Dear Academy Families,

Happy Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day!

This Wednesday, we will begin our Lenten journey together as a school community with the solemn observance of Ash Wednesday. Our students will be attending a special prayer service at 10am where they will receive ashes. Please note there will be limited seating in the choir loft for families to attend.

Each morning during our prayers, we hear the hymn inspired by the Book of Hosea, calling us to "Come back to me with all your heart." This is the essence of Lent—a time of reflection, prayer, sacrifice, and almsgiving as we prepare our hearts for Easter.

During the season of Lent all grade levels will take time to pray the Stations of the Cross in church. These powerful reflections allow our students to walk with Jesus on His journey to Calvary, deepening their understanding of His love and sacrifice.

We are also excited to share that many of our 7th-grade students and faculty members have been working diligently to prepare this year’s Passion Play, a beloved tradition at St. Francis. The performance will take place for the entire school community on Tuesday, April 15th, offering a moving portrayal of Christ’s Passion as we draw closer to Holy Week.

May this Lenten season be a time of renewal and grace for all of our families. Let us journey together, opening our hearts to God’s love and growing in faith as a school community.

Wishing you a blessed Lent,

Enjoy the parade and have a great weekend.

Dr. Scharbach
Principal

As we journey through Lent and Easter, our 3rd-8th grade students will participate in a special retreat centered on the theme "Opening the Door with Kindness." This retreat will offer students a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the power of kindness in their daily lives and how small acts of love can bring us closer to Christ. Through prayer, discussion, and interactive activities, they will explore ways to open their hearts to others, just as Jesus calls us to do. We look forward to this time of spiritual growth as we prepare for Easter. Our first retreats will be on Monday 3/3 for Grade 3 and Wednesday 3/12 for Grade 4. Grade 5-8 dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

This Friday our school will be having a $1 dress down day to help support the Rockaway Wish Jr. Collection for victims of the Wildfires in California.

Thanks to all who have re-registered and guaranteed their child’s seat for the next school year. We anticipate a wait list in many grade levels due to our re-registration numbers. Just a reminder that the $200 re-registration fee per student was due on Monday, February 24th. Any family that hasn't paid by Monday 3/3 will be receiving a reminder next week.

SFDSCA Card Party tickets will go on sale Friday, March 7th at 12pm.

Card Party tickets will be sold online only via ticketstripe. The link will be shared with Academy families via email and text message at 11am on Friday morning. The link will open at 12pm.

Tickets will be available in 3 categories:

• small hall, $15
• gymnasium, $20
• stage, $30

We will send another reminder via text blast next week.

We hope to see you on Friday, April 4th--a great night of fun and fundraising for our amazing Academy.

Please note that all 2nd trimester report cards will be digitally distributed on Wednesday, March 19th at about 3pm via the FACTS Parent Portal. All conferences will be done in person and will take place on Thursday, March 20th. More information about signing up for these conferences will be in next week's weekly update.

The FACTS Payment Summary shows the total paid for each account, such as tuition, daycare, etc. The payer selects a year or a date range for the summary (this will default to Calendar year and NOT School year). It will also include the school's address and Federal Tax ID.

• The Printable Payment Summary is what families will need to record their Institution Payments on their taxes.
• We have a PDF that can be used to walk a family through accessing their payment summary through their online FACTS account, please see below.

Any questions please be in touch with our Bookeeper, Marguerite Kazalski at mkazalski@stfrancisschoolbh.net

Spring is coming, but while winter is still here we wanted to share some health and safety reminders with everyone!

We know that school is very important and we want everyone to be healthy and attend school every day.

However if your child is sick or not feeling well there are times that the best decision you can make is to keep your child home!

Here are some guidelines to help you decide whether to keep your child at home/cancel educational or therapy sessions:

The New York City Department of Health requests that children stay home from school if they show any of the following symptoms;

• Fever over 100◦ F. Your child should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school

• Severe coughing or trouble breathing

• Thick nasal drainage

• Conjunctivitis

• Spots or rashes

• Infected skin patches

• Diarrhea or vomiting. Your child should be well for 24 hours before returning to school

• Headache and/or stiff neck

• Loss of appetite

• Sore throat or trouble swallowing

• Change in behavior

We advise you consult with your doctor should your child experience any of these symptoms. Please inform us if your doctor makes a specific diagnosis and/or places your child on medication. We may ask you to provide a doctor’s note before your child returns to school.

If your child is with us in school and develops any of these symptoms, we will notify you and ask you to pick your child up from school. We thank you for helping us keep our school germs free! If you have any questions or concerns feel free to respond to this email, contact your child's teacher or reach out to anyone in the administration. Thank you for your cooperation!

In the next few months, we will be celebrating the graduation of the Class of 2025. As we celebrate that occasion, we also would like to kick off the Class of 2026 with a tradition that we have here at the St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy, a Class Ring/Pin ceremony. The class ring is a symbol of school-wide pride and a reminder of their academic achievement.

All students in the 7th grade will receive a class pin and have the option of purchasing a class ring made out of Sterling Silver for $85. Ring orders must be placed by Tuesday February 25th 2025. A bill (charge) will be added to your FACTS account soon after.

A special Class Ring/Pin ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 27th 2025 in Saint Francis Church. Details of this very special event will go out in a separate correspondence.

Please complete the form below and return it by Tuesday February 25th. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Futures in Education is proud to provide partial tuition assistance for families demonstrating financial need, and who meet eligibility requirements, to attend a Catholic academy or school in Brooklyn or Queens. We are also a proud partner with Children’s Scholarship Fund, which administers the Teddy J. Forstmann and Bishop’s Scholarship programs.

Families requesting tuition assistance must complete a financial aid application with Futures in Education through our third-party vendor, FACTS AND submit supporting documentation, which will be used to verify all application responses.

Families can visit the Futures’ website at: https://futuresineducation.org/scholarships/ to apply.

Priority awarding and other important information:

• March 31, 2025 – Priority awarding for returning families who have completed applications by this date.
• April 30, 2025 – Priority awarding for all applications completed by this date.
• Awarding will begin May 1st and will continue on a rolling basis for eligible families until funding is exhausted.
• Returning parents should log into their existing Facts account to reapply using the email they used in the previous year.
• New families (and anyone not previously awarded) should apply with the link above.

Important: Teddy Forstmann Applications Open in February! (This is for returning Teddy Forstmann students only).

• Students who received a Teddy Forstmann award in previous years must only apply with Childrens Scholarship Fund (CSF).
• CSF will send emails directly to returning TF families in February with a link inviting them to re-apply.
• Teddy Forstmann families should NOT apply through Futures/FACTS and must not have two applications.

Just a reminder that our academy has a Mobile APP. To download search for ST. FRANCIS DE SALES ACADEMY in the App Store or Google Play. This is a great way to stay current with school events, your child’s HW, tuition account, and child’s grades.

We are happy to announce a brand new update to our app which we hope makes getting news, reporting absences, logging into FACTS for student information and tuition even easier.

The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has released the Parent Letter of Intent (Found below) for the 2025–2026 school year. You may have already received this letter via email from the DOE. This document is critical to ensure that your child receives the necessary services without delay. We are urging all parents to submit this letter as soon as possible to avoid any interruptions in services.

This year PNIs will only be accepted from parents or attorneys with a signed confidentiality release. PNIs submitted by schools or other entities will not be accepted.

What You Need to Do:

• Submit the signed PNI before June 1, 2025.

• Parents are asked to CC the school at mbuckley@stfrancisschoolbh.net for help in tracking to make sure all families are in compliance. If you have already submitted the PNI please the school at mbuckley@stfrancisschoolbh.net.

How to Submit:

• Email the signed PNI to your CSE Office at CSE4PNI@schools.nyc.gov

or

• Mail/Drop Off the signed PNI to your CSE Office at 82‐01 Rockaway Boulevard. 2nd Floor Ozone Park, New York 11416

CSE Confirmation:

You will receive written confirmation once your PNI is received.

Important Deadlines:

• The DOE has established a strict deadline of June 1, 2025. Letters submitted after this date will result in your child being ineligible for services until the following school year.

• Eighth-grade families: Please ensure you indicate the high school your child will attend. Even if your child is considering public school, submitting the Letter of Intent will preserve options for private or Catholic high schools.

• Pre-K families: If your child is entering kindergarten, you must also submit this letter.

We have seen the significant impact of delayed submissions this past year, and it is imperative that we meet this deadline to ensure there is no disruption in services for our students.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at mbuckley@stfrancisschoolbh.net

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.

We would like to invite all Grade 7 parents to a short yet we feel important meeting about the high school process for next Fall. We have learned many different aspects of the ever changing process these past few months and we think it is important for all parents to hear before the spring when families begin to finalize their three choices. This meeting will take place virtually Monday, March 10th at 7pm. We hope you can make it.

Saint Francis de Sales is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: 7th Grade High School Meeting

Time: Mar 10, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86588953503?pwd=D2T0MykL5Iev4fbPtxUyD5tpwl8Z0P.1

Meeting ID: 865 8895 3503

Passcode: SFDS2026

EVENING SESSION: Tuesday, March 11th, 2025 at 7PM

Join Zoom Webinar:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87404104947

MORNING SESSION: Friday, March 28th, 2025 at 9:30AM

Join Zoom Webinar:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82689879495

Please note that all 2nd trimester report cards are digitally distributed on Wednesday, March 19th at about 3pm via the FACTS Parent Portal. All conferences will be done in person and will take place on Thursday, March 20th. More information about signing up for these conferences will be forthcoming.

ALL APPLICATIONS AND FEES OF $150.00 ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY 14TH. THEY CAN BE DROPPED OFF AT:

OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION MAILBOX

216 BEACH 130TH STREET OR GIVEN TO YOUR TEACHER

WE HAVE CONFIRMED THE HOLY COMMUNION RETREAT FOR THE CHILDREN ONLY TO BE HELD IN CHURCH ON:

Sunday, March 23rd, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

St. Francis de Sales Academy Class 2A

Sunday, March 30th, 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

St. Francis de Sales Academy Class 2B

WE HOPE YOU WILL MAKE EVERY EFFORT FOR YOUR CHILD TO ATTEND THIS SPECIAL PRAYER SERVICE. PLEASE DROP OFF OFF AND PICK UP YOUR CHILD ON TIME.

WE WILL HAVE A FIRST HOLY COMMUNION PROXIMATE PREP ON TUESDAY, MARCH 18TH AT 6:30 PM IN CHURCH FOR ONE PARENT AND THEIR CANDIDATE FOR COMMUNION. WE WILL DISTRIBUTE YOUR CHILD'S BANNER AND GIVE DIRECTIVES FOR THE DAY.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO PREPARING FOR AND CELEBRATING THIS BEAUTIFUL SACRAMENT WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE.

PEACE,

THE OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

This year St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy breaks for Easter Recess starting on Wednesday, April 16th and returns from break on Monday, April 28th

Starting on Monday, May 12th 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.

Please save the date for Friday, May 16th 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.

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy

Principal: Dr. Christopher Scharbach

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