Dear Students, Alumni, Parents, & Friends of St. Francis,
Happy February as we transition from Christmas to Chinese New Year along with Ash Wednesday and Lent.
Though many people in the secular world look to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras, our Catholic school looks beyond these Hallmark holidays. It’s not that we don’t value the chocolate, flowers, diamonds, King Cake, and all-night revelry; it’s just that one of the most important holy days of the year is about to take place, interestingly, on February 14th: Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days prior to Easter and kicks off the Lenten season. Lent is a season of fasting and prayer. The Catholic celebration actually comes from the Jewish tradition of penancing, fasting, and wearing ashes on the head. The latter symbolizes the dust from which God made us and to that which we will return. All are invited to accept the ashes, not just Christians or Catholics. On the heels of unity week we find another opportunity to come together as one school culture.
We want to offer the best Catholic college preparatory education in the smallest classroom sizes with the best teachers who genuinely care about each and every student.
Happy February as we transition from Christmas to Chinese New Year along with Ash Wednesday and Lent.
Though many people in the secular world look to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras, our Catholic school looks beyond these Hallmark holidays. It’s not that we don’t value the chocolate, flowers, diamonds, King Cake, and all-night revelry; it’s just that one of the most important holy days of the year is about to take place, interestingly, on February 14th: Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days prior to Easter and kicks off the Lenten season. Lent is a season of fasting and prayer. The Catholic celebration actually comes from the Jewish tradition of penancing, fasting, and wearing ashes on the head. The latter symbolizes the dust from which God made us and to that which we will return. All are invited to accept the ashes, not just Christians or Catholics. On the heels of unity week we find another opportunity to come together as one school culture.
We want to offer the best Catholic college preparatory education in the smallest classroom sizes with the best teachers who genuinely care about each and every student.
We mailed the Annual Appeal at Thanksgiving, but on January 31st we launched our first successful online day of giving. It is part of the Annual Appeal and helps us to meet and exceed our needs and goals. Thank you to all who helped us surpass our 24 gifts in 24-hours goal.For those who haven’t donated yet, please find it in your heart to donate. All of your donations are tax deductible and directly impact this year’s student programs and services. If your child is in leadership, campus ministry, sports, the arts, and/or clubs, then we need your help to bridge the cost of what we charge for tuition versus the actual cost to educate each student. The difference is almost $1,334 per student.
Every donation counts – from $20 to $20,000, all makes a huge difference. $20 is just about $0.05 cents a day annually. We can all do at least this much for the great teachers and coaches we have supporting your sons and daughters. Even if you are on tuition assistance, our goal is 100% participation from our families. This year we will use our SFPA Grade Level Representatives to facilitate each grade levels’ participation in the online and/or direct mail Annual Appeal. The class with the highest percent of families participating will get a free lunch and free dress day on April 10, 2018.
I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Ms. Gutierrez, Ms. Lemus, and Ms. Eagleson in the area of personal and college/career counseling. This year’s graduating seniors have reached an all-time high with early decision, early action, and already awarded merit scholarships. Please encourage your students to turn in their acceptance letters, scholarship award letters, and encourage them to proudly wear their college sweatshirts. Twenty-five students have already been awarded early acceptance to 90+ universities and have also been awarded over $2.5 million in scholarships. We are on track to set another record. Universities are also continuing to look at our athletes as future participants in college sports.
Finally, I want to reiterate the value of Friday Night Bingo and why we need all freshmen families and all families on merit-based or need-based tuition assistance to work their assigned days. Bingo is the only significant fundraiser held outside of school that you are not expected to donate to. It involves our entire community – including the parish and local towns – and it takes all of us working it to make it successful. Friday Night Bingo also helps keep tuition costs down, allows us to keep the school new and clean, and in the end assists with need-based or merit-based assistance. If you are not there on your assigned shift, we will not have enough people to service the bingo patrons, sell, and clean up -- then, another parent has to do his/her work and yours. This work is not punishment; rather, it is a chance to build the SF community and help in the three above-mentioned areas that are critical for this school to thrive. Embrace our community; embrace the Friday Night Bingo experience; and don’t leave your fellow parents covering for you. It takes all of us working together to make this enterprise a successful part of the SF High School experience.
Yours in Christ,
Mr. Patrick Lee
President and Principal