The Knight Light - October 2026
What a wonderful start to the school year for our littlest Knights! On the first day of school, our courtyard was filled with excited little faces, proud parents, grandparents, siblings, and plenty of hugs! It didn't take long for those first-day butterflies to turn into big smiles, new friendships, and lots of excitement for the adventures ahead. Now, each morning brings happy hellos, eager learners, and little voices ready to share something new!
Our Kindergarten students have been growing in their faith through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) program. Inspired by the teachings of Maria Montessori and rooted in Scripture and the traditions of the Catholic Church, this beautiful program allows our little learners to discover God's love in a peaceful, hands-on environment. As they enter the Atrium, the children learn to slow down, listen, wonder, and explore their faith through meaningful activities. It's a special time for their little hearts to grow closer to God!
Learning to read is an exciting adventure, especially with The Superkids! Every eight to ten days, our Kindergarteners meet a fun new character and receive their very own workbook. Each character brings a new personality, story, and learning experience that helps our students build important reading skills. From recognizing letters and sounds to discovering the joy of words, our little Superkids are taking big steps toward becoming confident readers!
Our Kindergarten classrooms have been buzzing with curious minds and busy little hands! In Math, students have been exploring numbers, discovering how they work together, and finding different ways to count and represent them. In Science, our budding scientists learned all about pushes and pulls! They wrapped up their unit with hands-on fun, creating pinwheels and airplanes to see these forces in action. There is nothing quite like learning through play, exploration, and a little kindergarten creativity!
During our first five weeks of school, we introduced our Student Learning Expectations and talked about what it means to be a St. Francis de Sales Knight. Through stories, conversations, and everyday classroom experiences, our little learners are discovering how to grow as faith-filled Catholics, lifelong learners, effective communicators, responsible citizens, and caring members of our world. Big lessons for little hearts!
On September 8th, our Kindergarten students celebrated a very special birthday: our Blessed Mother's! With sweet little voices, they sang "Happy Birthday" to our Mother in Heaven. We continue to learn from Mary's beautiful example of faith, love, and trust in God, reminding our students that even the smallest acts of kindness and love can make a big difference.
One of the special blessings of attending St. Francis de Sales is gathering for Mass each Friday. Our Kindergarteners are learning about the beauty and meaning of the Mass, the sacredness of the altar, and the precious gift of the Eucharist. With each passing week, their understanding and appreciation of our Catholic faith continue to blossom.
One of the sweetest moments of the school year was meeting our 8th Grade Prayer Pals! Our Kindergarteners enjoyed spending time with their new big buddies in the courtyard, getting to know the older students who will help guide and encourage them throughout the year. There were plenty of smiles and happy conversations, and our little ones are already looking forward to their next visit! These special friendships are a beautiful reminder of what makes our St. Francis family so wonderful.
Our Kindergarteners may be small, but they are already showing what it means to be a St. Francis Knight! Each day, they practice important Life Skills such as responsibility, effort, perseverance, friendship, cooperation, and respect.
Throughout August and September, our students worked hard learning and practicing their prayers. All that practice has prepared them to proudly join the rest of our school in praying a decade of the Rosary each morning during October. What a beautiful accomplishment for our littlest learners!
And of course, kindergarten wouldn't be kindergarten without recess! Whether they're running, playing, giggling, or making new friends, our students are learning some of life's biggest lessons through the simplest moments.
What a joy it is to watch these little Knights learn, laugh, pray, and grow! We can't wait to see all the wonderful things this school year has in store for them!
Students of the Month- August
Cassidy Santos and Stella Quinones
Students of the Month- September
Eliana Escobar and Marvin Nunez
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Classroom Supplies
What a wonderful first two months of school! Our First Graders have fully adjusted to the routines and expectations of being in First Grade. We are making terrific progress each day! As a new teacher at SFDS, I am deeply thankful for the warm welcome, strong support, and the wonderful community of faith here. Your families are truly special and make our classroom feel like family.
Here's What We’ Are Learning!
Reading- We love the adventures of our Superkids! We completed Chapter 3 and we are now moving to new adventures in Chapter 4. Math- We are exploring strategies to add and subtract up to 10 using ten frames, bar models, number lines, using doubles, and many other strategies. Students enjoy using concrete tools in the classroom such as our quiet counters, blocks, beads, and dice to discover and practice addition and subtraction. Science- Our science unit focuses on sound: how sounds are made and the important ways we use sound in daily life. Social Studies- We learned about John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed). Students enjoyed learning how he was kind, hardworking, and generous — and how he shared apples and a love of planting. We tasted different kinds of apples in class. The class favorite was Granny Smith! We also enjoyed apple pie and applesauce. Thank you, Johnny Appleseed! Religion- Our class attends the Atrium for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd every Monday with Mrs. Wilson. Our prayer pals from 7th grade visited for a meet-and-greet with popsicle treats — thank you to Mrs. Antos for this thoughtful gesture. The 7th graders also sat with our class at last week’s Mass. They are wonderful role models for our First Graders.
October is the month of the Holy Rosary. We will continue to celebrate this month together and pray each morning with our school community. We will be learning more about the Rosary in the upcoming week.
A special thank-you to Mrs. Banks and the Second Graders for helping our class learn how to log in to AR and use other fun apps on our iPads!
Accelerated Reading
5 or more AR points:
Caleb Garcia, Trace Hernandez, Zoey Leslie, Mac Marshall, Mateo Rodriguez, Kayen Silva, and Ezekiel Uribe
Students of the Month- August
Nova Meehan and Zoe Munoz
Students of the Month- September
Caleb Garcia and Isabella Mijangos
Scrip Purchases
Classroom Supplies
Second Grade has been blossoming since the start of school in August! We have walked into our classroom each morning with a smile on our faces, ready to learn. We are looking forward to so many new and exciting things this year!
We cannot believe that it is already October! We are truly enjoying this refreshing autumn breeze.
This time of year helps us to remember what is most important: family, friends, faith, and being thankful for the little things that we might forget. We’re excited to not only have our Halloween Prayer and Flag Ceremony, but also to participate in our first school Mass! The month of October has been a wonderful time of reflection, especially each morning as we pray for our special intentions at Rosary.
Our classroom charity, The Just One Project, was 100% funded by our students and families. Second Grade raised $520 in Amazon Gift cards to be able to help those who are in need. Mrs. Wilson helped us understand the importance of donating to our project, as part of being an Active Faith-filled Catholic. We truly appreciate seeing the need to demonstrate a spirit of service. We also used our God-given talents to create Kindness cards for The Just One Project to pass out for families!
It is fun having more independence in our work studies and being able to do more work on our own. We took our first standardized test! We “rocked” the test and showed how much we know. Our rock buddies helped us focus our attention. We enjoyed all the themed treats to keep our spirits high!
In Math, we just finished our first three chapters in addition and subtraction facts. We loved our chapter on place value and had fun creating our candy corns! Now, we are getting ready to learn about double digit addition with regrouping. We’re looking forward to more challenging math problems.
In Reading, we are working on Unit 3. We are starting our Book Club rotations and cannot wait to read together in our groups! We like to enrich our learning with the Superkids Online Fun App. Our favorite ‘game’ is Vocabulary Master and Silly Sentence Creation.
In Writing, we just finished writing and publishing our very first Jane Schaffer paragraph on our favorite Superkid. We first researched our Superkid in our readers and watched their songs to find Concrete Details. Currently, we are working on a Response to Literature paragraph about Spookley the Square Pumpkin.
In Science, we finished our very first chapter. We are really enjoying the States of Matter and the properties it all has. We have loved our STREAM lessons and learning how to sort matter according to its properties. We soon will be learning about how matter can change states physically and chemically. In our STREAM Lab, we had a contest to see who could create the longest paper chain out of one piece of construction paper. Congratulations to Layla for the longest chain at 69 inches!
In Social Studies, we just finished our first chapter in our new Social Studies book! We really enjoyed learning about maps, map skills, geography, and the types of communities we can see around the country. We paired this learning with a lot of Google image searches for communities in different parts of the world, to see what rural, suburban, and urban areas look like.
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we are learning about pinatas! We learned about the history of pinatas, how people make them, and the reason why they are used for celebrations. We also wrote about the traditions of pinatas and all the fun ways there are to fill them. With the learning we are doing, we will soon get to make our own pinatas in the STREAM Lab out of cups and tissue paper. Students will be able to take them home very soon, filled with a surprise treat!
We enjoy using our iPads in our classroom almost every day! Not only do we use them for enrichment activities like IXL, and the Superkids Online Fun App, but also for taking our check up lesson quizzes on Seesaw! Second Graders are becoming quite the 21st Century little experts!
In our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, we just reintroduced ourselves to the beautifully created Atrium and decorated our folders about God. We have worked on our Sacred History Chart, which helps us know the timeline from Creation to Redemption to Parousia. If you ask us, we can tell you that our faith has 3 moments that remember and that God has and always will be present. We have really focused on the altar articles and making sure to watch Fr. Rogelio and Fr. Lucas every Friday as they use them. We also love saying the rosary this month of October every morning with our family. We colored a life size rosary picture to help us remember that 10 Hail Mary prayers is one decade.
We appreciate our counselor, Ms. Washington, who comes in to talk to us for our conflict resolution. We love how she helps us determine what is a small problem and what is a big problem. She has introduced us to Kelso’s choices, and Kelso the frog! We know there are nine ways for us to use our talking power to solve a problem, and if we can’t, we find an adult we trust to help.
In Accelerated Reading, we are just flourishing with books! I have never seen so many students who love to read! To date, we have taken and passed 276 quizzes! We awarded some students with AR awards:
Accelerated Reading
Independent Readers: Layla Cabanillas, Nora Caruolo, David Feesago-Torres, Zoey Lacson, Anya Mack, Princeton Marstellar, Antonio Martinez, and Ashley St. James
Super Readers: Max Ibarra, Aspen Pascual, and Brennen Soriano
Students of the Month- August
Nora Caruolo and Brennen Soriano
Students of the Month- September
Layla Cabanillas and David Fessago-Torres
Scrip Purchases
Classroom Supplies
The Third-Grade class has been consistently working hard since the first day of school! The students have been showing effort and patience as they have been learning new words, skills and concepts within the curriculum. We are showing cooperation in class as we work together toward our common goals. On Patriots Day, we came together as a class to put together a cooperative art piece. Each student was given one colorless square with instructions of what to color. When the coloring was complete, we demonstrated how to be cooperative and effective communicators and put our pieces together to form one class art piece. It was challenging, but we all learned that each of us has something special to offer and when we work together, we can achieve many great things. We also learned that what is broken can be fixed if we remember to live our lives as God has intended and love one another.
We have been reviewing and implementing our Student Learning Expectations each week. We are discovering different ways to become Faith-filled Catholics, Life-Long Learners, Effective Communicators, Responsible Citizens, and Culturally-Aware/Global Citizens.
It makes us feel so special and loved to pray the Rosary each day during the month of the Holy Rosary with our SFDS family. We love our dear Blessed Mother so much. We enjoyed celebrating her birthday in September. We sang “Happy Birthday” and wrote birthday cards to her! We also enjoyed some treats to celebrate.
In Religion we continue to build our relationship with the Good Shepherd. So far, we have worked on our continued development of the understanding of the Rosary and why it is sacred. We have reviewed the Catholic family and why the Holy sacraments are so special. Additionally, we have also discussed the human family and how God shows his love to us, each and every day. It is amazing to witness the students’ curiosity of our Catholic faith and to see their passion for God and the Catholic faith grow. Students especially enjoyed learning about creation and turning what they heard into art. We also enjoyed hosting our first school Mass together.
In Math, we finished working on our rounding skills and applying them to add and subtract three-digit numbers. We are so excited to start multiplication.
In Social Studies, we have been learning about geography and students had a chance to create their own globes with balloons.
We have been enjoying our reading stories from our Journey’s text and the students just completed their very first benchmark test. They did amazing! We are starting The Cricket in Times Square.
Here is amazing news about our AR Readers.
Accelerated Reading
Independent readers (10+points):Noah Cantiberos, Alina Davey, Sebastian Joubert, Sebastian Lucero-Cervantes, Sailor Marquez, Luna Perez, Camilla Pham, Anthony Serrano, and Juliet Uribe.
Super Readers (15+ points):Callie Barnhart, Jacob Garcia, Ella Tobin.
Advanced Readers (20+ points):John Hernandez, Kasen Hernandez, and Miranda Sotuyo.
Students of the Month- August
Dahlia Loya and Liam Ramirez
Students of the Month- September
Jacob Garcia and Camilla Pham
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Classroom Supplies
We have started the year off by showing our caring and generosity towards others in a big way with our annual charity drive! We were able to raise a $1000.00 donation for Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. The generous spirit of the students’ and families’ in our class is inspiring! We see the love of God working through them! We have also been collecting ring tabs for Ronald McDonald House charities. I have already made a delivery to the home on West Sahara with a large box full of ring tabs. Keep up the good work!
In Religion we have been introduced to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd lessons with the Book of Genesis! We are looking forward to a wonderful year growing in our faith. We will continue to honor Mary, Our Blessed Mother, each day during the month of October by praying the rosary. In addition, we have been discussing our Lifeskills such as: honesty, responsibility, caring, and kindness which are so important in our daily lives.
In Reading, we started the year off with The Whipping Boy, a novel by Sid Fleischman about the true meaning of friendship. Our second novel was a Halloween tale, Bunnicula, by Deborah and James Howe. We enjoyed the antics of Chester, a cat with a case of sibling rivalry very much. Frindle, was the next novel we enjoyed together. Our main character, Nicholas Allen is full of ideas that sometimes have surprising results. In addition, our nightly reading should be filled with many wonderful stories! Please be sure everyone is reading each and every night!
In Social Studies, Fourth grade concentrates on Nevada History. We have learned many new things about the great state of Nevada. We know all the major symbols of our state along with the reasons they were chosen to represent us. We have been honing our map skills by using the compass rose, map key, and scale, and we have even learned how to use lines of longitude and latitude to locate exact locations on a map. Now we are beginning our exploration of the first people who inhabited Nevada thousands of years ago.
In Science we started the year off with some fun experiments as we learn about the human body. We began with looking at cells under microscopes, and learning how cells progress into full body systems. Next came the cardiovascular and respiratory systems before introducing the parts of the muscular skeletal systems. We discovered how they are dependent on each other to keep us alive. We made models of lungs and created paper robot fingers to illustrate how these systems work.
Finally, we made “rubber” bones by watching how vinegar depletes the bones of calcium. Now we are moving on to the digestive and nervous systems. Throughout these lessons we are discovering how important it is to keep ourselves healthy with proper nutrition and exercise so that all our body systems continue to work properly.
Math started with a review and mastery of our addition and subtraction skills, but we are now working on multiplication with double digit multiplication problems coming up soon! This math is very challenging, but we will feel a great sense of accomplishment because we used perseverance! With practice, these tough problems will become much easier. As always, practicing basic math facts using flash cards or games will help every student become more confident in their work.
Accelerated Reading
Independent Readers: Angel-Lynn Cantiberos, Vey Cohen, Eve-Marie Cretin, Brian Feesago-Torres, Ellie Freeman, Giorgio Jarrous, Atlas Pascual, Reese Porucznik, Kaliope Rosales, Reina Ruvalcaba, Caleb Vargas, Adan Wandling
Super Readers: Olivia Byrd, Violet Denton, Brayden Eugarrio, Calvin Marshall, Bella Romero
Power Readers: Makayla Bass, Zoe Espinosa, Olivia Hernandez, Daniel Stephensen
Students of the Month- August
Olivia Hernandez and Daniel Stephensen
Students of the Month- September
Brian Feesago-Torres and Kaliope RosalesScrip Purchases
Classroom Supplies
Fifth Grade has been very busy so far into the school year. We have learned a lot of information about different topics and subjects. We are also exploring ourselves as learners and determining how we learn and retain information best. We have enjoyed creating the large sunshine of blessings in our classroom and our mosaic crosses. We also enjoyed individualizing scarecrows that are hanging in our hallway. We especially enjoy locating mini replicas of Jesus and Mary throughout our classroom. We each have one to keep, reminding us to work hard each day to be more Christlike.
In math, we began the year by focusing on a review of place value into the millions. We practiced multiplying by tens as well as dividing by tens. From here, we jumped to the back of the book and spent some weeks exploring geometry, volume and the coordinate grid. In geometry we learned the hierarchy of quadrilaterals. A quadrilateral is the simplest form of a four sided polygon, where a square is the top of the hierarchy with its equal sides and ninety degree angles. In the next chapter, we learned about how to determine the volume of a rectangular prism. Lastly, we learned how to plot a point on the first quadrant of a coordinate plane. Math is so much more than just numbers.
During social studies time, we have explored how the Native Americans migrated into the North American continent. We read and researched about how they had to adapt their lifestyles based on the region in which they settled in. In some regions, they needed to build homes to stay warm, where other regions made homes that were easily moveable. In all, we researched seven different regions. Our next challenge is to begin to compare and contrast these regions.
Fifth grade has read one chapter book already and is deep into our second one. We began the year by reading “The Unteachables” by Gordon Korman. It was an exciting book. Each chapter was from a new perspective. We were able to learn a lot about the characters by seeing what was happening through their eyes. We were even able to take an Accelerated Reader test on the novel. Gordon Korman is definitely a favorite author of ours. A bonus is that he has written over 100 books. Did you know that he wrote his first book at the age of 13? He wrote the novel “This Can’t Be Happening”. Fifth grade is currently reading “Wonders”. It is extremely interesting to look at the world through the eyes of the main character, August. He has a few medical issues that make school more difficult. We are looking forward to hearing about the new friends that he will meet at his new middle school.
Science has been exploratory! We learned that there is more to science than can be seen with our eyes. We learned about items that are too small to be seen without the assistance of a microscope or hand lens. We learned about how to use properties, such as size, texture, color, solubility, and magnetism to describe and categorize objects. We played a game in the classroom just like Eye Spy, except that we had to identify properties of the objects. We also completed our first science experiment. We added salt, sugar and baking soda to water to determine if the mixture is soluble or insoluble.
In Religion, we have begun a trek through the seven Sacraments. We have learned about Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. We were able to discuss our own Baptism with our parents and have them tell us all about our Baptism. We are excited about Confirmation in our future, and being sealed with the Holy Spirit. As we learned about Eucharist, we learned that a member of our class will have her First Communion during the Easter season this school year. We just determined which Saint that we will each be researching about and preparing a presentation about. We are working on reading about our Saints, thinking about what we want to include on the presentation board, as well as how we will dress up to look just like our Saint. This upcoming month holds a lot of exciting adventures.
Fifth grade is exciting and challenging. We are continuing to work on improving our SLEs and becoming independent, lifelong, and responsible learners. Each day is a new chance to make better choices and follow Jesus. We continue to Walk in Faith towards our personal best.
Accelerated Reading
Independent Readers: Joaquin Arguelles, Olivia Granados, Cara Reyes
Super Readers: Harrison Blackwood, Fatima Diaz, Noe Lizaola, Ayana Nunez, Gabriel Salazar-Garcia, Ariana Valencia
Advanced Readers: Abel Anaya, Leonardo Cabanillas, Angel Duarte, Joshua Garcia, Amiah Hernandez, Mabel Ibarra, Gabriel Martinez, Jayden Ramos, Gavry Reyes, Emmett Soriano, Daniel St. James
Star Readers: Alexander Flagg, Johnathon Mitchell
Students of the Month- August
Harrison Blackwood and Joshua Garcia
Students of the Month- September
Abel Anaya and Mabel Ibarra
Scrip Purchases
Classroom Supplies and Bus for Field Trip
School is in full swing as the chilly winds blow,
And our buzzing classroom is bright with a glow!
We welcome six friends to our school family tree:
Noah, Lionel, Lance, Diego, Paul, and Liam, making six, you see!
Now that we’re middle schoolers, settled and strong,
We’ve built up routines where we truly belong.
We tackle new challenges, work hard every day,
And look forward to holiday cheer on the way!
We opened up science and stepped through the door,
To meet amazing creatures we’d never seen before!
Sixth grade explored every feature and trace,
And brought brand-new wonders right into our space.
Thank you, Ms. Cogan, for bringing science to life!
A highlight for us was a field trip to see Amazon’s floor,
To watch how production works behind every door.
From processing items to packing them right,
The step-by-step journey was quite a delight!
With tech, math, and teamwork all working as one,
Real-world global commerce was learned and well done!
Academic Highlights in Homeroom
Social Studies: Ancient Civilizations
We unlocked the ancient dawn in Mesopotamia’s land,
Conquered farming, cuneiform, and legal code commands!
Then we’ll charge through Egypt, down the mighty Nile’s side,
Exploring trade, the pharaohs, and the pyramids in pride!
Religion: The Old Testament
From Creation stories down to covenants divine,
We track the bond of God and man through history and line!
Though Israel stumbled into weakness and to sin,
God’s mercy, guide, and pardoning love would always win!
Accelerated Reading:
Independent 10+ : Jagger Morales, Lionel Panou
Super 15+ : Noah Contreras, Blaire Davey, Leovy Garcia, Zoey Green, Darlene Lopez,
Saul Luna, Audrianna Miranda, Delilah Uribe
Advanced 20+ : Saraiah Carambas, Kinley Ferreira, Mia Garner, Isabella Lauria, Paul Lorenzo, Nicholas Martinez, Gracie McCaleb, Kelly Medallo, Nathan Miles, Liam Ramirez, Kiani St. James
Classic 100+ :Lance Horn, Lady Arabella Santos, Erlise Saraste
Students of the Month- August
Nathan Miles and Delilah Uribe
Students of the Month- September
Nicholas Martinez and Lara Santos
Scrip Purchases
Bus for Field Trip
The Seventh grade would like to extend a warm welcome back to Saint Francis de Sales Catholic School. It seems hard to believe that we are already in October and November is just around the corner. This year is a preparation year for seventh grade as we strive to become leaders in our school. We have been given some new responsibilities this year such as raising the flag every morning, 1st grade prayer pals, and the preparation of the Stations of the Cross.
Seventh grade is looking forward to spending time with their prayer pals, at our first meet and having great conversations on getting to know each other. We are looking forward to sitting at mass together in November. We look forward to our many gatherings throughout the year.
We also have been busy reviewing thinking maps. We have been enjoying working together cohesively throughout the Jane Schaffer writing process. For example, we are currently writing on the story “Women in Aviation” and analyze the author’s purpose about women in the 1900s becoming pilots. In addition, the students also worked on a brace map in Spanish on colores.
The students have enjoyed the Arts Attack program, they completed a contour drawing of Wild Horses and colored Harvest pictures for the month of October. Stop by our hallway to admire the wonderful artwork being displayed.
Subject Happenings:
Science: Currently we are studying the individual planets, and we just learned about the different phases of the moon. We are looking forward to our very first Science Fair this year.
English: We just wrapped up our punctuation and capitalization sections and are currently on prepositions, which are the key to identifying all types of phrases. We continue to work on the Jane Schaffer writing process on a bi- weekly basis.
Religion: This year we are learning about many new interesting events in Religion. Currently, we are studying parables in the Bible. In the near future we will begin studying the women of the Bible.
Reading: This year should be an awesome year in reading. Our reading book is filled with many stories. We are also starting our Greek Mythology unit in November.
Social Studies: We are currently studying about early colonies as well as learning the map of the United States in regional areas.
Math: Is so cool but it is also going to be a challenging year. We are looking forward to learning more about Solving Expressions and Equations using integers.
Seventh grade is up for the challenge of being responsible citizens who love to learn. We look forward to a dynamic year filled with opportunities for us to grow and learn throughout the year.
Accelerated Reading:
Independent 10+ : Caleb Reyes
Super 15+ : Josiah Ramos, Kruz Uribe
Advanced 20+ : Lesly Abarca, Joshua Baylon, Montserrat Carrillo-Fierro, Rene Duarte, Gunner Ellis, Amy Estrada, Ethan Garcia, Emma Godwin, Kaydence Lauria, Leah Murguia,
Matthew Neal, Zachary Osotio, Cali Taylor, Chloe Taylor
Star 50+ : Emma Nunez, Anna Rosenberg
Students of the Month- August
Kaydence Lauria and Benjamin Saba
Students of the Month- September
Joshua Baylon and Leah MurguiaScrip Purchases
Classroom Supplies and bus for a Field Trip
The final year for the class of 2027 from St. Francis de Sales is well underway. We welcomed two new students this year, Andrew Horn and Jiovany Panou. We wish them a very successful year at St. Francis de Sales. We did some SLE license plate artwork the first week of school. It was hanging in the hallway until the month of October when we put up our Spanish summertime memories through our sunglasses. We also filled out a personal inventory of ourselves for our portfolio as well as a questionnaire as to our leadership skills.
We have been concentrating very hard on the SLEs. As leaders of the school, we want to demonstrate all the necessary qualities for leadership for the younger students. Before we know it, high school will be here, and we will be making decisions as leaders and young adults.
Eighth grade enjoyed the Welcome Back Barbeque. It is fun to see students from past years who come back to visit.
We were thrilled to meet with our Kindergarten Prayer Pals the week after Terra Nova. We made cards for them, played outside, and enjoyed popsicles with them. We are looking forward to Minion Day in October and Thanksgiving Pie Day with them.
We also had our first retreat with Mr. Blaskey. He continued to emphasize our leadership expectations and how we can influence the younger students by our actions.
Ms. Studdard’s math classes are concentrating on integers, rational numbers, exponents and one and two step equations and will soon begin irrational numbers. We reviewed extensively for Terra Nova, and we were happy to have the math section over with on Wednesday, September 16, 2026! We can tell that this year will be a very busy year in math!
In science, we are also slowly beginning to work on the Science Fair…it is not until February! We began choosing our projects, having them approved, and then starting to work on the research paper. In class, we are also studying Newton’s Laws and the laws of motion. We have also just concluded studying speed and velocity.
In social studies, we are concentrating on the different cultures within the world. We are doing a project to explain a specific culture based on our own ethnicities.
English, reading, and religion are also keeping us busy with grammar, writing, and learning the Beatitudes the significance behind them.
Spanish is always exciting with learning new verb tenses and new vocabulary. We love the videos Mrs. V plays for us in class.
Accelerated Reading:
Super 15+ : Sango Akoh, Carson Bass, Chrystina Cantiberos, Gavina Diaz-Carpenter, Eloy Espejo Dominguez, Sophia Ramirez, Chase Reyes, Sloane Saville
Advanced 20+ : Henrik Banyai, Melody Chavez, Julian Diaz, Aurora Ellis, Colton Gardiner, Natalie Guerrero, Andrew Horn, Dean Ingram, Van Kirk, Frances Leveck, Ian Lopez,
Esmeralda Luna, Marlee Marquez, Roosevelt Mee, Stella Morales, Averyana Nunez,
Terrance O’Donnell, Jiovany Panou, Rafael Ruvalcaba, Mateo Tapia-Zamora, Miguel Villegas
Classic 100+ : Brielle Angeles, Ava Cosino, Avalon Lambert, Isabel Zepeda
Students of the Month- August
Frances Leveck and Mateo Tapia-Zamora
Students of the Month- September
Natalie Guerrero and Dean Ingram
Scrip Purchases
Classroom supplies and bus for Field Trips
6th Grade Living Science
It has been an exciting start to the school year for our Living Science 6th grade class as we spent weeks exploring plant life and animal cells under microscopes! Last week we welcomed LLL Reptile and Supply to our classroom to give a hands on presentation with some scaley friends! The students enjoyed the show! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings!
7th Grade Earth Science
The 7th grade, Earth Science class has had quite a hands-on experience with learning all about matter and getting to do experiments with dry ice, learning about pressure and temperature under the Earth’s crust by cracking their own geodes, and digging for their own gemstones. Next week students will be getting up close to rocks that form the rock cycle. These amateur geologists look forward to what this school year will bring!
8th Grade Physical Science
The 8th grade Physical Science class has had an electrifying year learning about electricity, parts of an atom, using compasses to learn about position and magnetism. Students recently built simple machines out of Legos and were very proud of their creations. 8th grade are excited to begin their projects for science fair and we look forward to seeing all the creative posterboards!
We started off the year by learning about the elements of music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture, and form. We explored how these elements can be found in the music we sing every Friday at Mass. The younger students learned how to keep a steady beat through movement and simple song. They also learned the basics of xylophone and metallophone (including the glockenspiel!) and had the chance to experiment with these instruments on their own.
Our 3rd and 4th grade classes are very excited to have just started learning the recorder. We will continue to reinforce the fundamentals while learning a few easy songs. The older students are learning the basics of music notation, and 7th grade will begin their study of classical and jazz composers.
Looking ahead to December, all of our classes will start learning their music for the Christmas Program!
I would like to thank everyone for their spirited participation in the music during Mass on Fridays, especially our school choir!
It has been a very busy month with Volleyball. Our volleyball team has been playing very well this season. I am very proud of our team and how hard they have played. The Volleyball team made it to the finals and took 3rd place against St. Elizabeth. Congratulations to all players!!!
We have finished our volleyball unit. Students learned the fundamentals and the rules of volleyball on our brand-new courts. We worked on passing, offense, and defense. The lower grades also worked on the fundamentals. Our upper grades continued to reinforce their fundamentals and also play scrimmages so they could learn about the game and practice positions. Overall students worked hard in PE to get better at playing volleyball.
We had a 3rd and 4th grade soccer tournament in October. Our players practiced and did their best for the first year. They played hard in very hot weather. Next year we hope to win a trophy.
This month we begin our basketball unit. The students have been looking forward to getting started with basketball. We will work on fundamentals and work on defense offense, shooting, passing, and dribbling. Our upper grades will reinforce their basketball skills. It should be a fun unit.
We have also been training the past two months for Cross Country. We are preparing for our meet on Nov. 6th. If your child is running, please turn in waivers as soon as possible. We need a lot of runners so please encourage your child to run.
We will continue to learn the importance of good sportsmanship, and the importance of staying active and living a healthy active lifestyle. Please continue to keep your children active.
Enjoy this month of October!!
Welcome to the 2026-2027 St. Francis de Sales NJHS school year. On September 30, 2026 the following NJHS members became 2026-2027 officers:
President- Brielle Angeles
Vice-President- Frances Leveck
Historian- Natalie Guerrero
Secretary- Roosevelt Mee
Treasurer- Kaydence Lauria
Congratulations to all!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our very successful ice cream sale in early September. We are looking forward to our K-5 Pop Tart Sale on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 and 6-8 Pop Tart Sale on Thursday, October 22, 2026. We look forward to a very successful year with many tasty fundraising events!
We are excited to share the October issue of The Knight Light!
The school year is off to a busy and exciting start! With Parent-Teacher Conferences now behind us, we are already more than halfway through the first trimester. It was a pleasure meeting with each of you to discuss your child’s progress. These conferences serve as our first “official” opportunity to discuss academic performance, and we truly appreciate the time spent connecting with our families.
We believe that strong communication between home and school is the foundation of student success. When you share what is happening at home and how it may affect your child at school, it allows us to better understand their needs and provide the support and flexibility they may require. In turn, we are committed to keeping you informed about what is happening in our classrooms and throughout our school community. This partnership between parents, teachers, and students plays an essential role in making each school year a successful one.
Parish Festival News
A heartfelt thank you to all our wonderful parents for sharing your time, talents, and generosity to help make this year’s Parish Festival such a great success! Your willingness to lend a hand and support our school and parish community never goes unnoticed. We are truly grateful for all that you do!
Student Council Events
Student Council is excited to host our annual Black and Orange Free Dress Day and Pumpkin Decorating Contest on Thursday, October 29th! We can't wait to see all the creative, spooky, and silly pumpkin designs our students come up with. Fun prizes will be awarded to our winners!
Trunk or Treat – October 29th
Mark your calendars for our Sixth Annual Trunk or Treat! We are looking forward to another fun-filled afternoon as students go from trunk to trunk collecting candy in a festive and safe environment. We can't wait to see the creativity our families bring to their decorated trunks! Be sure to keep an eye out for photos of all the fun!
Day of the Dead – November 1st
We look forward to seeing the beautiful and meaningful ofrendas created by our families as we continue our school's Día de los Muertos tradition. This special celebration gives us an opportunity to honor and remember loved ones who have passed away. Thank you for helping us preserve this meaningful tradition within our school community! Please remember that all ofrendas are due Thursday, October 29th.
Scrip Program Update
Thank you for your continued support of our Scrip program! Your participation makes a meaningful difference, helping to fund Staff Development, our Welcome Back Barbecue, classroom supplies, the Scholastic Challenge, and field trips. A special thank you to Mrs. Chirpac for her dedication and hard work in keeping this valuable program running so smoothly.
The month of October will end with a celebration of Nevada Day - Happy 162nd Birthday, Nevada!!!!
I look forward to another wonderful year filled with learning, growth, and memorable moments. It is my honor to be a part of this school community!
Respectfully,
Carol Wilson
Principal