Dear Academy Families,

As we prepare for Christmas by awaiting the coming of Jesus, we recall that Advent is a time of hope, waiting, compassion and kindness. During this time it is important to take a moment to reflect and give thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us, but also to pray for those members of our school community and families that may be facing challenges during this time. The birth of Jesus signifies a new beginning for all of us. A time for renewed hope, peace, love and new beginnings. 

Thank you for your support in 2022 and trusting that we are working to ensure a faith filled future for our school. During these seasons of Advent and Christmas, I invite us all to continue reflecting on our blessings and the presence of God manifested in each one of us. Pope Francis said, "Christmas is joy, religious joy, an inner joy of light and peace." I pray that this season your family is filled with the truest joy that comes in the sharing of time with loved ones and in the traditions that define the essence of your families. 

From all of us at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy, Merry Christmas!  May the New Year bring you even more blessings, and may we continue to grow and work towards creating a faith filled community in the heart of Rockaway, one child at a time.

Onto a very busy final week of 2022……

 2023 Christmas Show Final Directives 

Dress Rehearsal: All students should be ready in costume on Tuesday 12/20 for our dress rehearsal.Some students just need to dress up while others have a costume. Children may wear their gym uniform under their costumes on the day of their dress rehearsal.

The dress rehearsals are as follows Tuesday, December 20th

A Classes, 1C, and 4C from 10am-11:30am

B Classes, 2C, and 7C from 12:45pm-2:15pm

The dress rehearsal serves as a chance for elderly relatives who are unable to come out at night or handle a large crowd to see the show. These dress rehearsals do not serve as a way to get a sneak peek or another viewing of the show. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Any questions please feel free to get in touch.  

Ticket Orders: We are sold out of tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday. We are asking that anyone who is not using all of their tickets to please drop them off at the main office. If there is any issue with tickets at this point please let us know so that we may try and handle them.

Coming and Going on Show Nights: The children have been practicing for many weeks and they are expected to be present for the show on the night their class is performing. Students who are in the play should arrive no earlier than 6:00 pm and should enter the CYO entrance. They will be directed to their rooms from there. Members of the audience will enter through the main door.

For safety reasons, every child in Grades 1-8 in the show must remain in school with his/her class until the play is over. Please do not ask for your child to be dismissed early. Thanks in advance for your cooperation with this matter.

Following are instructions for the children to follow at the end of the show. When the show is over, the older children in each family should get their coats and go to the classroom of the youngest sibling. We will ask that one parent go to the youngest child’s classroom to pick up the children. Further instructions will be explained at the end of each show.

Absent on the Day of the Christmas Show: Please understand that if your child is ill during the day of their Christmas Show, he or she should not be sent to school at night for the show. With Christmas and break around the corner, we would like to try our best for students to not spread more germs than necessary. It's okay to miss the show if they are sick. 

Special Kindergarten Instructions:

1.     The shows will begin at 6:30 pm.  Children are asked to be at school at 6:00 pm.  You may drop your child off at the small hall.  Parents should then proceed to the main entrance.  The doors will not open before 6:00 pm, so please do not come early.

2.     After the performance, you are asked to pick up your child in the small hall.  Please wait until instructed to pick up your child. In order to keep the show running smoothly, it is necessary for you to exit the building using the small hall doors/ You may either leave at that time or return to the gym to watch the other classes perform using the main entrance.  You must have already purchased a ticket to the show in order to enter the auditorium.

3.     Please be aware that you may not be able to exit the parking lot if you wish to leave after the Kindergarten/Band performs in the show.  The parking lot gets very crowded on the nights of the Christmas show so, if you cannot stay until the show is over, you should try to find parking on the street in the area of the school.

50/50 and 8th Grade Raffle: Please note that on the night of the show there will be a 50/50 for each night, an opportunity to buy raffles for an Apple Watch to help support the 8th Grade Dinner Dance, and Water and chips sold. 

Chicken Finger Day: Just a reminder that next Tuesday, December 20th is Chicken Finger day for Grades 1-4 and Wednesday December 21st is Chicken finger day for Grades 5-8.  If you signed your child up for this special lunch, a packed lunch is not needed on this day. 

We do recommend that parents in Grades 1-4 to pack an old t-shirt for your child to put over their attire on Tuesday if they are a little messy at lunch to keep their attire clean. 

 Spirit Wear: We are excited about the launch of the 2nd round of our SFDSCA school spirit wear shop! CLICK BELOW  to see the amazing products!

https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/FRANCIS22

This is a great way for adults and students to show their support for our school both after school and on the weekend.

All orders are due on 12/15. 

Illness and Absent Notes: The cold and Flu season is in full swing and many parents ask, “When is my child sick enough to stay home from school?” This is not always an easy question to answer! We hope that these tips can help.

A child who is sick will not be able to perform well in school and is likely to spread the illness to other children and staff.  We suggest making a plan for childcare ahead of time so you will not be caught without a comforting place for your child to stay if he/she is ill.

 Our school policy states that you should not send your child to school if he/she has:

•  Fever in the past 24 hours

•  Vomiting in the past 24 hours

•  Diarrhea in the past 24 hours

•  Chills

• Sore throat

• Strep Throat (must have been taking an antibiotic for at least 24 hours before returning to school)

• Bad cold, with a very runny nose or bad cough, especially if it has kept the child awake at night

• Head lice – until your child has been treated according to the nurse or doctor’s instructions

If your child becomes ill at school and the teacher or school nurse feel the child is too sick to benefit from school or is contagious to other children, you will be called to come and take him/her home from school. Please be sure that arrangements can be made to transport your child home from school and that childcare is available in case of illness.  If your daytime or emergency phone number changes during the year, please update that information on your FACTS account as soon as possible. 

Please call the school’s nurse or main office if you have any questions or concerns.

If your child is absent due to illness please send your child in when they return with an absent note. A sample note can be found by clicking here. If your child returns without a note, they are than marked illegally absent until a note is received by the classroom teacher. 

Christmas Parties:  Students in 1st-7th grade will be having a breakfast party on Wednesday, December 22nd from 9:30 am-10:45 am before they attend our annual Christmas Liturgy. We asked each family in those grade levels to send in $5 a child for bagels, juice, paper goods, and a small treat. All money should have been handed to the class captain already. 

Students in Nursery-Kindergarten are asked to follow the directions of their teacher about the date and attire for their Christmas gathering. Students in Grade 8 are scheduled to have their traditional Christmas Brunch in the Small Hall on December 22nd. 8th Grade students should follow their homeroom teachers’ directions in regards to attire. Any other questions about these small gatherings should be directed to your child’s teacher via email or SeeSaw.

 Sibling Registration Intent Form: Our school year is rapidly moving along. We can hardly believe that Christmas is almost here. As we begin to prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, we want to ensure that our plans maximize the benefit to your child/children. We have just completed a period in which our current Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten families filled out a letter of intent for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes for next school year.

We ask that if you have any sibling (brother or sister) of a current student here at St. Francis who plans on attending St. Francis in 2022 as a new Nursery, Pre-K, Kindergarten or Grade 1-7 student please complete the form below by Monday, December 19th. After that, we will be opening registration to the public in the Winter of 2023 (If space allows)

https://forms.gle/PZ5k5NZZRz1JtuCZA

Please note we anticipate having waiting lists in some grades for next year. (Grades 1, 4, 6, and 7 especially) This intent form is for planning purposes only and does not guarantee your registration for the 2023-2024 school year.  

Individual Pictures: Students in Nursery-Grade 7 that had individual pictures taken earlier this school year will be receiving their photos over the next two days. Any issues with the photos please contact Harisch Studios at 718-821-2390 or via email at [email protected]

½ Day and Christmas Recess: Thursday, December 22 is a 12 noon dismissal. Grades 1-8 will be having a special liturgy at 11am on this day. This will kick off our Christmas Recess. School will resume on Tuesday, January 3rd 2023. Happy New Year

 SAVE THE DATE

1/9/23: Class of 2023 Dinner Dance Meeting  at 7pm

1/11/23:  Catholic High Schools Mail Acceptance Notifications

1/12/23: ½ day with a 12 noon dismissal 

1/13/23: Faculty Professional Day (School Closed)

Have a Merry Christmas. There will be a new Weekly Update on Friday, December 30th.