Dear St. Francis Families and Friends,
Autumn is in full swing as we move from the freshness of a new school year to what is supposed to be the calmer days of autumn – though I must admit the warm southern California heat and offshore winds have made the rolling power outages a challenge for our families.
As I write this newsletter article today, during Homecoming Week and Halloween, I am touched by the playfulness of our student body and our staff. Today was Pajama Day. Our community embraces the “playground” and creates a nurturing home where all are welcome – current students, potential new shadows, and alumni. Many alumni have come by to reconnect with their Sharks family as a result of our student passing last week. It’s nice to see so many coming back to support each other through this difficult time.
A special thank you to Ms. Sonia Terra for stepping in to help our campus counselors and grief counselors from Santa Cruz. Ms. Terra has helped many students open up and move through the various stages of grief. We cannot thank her enough for taking this on. I also want to thank Ms. Susan Burke and Ms. Kristina Ryan, as they have been partnering with Ms. Gutierrez to increase face-to-face meetings between a counselor and an 11th or 12th grader. This highly specialized and personal service could not have occurred without their leadership and help. I can say we truly offer the highest level of personal, academic, college, and career counseling on the Central Coast.
With Parent-Teacher Conferences behind us, I am pleased to share that the 2nd quarter is officially off to a great start! Because of our rigor and our caring staff, along with the use of all-school studies, daily tutorial periods, and daily parent communication, we have reached an unprecedented level of academic success. Thank you to Mr. Calhoun and Ms. Eagleson for implementing a successful RTI/Mandatory Tutorial for our students. Parents, please remind your student about my start-of-the-year acronym: DYH – Do Your Homework!
Finally, we are ready to launch our 2019-2020 Annual Fund Campaign – affectionately re-labeled THE ST. FRANCIS FUND which will be mailed out next week. Whether you rely on tuition assistance or not, our goal is 100% participation in the THE ST. FRANCIS FUND from all of our families. I am so impressed with our community; we currently have families that give as little as $25 a year through multiple payments, and we also have families give at the opposite end of the spectrum. Every donation matters to each of our students!
We ask that you make St. Francis the priority of all of your philanthropic efforts and give what you can. This year we will again use our SFPA Grade Level Representatives to facilitate each grade level’s participation. The class with the highest % of families participating will get a free dress day and a free lunch. Every dollar counts in bridging the $1,334 gap between what we charge for tuition versus the actual cost to educate each student. We make an effort to keep tuition affordable and the success of THE ST. FRANCIS FUND means we can manage it even better.
We are committed to offering the best Catholic college-prep education in the smallest classroom sizes with the best teachers who genuinely care about each and every student.
Yours in Christ,
Mr. Pat Lee
President and Principal