Saints News - January 2025

Jan. 2, 2025

The digital version of Saints News was created to provide monthly updates for families and community members to be in the know of the amazing things happening at St. Francis Area Schools.

Jan. 1-3 - No School

Jan. 6 - School resumes

Jan. 6 - School Board Organizational Meeting - District Office - 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 11 - Early Childhood Events @ Early Childhood Family Center

Jan. 13 - Kindergarten Registration Event - East Bethel Elementary - Register for the event

Jan. 14 - Kindergarten Registration Event - Cedar Creek Elementary - Register for the event

Jan. 15 - 90-minute Late Start

Jan. 16 - Kindergarten Registration Event - St. Francis Elementary - Register for the event

Jan. 20 - No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan. 24 - SFHS/SFMS One Act Performance @ SFHS Performing Arts Center - 7 p.m.

Jan. 27 - School Board Meeting - District Office - 6:30 p.m. *Pending Board Approval

👓 On Dec. 3, Licensed School Nurse Beth Anderson was recognized by the Cedar-East Bethel Lions Club for her work with vision screening when she was surprised with the Lions KidsSight Foundation Sight Saver Award. The school nurse at Cedar Creek Elementary School, East Bethel Elementary School and preschool, Anderson earned the honor for leading the charge in getting 1,142 elementary students screened across the district this fall. As a result, 127 students had referral letters sent home suggesting a follow-up exam be completed by an eye-care professional.

📰 Read more about Beth and work of the Lions Club with vision screening.

❤️ Annually, there are more than 13,000 youth experiencing homelessness in Minnesota. On any given night it's estimated that 6,000 young people will have nowhere to call home. They are sleeping in cars, couch-hopping, or struggling to survive on the streets.

Last month, St. Francis Middle School Student Council held a holiday drive to help support the youth in Anoka County. After dropping off donations to Hope 4 Youth, the group was informed that they supplied a record donation! The school gathered a total of 602.4 pounds of food (not including water, hygiene, or clothing).

💻 To learn more about the organization, please go to hope4youthmn.org.

🎶 There were many musical performances by students during the month of December and on Dec. 20, the St. Francis High School Jazz Band and Madrigal Singers visited the middle school and the three elementary schools to spread some cheer before the holiday break!

📱 Tickets for all St. Francis High School home regular season athletic events during the 2024-25 school year will be available ONLINE ONLY. Tickets can be bought off of the GoFan website or in the GoFan app. No cash sales will be accepted at all. All major credit cards are accepted, along with Apple Pay. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets online before reaching the facility. *A service fee will be added to the ticket price.

📰 Read more about the online ticket process.

📆 Check out some top stories in St. Francis Area Schools from 2024!

Academic Excellence

• Eighth graders take a bite out of being an entrepreneur in “Shark Tank” themed project.
• St. Francis High School launched the Minnesota Bilingual Seals Program and celebrated 10 amazing students who met the requirements to earn either a Bilingual Seal or a World Language Proficiency Certificate, both of which come with college credit.
• Congratulations to the Class of 2024! SFAS celebrates 323 graduates.

Building Relationships

• For more than 10 years the staff at Cedar Creek Elementary School have hosted a hallway dance party on Fridays of the school year.
• East Bethel Elementary School selects a new Student Council to increase student voice at the school.
• To celebrate reaching their fundraising goal, St. Francis Elementary teachers and staff held an inflatable character race last month with 13 staff members stepping into inflatable costumes and running for glory. Students lined the back parking lot to cheer on their favorite character and despite the cold, many smiles were seen and laughter was heard from students and staff. View photos.

Excellence in Activities

• Moyo Deen and Destiny Kromah were selected as Triple Threat finalists by the Spotlight Education program through Hennepin Theatre Trust.
• SFHS Theatre Department receives numerous awards, performs at Spotlight Showcase.
• DECA has successful year; Jack Humphrey wins in the Employment Interview category to participate at the International Conference.
• Rachel Kopet and Elek Torok named SFHS AAA Award Winners.

State Appearances

• Tegan Sherk won the state AA title at 127.
• Both the Jazz and Kick Dance Teams qualified for state.
• Six members of the T&F teams qualified for state.
• Softball finished historic season third at the state tournament.
• 8th grader Ryder Mold (placed all-state) and freshman Anniston Rolf qualify for the state cross country meet as individuals.
• Girls Soccer reached the state tournament for the second time in program history.

Saints Pride

• The top story of 2024 highlights Olympian Dakotah Lindwurm! She placed 12th in the marathon at the Paris Summer Olympics with a time of 2:26:44.

🤝 The community, along with St. Francis Area Schools staff and students, were invited to a farewell reception honoring outgoing SFAS School Board members Pamela Johnson, Amy Kelly and Mike Starr on Dec. 9 at the District Office.

The recognition included a short program with time to connect with each of the board members. Refreshments and cupcakes were be provided.

The Dec. 9 School Board meeting was the last for the three members. Kelly has served the board for 21 years, while Starr has totaled 12 years on the board and Johnson has been a board member for four years.

📸 View more photos from the recognition.

📋 Kindergarten Registration Events are set for January at the three district elementary schools. The events help students and families gain confidence in the transition to a new school environment and learn more about the kindergarten registration process. Postcards were sent to families in the district with a student who will be 5 years old by Sept. 1, 2025.

Registration Events:

• Jan. 13 at East Bethel Elementary School
• Jan. 14 at Cedar Creek Elementary School
• Jan. 16 at St. Francis Elementary School
• All events are from 6-7:30 p.m.

The online registration window for kindergarten begins Jan. 13, 2025.

💰 On Dec. 9, the St. Francis Area Schools School Board approved the SFAS tax levy for taxes payable in 2025. The total tax levy for the school district is $12,996,058 which is $1.0 million lower than the previous year. The SFAS Truth in Taxation Meeting was held at the start of the regularly scheduled board meeting. After the Truth in Taxation Meeting, the school board approved the final tax levy during the board meeting. A copy of the presentation can be found here.

🏫 School Board meetings are streamed live on the District's YouTube page and archived on the School Board Meetings website. Visit the School Board Meetings webpage to watch SFAS School Board meetings and view meeting information and recaps.

❄️ Households within the school district boundaries should be receiving the Winter/Spring Community Education Catalog this month. Be on the lookout!

🎨 Elementary families! Check out these amazing youth enrichment offerings during January and February.

Follow the links to learn more about each class and to register:

• Very Messy Art Camp with Kidcreate Studio
• Rainbow Candy Scene with Kidcreate Studio
• Very Messy Art & Rainbow Candy Scene Bundle Class
• Create N Sniff with Kidcreate Studio
• Let's Draw with Kidcreate Studio
• Create N Sniff & Let's Draw Bundle Class
• Igloo Surprise Cake Class
• Anime & Manga Card Quest with Kidcreate Studio
• Sparkle Science Spectacular with KidScientific
• Little Lego Bricks with Kidscientific
• Sweetheart Cupcakes Class
• Bee the Change choir

🎁 Students at Cedar Creek/East Bethel Elementary Kids Connection helped a family who was gathering donations to make sure every senior citizen at a local nursing home doesn't go without a gift this year by making holiday cards, ornaments and pictures.

By "adopting" a grandparent, each resident will receive a warm, fuzzy pair of socks, foot/hand lotion and a holiday card.

🗣️ Would you like to be involved in Community Education at St. Francis Area Schools? Consider becoming a member of the Community Education Advisory Council, which promotes the goals and objectives of community education. Remaining meetings for the 2024-25 school year are at 4 p.m. at the District Office on the following dates: January 16, March 20 and May 15.

📧 Contact Chris Lindquist, Director of Community Education, at chris.lindquist@isd15.org to learn more.

Independent School District No. 15 prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator. The notice of nondiscrimination is located at www.isd15.org.