Dear Academy Families,

Next Friday October 4th is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis is remembered as the patron saint of animals and the environment. Saint Francis of Assisi chose a life of poverty, prayer and peacemaking. He cared for the poor, the sick and all creation, and founded the Franciscan order. It is customary on the feast day of Saint Francis to bless the animals, in remembrance of his love for all creatures, great and small. All are welcome to join Saint Francis de Sales Parish or Blessed Trinity Parish for the blessing of the animals on Friday October 4th.

Don't forget that next Friday 10/4 is also a professional day for faculty. Our teachers will be hard at work learning about Tier 2 Strategies for Inclusive Excellence and learning about implementing the new Diocesan Catholic Identity Assessment for Grades 3-8. Our students will have their first three day weekend of the school year, Enjoy!

Also this week we will be having our second lockdown drill of the school year. Please have a conversation with your children on the importance and reason for these important drills.

Have a great weekend. We hope to see you at mass this weekend!

Dr. Scharbach

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. Our Kindergarten students will take their diagnostic test during the week of October 7th.

On Tuesday October 8th all parents are invited to join us for an I-Ready Parent Webinar. You will find the Zoom registration link below.

During the webinar, we will review the key components of iReady, provide an easy to understand explanation of the iReady Diagnostic results and the For Families Report, and a tour of students online instruction so parents are aware of what students are seeing in their instruction either in school or at home. We will also provide all families with helpful resources for engagement and additional information to keep that at home school connection going.

Zoom registration link:

https://cainc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6e5hD07lRwWNCMS-xfnoIw

The 2024 Parish Fall Fest is this Saturday, September 28, 2024.

Families that missed the discounted ticket window deadline will still be able to purchase kiddie bands on-site for $25.

In addition to the kiddie rides, there will be vendors, raffles, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin painting station. Following the family festival, we’re adding an outdoor Mass this year at 4:30PM that will bring our entire parish community together. At the Mass we will honor three outstanding parishioners who have given many years of their time and their talent to the Parish of St. Francis de Sales. Congratulations to Moira & Pete Mullen and Kristin Franchock.

As the sun sets, the parking lot will transform into our Oktoberfest event, where adults (21+) can indulge in German food, enjoy drinks and music by The Russo Brothers. Tickets for the evening Oktoberfest are $100 each or $75 for seniors (65 & Older) and include entertainment, food , beer, wine and soda. Evening Oktoberfest tickets can be purchased online via THIS LINK.

We are excited to announce details for our Franny Walk-a-Thon (formerly known as the Franny Fun Run) scheduled for Friday, October 18, 2024.

We have already raised over $18,000 dollars with just 27% of our families are participating. So we are well on our way to reach out goal.

All families that meet their family fundraising goal will get a Franny Walk-a-Thon t-shirt for each child in their family. In addition to the Walk-a-Thon t-shirt, all students who meet their family goal will enjoy a fun post walk celebration featuring a special lunch, cotton candy/or Italian ices and the chance to win one of 10 great raffle prizes! We really hope to have 100% participation in this fundraiser.

This year we have set the family goals as follows:

Families with one child in the Academy: $60 per family

Families with two children in the Academy: $120 per family

Families with three or more children in the Academy: $150 per family

To start your family pledge page

Step 1: Last, our families received an email providing a link to your family's web-based donation page. If you did not receive your link via email, please search your family's page here: https://independent.pledgebrite.org/fund/frannyrun24

Step 2: Share your donation page via Facebook, Twitter, and Social Media. Also, use the email and text link on the invite and reach out to as many family and St. Francis De Sales Catholic Academy friends requesting their support. Donations are made via a secure credit card site. We will continue to accept cash or checks, and send them to school in an envelope, Attn: Franny Walk-a-thon Please include the

family's name with the donor’s name and if available email.

Step 3, check-in often and follow SFDS and your family's progress as we strive to reach and surpass our goal of $65,000!

WEEKLY CONTEST #1 (Week of 9/20-9/27)

The family with the highest dollar amount of pledges will receive a $50 Callie’s gift card

WEEKLY CONTEST #2 (Weeks of 9/20-10/4)

The family with the highest # of pledges will receive a $50 CardSmart gift card

For sponsorship opportunities please click here.

As we begin the month of October, we are reminded that this is a special time in our Church dedicated to Our Lady and the Holy Rosary. 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 are excited to announce our special lunches have started up again for the 2024-25 school year. Next week will be the first of the monthly chicken fingers days (Tuesday-Grades 1-4 and Wednesday- Grades 5-8)

We would like to thank those leaders who make these lunches possible: Moira Mullen, Judy Aiken, Aileen Brucella, Meg Anderson, Coleen Brady, Colleen Donohue, Christina Healy-Coyle, Lauren Raphael and Chrissy Carlin.

We are also thankful to the MANY Academy parents who pitch in weekly and monthly to assist with lunch distribution to our students--we couldn't do it without all of you! If you are ever unsure if an upcoming date is a special lunch date please check the school calendar.

As always, if you have any special lunch questions or concerns, please email Lhayden@stfrancisschoolbh.net

This Tuesday 10/1 all families that purchased plants, hay, and corn stalks from our Fall Plant Sale will be able to pick up their orders at dismissal.

We are looking for two to three volunteers from about 12:30pm-3:30pm to help set up the distribution of plants to parents and bring any leftover plants into the building following the scheduled pick up time.

If you would like to volunteer please email Mrs. Hayden at lhayden@stfrancisschoolbh.net

A special thank you to the Rasmussen and Perotta family for making the front of school so festive.

As we finish the 1st month of the school year please if you haven't already, log on to the parent portal of FACTS to check on how your child is progressing this year. This is a great way to see if your child is missing any assignments. You should have already received usernames and passwords. Please contact the main office via email at ckenny@stfrancisschoolbh.net if you have any questions.

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)

Please note that St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy will be offering two sessions of the VIRTUS program on 9/30(SOLD OUT) and a second date 10/28

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 the school year moves forward many times a child may be absent from school for various reasons. Please remember that when a child has been absent, a written excuse is required from his or her parents/legal guardians. Without this written notice please note that your child will be recorded absent without a note on our attendance record.

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.

On Thursday, October 17th, don't forget to bring in $1 and wear CRAZY socks as we celebrate the last day of summer uniform.

Just a reminder that Thursday October 17th is the last day that students are allowed to wear their summer uniforms. Starting on Monday, October 21st students need to be in complete winter uniform. For the full uniform policy please click here. Please email Mrs. Hayes at mhayes@stfrancisschoolbh.net with any questions.

On Friday October 25th 2024, many members of St. Francis de Sales 8th Grade will be blessed by the Holy Spirit. Due to the ceremony 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.

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