Dear Academy Families,

Over the past week many classes began preparing for the closing of Lent and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection through special prayer services, praying the Stations of the Cross and lessons getting them ready for Holy Week. 

Let’s hope the frigid temperatures are gone for good as we move into the last week in March. I know we are all ready for sun shining days! We had another successful Parent Teacher Conference Day/Night this week. Thanks to all families for coming in to discuss your children’s great successes thus far. We look forward to a wonderful third trimester as we begin to wind down the 2022-2023 school year. 

Onto another busy week at the Academy…..

Card Party: Saturday is the night. Our Annual Card Party is finally here.  Thank you to our donors. Doors open at 6:00PM on Saturday.  A special thank you to all of our volunteers and Card Party Chairs who help make this event a success each and every year. 

Babysitting Night: The Graduating Class of 2023 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, March 31, 2023 from  6 pm-8:30 pm. Open to kids 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 and send in payment separately to the main office. in an envelope marked “8th Grade Babysitting Night”.

Babysitting Night Registration Form

Please RSVP BY March 27th. We cannot accept registration after the 27th for planning reasons. You will NOT be able to register the night of the event.

Chicken Finger Days: This week we have our monthly chicken finger days for Grades 1-8. On Tuesday 3/28 Grade 1-4 will have their Chicken Finger Day. On Wednesday 3/29 Grades 5-6 will have their Chicken Finger Day.  Please note that the Chicken Finger day for Grades 7 and 8 which was planned for Wednesday 3/29 will now be moved to Thursday 3/30 due to their retreat day on 3/29. Any questions please reach out to us at [email protected]

Easter Egg Hunt: St. Francis de Sales Parish and St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will be sponsoring an Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday April 2nd 2023 in the Parish Prayer Garden and Academy Gym.

The event will run from 2pm until 4pm with staggered start times (see below) for Grade levels (Nursery-Grade 2) 

To register your child for this event please complete the form found by clicking below.

Easter Egg Hunt Registration Form

Also there is a call for 6th and 7th grade students to volunteer at the SFDS Easter Egg Hunt Sunday, April 2, 2023 from 1:30pm-4:30pm.

Time volunteered can count as service hours for St. Vincent de Paul Service Hours or NJHS service hours. All volunteers are expected to help with clean up.

Please submit this form on behalf of your child if they are interested  no later than Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Easter Egg Hunt Volunteer Form

Absence Notes: Just a reminder as we continue into the third trimester, please make sure that you are sending your child(ren) in with a written absence note/doctor’s note when they return to school after being out sick. If your child is on a Buddy Day, documentation from the school visited is required. Calling the main office to let us know is great, but a paper trail of sorts is also required by law. 

ELA and Math State Exams: When we return from Easter Recess, the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) (April 19th and 20th) and Mathematics Tests will be administered to students. We will continue Computer-Based Testing for grades 6 and 7 this year, while 4th grade will continue to take paper-based tests. 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 2023 ELA and Math Tests and selecting the questions for the test forms.

Financial Aid for the 2023-2024 School Year: Futures in Education is proud to administer several scholarship programs, providing partial tuition assistance for families demonstrating financial need, and who meet eligibility requirements, to attend a Catholic academy or school in Brooklyn or Queens. To apply or get more information please click the link below. 

Financial Aid Information

Just a reminder that the deadline for returning families who received an award in the previous academic year is March 31st 2023. The deadline for new families (students who did not receive an award in the previous academic year) is April 30th, 2023. Applications will only be considered completed when all required supporting documents have been submitted.  Awards will begin with applications that were completed by the deadline and will continue on a rolling basis as available funding allows.

Haircuts: Just a reminder from our Family Handbook: 

Both boys and girls are to have moderate, neat hairstyles. Boys may not have hair covering their ears. Neither boys nor girls may dye their hair. Avoid extremes in hairstyles. A moderate crew cut is acceptable. Lines, designs engraved in hair, Mohawk styles, or dyed hair is not permitted. Extreme contrasts in length of hair are not acceptable. If a student or parent has any questions about the hair code, they should speak to the school before getting a hair cut/styled. If there is a question concerning hairstyles, the decision will be up to the administrations discretion.

Family Survey: In an effort to improve system practices, Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will be conducting two surveys over the next four 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 from 3/9 until 3/30. 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.

SAVE THE DATE 

Easter Recess: This year St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy breaks for Easter Recess starting on Wednesday, April 5th and returns from break on Monday, April 17th. 

Sweetheart Dance: Please save the date for Friday, April 21st (6:30pm-8:30pm) 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.  We will be in touch in early April looking for volunteers for this event.  Thank you in advance for your support.

Summer Uniform:  Starting on Monday, May 8th 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 19th for our annual golf and tennis outing.  This is a great day to get out on the course and courts to support our great Academy. Additional details will be sent out early next week. 

Have a great weekend and Good Luck at the Card Party!