Dear Academy Families,

Next Friday, we joyfully celebrate the feast day of our patron, St. Francis de Sales, a guiding light for our academy community. St. Francis de Sales, known for his gentleness, wisdom, and dedication to bringing others closer to God, serves as an enduring example for us all. His words, "Be who you are and be that well," remind us to embrace our unique gifts and use them in service to one another and our faith.

As we honor his legacy, let us reflect on his steadfast commitment to faith, humility, and love, and continue to model these virtues in our school and homes.

Please note that school will be closed on Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Have a great weekend.

Dr. Scharbach
Principal

Now, onto a few important updates for next week…

How can I access my student’s results?

1. ­­­Log in to your student’s i-Ready Dashboard using their portal credentials by visiting i-ReadyConnect.com and log in using the credentials they were given this year.

2. Click on the For Fami­lies dropdown and select the For Families report.

3. Enter the following code: V49818

For more information and support, visit the i-Ready Family Center: Understanding Diagnostic Results.

Thank you again for your continued partnership and support of your student’s learning. Of course, if you have any questions please be in touch with your child’s teacher and/or the administration

The sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 22nd at 6:30P.M for St. Francis de Sales Parishioners. All candidates from the Academy and the Religious Education programs should attend with at least one parent/guardian and sit in assigned rows.

We will be having our annual 3rd, 4th, and 5th, Grade Math Bee on Wednesday, January 22nd at 1pm. Congrats to our classroom winners.

3rd Grade: Max Fonte De Bon Echarte, Liam Gatto, Nolan Hopkins, Andrew Mullen, Mila Pincay, and Matthew Triglia

4th Grade: James Culleton, Avery Gallagher, Louis Gampero, Collin Long, Hunter Long, Nate McGuinness, Chris O’Sullivan, Vivane Vitale, and Justin Youngberg

5th Grade: Thomas Anderson, Cassie Corvi, Khristopher Durante, Caoilinn Fitzgerald, Emma Layden, and Liliana Ultsh

The families of the participants are invited to join us on Wednesday, January 22nd at 1pm.

Our SFDSCA Pajama pants sale is now open

Youth Small-Adult XL will be $30 each and Adult 2XL & 3XL will be $35 each. All orders will be billed to your FACTS account.

Our 2025 Catholic Schools Week will include a pajama day for Nursery-Kindergarten on Wednesday February 12th and grades 5-8 on Thursday, February 13th. SFDSCA pajama pants are not required but are a good way to show school spirit.

This order form will close on Monday, January 20th at 12 noon. Unfortunately, no late orders will be accepted due to meeting our Catholic Schools Week deadline.

If you have any questions, please email Lisa Hayden: lhayden@stfrancisschoolbh.net

St Francis de Sales Catholic Academy’s administration and staff are already looking ahead and making plans for next school year. In preparation for the start of 2025-2026, please take time now to complete your child’s re-enrollment for next year. This form is due on Friday, January 31st, and the $200 re-registration fee per student is due on Sunday, February 24th.

To Re-Register, please follow the steps below:

1) Please go to www.factsmgt.com

2) Select Parent Log In from the menu bar and FACTS Family Portal from the drop-down menu.

3) Type in your username and password. If you have forgotten your username or password, please click on the link provided.

4) After logging in, click on Apply/Enroll in the left menu.

5) Click on the Enrollment/Reenrollment link.

6) Our Online Enrollment system will open with a link to the enrollment packet. The online process should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Your information will be saved if you need to quit and come back later. All re-registration fees will be paid via the FACTS Tuition portal. All fees will be due on February 24, 2025. If you have your account set to automatic withdrawal the fees will come out of your account 2-3 business days before.

If you have any questions about the process, please contact Mrs. Kenny at 718-634-2775 or ckenny@stfrancisschoolbh.net.

Please note that all families that have a sibling (brother/sister) and filled out the intent form to register for the next school year will be receiving an email prior to 2/3/25 (if space allows) with a link to the registration portal for the 2025-2026 school year which officially opens on 2/7/25.

During the week of January 20th each family will be sent home with their oldest child a baby bottle. We are asking each family to return the bottle on Friday 1/24 with a small donation (loose change is fine) for the Bridge to Life Inc. This group helps thousands of women and newborn children who were experiencing financial hardship. All families that turn in a bottle can dress down on Friday 1/24.

The time of year has come to submit your yearbook ads! All ads are due by Wednesday, February 12th. Ads may only be submitted as a JPEG file or a hard copy (paper submission). The yearbook platform does not support PDFs and Word Documents, therefore they cannot be accepted. We recommend using Canva to create your JPEG ad if you do not know how to do so, as this platform allows you to save your ad directly as a JPEG. Directions for using Canva are provided.

Please read the directions carefully (please see the document below), as there are specific dimensions for each ad size and specific information that needs to be included in the email submissions. Ads may be paid for using a check or Venmo. If choosing to pay via Venmo, please follow all directions carefully.

Please see the attached PDF with any family and friends who wish to submit a yearbook ad. If you have any questions please email yearbook@stfrancisschoolbh.net.

Thank you,

Danielle Farragher

Yearbook Moderator

We are excited to be hosting our dinner dance for Grade 8 in our school gym on Friday, June 6th, 2025. Eighth-grade families are invited to join us for our second Dinner Dance meeting on Tuesday, January 14th at 7 pm here at the academy. All those parents who signed up to volunteer at our last meeting will get a more detailed invitation this weekend.

Our school will be conducting a fund-raising candy sale during the month of January. We will be selling World's Finest Chocolate Products - truly delicious chocolates that have been sold for years by schools and organizations. This year we are hoping for All Families to assist with this sale in order to make it as successful as possible. If all 370 Families sell 1 box of chocolate, we will earn a profit of over $11,000.00. This year we are fundraising to help fund new shades in all classrooms and upgrading smartboards in all classrooms.

If you would like to request more than one box please also use the google form below or click here.

All Students of families selling a box of Chocolate will receive a dress down ticket to use on a day of their choice in February or March (Non Mass Day).

Congratulations to our 8th grade on beginning to receive your High School decision letters! All Catholic schools in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island will sent their decision letters/emails this week. Schools in Manhattan will send their decision letters/emails during the week of January 20th. We are very proud of all of the accomplishments of our Class of 2025. If parents have any questions, feel free to get in touch with your child’s homeroom teacher, or Mr. Scharbach at admin@stfrancisschoolbh.net

As we start the 2025 calendar year, it is time for us to prepare for the administration of the Spring 2025 New York State Education Department (NYSED) grade 4-8 assessments. Continuing this school year we will be conducting Computer-Based Testing during the upcoming Spring 2025 NYSED grade 4-8 assessments. Students will be using their school-issued Chromebooks to complete the assessments and may be participating in Math/ELA/Science simulation exercises in class during the statewide simulation period between January 21-23, 2025 to become more familiar with the testing platform. This will allow our students and staff to better understand the process and protocols necessary to successfully administer these assessments.

Come and see our brand new online school store. We have some great items with our school name and Franny, our Mascot.

Choose your own designs! These are great items to wear on dress-down days, weekends, Blue and Gold Day, or just around the house.

Great brands (Nike, North Face, Under Armor, Puma, and more) and great quality. All orders are shipped directly to your home.

2/7/25-2/14/25- 2024 Catholic Schools Week- A more detailed schedule will be sent out this weekend.

Just a reminder that from February 17th-February 21st St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will be closed for Mid-Winter Recess.

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy

Asst. Principal: Mrs. Maureen Hayes

Email: admin@stfrancisschoolbh.net
Website: https://stfrancisacademybh.org/
Location: 219 Beach 129 Street Belle Harbor, NY 11694
Phone: (718) 634-2775
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SFDSCA