A Higher Moral Code!
Each year since I have been at St. Francis, I have suggested a spiritual theme for the students and I often remind them of the theme at the end of the week over the intercom. It is a great way to honor the Lord and encourage a higher moral code for our school environment at the same time. Over the years, our themes have been:
Love God and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart
Anything is Possible with God
This is the Day the Lord Has Made, Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad
Forever Rely On God (F.R.O.G.)
And for 2019-2020: We are a SHARP School, We Can Do All Things Through Him, Who Gives Us Strength!
The letters S.H.A.R.P. stand for Self-Control, Honesty, Appreciative, Respectful, and Prayerful. We have high goals here at St. Francis and encourage all students to work together to be the best that we possibly can be. We ask for your help and support in this endeavor. When our students leave St. Francis, we want them to be strong pillars of the faith in their church, and productive community members that we can be proud of.
Lori Shepard, Principal
MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2019
We invite all parents to come to St. Francis Solanus to meet our teachers and find out important information about your child’s upcoming school year. Teachers will share their academic expectations, how much homework will typically be given, what is the best way to contact the teacher. They will discuss behavior expectations, classroom management, and will allow time for general questions. We want to thank so many of you who came to our “Blessing of the Back Packs” prayer service, and encourage you to attend this very important night as well. It is a great way to establish a relationship with a new teacher and create a supportive network with other parents. We are blessed and honored to have your children at St. Francis Solanus, and look forward to seeing you on Thursday, September 5th. Please see the schedule below for the individual classes.
My Best,
Lori Shepard, Principal
KINDERGARTEN: 6:15- 6:45 in your classroom
GRADES 1-3: 6:50-7:05 in your classroom
GRADES 4-5: 7:10-7:25 in your classroom
GRADES 6-8: 7:30-8:00 in the cafeteria
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.
STAR LAB-The first week of school brought a renewed sense of spirit and excitement throughout our hallways! It was so nice to see the students again, and to celebrate their return. We had a wonderful opportunity to share with them, as a way to commemorate the Apollo Moon Landing 50 years ago, the Star Lab. This walk-in display was positioned in our gym so that the students could go inside, have a hands-on experience, and actually learn about the stars as if they were under the night sky. It was delightful and educational at the same time! I could hear students exclaim, “ohhh and ahhh” as they went inside. A special thank you to Carla Slough and Shaun Carey, who picked up and returned the display, and to Carla, who did the presentations for the all of the students over a two day period.
Teachers also covered interesting lesson plans that related to space travel, the moon landing, and what the actual Apollo Space Capsule looked like from the inside through virtual reality. We would also like to thank the media for their coverage of this special event! What a great way to start the year!
Lori Shepard, Principal
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.
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 contain bandages, tissues, paper towels, 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.
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 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 did not 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-orders 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!
St. Peter School is seeking candidates for the Technology Coordinator position at the school. This position coordinates computer technology functions at the school, including installation, troubleshooting, maintenance & technical support, & performs related duties as required. This is a full-time year round position with excellent benefits. Send resume to [email protected] or to St. Peter School 2500 Maine, Quincy, IL 62305
PARENTS: PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE BARRICADE THAT BLOCKS OFF COLLEGE STREET EVERY MORNING. DO NOT GO AROUND THIS BARRICADE, IT IS IN PLACE TO KEEP CHILDREN SAFE PER QUINCY POLICE DEPARTMENT
DATES TO REMEMBER
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 11:30 (no lunch)
Sept. 24th: All City Mass at QND (Hot lunch is a sack lunch see menu)