Dear Parents,
Welcome back to St. Francis, and especially welcome to new families as well! We are honored to have your precious children here at our school. Thank you to so many families that attended our “Blessing of the Backpacks” Prayer Service to start the 2019-2020 school year. It was a pleasure so see so many students there with their parents, and to be able to put their supplies away in their classrooms was a great way to get organized for the year.
We would like to remind you of a few points that may be helpful. Students will be dismissed every Wednesday at 2:30 as we follow the Quincy Public School calendar. Students in grades K-3 will dismiss out the West Doors, and grades 4-8 will dismiss out of the North Doors. The younger children will stay with their teacher until they have eye contact with the parent or guardian. Please walk forward to make sure the teacher sees you as they dismiss your small child. As you leave the far West lot, please be extra cautious when backing up, as children are moving. No parent should be parking in the lot closest to the building. The older students will be leaving out the North Doors and should use the Crossing Guard on 18th street. No child should be allowed to cross the street unattended. Dismissal is a busy time, and we want to make sure our children are safe at all times.
Please be on time to pick up your child. We know sometimes schedules conflict, and if a child is still waiting after 3:10, we will make sure they go to after school daycare for supervision. Again, safety is our top priority.
The morning drop off procedure is outlined in the map that was sent in the summer parent letter. If you are a new family and did not get this letter, please take a moment and stop in the office to pick up a copy. All students will be asked to move through the fenced area in the West lot and cross in the crosswalk space. This allows our teachers to monitor the traffic as students travel towards the school building.
If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to call us! Thank you for your continued support, and we are ready for a super year!
Lori Shepard, Principal
This past May, the eighth grade class of 2019, took their class trip to St. Louis where they visited the Fitz’s Root Beer facility and spent the day at the St. Louis City Museum. In addition to raising funds for their class trip, several students actively raised money to purchase a new bench for the Northwest corner of the school. The idea of another bench and landscaping on this side of the school where students could sit and visit has been talked about for the last couple of years. Thank you to the eighth graders who made this possible.
Pictured with the bench are Emma Kovachevich, Jack Miller, Emma Eyler, and Evie Schuetz
Health Records: Kindergarten, 2nd graders (Dental only), and 6th graders –all health records must be uploaded no later than Sept 1st. In accordance with IL state law, all health records must be on file. If records are NOT turned/ scanned in by Oct. 1st, your student may not attend school until completed. If your child has an appointment please let the office know asap. Thank you.
SMART ART CLUB: This after school program on Wednesdays is being offered again. If you child is interested in this great opportunity, please call the Quincy Art Center at 223-5900 and ask for Kayla. The first class will be on Sept. 25th.
Announcing Childcare During 9:30 Mass!
Beginning Sunday, September 8th 2019, childcare for young children ages 1-5 will be offered during 9:30 Mass in the small conference room on the west side of the Parish Center. If your little one just can’t seem to shake the wiggles out, bring him or her to the Parish Center for music, coloring, books and toys while you focus on the Sunday liturgy. For more information or if you’d like to help volunteer a few Sundays, please contact Liz Gengenbacher at 217-257-5369 or [email protected] or Lucy Bordewick at 217-440-2197 or [email protected].
HIRING FOR St. Peter School DAYCARE: St. Peter School is seeking adult applicants for our morning and afternoon daycare program. Please contact directors Mrs. Loretta Goehl or Mrs Sheri Shelton by emailing your resume to [email protected] or sending it to St. Peter School, 2500 Maine, Quincy, IL 62301.
MOON DAY: On August 22nd, St. Francis School will be celebrating the moon and the stars. We are having this special day in commemoration of the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Teachers will pair some kind of lesson about the moon or space with the subject they are teaching. The Starlab will also be set up in the gym. Students will be able to view the night sky in the daytime, learning a little about stars and constellations. We are all very excited for this opportunity and hope the students will enjoy it as well!
Builders Club Meeting Tuesday
Quincy Noon Kiwanis International is sponsoring Builders Club at St. Francis Solanus School. Builders Club does service projects to improve the lives of children. It is open to all sixth through eighth grade students. The meeting is Tuesday, August 20 from 3:00-4:00 in Mrs. Collins room. Service hours for Builders Club may be counted toward eighth grade Confirmation hours. Questions about Builders Club should be directed to Mrs. Collins or Mrs. Radel. A flyer is being given to eligible students.
Gray Backpacks for Playground Supervisors
There are two gray backpacks at school for playground supervisors. One is hanging by the west doors. One is in the back hallway near the small playground. Please take a backpack outside and place it by a door when you supervise recess. These contains bandages, tissues, paper towel, quick ice packs, pen, paper, vinyl gloves, a list of rules for the areas, emergency phone numbers, and an air horn in case students need to rapidly re-enter the building. Only adults are to get something out of these backpacks. We hope this helps when you volunteer to watch our students at recess.
Our partnership with French Toast
French Toast sells high quality dress code clothing at a reasonable price. They carry a large selection of children through adult sizes, including hard to find slim and husky/plus sizes. Many items carry a “50 wash guarantee”. Our school gets 5% cash back on clothing purchases through the French Toast website. The St. Francis link shows all QCES dress code approved styles and colors through French Toast. The link is on our Facebook page or the French Toast website. If you would prefer to see the entire French Toast website, you may enter code: QS45MU7 when you purchase items. Families are under no obligation to purchase dress code clothing from this retailer.
Facebook page
“St. Francis Solanus School-Quincy, Illinois” is our new official business Facebook page. We will use it to release some info about our school, publicize some events, market to new families, as well as connect to alumni and people of the parish. You may notice that you are unable to “post” to the page. Please contact one of our school staff members by phone or e-mail if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Box Tops for Education
BoxTops for Education is phasing out the paper and plastic rectangles on packaging. We will collect them as long as they still appear on packages. Now, to collect Box Tops, you will need to download an app, select St. Francis Solanus School, and scan store receipts within 14 days of purchase. The company will then send our school a check. More details are on our Facebook page.
Needing more back to school clothes? Check out the St Francis online store for great gear for fall, winter, and spring items. Just use the following link to access the store online. The store will be open to shop until end of day on August 30th with delivery of items mid September. The store will be opened again beginning of November for Christmas gifts. Please contact Heather Bryan at [email protected] or 217-617-1162 with any questions.
EXTRA 2018-2019 Yearbook copies: If you missed out on buying a yearbook last school year, there are some extras for sale if you are interested. Cost is $10. Contact the school office if you would like to purchase one. Thanks!
Another bacon fundraiser. This time all proceeds are going to go directly to to St Francis School PTO. This time we are going to do it a little differently. I am taking pre-orders, but you’ll have to mail in your payment. I’ve had too many in the past that have pre-ordered and didnt pick it up. So this should help with that. Pickup will be at school, sometime by mid-September. I will have extra at the pickup for anyone who wants more, or wants to purchase some there. $10 per lb again. Please email or text me for your pre-orderes and I’ll message back privately with the address to mail your check.
Help support PTO, this helps ALL of our kids and classrooms!!! We just handed out $2,100 worth of gift cards to the teachers this week. We need our families to support us so we can continue to do this! Shane McDermott
The Parochial Music Organization Choir is looking for choristers for the 2019-20 School year. All 4th-8th graders are invited to sing with us. Rehearsals begin Wednesday, September 4 at QND. 3-4pm for 7-8th graders, and 4:10-5 pm for 4-6th graders. Contact Monica Scholz for more information, [email protected] or 217-430-8015. We hope you can sing with us!
STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
“St. Francis Solanus School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in Administrator of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarships and loan programs, and athletic and school administered programs.”
DATES TO REMEMBER
- August 26 at 7:00 Prayer Walk at school
- Sept. 2nd: Labor Day : NO SCHOOL
- Sept. 5th: Meet the Teacher/Curriculum Night
- Sept: 17th: Yearbook photo day
- Sept. 20th : Grandparent’s Day : Dismissal at 12:00 (no lunch)
- Sept. 24th: All City Mass at QND (Hot lunch is a sack lunch see menu)