Dear Academy Families,

 This Sunday, we celebrate Catechetical Sunday. This is the day that we recognize those who serve in the official role of catechist to children, youth, and adults. In our school, we have approximately 40 individuals who have said yes to the call to help young people encounter Christ and grow in their Catholic faith through religious education. There are many more who teach in Catholic schools, lead adult faith formation programs and preparation for marriage and baptism, and prepare adults for the Rite of Christian Initiation. We are grateful for their service and commitment to the people of God.

As the weather changes, next week let me say Happy Fall! We are pleased to report that our students have joyfully embraced the rhythms of a productive and engaging school day in our school. A special thank you to all who came out the past few nights for our Back to School Nights. For those who were not able to join us please click here for all the handouts that were discussed by the teachers.  

Please see below a few updates for the next few days and some reminders.

DeSales 115- Strategic Plan: During the 2021-22 academic year the St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy Administration and Board of Trustees embarked on the process of developing a Strategic Plan for our Academy. The purpose of this plan is to ensure the legacy, history of, and success of our students for years to come. Through an extensive evaluation of the current environment of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy, we have developed goals and objectives that we feel address both the areas of opportunity and growth as well as the evolution of Catholic education.

The goals and objectives found within this Strategic Plan are designed to assist us in continuing our emphasis on providing a faith-filled, challenging educational environment across all grade levels that establishes a solid foundation for each and every child’s future success. 

We would especially like to say thank you to the members of the Strategic Planning Committee for their commitment and dedication to the successful completion of this project. 

Strategic Plan Chairperson: Mrs. Maureen Hayes

Strategic Planning Steering Committee Members

• Mrs. Patricia Attanasio
• Mrs. Lorraine Agoglia
• Rev. Jeremy Canna
• Ms. Danielle Farragher
• Mrs. Danielle Gannon
• Mrs. AnneMarie Greene
• Mrs. Lisa Hayden
• Mrs. Theresa Johnson
• Mrs. Marguerite Kazalski
• Mr. Desi McGowan
• Mr. Peter Mullen
• Ms. Nancy Re
• Dr. Christopher Scharbach
• Mr. Keith Sullivan
• Rev. William Sweeney

We ask that you take the time to review the goals and objectives within each domain. We appreciate your continued prayers for the successful implementation of this Strategic Plan. Your continued support of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy is greatly appreciated!

Catholic High School Fair: 7th and 8th Grade Students and Families are invited to St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy’s Annual Catholic High School Night on Monday, September 19th from 6pm-7:30pm. Come and meet with representatives (Students and Faculty) from various Catholic High Schools.

AFA Vice President: As mentioned in last’s week’s update the Academy Family Association executive board has an open position in the role of vice-president. The main responsibility of the vice president is to act in the absence of the President and performs other duties as assigned. We also are hoping that the vice president take on a leadership role in the newly formed Franny Friendship Committee. 

We are asking that anyone who is interested in running and serving in this position to email Dr. Scharbach by Friday 9/23/22. Please note to qualify for an officer your child(ren) must have attended St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy for at least one full school year. Dr. Scharbach will contact the candidates no later than the week of 9/26/22 and explains the duties, and determine their willingness to serve. The school will develop a slate of at least two candidates for the position if possible and have an election no later than the week of 10/3/22. 

Lockdown Drill: This Wednesday we will be having our first Lockdown Drill of the year. Our teachers have been and will be reviewing procedures and the purpose of these important drills with your children. You might consider setting aside a few moments this weekend to discuss the serious nature of these drills. 

School Yard/Parking Lot: As discussed a few different times last year, we are asking all parents to please watch their children in the schoolyard after they have been dismissed from school. In the past, we have had several instances of children on scooters riding into other children. There should be no bike riding or scooter riding in the schoolyard until after all classes have been dismissed. In the past, we’ve also had issues with families parking their cars in the lot. Please understand that we use the schoolyard for recess and dismissal, so if you could please try to find street parking, that would be very much appreciated.

Bikes: Please remind your child that if he/she is riding their bike to and from school they need to lock it up on the bike racks near the small hall entrance of the school.  The school cannot be responsible for bikes that go missing especially if they are not locked up each day. Thanks in advance for helping us out with this very simple safety measure. 

Parish Affiliation Form: There are still many families that have not returned the Parish Affiliation Form, please do this as soon as possible as we try to keep all of our records up to date. To fill out this form please click here. 

Please remember this form is necessary to keep an affiliated tuition rate

i-Ready: I am excited to share that our Kindergarten through 8th grade is continuing to implement the Mathematics and Reading program called i-Ready. The i-Ready Diagnostic that students will begin to take next week in Grades 1-8 (Week of September 19th) is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.

What can Families do to help?

To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:

•   Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast each day 
•   Try their best on each question and try not to rush
•   Try not to worry about questions to which they do not know the answers—remind them that it is expected that they will only get about half of the questions correct.
•   Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish. 

What happens next?

The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that help us as a school identify your child’s strengths and determine next steps for instruction. We look forward to sharing these results with you throughout the year and providing a learning experience that will engage your child while teaching important skills and concepts.

If you have any questions about i-Ready, please do not hesitate to contact the school. You can also learn more about i-Ready by visiting i-ReadyCentral.com/FamilyCenter.

As always, thank you for your continued support and for being a partner in your child’s learning! It is much appreciated.

Enrichment Programs: We are delighted to once again partner with our friends at Mad Science, Crayola, Abrakadoodle, and Paul Effman Band to offer various enrichment programs this upcoming school year. For more information about any of our enrichment programs please click here. If you have any questions, please send an email to Mrs. Endall at [email protected]

After School Program: We are happy to announce that starting September 19th 2022, the After School Program will begin. For more information about our after school program please click here. If you have any questions, please send an email to Mrs. Kenny at [email protected]

VIRTUS Training: St. Francis de Sales will be hosting two VIRTUS training sessions onsite on Monday 9/26 at 7pm (CLOSED OUT DUE TO SPACE) and on Monday 10/24 at 7pm. Both sessions will take place in the Small Hall. You can sign up for The 10/24 session or any session in the Diocese of Brooklyn by clicking here.

SFDS Parish Oktoberfest: St. Francis de Sales Parish will once again be hosting their Oktoberfest event in the schoolyard on Friday, September 30th.  Admission includes live entertainment,  German food, and beverages.  Entry is limited to guests 21 and older.  Event tickets are $85 each and can be purchased directly on the following website: https://ticketstripe.com/SFDS_Oktoberfest   The event sold out last time.  Please get your tickets early.  It should be a fun night for all.  Thank You

Fundraising Corner

Football Frenzy: Football Frenzy is a fundraiser sponsored by St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy. All proceeds directly support the activities of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy. The fundraiser is based on the 2022-2023 NFL football season with a donation of $20 per ticket. Each ticket includes a different set of three NFL teams each week of the regular season, with a chance of winning cash prizes each week. For more information on this raffle please click here.

To order tickets for this raffle please click here.

Amazon Smile: AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support St. Francis DeSales Catholic Academy 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 a portion of the purchase price to our Academy.

To shop at AmazonSmile, go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile. Good news! AmazonSmile is now available in the Amazon Shopping App to all AmazonSmile customers using supported Android devices. You can use the below copy and instructions to share the news with your supporters!

Any questions regarding any of the above fundraisers please contact Mrs. Hayden at l[email protected]

SAVE THE DATE

Upcoming ½ Day: For planning purposes, Friday 10/7 will be a half day with 12-noon dismissal for all students due to our afternoon faculty meeting.

 Just a reminder that Friday, October 14th, 2022 is the last day that students are allowed to wear their summer uniforms. Starting on Monday October 17th students need to be in complete winter uniform. For the full uniform policy please click here. Please email Mrs. Hayes at [email protected] with any questions. 

Have a great weekend. We will see everyone on Monday!