Dear Academy Community, 

First off we hope everyone had a healthy and happy Easter. The days of Lent and the winter weather are now gone and we look forward to warmer days and the new life that the Risen Lord has brought us. We want to wish best of wishes and congratulations to many of our 8th graders. On Wednesday April 10th many members of St. Francis de Sales Grade 8 will be blessed by the Holy Spirit at Blessed Trinity Parish for the Sacrament of Confirmation. May the gifts of the Holy Spirit be with our 8th grade and lead them to be the future leaders of the church. God Bless! 

See below some issues and topics that will help all be successful during the week of April 7th. 

Onto some updates for the days ahead….

ELA Science, and Math State Exams: When we return from Easter Recess, the New York State English Language Arts will be administered to students in Grades 4, 6, and 7 on Wednesday 4/10 and Thursday 4/11. All students will be taking these exams on their chromebooks. The computer-based test will have the same questions as the paper version. Please make sure that your child in those grade levels gets a good night sleep, eats a good breakfast, and comes to school ready for testing. Just a reminder that the following Thursday 4/18 our 5th and 8th graders will be taking the New York State Science Exam. 

Dress Down 4/12/24 (Autism Awareness Month): April is National Autism Awareness Month The first National Autism Awareness Month was declared by the Autism Society in April 1970. The aim of this month is to educate the public about autism. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 54 children in the United States today. Join us in learning about autism and increasing our empathy for others.

Friday 4/12 is a $1 dress down day. Students are asked to wear Blue shirts for Autism Awareness Month. All proceeds will be donated to the Brooklyn Autism Center. BAC is non-profit organization that has been providing high-quality education to individuals with autism since 2007. The Brooklyn Autism Center runs a full day, twelve-month program for children 5-21 years of age utilizing evidence based practices. The school creates a community that embraces the unique abilities of each student and provides solutions and support giving them the opportunity to learn, contribute and live life to their full potential.

SFDS Family Mass: This Sunday, April 7th, St. Francis de Sales Parish will be having their monthly Family Mass at 10:00AM.  Volunteer opportunities are available to children in all grades, as we look to fill the following roles: Greeters before Mass, Children to read the First and Second Readings (Lectors) as well as  Children to read the Prayers of the Faithful Petitions, Children to bring up the Offertory Gifts and Distribute Bulletins before Mass.

If your child would like to participate in the Family Mass in any role, please complete the following form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0seHJGLPThNsSKOt3VuV-RMIHQ6wATdNzKm9UiVyyd19SqQ/viewform

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.

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

2024 St. Jude Math-A-Thon:

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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. 

St. Francis de Sales raises thousands of dollars each year to help the children of St. Jude.We kicked off our fundraiser this  week, by sending home permission slips and sponsor forms.  All students who return their permission slip by Friday, March 8th will receive their Math-A-Thon booklet starting on Monday, March 11th, which students will use to collect donations from family and friends.

The official last day of the fundraiser will be Friday, April 12th 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&copy_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.

Family Survey: In an effort to improve system practices, Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will be conducting a few surveys over the next 6-8 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:

Catholic Identity Survey

This survey will be open for three weeks until April 5th. 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.

NO NYC Yellow Bus Service: Please note due to the NYC public school calendar being different from our school calendar this school year we had to choose 5 days not to have NYC Yellow Bus Service. We choose the first three days of the school year and Monday April 29th and Tuesday April 30th. Please note there is no NYC Yellow bus service on 4/29 and 4/30. Families who use the bus are asked to make other arrangements for transportation to and from school. 

NYC Yellow School Bus App: Speaking of NYC Yellow Bus Service please note the DOE Caregiver App is part of the OPT Modernization efforts that will provide families, schools, and administrators with the real-time location of the 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 in effect.

When we return from Easter Recess all students who are registered to use the NYC Yellow Bus Service will be getting the form below so families can take advantage of using this App.   Any questions or issues please email Mrs. Kenny at [email protected]

Calling All Alumni: As valued members of our school community, we want to keep our alumni updated on the amazing work being accomplished by students, staff, and alumni like you. If you graduated from St. Francis de Sales please complete the form below so we can keep in touch!

https://stfrancisacademybh.org/alumni/

Alumni: Please share this on your own pages to help spread the word.

SAVE THE DATES

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 after Easter. 

Glad to see everyone back in school on Monday 4/8.