Dear Academy Families,

Next Tuesday, we celebrate All Saints’ Day. Our 2nd Grade Saints will be leading us in our All Saints Day mass on Tuesday 11/1 at 10 am.  Each of us has our favorite Saint, who: we pray to, we model in life, and we look to for support and guidance. 

Saints’ lives show us how to live our faith. They show us what God can accomplish through frail humanity. They provide tangible lessons on being a Catholic and inspire us to live our faith more fully. 

We possess the attributes of saints in so many ways. What can we learn from the lives of the saints? ... Saints are simply ordinary people who lived in the midst of difficulties, uncertainty, and suffering. Despite these circumstances, they made extraordinary choices to put their faith into action. Their lives can teach us to do the same. 

 Important life lessons that we can learn from the Saints: 

• How true joy comes not from earthly status, but from following Christ, like St. Francis of Assisi; 

• How God answers our prayers, but often in a way demanding our patience; 

• Like Mary Magdalene, how no one is beyond the power of the grace of God; 

• How we can worship God and grow in holiness through both work and prayer, sometimes combined; 

• How, through charity and prayer, impossible situations can be transformed and family members converted; 

• How we may be called upon to endure great sufferings – but if so, God will always sustain us. 

 May the Saints in heaven inspire us this week! Please see below some reminders of the upcoming weeks ahead at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy. This weekend is sure to be an eventful one. 

Orange and Black Dress Down Day: On Monday 10/31 all students will be able to dress down in Orange and Black or their favorite Halloween shirt. Just a reminder that students cannot wear costumes. 

Franny Fun Run: The Academy Family Association is proud to announce the third annual 2022 Franny Fun Run/Walk scheduled for Saturday, October 29th, 2022.  The run/walk will take place on Rockaway Beach Boulevard from Beach 129th to Beach 139th Street and back.  Smaller courses will be set up for the younger classes.  

 The schedule of events on October 29th includes: 

• 10:15 AM: Registration Begins in the School Yard - All Participants should arrive early to check in and pick up their race bibs. (Registration closes at 10:50 AM) 

• 11:00 AM: Mini Race (Run or Walk) for Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten students 

• 11:15 AM: One Mile (Run or Walk) for Students in Grades 1-8 

• 12:00-1:00 PM Post Celebration Pizza Party in the SFDS Schoolyard 

 *** Please Note: All participants must be accompanied by at least one parent/guardian in the schoolyard. We hope all students will join us for the event. We encourage you to invite your family and friends to line the race course to cheer on our runners/walkers. 

Our challenge of $60,000 in donations is attainable if everyone can do their part. We are just over $52,000. If you did not receive your link via email, please search your student’s page here: https://independent.pledgebrite.org/fund/frannyrun22

 Picture Day: Individual picture day will take place, on Tuesday 11/1 for Nursery-Kindergarten and on Thursday 11/3 for our 1st through 7th graders. All those students who are getting pictures may remain in their school uniform or dress up for their pictures. Please remind your child that dressing up for pictures is very different than dressing down. All those students who are not getting pictures taken are to be in their full school uniform. If your child has gym on picture day please have them wear sneakers if they are dressing up or bring a change of shoes so they can participate in gym.  

Families with students in Grades N-7 please use the following order form to purchase photos: https://fs24.formsite.com/orderforms/gkpmrp8gkz/index.html

Just a reminder that class photos for all students will take place on Wednesday, November 9th. Please note that individual photos for the 8th grade will take place after Thanksgiving on November 29th. A separate order form will be sent home closer to their picture day. 

Happy Halloween!: We hope you have a fun and safe time Trick or Treating with your children. Please remind our older students about the importance of respecting everyone’s property and making safe decisions on Halloween. Please keep in mind to always check the Halloween candy you give your kids to make sure it is okay for them to eat. There has been a nationwide surge in products that are candy-like and contain cannabis. Please be on the lookout to help keep all our children safe. 

Allergies: This week, Halloween celebrations and candy will no doubt be abundant. With this fun and exciting time comes a significant safety concern for many students in our school building. It is important that there is strict avoidance of this food (peanut or nut-containing products) in order to prevent a life-threatening allergic reaction. We are asking for your help to provide the student with a safe school environment. Any exposure to peanuts/nuts may cause a life-threatening allergic reaction that requires emergency medical treatment.

To reduce the chance of this occurring, we are asking that you do not send any peanut or nut-containing products to school with your child. If your child has eaten peanuts/nuts before coming to school, please be sure your child’s hands and face have been thoroughly washed before entering the school. We appreciate your support of these procedures.

AFA Meeting: The Academy Family Association Executive Board is having its first general meeting on Tuesday 11/8 at 7pm in the gym. The executive board will be having a brief general meeting, followed by a presentation on Navigating Life in the Digital Age by Ben Tracy. Mr. Tracy will be speaking to our 6th-8th grade students earlier that day.   

Ben Tracy is a leading keynote speaker on digital citizenship, online safety and responsible social media use. The presentations are rooted in the experience of someone who learned the hard way how comments made online – even as a teen – can alter your life forever. Social media posts not only caused Ben to be fired from a high-profile government job, but landed his face on the cover of one of America’s largest newspapers. Needless to say, Mr. Tracy learned firsthand how important your online reputation is in the digital age. Since then, Ben has made it his mission to make sure young adults don’t repeat his mistakes by taking his message to high schools and colleges across the country. Ben has shared his story with more than 250,000 students, parents, and educators. In addition to his personal story, Mr. Tracy discusses cyberbullying, inappropriate photos, identifying and reporting online predators, and how social media impacts mental health. He challenges students to build a school culture that is respectful, kind, and inclusive for all students.

We really hope that each family has one representative join us on the 8th. 

 Fall Book Fair Thanks: Another wonderful Book Fair has come to a close here at St. Francis de Sales. A very special thank you to Rita Martin and Jennifer Sullivan and all of the fantastic volunteers for their hard work in setting up and running the event for the last three days.

Yearbook Order Form: If you would like to order a school yearbook, (delivery in June) please fill out the following form. After you submit your order you will be charged on your FACTS account during the month of November. 

Payment is expected within 20 days of posting. 

The completed form(s) is  due by Tuesday, November 1st. We have to send in our yearly order soon so there will be no orders accepted after this date.

The yearbook is a nice way to remember the school year, since each class has an individual page.

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. 

To order tickets for this raffle please click below

https://www.footballsweeps.com/purchase/checkout/org/StFranci_6_2022?fbclid=IwAR3h7Cb8i4IbP86h0Hyr3otZrAC5ri6Ybxp1Ph6fHg-54gK_cxRuu_L9oW4

SAVE THE DATE

Kindergarten and Grade 1 Family Mass: St. Francis de Sales Parish would like to welcome EVERYONE to their first monthly Family Mass of the  2022/2023 Academic Year at 10:00AM on Sunday, November 6th.  Each month they will have specific grades participate in the liturgy. For November, we extend an extra warm welcome to the children of the parish in Kindergarten and First Grade. 

School Closed for Professional Development on November 10th:  Just a reminder that Thursday, November 10th is a scheduled day off for students. This is then followed with the school being closed on Friday, November 11th for Veterans Day. Enjoy the 4-day Fall weekend! 

AFA Mass of Thanksgiving: The Academy Family Association would like to invite all parents and guardians to attend a Mass of Thanksgiving on Wednesday 11/17 at 7pm at St. Francis de Sales Church.  We hope that many parents and guardians will be able to attend. 

Little Sisters of the Poor Drive: St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy is sponsoring a Thanksgiving Drive for the Queen of Peace Residence for the elderly poor starting on 11/2. Each year we ask classes to bring in assigned personal and food items, which are requested by the Little Sisters of the Poor who care for the residents. If you feel you can donate one or more of the requested items please send it to school no later than Friday, November 18th.

8th Grade

• Shampoo

• Baby Wipes

7th Grade

• mouthwash 

•  liquid hand soap

 6th Grade

• deodorant (roll-on, solid or gel – no spray)

• Body wash

5th Grade 

•  toothpaste

•  bar soap.  (Dove, Lever or Olay)

4th Grade 

• Cake mixes 

3rd Grade

• Canned fruit

• Canned Juice

2nd Grade

• Dry cereals ( NO sugar)

• Oatmeal

1st Grade 

• Soups

• Canned fish (tuna or salmon)

Kindergarten

• Coffee 

• Tea

PreK

• Facial tissue

• Toilet tissue

Nursery

Paper towels

Have a great weekend.