Weekly Howl-2.13.23

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and Love is in the air! We are excited to share our love and collect donations for the Hilton Head Island Humane Society, a nonprofit organization, to assist with the wonderful work they do. The Hilton Head Island Humane Society is dedicated to providing a safe haven for abandoned cats and dogs of the Low Country, and is funded entirely by membership dues, private donations and generous bequests. Tomorrow is the last day to bring in your donation! Please take a look at the "wishlist" below for the organization's needs.

Students will have a free dress day on Tuesday in honor of Valentine's Day (please see feature below on guidelines). There will be class parties and Valentine exchanges during the day on Tuesday as well. On Wednesday, we will share our love with the Lord as we celebrate our weekly school Mass. Parents, family, and friends are invited to join us at 10:00 a.m. at St. Francis By the Sea Catholic Church. We hope to see you there!

Speaking of love....don't forget to get your ticket for the Women of St. Francis Soup for Scholarship event! Tickets are available this Sunday, February 19, after all Masses. There will be plenty of wonderful soups made with lots of love, and rolls prepared by our Bake Club! You don't want to miss this annual event.

Finally, as a reminder, this Sunday is also our School Family Mass at 9:00 a.m. We can't wait to see you there!

Wishing you a fantastic week filled with the promise of God's love!

Blessings,

Andrea

Andrea Smith, M.Ed., LPC, NCC

Principal

Modesty: Act, dress, and speak in a way that is consistent with one's dignity as a child of God.

Our Prayer :

Dear Jesus,

May I never sadden you by the way I act, dress, or speak.

Amen

Our collection of lost sweatshirts, water bottles, various school uniform pieces, PE shirts, and jackets is growing! We do not want these items to take over our space, so please stop by the School Office and pick up your student's lost items today! Any items left at the end of the month will be donated. Thank you for your assistance with lowering our lost and found inventory.

The re-registration period for the 2023-2024 school year will open on February 1, for families currently attending St. Francis Catholic School and for any siblings that may wish to enroll. This enrollment period specifically for current SFCS families, will go through Friday, March 3. A completed application for admission is required as soon as possible for any siblings who do not currently attend our school but wish to enroll for the '23-'24 academic year. Re-registration will be considered incomplete if your completed form and fees are not turned in by March 3, as open enrollment for new families begin on Monday, March 6, 2023. Many of our classes are currently at capacity which may result in a waitlist once open enrollment begins. Re-registration forms were sent home with students on Wednesday, February 1. Please contact the School Office if additional registration forms are needed.

To show our love for the many animals at the Hilton Head Humane Society, we are collecting donations beginning today through February 14. A table and bins will be set up in the foyer outside the School Office for drop off beginning today. All donations will be delivered to the HH Humane Society. Please see wish list below for the HH Humane Society's greatest needs. Thank you for the love!

Tomorrow, February 14, is Valentine's Day! Students may wear their favorite Valentine top with jeans or uniform bottoms. Jeans may not have any holes, rips, or tears. Tops may have a Valentine motif or a solid Valentine color (red, pink, lavender, etc.). Students may also wear Valentine's Day themed socks tomorrow.

"The Reverend Monsignor Martin T. Laughlin Scholarship Application" sponsored by the Women of St. Francis is now available to all currently enrolled SFCS students in grades PreK through 7th. This is a need-based scholarship. Please contact the School Office for an application if interested in applying. The application deadline is March 24, 2023.

Beginning January 9, the School Office will close every Monday at 3:00 p.m. for a staff meeting. Please make note of this change.

SFCS will be closed on February 20, in honor of the Presidents' Day holiday.

Join the St. Francis Catholic School community at St. Francis by the Sea Catholic Church for School Family Sunday Mass on the following Sundays:

February 19, 2023

March 19, 2023

April 16, 2023

May 21, 2023

We hope to see our families at each monthly Family Sunday Mass! Students should wear their Mass uniforms and dress code shoes. If your student would like to sing in the choir, please meet Mrs. Sweeney by the piano no later than 8:40 a.m. We'd love to have your student participate!

Tickets will go on sale after all weekend Masses, beginning February 11 through February 19.

Friday, Feb. 24 is the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. As we mark this day, students, faculty, and staff will take a break from their classes at 10:00 a.m. to pray the Rosary for a peaceful end to the conflict. We ask parents, guardians, grandparents, family, and friends, to join us from your home or office and pray with us, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Two New Music Opportunities for the Youth of our Parish!

Two new ensembles began rehearsal on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the St. Francis by the Sea Catholic Church for the Pueri Cantores Parish Children’s Choir and Schola Cantorum ensembles. Pueri Cantores is open to all children of the parish in grades three and up (or the equivalent if home schooled) and is a new ensemble of the Parish Music Ministry. Pueri Cantores will minister once monthly at a weekend Mass from September through June. All are welcome as there is no audition for this group. This choir will serve as principal ministers of music at their selected Mass.

Schola Cantorum

Schola Cantorum is an auditioned ensemble for students of any age, but music will be geared to two-part middle school choral literature. The ensemble will sing a variety of musical genres with a particular emphasis on Latin. Both ensembles will primarily minister at St. Francis Masses, but also will give concerts locally, regionally, and nationally along with tour opportunities. Schola Cantorum will follow the structure of the Royal School of Church Music and will also be members of the American Federation of Pueri Cantores.

Student Cantors

Students interested in becoming a Cantor for regular weekend Masses also will have an opportunity to enter Cantor Formation!

For more information, please contact Director of Music Ministries at St. Francis by the Sea Catholic Church, Lisa Screeton at l-screeton@stfrancishhi.org for more information.

Middle school students are invited to the annual Middle School Dance. The theme, selected by the 8th grade class is "Black Tie". We look forward to hosting this fun event on campus for grades 6, 7, and 8! Tickets are $10.00 per person. Check in begins at 6:45 p.m. Lock-in will be 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more information.

The 8th grade basketball teams celebrated Senior Night before their last home game on February 7. We are so proud of our players who committed to playing hard and representing SFCS well this season. Thank you to the parents who have been a wonderful support during wins, losses, and practices. We love our 8th grade basketball players and their families!

Our official Facebook page is "St. Francis Catholic School". In an effort to consolidate communication, and have one central Facebook page for SFCS families to find announcements and learn about upcoming school events, the "St. Francis Families (St. Francis Catholic School, Hilton Head Island)" Facebook page is now inactive. As a reminder, the use of St. Francis Catholic School, or St. Francis by the Sea names, logos, etc., must be approved before associating any group with either name or SFCS. We appreciate your cooperation and partnership with this important policy and ask you to contact Mrs. Smith for school related requests, and the SFBTS Parish office for church related requests. Please join our school Facebook page! (scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter and click on link)

In Religion, the 5th graders are learning about the Sacraments on Initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. The students did a beautiful job on their Baptism Reports!

The 6th grade students used their engineering skills to explore kinetic and potential energy using popsicle sticks to engineer a chain reaction. This activity is challenging and leaves us with room for learning important STEM Skills.

Students used their engineering skills to work on one of two challenges. Some chose to work with a mechanical computer called Turing Tumble to solve problems and learn how computers think. Others chose to explore kinetic and potential energy using popsicle sticks to engineer a chain reaction. Both are challenging and fun and provide us with plenty of opportunities to refine our STEM skills.

What can you do when you finished your work in science and are waiting for others to finish? Build a mechanical computer! Let's hear it for our future engineers!

Seventh Grade Science recently finished a unit on genetics and is beginning a study of the human body. Genetics projects included making 2D and 3D models of DNA, karyotyping and examining the chromosomes to determine the number of chromosomes and gender of the person. The unit culminated with a Monster Genetics project. To do this project students needed to use probability to determine the genotype and phenotype of the mother, father, and baby monster. They needed to use the data they collected to make a drawing of each monster that showed the traits they exhibited. Next, students learned to take their pulse rate before and after exercise as a bridge lesson to their human body unit. This led to a class discussion of homeostasis. The idea of a steady state within our bodies is an important concept to understand so the students can build on their knowledge of the human body.

Come join the spring St. Francis Equestrian Show Team! Practices will take place at Moss Creek Stables. Registration day is February 14!

2/15-17 – Middle School Championships – HHP

2/24-26 - Diocesan Tournament – Charleston

*Please check the schedule often as games are subject to change.

SFCS is a small school that relies heavily on faculty and volunteers to help with most of the school’s different activities and enrichment offerings. The Athletic Department is no different as most SFCS teams are coached by either faculty or parents.

For the school to offer a sport, we need four things….enough kids that are interested in playing, facilities to practice/play, a competitive game schedule, AND A COACH.

Currently we are in need of a soccer coach. If anyone is interested, or maybe knows of someone that might be willing to coach a solid core of middle school girls, please let Coach Weaver know as soon as possible at mweaver@sfcshhi.com.

The season is short….only during March and April, and includes a two-week hiatus during the school’s Easter/Spring Break. The team practices at Chaplin Park roughly 1-2 times per week from 3:15-5pm and shares field space with the boys’ team. The schedule includes 1-2 games per week with no weekend team activities. The season will conclude during the last week of April with the Lowcountry Championships at Cross Schools in Bluffton.

Thanks for your consideration and please pray that a qualified soccer coach is found in the next couple of weeks. GO WOLVES!!

If you would like to be a part of the FSA community, please contact fsa.sfcs@gmail.com to learn how you may get involved!

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Email: school@sfcshhi.com
Website: sfcshhi.com
Location: 45 Beach City Rd, HHI, SC 29926
Phone: 843-681-6501
Facebook: facebook.com/sfcshhi