From the President and Principal

Dear St. Francis Community,

As we transition from summer to the fall season, we are quickly approaching our annual Burgundy & Gray Gala along with the end of the first quarter. I must admit that I love this warm weather we are having because it reminds of my childhood in Southern California. But, I know this heat will not last, and that is good. The berries are ripening before they fully grow and HVAC systems have been working overtime as we try to keep students engaged and comfortable.

It is also the end of the first quarter and it is a time when seniors are frantically applying to college and taking/re-taking their college tests (ACT/SAT). I love to stop, observe and chat with students about their lives – stressors, joys, frustrations, anxieties, celebrations, etc. They are fascinating. They can sleep with their eyes open, laugh out loud for unexpected reasons, argue passionately about a political topic or whether their Warriors “will ever be great again”; and, they do it all with a love for their school and each other that is not matched. This “family” spirit permeates everything we do and is very Salesian. As I meet with transfer students or potential new 9th graders for next year, this is what sets us apart from everyone else.

Despite the coming chill of fall, the late warmth of summer at St. Francis has given me ample beauty to celebrate: we have amazing students who are absolutely happy and very successful; we have the most qualified and caring staff out of any high school in California; and, the parent and community support we have is unmatched – just look at how many of us will be attending our 8th B&G Gala this year! This signature parent fundraising event celebrates our community and raises much-needed dollars for all of our students. I hope to see all of you at the Faculty/Staff hosted Happy Hour prior to the Gala on October 12th, from 4:30-5:30 PM. Please RSVP, and enjoy charcuterie and champagne with the staff in a social setting rather than a classroom or field.

The B&G Gala will honor two very worthy members of our community: Mr. Chris Croghan, one of our own faculty members who is also a current and alumni parent. Secondly, we’ll honor Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wright who are our signature donors for the new admissions/counseling building to be installed this year.

Besides B&G, I want to highlight 3 other important events:

 

This last event is new for us. On September 4th we hosted our first Cafecito of the year. We did it in the morning to share with parents how we will advance the mission and vision of St. Francis. We had approximately 5% of the parent population in attendance to discuss the Advancement Office membership and the activities we were doing to advance the mission and vision of the school. We also had an open forum for parents to ask about any topics on their minds. It was very well received, but a suggestion from the SFPA board was to try different days and times. So we worked with our SFPA President, Mr. John Morin, to come up with “Vinito y Quesito”, this “little wine and cheese” gathering attached to our traditional monthly SFPA Board meeting.

All are welcome, so please RSVP and join us. We will start at 6 PM in the Art Room (E1) with a presentation from our science department and then move on to discuss enrollment, admissions/recruiting, and the new Open House format for this year. Finally, we will continue with an open discussion on the updating of our Master Plan. I’ll have a visual proposal for all to review. You’ll receive 2 service hours for showing up and participating, and you can enjoy water, soda, wine, cheese, and fruit with your parent and staff peers!

I also want to remind you that we have a Suggestion Box in the main office and we are always looking at ways to improve everything we do. Suggestions have led to enhanced communications, events, and even more advanced calendaring. Please use it! I address your suggestions the month after I get the suggestion. All of our administrators subscribe to an open-door policy; we are here to listen and we are here to help. Don’t be afraid to share your opinions and observations; we greatly value your input.

Please keep all of our students and staff in your prayers. Our recent alumni just started their new chapters in college, many others have recently graduated from college, gotten married, or are having babies. Sharks always take care of Sharks.

Right now we are in the final proofing stages of our fall edition of The Clarion donor/alumni magazine. We look forward to mailing it out along with our new annual fund brochure and planned giving information. These last 2 items will be later in the fall.