacramento Food Bank, which is housed in the old Arata Bros. Grocery Store in Oak Park. |
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Kenneth Belke graduated from SFE in 1933. His sister Gladys graduated in 1931. Kenneth went onto Christian Brothers. In 1941 he enlisted in the Navy and served for 4 years during World War II. On his return he attended the University of San Francisco and graduated in 1949 with a Degree in Business Administration, emphasis in Accounting. He enjoyed a long career with Harry M. Straine & Sons. Served many years on the board for Christian Brothers HS and the board for Jesuit HS. He died in 2018 leaving a large family legacy.
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James "Jim" McNamara graduated from SFE in 1943. He graduated in 1947 from Christian Brothers and went onto play in the New York Giants organization for several minor league seasons. After professional baseball, Jim had a successful career working in administration in the Sacramento County Court system and retired in 1987. Jim later enjoyed a 25 year career in senior softball until he passed away in 2012.
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Nora (Helzer) Rodriguez graduated SFE in 1952, also from SFHS in 1956. Her mother (circa 1926) - sister (1952) - and grandson (2018) also graduated from SFE. She has fond memories of the school with its stately building and beautiful church. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a butcher for Safeway at 16th & Broadway, before it became Tower Records. Nora worked for Hale’s Department Store during high school. She has been married for 62 years, has two sons and one grandson. She worked for the Sacramento Library System for 22 years, along with volunteering at the Crocker Art Museum Shop for 16 years. Now, she enjoys playing tennis and learning French. |
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Chris Brown, Class of 1961 - I attended 8 years at St. Francis also serving as an Alter Boy and a second generation alumni following my mother Barbara Gormley Morgan and her two brothers Bill and Jack Gormley who attended during the 1920’s-40’s. After graduating in 1961 I spent two years (freshman & sophomore) at the original Christian Brothers at 21st & Broadway then moved on to Bishop Armstrong (now Christian Brothers) for junior & senior years finishing in 1965. Attended Sac State and the University of Madrid in Spain for post graduate. Like most men at the time, spent a few years in the military in aviation, then later moved on to follow in my father (Tom Brown) footsteps and produced films and television in Los Angeles for many years before moving back to Sacramento. I’m still staying active with my 1961 classmates currently producing an alumni event for our 1965 Bishop Armstrong/St. Francis HS classes. |
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The Leyva Family have a strong family legacy from the 1960's to current day. Sharilyn Leyva graduated in 1976 and currently works within our Kindergarten class and extension program at SFE. When she is not at school, Sharilyn helps out her husband Luis and son Luis in their restaurant, a Sacramento institution; Luis Jr's. Sharilyn and Luis's three children graduated from the school in 90's and she now has grandchildren at the school. |
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My name is Melissa Villalva. I graduated from St. Francis in 1989 and was part of the first class to attend Kindergarten - 8th grade. I am an OB nurse, married, have two daughters and five cats.
My family grew up at Saint Francis. My younger siblings all attended the school, my family went to Sunday mass at Saint Francis church, and I worked in Saint Francis extension throughout my high school years. My mother worked at Saint Francis when I was a student there, and still works there today. (I do not recommend getting suspended when your mother works at your school, all she had to do was walk down the hall to join me in the principal’s office.) One of the gifts I received from Saint Francis was meeting my lifelong BFF in the 5th grade, Diane Mahan (Henderson). Mrs. Church and Mrs. Zydbel taught me the art of the five paragraph essay; a skill I’ve built off of my entire academic and professional career. The most invaluable gift from my time at St. Francis is the feeling of comfort. Walking into the school feels like coming home.
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Julissa Ortiz is an anchor and reporter on Good Day Sacramento. She is thrilled to be working for the fun and lively morning show in her hometown.
The news bug bit early. Julissa still remembers “reporting” from her Easter family picnic at Elk Grove Park at the age of 10. One of her first video productions was for an 8th grade assignment here at St. Francis Elementary. After graduating from St. Francis High School, Julissa then went on to study Broadcast Journalism at the University of Southern California. Her first TV job took her to El Centro, California. She then spent 5 years working on the central coast before making her way back to Sacramento. Julissa’s husband is also in the TV news business. When they aren’t chasing breaking news, they’re chasing their 2 kids - ages 9 and 5.
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Chiara Adamo, our Athletics Director - I graduated in 2000. Some of my favorite memories are walking to school with my dad, playing capture the flag and kickball at recess, extension's water fight, the overnight field trip in 6th grade, scratching my name into the old slide tower, the end of the year picnic, the Jog-A-Thon when we bend our sweaty arms to smear the marker tally's to make it look like we ran more laps than we did, and in 8th grade every Friday morning we would debate whether Friends or WWF's Smackdown was the best Thursday night show. In 1995, we celebrated 100 years by burying a time capsule and Ms O'Donnell said that maybe some of us younger students would still be around when they opened it in 2095. Well it's 2020 and I'm still here watching the students play soccer using the gates as goals and stretching sweatshirts when in "jail". |
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Megan Perry graduated from SFE in 2010 and Christian Brothers High School in 2014. She went on to earn her bachelor's degree in history with a minor in education from UC Davis in 2018. After receiving her bachelor's, She went on to earn her teaching credential in social science in 2019 and her master's in education in 2020 both from UC Davis. Since Fall 2019, she has been teaching history at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, CA. |
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My name is Nicholas Contreras and I came to Saint Francis Elementary in 2010 as a student of the TK class. Currently, I am a freshman at Jesuit High School. In the future, I hope to attend a college with a good medical program such as UC Davis or Stanford. I aspire to work in the medical field so I can continue to help others and give back to my community as was modeled by the Franciscan beliefs taught at St. Francis Elementary. |
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Upcoming Events & Volunteer Corner |
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Events may be virtual, rescheduled or cancelled due to the safety of our community during Covid-19. Please refer to our website, schoolspeak, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn for up to date details.
November 5 - Our 125th Birthday
November - See's Candies Fundraiser
Dec 18 - Jan 4 - Christmas Break
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February 3 - Cultural Day
March 27 - Auction & Gala at Golden 1 Center (may be changed to virtual
May - Jog-A-Thon
May - Golf Tournament
May 28 - Last Day of School for 2020-21
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Sowing the Seeds to the next 125 years.
We are lucky enough to have enjoyed a 125 year history and been home to thousands of students. We would love to continue to build our St. Francis community and inspire, love and thrive together for another 125 years. Consider a donation to our 125 year campaign. Donations can be made in the amounts of $125, $100, $25 or $5 towards our 125th birthday.
Money donated will go towards building an endowment, which will help educate St. Francis of Assisi students for years to come.
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In honor of our 125th year, we are selling engraved bricks. Each brick will have the 125th year logo engraved on it and a message of your choice (4 lines of text - 10 characters per line).
Each brick costs $125 and proceeds go towards sowing the seeds to our next 125yrs through building an endowment.
Bricks will be installed in the St. Francis of Assisi Elementary garden during the summer of 2021.
Please go through the link to fill out an application form and pay online through greater giving.
All bricks will be capitalized and text will be centralized. No symbols and every space, punctuation and letter is counted as a character.
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