SFCS Weekly Howl - 3.25.24

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, began the most sacred and holy week in our Liturgical Year. I hope your Lenten journey has been a reflective one and one of surrender to Christ. This week offers several more opportunities to experience the humility and hope in Christ during the final days of this Lenten season, with Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and of course Easter Sunday, a day of celebration and renewal.

Students in grades 2nd through 8th will begin their Assessment of Religious Knowledge (ARK) today, during Religion. This testing is short and all students, unless they are absent, should finish this week.

We are looking forward to celebrating our community of Grandparents and Grandfriends on Wednesday. Grandparents and Grandfriends should go directly to St. Francis By the Sea Catholic Church for the 8:30 a.m. Mass. Please sit on the left side of the aisle. The students will arrive and sit with their class on the right side. After Mass, Grandparents and Grandfriends will attend a breakfast reception in the gym, followed by a wonderful program featuring all of the SFCS students. After the program, students and their Grandparents or Grandfriends, will have the opportunity to go to the classrooms, tour the campus, and have photos taken with their grandchildren. The photos will be taken in the library. We are excited to welcome everyone to this special event! This day is also a noon dismissal, signaling our Easter break to begin. Students will return to school on Monday, April 8.

Please be on the lookout for a Weekly Howl - "Our Lenten Journey" Edition, to be published at the end of the week.

Wishing you a peace-filled week of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this final week of Lent.

Blessings,

Andrea

Andrea Smith, M.Ed., LPC, NCC

Principal

**FOR INFORMATION ON ATHLETICS, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE ATHLETICS SECTION. Due to changes impacting practice or competitions that may occur, please be sure you follow the email communication you receive from the coaches. That information will be the most current. **

March 25 - ARK Testing - grades 2nd - 8th

March 26 - No Bake Club

March 27 - Grandparents' Day - noon dismissal

March 28 - Holy Thursday - No School

March 29 - Good Friday - No School

April 1 - 5 - Spring Break - No School

April 9 - Bake Club

Parent Meeting for DC Travellers

April 10 - Schoolwide Rosary

April 11 - 14 - 7/8th Grade DC Trip

April 16 - Bake Club

April 18 - Tentative Piano Concert with International Piano Contestant

April 23 - Bake Club

April 25 - International Day - 7th grade - Countries Around the World; PreK-8th Americana Celebration

April 30 - Bake Club

There will be a final parent meeting on Tuesday, April 9, at 6:00 p.m. in the School Library. Please make plans to attend this important meeting.

Enrollment for 2024-25 school year is now open! Current families may continue with their enrollment process for their student and siblings. We look forward to welcoming back each student in our Wolf family and welcoming new families! Please contact the school office for more information. (843) 681-6501.

The students, faculty and staff will participate in a schoolwide Rosary on April 10, praying for our School Community and the mission of Catholic education. Please join us at 8:15 a.m. from your home as we pray together.

Financial Aid applications for the '24.25 academic year should be completed through your FACTS account. The application deadline is May 1.

We would love to have you serve as an usher/greeter at our Weekly School Mass,. We have two slots available each week. Please click on the link below to reserve your date/time for the remaining school year during January - May 2024. We are grateful for your gift of time.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084FA4AC2BA3FACE9-46679241-weekly

April 21, 2024

May 19, 2024

Thank you to all who participated in our Lenten Food Drive for the Mercy Mission. The House of St. Nicholas brought in the most donations for the MS House competition, donating 83 items and earning 83 points. Way to go House of St. Nicholas! Thank you to all the MS students, especially Michael B., who donated 59 boxes of cereal! The food items were delivered to the Mercy Mission over the weekend. Thank you to Mrs. Jennifer Kelly and her family for making that delivery!

THANK YOU, WOLVES!

The 3rd Grade is leading a school-wide effort to collect Pop Tabs for Ronald McDonald House Charities, on behalf of our ministry partner, the Women of St. Francis. Join our efforts by bringing in pop tabs from soda cans this Lenten season! It takes approximately 1,128 pop tabs to equal one pound. The Ronald McDonald House Charities typically receive between $0.40 to $0.50 per pound of pop tabs. The program brings in an average of $6,000 each year. Last year over 13 million pop tabs were donated! Thank you for helping the 3rd grade make a difference for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The collection of the soda pop tabs will be ongoing through March 27.

Are you new to SFCS or have free time and are searching for ways to get involved at SFCS? There are many opportunities for parents to get involved at our school. Opportunities to consider are:

• FSA (meetings, committees, events, Spirit Store)
• In individual classrooms (reading, tutoring, etc.)
• During lunch
• Athletics and athletic events (Coaching, concessions, gate admissions, etc.)
• Weekly School Mass Greeter
• School events (i.e. Middle School Dance planning and decorating, Advent Concert, field trips, International Day - Salute to America Show, 8th Grade graduation)
• Fundraising efforts (Pottery Jam, FSA sponsored Gala, Athletics)
• Uniform Closet
• Summer - distribution of classroom materials and supplies

Contact Mrs. Smith for more information (andrea.smith@sfcshhi.com). All parents must go through a background clearance through the Diocese of Charleston. Please contact the School Office for information on the background screening process. Together we can make a difference!

Look what arrived in our Spirit Shop, just in time for Grandparent's Day, Easter baskets, and First Holy Communion? Our own custom designed St. Francis Holy Bears! The bears will be available in the Spirit Store during the following hours this week:

Monday - 3/25 - 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

Tuesday, 3/26 - 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday, 3/27 - 8:00 a.m. - noon

We will also have preorders of a special limited edition "St. Francis Bundle", which will contain a Tiny Saint of St. Francis of Assisi, a Tiny Saint rosary, and a SFCS Holy Bear. If you are interested in purchasing a limited-edition "St. Francis Bundle", please complete the form below and bring to the School Office. There will only be 10 bundles available for $40 each, first come - first served, so get your order form with payment in! Pick up for the "Bundles" will be on Wednesday, March 27.

We will also be running a Grandparents Day Special on SFCS T-shirts and baseball caps. Please see below. We look forward to welcoming you to the SFCS Spirit store where we have other SFCS merch to help fill your Easter baskets!

The Island Discount Card provides discounts at a variety of businesses on the Island. Each card is $25 or buy four get one free. Cards may be purchased from the School Office by check made out to SFCS or online through Hometown Ticketing. To purchase online, please click here SFCS ISLAND DISCOUNT CARDS. There is a small surcharge for processing when purchasing online. Thank you for supporting SFCS through the purchase of an Island Discount Card!

Thank you to Mrs. Barbara Gloven for her donation of Bibles, rosaries, and other materials to support the PreK religion curriculum. 💙🤍💛

The 2nd Grade Class was engaged in an around the world series through their Wonders reading curriculum. The students learned about and participated in the games they read about which are played in different countries around the world.

The 4th grade class had a wonderful learning experience at the State House in Columbia last week. They spent time in a legislative session and with the Governor of South Carolina! What a fabulous opportunity to enhance their curriculum!

The 5th Grade Class welcomed Dr. Tina, Mrs. Tina, and Mrs. Ellen from The Pregnancy Center and Clinic of the Low Country. This beautiful ministry supports mothers-to-be with medical services such as ultrasounds, outfitted diaper bags, counseling, and most importantly, prayer. Please join us as we continue to pray for the protection of the unborn.

Santiago stepped in as the PE teacher for the day, after redeeming his talent show certificate. Santiago led the 5th Grade Class in warmups, 5-5 basketball game, and knockout. He also selected our MVP for the day. Santiago was an excellent PE teacher!

This past week, the Houses participated in an athletic competition of kickball. The students had a great time competing and cheering each other on. Congratulations to the House of St. Adjutor and the House of St. Nicholas, for coming in first and second places, respectively. The next House competition is scheduled after Easter break and will focus on academics.

On Friday, the students, faculty, staff, parents, family, and friends, gathered for our 3rd quarter awards presentation. Our special guests, the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, presented two awards: a St. Patrick medal to Auggie S., and a St. Patrick statue to Briar S. for their academic achievements and exemplary demonstration in community service, school spirit, faith, and faithfulness. Congratulations Auggie and Briar, and to all of our students who were recognized for their academic achievements receiving the Merit, Honors, or Principal's award! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The bake club created sugar eggs for the Easter season. During this multi-step process, the students filled molds with a sugar mixture and let their eggs dry for several weeks. Then they created a scene inside their egg, using fondant, gum paste, and royal icing to make flowers, bunnies, and ducks. Many thanks to Mrs. Sweeney and the Bake Club volunteers, Eileen Lacombe, Melissa Markey and Joy Bott.

Monday - Baseball - SFCS vs McCracken at River Ridge Field, 4:30 p.m.

Girls Soccer - practice at Chaplin Field, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday - Soccer - SFCS vs Patrick Henry - 6:00 p.m. (an email was sent on Sunday regarding directions)

Golf - practice at Sea Pines Country Club, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Thank you to our Athletic Sponsors for the 2023.24 academic year. We are grateful for your support!

Congratulations to SFCS alumni, Grace Boyden, Emilie Fister, Jake Heitman, Ella Christie, Jackson Rohr, and Isabella Terramoccia, attending Hilton Head Island High School, who were named as Senior Scholars for 2024. To earn this honor, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5, be in the top 10% of the class, and earned an A or B average every quarter. Way to go! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Do you have any news about alumni from SFCS? If so, please contact Andrea Smith (andrea.smith@sfcshhi.com) with information to share. Please include the year of SFCS graduation.

St. Francis Catholic School, a ministry of St. Francis By the Sea Catholic Church, partners with several of the Parish ministries. Please refer to this section of the Weekly Howl for information and events of those ministries who have a partnership with our school.

The St. Francis Thrift Shop is looking for volunteers to work in the store. Any amount of time you can give the SF Thrift Shop will fit your availability into a schedule. Interested volunteers should contact Eleanor Bell, Embell31@outlook.com.

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