March 15, 2024
SFDS Update #26 2024 (Week of March 18th 2024)
Dear Academy Community,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
It’s hard to believe that we are officially in Trimester 3 next week. The year continues to fly by! On Wednesday, March 20th report cards will be sent via email at about 3 pm. Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March 21st in person from 12:45-2:45 for our afternoon session and from 6:00-7:30 for our evening session. To sign up for conferences please click below.
Report Card Conferences Sign Up
We will assume that families who do not sign up by the 3/18/24 deadline are not coming to either session. You will not be able to confer with your child’s teacher that afternoon or evening.
Just a reminder that Thursday 3/21 is a ½ day with a 12-noon dismissal.
The AFA will be selling Tickets for the Tuition Raffle, Class Prizes as well as a Grand Prize for $2,500 to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii for the Card Party in the main lobby during report card conferences on Thursday, March 21st. Cash or check will be accepted.
Speaking of the Card Party, just a reminder that tickets will be going on sale for this year's Card Party this Wednesday, on March 20th at 12:00PM. Tickets sold out within minutes last year. We will be texting all Academy families the link to purchase tickets at 11:30 AM on March 20th.
Onto some updates for the days ahead….
Dress Down Day Changed: Originally on the calendar this Thursday 3/21 was to be a dress down day where students would be encouraged to wear mismatched socks or crazy socks for $1 to Rock your Socks for Down Syndrome Awareness. Due to the fact we are still in colder weather and not wearing shorts that day has been moved to Monday, May 6th (The first day of summer uniform!)
NYC Yellow School Bus App: The DOE Caregiver App is part of the OPT Modernization efforts that will provide families, schools, and administrators with the real-time location of a child’s school bus. New York City Student App (NYCSA) access will allow parents to see their child's transportation services and access the new NYCPS Caregiver App (Available in the Apple or Google Play store). Eligible parents/guardians must create or update their NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) https://www.schoolsaccount.nyc/ to access the Caregiver App, the NYCSA username and password will be used for both applications. Please note you must use the email address that is linked to OPT. If this email needs to be changed please let the main office know. Please note it will take 2-3 business days for the change to go into effect.
Next week all students who are registered to use the NYC Yellow Bus Service will be getting the form below with their student ID numbers and Account Creation Code so families can take advantage of using this App. Any questions or issues please email Mrs. Kenny at [email protected]
SFDS Parish Family Mass and Easter Egg Hunt:
Sign Up Today
https://forms.gle/xxXAhZS9JWtnmrQ89
2024 St. Jude Math-A-Thon:
The St. Jude Math-A-Thon is a school-based fundraiser that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. St. Jude treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Parents of these children cannot afford to pay for treatments. With the donations raised from St. Jude Math-A-Thon, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food.
In previous years St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy has been identified as one of the top 100 schools that have raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude has personally thanked our school for our commitment to the Math-A-Thon fundraiser to help save kids regardless of their financial situation. This summer St. Jude’s hosted Mrs. Foti, our Math-a-thon Coordinator, in Tennessee so she could see first-hand the great work that St. Jude’s does.
St. Francis de Sales raises thousands of dollars each year to help the children of St. Jude. The official last day of the fundraiser will be Friday, March 22nd 2024.
Students and parents may utilize the following link on their social media sites (e.g., Instagram, Facebook), to help fundraise online. Online donations can be made and linked directly to St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy using the link below:
https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Math/Math?pg=entry&fr_id=145897©_link_share
Please print out a copy of your team page after a donation is made and send it in to your child’s homeroom teacher in Grades N-4, Mrs. Fountaine (Grades 5-6) , and Mrs. Foti (Grades 7-8). All students who participate in the Math-a-thon will receive a dress-down ticket to be used in the months of May/June.
If you have any questions about the St. Jude’s Math-A-Thon, feel free to email Mrs. Foti at [email protected]. With the support of our students and school community we are hopeful that this will be a successful event. We hope that we can count on you! Thank you.
ELA Science, and Math State Exams: When we return from Easter Recess, the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) (Grades 4,6, and 7) Science (Grades 5 and 8) and Mathematics (Grades 4,6, and 7) Tests will be administered to students .The computer-based test will have the same questions as the paper version but students will take the test on their Chromebooks. Below you will find a summary of the changes that were made to the English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests over the past few years.
Fewer testing sessions. Four years ago, the ELA and Math Tests were reduced from three test sessions per subject to only two sessions per subject, meaning each subject will have two days of testing instead of three. With fewer test sessions, each test will have fewer questions than in past years, lessening test fatigue for students and better enabling them to demonstrate what they know and are able to do.
The tests continue to be untimed so students who are still working on their exams will be allowed to continue to work, within the confines of the regular school day.
Test questions reviewed and written by New York State Teachers. Hundreds of New York State educators were involved in creating and reviewing questions for the 2024 ELA and Math Tests and selecting the questions for the test forms.
Family Survey: To improve system practices, Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will be conducting a few surveys over the next 8-10 weeks. We value your opinion and ask that you take the time to complete these surveys.
The first survey we are opening up is the Catholic Identity Defining Characteristics Parent and Community Survey. This survey measures Catholic school effectiveness in relation to the (nine) Defining Characteristics of Effective Catholic Schools that define the Catholic character schools. We appreciate your time and your responses. Please note that the responses from these surveys are helpful for the academy to make decisions for the future. Thanks again.
In order to complete the survey, please click below:
This survey will be open for three weeks from 3/15 until 4/5. Please be assured that your responses to this survey will be anonymous. Your honest opinion is appreciated. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Babysitting Night: The Graduating Class of 2024 will be organizing a fun night for our Kindergarten through 3rd-grade students. This SFDSCA 8th Grade Babysitting Night allows you to enjoy two and a half hours kid-free on Friday, April 12th 2024, from 6 pm-8:30 pm. Open to our students Kindergarten- 3rd grade. This opportunity is open to SFDSCA families ONLY.
Your children will be supervised by school staff, 8th-grade students, and 8th-grade parent volunteers (VIRTUS trained). Children will be treated to a movie, games, crafts, and organized sports and activities. We will provide the children with a snack (drinks and chips, etc.). Please be sure your child has dinner prior to coming.
The fee is $20 for the first child and for each additional child is $5. Please submit the form below and send in payment separately to the main office. in an envelope marked “8th Grade Babysitting Night”.
Babysitting Night Registration Form
Please RSVP BY April 8th. We cannot accept registration after the 8th for planning reasons. You will NOT be able to register the night of the event.
Financial Aid for the 2024-2025 School Year: Futures in Education is proud to provide partial tuition assistance for families demonstrating financial need, and who meet eligibility requirements, to attend a Catholic Academy or school in Brooklyn or Queens. We are also a proud partner with the Children's Scholarship Fund, which administers the Teddy J. Forstmann and Bishop’s Scholarship programs.
Families requesting tuition assistance must complete a financial aid application with Futures in Education through our third-party vendor, FACTS AND submit supporting documentation, which will be used to verify all application responses.
When is the deadline?
March 31, 2024 – Returning Families who received an award in the previous academic year.
April 30, 2024 – New families (students who did not receive an award in the previous academic year).
https://futuresineducation.org/scholarships/?fbclid=IwAR2bz53-G4BmJirWc_yJW-pGEjPdwYX8QpfuptWgjAkQCLDezGEsOERK8_E
SAVE THE DATES
Easter Recess: This year St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy breaks for Easter Recess starting on Wednesday, March 27th and returns from break on Monday, April 8th.
Class of 2025 High School Process Meeting: We would like to invite all Grade 7 parents to a short yet we feel important meeting about the high school process for next Fall. We have learned many different aspects of the ever-changing process these past few months and we think it is important for all parents to hear before the spring when families begin to finalize their three choices. This meeting will take place on Monday, April 8th at 7 pm via Zoom (See invite below). We hope you can make it.
Saint Francis de Sales is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Grade 7 Parent Meeting (High School Process)
Time: Apr 8, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81854824531?pwd=UXpqaWZMYzZLREJVRCt0eW5PTTFLZz09
Meeting ID: 818 5482 4531
Passcode: A2y31E
Sweetheart Dance: Please save the date for Friday, April 26th (6:30pm-8pm) for this year’s Sweetheart Dance. This will be an opportunity for the girls of our school to have their Sweetheart (Dad, Uncle, Grandfather, etc) join them for a special night out.
Summer Uniform: Starting on Monday, May 6th students can begin to wear their summer uniforms. This is just a reminder if anyone needs to purchase summer uniforms you should think of ordering them soon.
Golf and Tennis Outing: Please save the date of Friday, May 31st for our annual Msgr. Geraghty golf and tennis outing. This is a great day to get out on the course and courts to support our great Academy. Additional details are forthcoming.
Have a great weekend!