The Weekly Howl
St. Francis Catholic School - Saturday, July 13th
Dear SFCS Parents & Friends,
As you can see in our cover photo the Facilities Department improved the landscaping in front of the school. It looks great! They also replaced the carpet in the final two class rooms with tile. See picture below. This week we replaced all our old Promethean Boards with the newer models. (Also pictured below)
I am also happy to welcome the 220 students that are currently registered for the 2019/2020 school year. We are welcoming 41 new students from 26 new families to our SFCS community. Currently we have 4 classes at capacity each with waiting lists.
Wonderful things are happening at St. Francis Catholic School and our community is blessed in so many ways. In this newsletter there is a lot of information that will be useful for you to prepare for the upcoming school year. I know the Weekly Howls can get a little lengthy. Please save them and use them as a reference to access important information.
I am looking forward to another wonderful year at St. Francis Catholic School and cannot wait to see all the students on the 1st Day of School (Tuesday, August 20th)!
Sincerely in Christ,
Brian Pope
Principal
Remaining Summer Calendar
July 14 - 20
- Boys Basketball Camp: 4 - 6pm, M - F
- School Office Open: 9am - 2pm, T - Th
- Happy Birthday Suzanne Freisen!!!: 7/15
- Happy Birthday Cheryl Duren!!!: 7/19
July 21 - 27
- School Office Open: 9am - 2pm, T - Th
- Happy Birthday Tori Safe!!!: 7/24
July 28 - August 3
- School Office Open: 9am - 2pm, T - Th
- Happy Birthday John Holstein!!!: 7/28
- FSA Board Meeting: 7/31 at 5:30pm
August 4 - 10
- School Office Open: 9am - 2pm, T - Th
- SFCS SAC Meeting: 4:30pm
Upcoming Events
- 8/12 - 8/16: Faculty In-Service Week, School Office Open M - F, 8am - 3pm.
- 8/12: Fall Parent Athletic Meeting at 6pm in Gym
- 8/14: FSA Back to School Night at 6pm in Gym (No childcare offered)
- 8/19: School Materials Drop Off 8am - 1pm
- 8/20: First Day of School, 11:30am Dismissal
School Calendar on SFCS's Official Website
Fall Parent Athletic Meeting
Sports Physicals
Athletic Department Calendar
Supply Lists for the 2019 - 2020 School Year
Staples Classroom Awards
Your SFCS 2019 - 2020 Faculty!
I am excited to once again to work with such a committed and experienced team of educators devoted to our mission at SFCS in offering an academically excellent and authentically Catholic education.
1. Principal: Mr. Brian Pope bpope@sfcshhi.com
2. Assistant Principal: Ms. Jennifer McGlynn jmcglynn@sfcshhi.com
3. Office Assistant/ School Nurse: Mrs. Melissa Markey mmarkey@sfcshhi.com
4. Receptionist: Mrs. Ann Fitzgerald afitzgerald@sfcshhi.com
5. Registrar: Sister Kathleen Kane claudet555@aol.com
6. School Counselor: Dr. Betty Jankoski bjankoski@sfcshhi.com
7. Parish/ School Facilities Director: Bryan Goll b-goll@stfrancishhi.com
8. Parish/ School Facilities Assistant: Gavin Jones gjones@sfcshhi.com
9. School Maintenance Custodian: Barbara Jones bjones@sfcshhi.com
10. Pre-Kindergarten/ PreK – 2nd Art: Mrs. Kelley Burke kburke@sfcshhi.com
11. Pre-Kindergarten Assistant: Mrs. Tami Velliquette tvelliquette@sfcshhi.com
12. Kindergarten: Mrs. Erin Davis edavis@sfcshhi.com
13. Kindergarten Assistant/ 3rd Grade Religion: Mrs. Barbara Gloven bgloven@sfcshhi.com
14. 1st Grade: Mrs. Christina Senouillet csenouillet@sfcshhi.com
15. 1st Grade Assistant: Mrs. Susanne MacDonald smacdonald@sfcshhi.com
16. 2nd Grade: Mrs. Karlya Gaherty kgaherty@sfcshhi.com
17. 2nd Grade Assistant: Natalie Schoeppe nschoeppe@sfcshhi.com
18. 3rd Grade: Mrs. Sheila Broadbent sbroadbent@sfcshhi.com
19. 4th Grade: Mrs. Kris Watson kwatson@sfcshhi.com
20. 5th Grade: Mrs. Kathy Masterton kmasterton@sfcshhi.com
21. 6th Grade Homeroom, Middle School English, Spanish I: Mrs. Teresa Fitzgibbons tfitzgibbons@sfcshhi.com
22. 8th Grade Homeroom, Middle School Social Studies & Religion: Mrs. Suzanne Freisen sfreisen@sfcshhi.com
23. Middle School Math - Upper Track, Athletic Director: Mr. Joe Benning jbenning@sfcshhi.com
24. Middle School Science & Discovery Lab: Dr. Barbara Burckart bburckart@sfcshhi.com
25. PE Teacher & Elementary Spanish: Mrs. Sabrina Pennington spennington@sfcshhi.com
26. Learning Center Coordinator: Maureen Darmody mdarmody@sfcshhi.com
27. Music & 3rd through 8th Grade Art Teacher: Mrs. Lisa Sweeney lsweeney@sfcshhi.com
28. Media Science & Learning Center Assistant: Tori Safe tsafe@sfcshhi.com
29. Extended Care Director: Betty Fick bfick@sfcshhi.com
30. Learning Center Tutor: Sharon Crawford: scrawford@sfcshhi.com
New Roles
Mrs. Freisen will be teaching Middle School Religion in addition to Middle School Social Studies. She will remain in her role as 8th Grade homeroom teacher.
Dr. Burckart will be teaching Middle School Science and Discovery Lab. Before joining the SFCS Faculty last year as the Middle School Religion Teacher Dr. Burckart taught Science for many years at Hilton Head Island Middle School.
Mrs. Sweeney will be teaching 3rd through 8th Grade Art in addition to Music for all grades.
Mrs. Burke will be teaching PreK through 2nd Art in addition to Pre-Kindergarten. Mrs. Tami will be the lead PreK teacher while Mrs. Burke is teaching Art.
Mrs. Gloven will be teaching 3rd Grade Religion in addition to serving as the Assistant in Kindergarten.
Positions Available
Middle School Math Teacher: We are currently accepting resumes for a 7th Grade Pre-Algebra I and 8th Grade Pre-Algebra II Teacher.
Receptionist: Mrs. Fitzgerald will be retiring in fall. Mrs. Fitzgerald will continue working through the summer and assist/ train the new receptionist at the beginning of the school year. We have received many resumes for the Receptionist Position and are currently interviewing candidates.
FACTS Tuition Agreement/ Payment Plans
If you are a family new to SFCS for the 2019-2020 school year then you need to register with facts to choose your Tuition Agreement Plan. Click the link below to initiate your tuition agreement/ payment plan.
Time to Start Thinking of Uniforms!
Below is the Uniform Policy for the 2019/20 School Year. All vendor information is include in the last section.
Planning to Volunteer? We need you!
We are also in need for volunteer drivers for our school activity buses. The buses are 14 passenger and driving them does not require a special licence. Before anyone can drive a student for a school related function like a field trip (bus or personal car) they must complete a driver screening. Information and instructions are included in the volunteer packet below. Having more bus drivers on the list allows our teachers increased flexibility when scheduling field trips. We would love to be able to have at least two screened bus driver volunteers for each class.
Attention Parents of Rising 7th Graders - A Message from Mrs. Markey!!!
Dear Parents of Rising 7th Grade Students,
Beginning in 2013 the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) requires that all students entering the 7th grade receive one dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) booster. Tdap is routinely administered at 11-12 years of age; however, a dose administered on or after the seventh birthday will meet this requirement as well.
If you are receiving this e-mail it is because I DO NOT have a record of this current immunization in your child’s health record. Please make sure your child has received this vaccination and that the school has record of it in the school health office. Your child’s physician can fax the current immunization to the school at 843.689.3725.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter as DHEC states we can refuse school attendance to any child not in compliance with this required immunization. CVS walk in clinic is also a provider of this vaccine if you cannot get a timely appointment with the pediatrician.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Melissa L. Markey, RN, BSN
SFCS School Nurse and Office Assistant
How is your child doing with the Summer Reading and Homework?
Summer Work Options
Option 1: Students can complete Summer Solutions workbooks. If students complete the workbook in its entirety then they will receive 1 NUT card. Students will receive one NUT card for each workbook completed. Workbooks must be turned in on the first day of school. Make sure to select the workbooks for the grade that the student is currently in.
OR
Option 2: Students can complete one math quiz per week on Pathblazer. We will track students progress and students must complete one per week over the 10 weeks of summer. Doing a bunch of quizzes the last week or couple weeks of summer will not count. If students complete 5 quizzes each week for the first 5 weeks of summer will receive a NUT card on the first day of school. The same for the second 5 weeks of summer. So students can potentially earn two NUT cards at the beginning of the year. Students should remember their login to access their lessons. Don't forget that the School login is STFRAN. This option is not available for students newly accepted to SFCS.
Students will not receive NUT cards for doing both Pathblazer and Summer Solutions. Students have to choose one or the other. I encourage also students to participate with the Summer Reading Program that Mrs. Safe has organized.
Please feel free to reach out to Ms. McGlynn or myself if you have any questions.
Summer Reading Cinema
Dear Parents,
This summer’s reading theme is going to be “books that are movies”! Below is a list of Kindergarten through 5th grade suggested reading titles. The students who participate will get to attend a movie screening on the first day of school! The selection will be a surprise but it will definitely be from the list… popcorn included!
Please have your child log their reading time over the summer on the attached reading log. Parents must initial the reading time. In order to attend the Summer Reading Cinema students must read a minimum of 20 total hours and log them. That is an average of 2 hours per week. Easy, right? They do not have to read exclusively from the list but please help them to read a few of the titles so that they can experience “books that are movies”.
The reading logs will be admission tickets to the movie so the students MUST have them to get in. The movie is on the first day of school so it will be important to remember to bring the reading logs.
Be sure to check Barnes & Noble as well as our awesome public library for summer reading programs too!
Be sure to contact me with any questions and HAPPY READING!
Mrs. Safe
Attention Middle School Students and Parents
Summer at SFCS
Junior Coed Basketball Camp
Junior Coed Basketball Camp
Junior Coed Basketball Camp
Girls Basketball Camp
Girls Basketball Camp
Girls Basketball Camp
New FSA Chairperson and Co-Chairperson!!!
If you would like to contact the FSA for information and also would like to join one of the many sub committees then email FSA@sfcshhi.com.
Many of the events and activities that the FSA coordinates is listed below.
- Back to School Night
- Family Social Picnic
- Fall Festival/ Carnival
- Pottery Jam
- Breakfast with Santa
- Family Faith Formation
- Gala
- St. Francis Patrick's Day Parade
- Grandparent's Day
- Spirit Wear Store
- Partner's Program
- Room Parent Liaison
- New Family Liasion
- Teacher Gifts
Mark Your Calendars!!!
The FSA Family Social and Picnic will be on Sunday, August 25th, 4:30 - 7:00pm. It will be at the Chaplin Park Pavilion. Food and fun will be provided.
Your 2019 - 2020 SFCS School Advisory Council (SAC)!!!
Susan Sherry- Co-Facilitator
Connie Killeen- Co-Facilitator / Catholic Identity
Bob Gregory- Safety
Lois McCue- Technology
Jerry Manuel- Development
Merideth Johnson- Enrollment
Mandy White- Enrollment
Kelly Jolley - Parish Council Representative
Donna Bafundo- Development
Susan Graziano- Secretary
Jodi Krepfle- Enrollment
Megan Dresher- FSA Facilitator
Purpose & Function of the SFCS SAC
The purpose of the Council is to advise the Administration and to promote effective programs of religious, intellectual, cultural, social and physical education for the students of SFCS.
The Council is not responsible for Administrations or details of Administration. Any member may bring proposals that affect school policy before the council.
The function of the Council is:
- To promote the Mission of the school and that of Catholic education to the SFCS community and the HHI area.
- To develop, define, and recommend policy to the Administration for the Pastor's approval.
- To create and recommend a long-range plan to the Administration for the Pastor's approval.
SFCS Long Range Strategic Plan
The school’s Long-Range Strategic Plan focuses on 7 areas and goals. Goals are accomplished with work on specific objectives outlined by the council. Goals are reviewed and revised every 3 years by the Council and approved by the Pastor of St. Francis by the Sea Catholic Church.
Goals:
- Catholic Identity- St. Francis Catholic School will continue to strongly promote and teach the Catholic Faith and its values to all students.
- Enrollment- St. Francis Catholic School will increase our enrollment by recruiting new students and retaining existing students.
- Technology- St. Francis Catholic School will establish a flexible technology infrastructure (hardware, software, network, etc.) that supports and enhances academic and administrative needs.
- Facilities- St. Francis Catholic School will maintain and improve its facilities to support achieving our mission.
- Finance- St. Francis Catholic School will monitor and adjust the five- year financial plan, based on school needs and projected growth.
- Development- St. Francis Catholic School will develop a comprehensive plan that will include increased financial revenues beyond tuition and Church subsidies to support the ongoing operational needs and capital needs of the school.
- Safety- St. Francis Catholic School will adhere and aim to enhance the School Safety and Emergency Response Plan to protect staff and students.
THANK YOU St. Francis Thrift Shop!!!
Two ways we can extend our gratitude to the St. Francis Thrift Shop is to donate and volunteer! Please consider either to support the volunteers of the St. Francis Thrift Shop!
Island Lutheran Church is in need of a caretaker for a new Comfort Dog that will arrive on the Island this Fall. The caretaker(s) will be responsible for walking, feeding and basic grooming of the dog.
All expenses for the dog are covered by the organization. They are looking for a caring home that does not have children or dogs. If you are interested or would like further information, please contact Phil Burden at 843-298-5328 or philburden1@gmail.com.