SFCS Weekly Howl - 8.26.24

As we begin our third week of school, it's wonderful to see the students settling in their classroom routines. The early elementary students are adjusting well to a full day of learning and activities. The elementary students are champs with the review of former concepts and the introduction of new ones. The middle school students are enjoying getting to know their teachers and navigating more independence than in their elementary years. The 8th grade is showing solid leadership and setting excellent examples for their middle school peers.

Thank you to all who attended our new family gathering and Back to School Night. We truly value partnering with our parents in Catholic education. Our Back to School Night provides a wonderful evening for our faculty and staff to connect with parents, sharing the school's vision and mission, and demonstrating how these principles come to life in the classroom. While I was disappointed to miss both of these annual events, it was a gift to be able to meet my new baby granddaughter and celebrate my 4-year-old granddaughter's birthday. God's hand, love, and wisdom are so evident as the circle of life continues with my son's beautiful family, and with yours. Thank you for sharing your precious gift of life with us and trusting us to educate your children and grandchildren with excellence.

We are looking forward to another fabulous week at SFCS! Please plan to attend one of our home Volleyball games in the "Wolves' Den" this week as we kick off the VB season. (See Athletics feature below). The concession stand will be stocked and ready for you and your family with pizza, snacks, fruit, and drinks. The packets for our Cookie Dough Fundraiser will be sent home this week. We are hopeful each family will be able to sell $150 worth of products to meet one of our FSA fundraising goals. This high quality, frozen, cookie dough is so convenient to have on hand to bake for the holidays, social events, school lunch boxes, etc. I love how it comes prepped in the dough balls you simply pop onto a cookie sheet and bake. There is nothing like a warm cookie from the oven without a mess to clean up! Also, this week, the 6th grade class will participate in their class Spiritual Retreat. Finally, Friday, August 30th is the last day to commit to Pizza Fridays, when once a month, beginning in September, students will have pizza for lunch. (See the Pizza Friday feature below).

Wishing you a fantastic week ahead.

It's a great time to be a St. Francis Wolf!

Blessings,

Andrea

Andrea Smith, M.Ed., LPC, NCC

Principal

***FOR ATHLETIC PRACTICES AND COMPETITIONS, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO ATHLETICS***

August 30 - 6th Grade Retreat

Pizza Fridays Form and Payment Due

September 2 - Labor Day - No School

September 3 - Feast Day T-shirt Preorders Due!

September 4 - 23 - Fall MAP Testing

September 6 - 6th Grade Retreat

September 11 - 15 - St. Ignatius Book Fair

September 13 - Themed Dress Up Day - Western

Pizza Friday Lunch

September 20 - 3rd & 4th Grade Retreat

September 27 - School Pictures

October 4 - St. Francis Feast Day and 2nd Annual Feast Day Festival

October 9 - 8th Grade PSAT Testing - Noon Dismissal for all

October 11 - Themed Dress Up Day - Neon

Pizza Friday Lunch

October 24 & 25 - Parent Teacher Conferences - 10/24 Noon Dismissal - 10/25 - Students Asynchronous Learning

Fifth grader, Kylie S., and her mentor, artist Mary Ann Hanna, were the featured artists at the Beaufort County Library Hilton Head Branch, July 15-August 16, 2024. Kylie exhibited 24 of her original paintings in the library’s gallery. Kylie’s medium of choice is acrylics. She uses bold strokes, blending and texture to create realistic and abstract works of art. Since the Fall of 2022, Kylie has studied under the tutelage of Mary Ann Hanna. Congratulations to Kylie for being selected as one of the featured artists! We are so proud of you!

Congratulations to the following students who will serve as the new Beta Club Officers for the 2024.25 school year.

President: Eleanor B.

Vice President: Grady F.

Secretary: Cadence S.

Chaplin: Henry W.

Do you have clean, brown, paper grocery bags to donate? Mrs. Sweeney needs the bags (with or without handles) for upcoming art projects. Please bring your bags to the School Office. Thank you for your help!

COURTESY

"Treating others with respect; recognizing that all are made in God's image and likeness."

OUR PRAYER

Dear Jesus,

"Help me show respect to others in my words and actions."

Amen.

PreK/K students are dismissed at 2:45 p.m. Students in grades 1st - 8th are dismissed at 3:00 p.m. We recognize that there are times parents or the designated pick up person can run late. For the safety of our students, if PreK/K students are not picked up by 3:00 p.m. or 1st - 8th students are not picked up by 3:15 p.m., their designated pick-up person will be contacted, and the student(s) will be brought to Aftercare. Charges will be incurred depending on the length of time a student is in Aftercare. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

We are thrilled to offer a full year of Pizza Fridays each month throughout the year. Families may have their student(s) participate in Pizza Fridays by completing the form (see attachment below) and prepaying on or before August 30. This form was also included in your blue Back to School folder. For your convenience, you may also pay online by clicking the link below:

PIZZA FRIDAYS- 2nd FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH | St. Francis Catholic School Box Office (hometownticketing.com)

Don't miss out on this convenient lunch option, as once the August 30 (this Friday) deadline hits the opportunity to participate in Pizza Fridays for the year will be gone! 🍕

Come by the St. Ignatius Press Book Fair, September 11 - 15 in the SFCS Library. Students will have an opportunity to look at the books and build a wishlist. Families will be able to stop in after school and on Sunday, September 15, after the 9:00 a.m. Mass. We are excited to welcome this publisher of so many wonderful books for our school and families!

We are looking forward to celebrating the Feast of St. Francis on October 4th, with our 2nd Annual Feast Day Festival! Families will have the opportunity to preorder this year's t-shirt. Order forms and sales will also be available at Back to School Night on Thursday at the FSA table. The deadline to order your student's Feast Day shirt will be September 3. If you would like to order online now, please click on this link:

https://sfcshhi.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/18?access_code=928d3b5903d2b2dd337e16069f4256b29e190c34

There will not be additional sales after the presale deadline. On Feast Day, students may wear this year's t-shirt throughout the day. Let's unite together and be a community of pink, celebrating our Patron Saint, St. Francis of Assisi!

Thank you to Fr. Christopher, who celebrated Mass with our students last week, providing a wonderful teaching experience for each part of the Mass. It was a special morning for our school community!

September 15

October 20

November 17

December 15

January 26 (Catholic Schools Week)

February 9

March 16

No mass in April

May 18

We are happy to introduce you to our new FSA Co-chairs, Laura Clare and Jarren Kostrzewski. Laura has two boys enrolled at SFCS and Jarren has three girls enrolled at SFCS! Both Laura and Jarren have exciting plans for our school this year. Mrs. Smith is looking forward to a wonderful partnership with these two talented ladies! Stop by the FSA table and meet them on Thursday evening at our Back to School Night and learn how you can get involved with FSA this year. Welcome Laura and Jarren!

St. Francis Catholic School cookie dough fundraiser starts TODAY, and we need your help. Packets will be going home with your students featuring the products available for purchase and explaining the fundraiser, but you may follow the instructions below to begin selling. Our goal is to have each family sell at least $150.00!

It's as simple as 1, 2, 3!

1. Register at https://www.shopfund.com/

· Follow the link, click “Parents & Sellers”

· Register or log in

· "Join a New Fundraiser”

· Select “South Carolina”

· Type: St Francis Catholic School - Hilton Head 29926-2709– should pre-populate when typing.

· Add your student(s)!

2. Share custom student support links with family & friends.
3. Student Goal: 5 Online Supporters.

REGISTER-SHARE-WIN: Sharing gets you tickets for chances to win over $100,000 in instant prizes.

• Online orders usually ship within 1-2 weeks of shopping completed. The customer will get confirmation and notification when order ships.
• Frozen items will be shipped to St. Francis Catholic School between November 6th-15th. We will communicate as soon as we receive confirmation of the delivery date.
• Your Orders will have to be picked up that day.
• Non-frozen/Non-cold food items can be shipped to the person ordering.

The SFCS Spirit Shop will have regular hours soon, but for now, the Spirit Shop be open by appointment. Please contact the School Office (843) 681-6501.

We are happy to announce that the St. Francis Catholic School “Gridiron Gala" is slated for Saturday, February 1, 2025 at Poseidon’s Rooftop Bar. Put on your team colors for an evening of fundraising, food and fun. Information on sponsorships and ticket sales will be announced soon. See you at kickoff!

We are off to a fantastic start with the sale of our '24.25 Island Discount Cards, featuring discounts at a variety of businesses on the Island. Thank you to all who have purchased the cards. Each card is $25 or buy four get one free. Cards may be purchased from the School Office by check (made out to SFCS), at the Parish Office, 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!

Pre-K continues to work on letter recognition and this week highlighted the first letter in each of the students' name. The students had fun learning through play during their Centers time.

Kindergarten used their Literacy and fine motor skills this week to create name cloud rainbows, review the letters big "A" and little "a", and problem solve puzzles. We love Kindergarten!

It’s a jungle out there! (And actually, in the Second Grade hallway, as well!) Mrs. Gaherty and Mrs. Schoeppe are leading the 2nd grade class in exploring new ideas, stories, and skills during this important year! They are all looking forward to a wonderful journey together during this new academic year!

This week in math, the 4th Graders learned how to make change from coins and bill...with play money of course!

Mrs. Brewster’s 5th Grade Science class is taking on the NGSS and Faith.

Do you trust God, even when it seems impossible? We took this to the test and punctured plastic bags filled with water with a pencil. The polymer molecule structure of the plastic stayed intact, and the water did not leak.

“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

The St. Francis By the Sea Youth Ministry led the 7th grade class in a variety of spiritual activities last Friday offering the opportunity to grow closer together as a class and to the Lord. Activities included Mass, small and large group discussions, and games. We hope the 7th grade class enjoyed their spiritual retreat day!

Over the next several weeks, the Houses will prepare for their Spirit Rally Competition, competing on September 5. Which House will be first on the board with points for first, second, or third place?

Our Middle School Clubs began meeting this week. Thank you to our sponsors, Susan Hudgins - Stock Market Club, Mike Adair - Business Club, Dave Klub - Chess Club, and Ron Angner - Robotics!

We kicked off the Middle School Leadership Academy last week, with guest speaker, Alan Wolf, President of Serg Restaurant Group. Mr. Wolf spoke to the students about traits of a good leader, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes to grow in leadership. Thank you, Mr. Wolf, for engaging our Middle School students in discussion on good leadership. We would be grateful for you to share your wisdom on your career path and what leadership skills are/were needed during your career. Please click on the link below to sign up or contact Andrea Smith, Principal, (andrea.smith@sfcshhi.com) for more information.

This past week, students, faculty, and staff participated in safety drills to include, tornado, earthquake, lock down, and fire. Everyone did an excellent job in getting to their safe space and clearing the building when needed.

*Please be sure to check your email for any updates on practices and competitions from the Athletic Director or the team's coach, as changes may happen after the Weekly Howl is published.

Monday, 8/26

3:15-4:15 - Cross-Country Practice - Jarvis Creek Park

3:30-5 - JV Volleyball Practice - SFCS Gym

5-6:30 - Varsity Volleyball Practice - SFCS Gym

Tuesday, 8/27

4:30 - Varsity Volleyball Home Game vs. Bolden - SFCS Gym

5:00 - Cross-Country Meet at MCAS

Wednesday, 8/28

3:15-4:15 - Cross-Country Practice - Jarvis Creek Park

4:00 p.m. - JV Volleyball Home Game vs. JPII - SFCS Gym

5:00 p.m. - Varsity Volleyball Home Game vs. JPII - SFCS Gym

Thursday, 8/29

3:15-4:15 - Cross-Country Practice - Jarvis Creek Park

4:30 - JV Volleyball Home Game vs. Riverview - SFCS Gym

5:30 - Varsity Volleyball Home Game vs. Riverview - SFCS Gym

The SFCS Cross Country Team has been training hard these last few weeks as they prepare for their meets.

Thank you to our families and businesses who have committed to an athletic sponsorship supporting the SFCS Wolves during the 2024.25 academic year.

Thank you to those families and businesses who have become '24.25 SFCS Athletic Sponsors! Sponsorships are still available! If you are interested in becoming an Athletic Sponsor for the 2024.25 academic year, please see information below. Our sponsors will be highlighted beginning next week in the Weekly Howl!

This week we have the need for parent volunteers to help at our home games. Parents of students participating in Volleyball this season are expected to volunteer at five games during the Volleyball season. We also welcome parents who don't have students participating in Volleyball for volunteer positions at our home games. To sign up, please click on the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A094BA9A728A0F49-50857906-sfcs

We are grateful for the time you are able to dedicate to serving our school with our athletic program. Parents who volunteer will get free admission for their children to attend if there is another parent or adult to supervise the children. Children may not be left unsupervised while a parent is volunteering. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with keeping all students safe.

Registration for the Fall SFCS Equestrian team is still open. Please contact Moss Creek Stables (mosscreekstables.com) for more information.

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