Weekly Update to Families

Dear Academy Families,

Tomorrow 10/18 is our Franny Walk-a-Thon.

We have already raised over $58,000 dollars from so many generous families.Over the past few weeks we have been working hard to make sure that all of students get to have a great day while helping our academy raise funds for new window shades for classrooms, upgrading classroom Smart Boards as well as student device upgrades.

A very special THANK YOU to Mrs. Lisa Hayden the Academy Marketing and Advancement Coordinator for all of her hard work on this event.

Please note, this event will just be for Academy students, teachers, staff and parents who volunteer (VIRTUS Trained) their time that day. Thanks in advance for helping us keep this event safe and organized.

T-Shirts and Raffle Tickets have gone home in advance. All students are asked to wear their t-shirt for the walk-a-thon this Friday. Pants or appropriate shorts can be worn as well. Students in Nursery and Pre-K will have a simple snack that day as well. Students in Kindergarten-Grade 8 will be able to have Cotton Candy outside in the school yard. There will be an alternate snack (bag of chips) for those students that do not like Cotton Candy.

Have a great weekend and thanks for making this event so fun and successful.

Dr. Scharbach

Many of our 8th graders from St. Francis de Sales Parish will be blessed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit during their Confirmation next Friday 10/25. I am sure that both masses will be prayerful and beautiful, and we are so proud of all of our 8th graders during this very special time in their lives.

Due to the mass on 10/25 being at 1pm and 4pm, the 8th Grade class is off on Friday 10/25. The rest of the school has an early dismissal at 12pm.

For those students receiving the sacrament of Confirmation at St. Francis on October 19th there are mandatory practices next week. For those students receiving at the 1pm ceremony their Confirmation practice is on Monday, October 21st at 6:30pm. For those students receiving at the 4pm ceremony their Confirmation practice is on Tuesday, October 22nd at 6:30pm. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Greene.

A special thank you to all their teachers who have prepared the confirmandi from our academy over the years. Thank you to our Parish Religious Education Director, Mrs. AnneMarie Greene, for organizing the masses as well.

Did you know? Reading just 20 minutes a day exposes your child to about 1.8 million words per year. Reading helps students develop a stronger vocabulary, and in addition, students who read for pleasure average higher grades in English, mathematics, science, and history! Encourage your child to read books for fun by attending our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair. Allow your child to choose the books they want to read! It’s a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level.

Mark your calendar! Book Fair dates: Tuesday October 22nd and Wednesday October 23rd (Please see below the schedule) Parents in Grades Kindegarten-Grade 3 are more than welcome to come and shop with their child at their assigned time.

Next week, students in Grades 3 through 8 will participate in the Catholic Identity Benchmark Assessment, provided by Sadlier. This informative assessment is a valuable tool that allows us to understand how our students are growing in their faith knowledge and to identify areas where we can further support their spiritual education. It is important to note that this assessment does not count towards any grade and is solely intended to inform our teaching approach.

The Catholic Identity Benchmark Assessment will be administered three times this year, helping us to track progress over time and tailor our curriculum to reinforce key elements of Catholic identity and faith formation. By doing so, we can better ensure that each child’s experience at St. Francis de Sales supports their spiritual growth alongside their academic journey.

If you have any questions about the assessment, please feel free to reach out. Thank you for your continued partnership in nurturing the faith and development of your children.

October is the Month of the Rosary, a time when we are called to reflect on the life of Jesus and Mary through this powerful prayer. At St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy, we are excited to continue this beautiful tradition, and we invite you all to our annual Rosary Rally on Thursday, October 24th, at 1:15 PM. As a parish and school community, we will gather in prayer, asking for the intercession of Our Blessed Mother. We encourage everyone—students, families, and parishioners alike—to participate in this meaningful event. Let us come together to pray for peace, for our families, and the world, entrusting our intentions to Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary.

We will be hosting a “Trunk-or-Treat” event, scheduled for Sunday, October 27th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM in the SFDS schoolyard. The event will be geared towards Academy students in nursery through fifth Grade, with volunteer opportunities for the sixth through eighth grade students. All children will be required to attend with a parent/guardian. The cost for a family to participate in Trunk or Treat is $20 . There will also be pizza and drinks available for a nominal fee. Registration forms can be found by clicking the link below.

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy is happy to bring back our popular Sherwood Forest Farms Christmas Wreaths and Evergreens sale. Earlier today your youngest child was sent home with a brochure that details the items available for sale this year. For 2024, families can choose to have items shipped directly to the Academy for distribution, or have your items shipped directly to the recipient! Within the brochure are pricing details as well as the particulars regarding local/Academy distribution or Direct Mail gift items. Products under the local/Academy distribution are priced more competitively due to the reduced shipping costs.

The direct delivery gift items are perfect for out of town family and friends. If you annually purchase gifts for co-workers and business associates and never know what to buy, consider one of the Direct Delivery items which can be shipped directly to their home or business. These beautiful wreaths, garlands, and centerpieces are made with lush and fragrant greens from the Pacific Northwest and are delivered fresh.

Local Distribution items will be delivered to St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy before Thanksgiving. The school will notify purchasers when they can pick up their items. Direct-delivery items are shipped individually and start arriving the week of Thanksgiving. Arrival is guaranteed no later than two weeks after Thanksgiving Day.

All orders are due by Friday, November 1st. Orders must be placed online.

Place your order by clicking the link below.

For those members of our community that have yet to add the App to their mobile device please 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.

The general NYC High School application is now open.. This application is due by Wednesday December 4th. If your child is interested in applying to the NYC Public High School we ask that you please let us know at admin@stfrancisschoolbh.net no later than Monday, November 18th. This will give us enough time to create a MySchools account, upload grades and make sure that the choices (up to 12) are correct.

The SHSAT Registration is now open. The deadline to register for the SHSAT is next Friday October 18th. The test date will be on Saturday, November 16th. If your child is interested in taking the SHSAT please let us know at admin@stfrancisschoolbh.net no later than Thursday October 17th. Test tickets will be available in My Schools after the registration deadline, and we'll notify families at that time.

As always any questions about the high school process please let us know

Today marks the start of our 2024-2025 Yearbook Sale! The yearbook is a great way to remember special events throughout the year! All students will be featured in the yearbook on their class page!

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 January.

Payment is expected within 20 days of posting.

The completed form(s) is due by Thursday, December 5th. Since we have to send in our yearly order soon after there will be no orders accepted after this date.

**Class of 2025 Families, any graduate that has $130 (cost of a full page age) worth of ads in the yearbook will receive a free yearbook, up to two free yearbooks. Please keep this in mind when placing your order.

October 21st is our first day of winter uniform. Students are expected to be in complete dress uniform. The only sweatshirt that will be permitted to be worn in school is the approved St. Francis de Sales ¼ zip or the navy SFDS sweater or sweater vest. Gym crewneck sweatshirts are only permitted on gym days. There are no hooded sweatshirts permitted to be worn in school.

If you need to order a 1/4 zip please do so though the Flynn and O'Hara webstore.

Please be sure to write your child’s name in their new sweatshirt. Our Lost and Found added a few sweatshirts to its collection this week.

Shoes for the winter uniform must be black leather dress shoes with black rubber soles. They can be tie or slip ons. Please see the following suggested shoe styles for boys and girls in grades 1-8. The links are only to serve as samples of approved styles. If you have questions regarding shoe styles, please email Mrs.Hayes at mhayes@stfrancisschoolbh.net. As always, the uniform is up to the discretion of the staff and administration of St. Francis de Sales. Black sneakers and/or black moccasins are not part of the school uniform. Families may be asked to purchase new uniforms and shoes, if they do not follow the uniform policy.

In Nursery, Pre-K and Kindergarten students wear sneakers all year long. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Black Oxford

Black Leather Mary Janes (Girls Only)

Black Leather Loafers (Boys)

For the safety and well being of each and every child in our school, all volunteers must go through the following process:

1) Read and sign a code of conduct

2) Have a background check

3) Take part in the VIRTUS program. (Register at virtusonline.org)

After completing the VIRTUS Program we ask that you please bring to the office a copy of your certificate for us to keep track of in our database. We hope that this is not an inconvenience for anyone, but we need to be sure that all adults who interact with students are in compliance.

Also a reminder that VIRTUS now requires anyone working with children to complete “re-certification” training every seven years.

If your VIRTUS certification was more than seven years ago (before December 2016), please log on to www.virtusonline.org and complete the self-paced module, Protecting God’s Children On-Line Awareness Session 4.0_Brooklyn and also complete an updated background check if indicated for your account.

If you need assistance with your account, such as user name and/or password, please contact the VIRTUS Help Desk at 1-888-847-8870. For further information or assistance, or if you are unsure if you were trained before 2016, please email Lisa Hayden at lhayden@stfrancisschoolbh.net.

As mentioned at Back to School Night and many times this year our school will be going through Cognia Accreditation this year. (similar to Middle States Accreditation) The Accreditation Process helps institutions make the most of their talents and resources. On November 12th and 13th, a team of evaluators will be visiting our school to work through the Accreditation process. They will be interviewing various students, teachers, Board members, administrators, etc. as well as visiting classrooms for observations. We will be preparing extensively for their visit and look forward to a successful few days. Please note that both on 11/12 and 11/13 the administrative team will not be available for any meetings on these dates and will have limited access to their email and phone.

On Thursday 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 to school.

All Saint's Day is on Wednesday, November 1st. Our 2nd Grade Saints will be leading us in our All Saints Day mass on Friday 11/1 at 10am.

In a few weeks, on Thursday, 11/7 for Nursery-Grade 3 and on Thursday, 11/14 for our 4th through 7th graders is individual picture day. All those students who are getting pictures may remain in their school uniform or dress up for their picture. 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. All students must be in their uniform on Wednesday 10/30 for class picture day. To order pictures please use the link below.

Just a reminder that Tuesday, November 5th is a scheduled day off for students for a professional development day.

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