
Weekly Family Newsletter
September 29th, 2023

Reminder: No school for students Friday, October 6th.
September ended with much team spirit and fun!
October has us looking forward to the St. Francis of Assisi Mass and Pet Blessing; Open House; band starting; Take My Family to Mass; and our Family Halloween Dance and Trunk or Treat.
You will see in this newsletter some important information from our Diocesan Superintendent, Frank Arvizzigno, as well as, a family survey for our reaccreditation with Middle States.
Final reminder is that we do not have school this Friday, October 6 and Monday, October 9 as it is the Superintendent's Conference Day and Columbus/Indigenous Person Day weekend.
Have a lovely week and God bless you!
What is Middle States Accrediation?
Dear Catholic School Families, Faculty, and Staff,
The Diocese of Rochester is in the midst of a self-assessment process that includes feedback and input from the full school community including students, their families, teachers, and other members of your school. Your participation in this survey is anonymous and the data from these surveys will be used by a committee at your school to determine the strengths of your school, as well as the areas that may need improvement. The results of the surveys will also be provided to a team of visitors that will visit your school to validate the self-assessment your school has completed and determine if your school should be re-accredited by the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. The following survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. There are several pages of multiple-choice questions, and the survey ends with three narrative questions where you are encouraged to share written comments. Please click on the following link to access this survey. The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, October 13th.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WL2B9YN
Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this survey!
God bless,
Frank Arvizzigno
Superintendent of Schools
Diocese of Rochester
2023 New York State Test Scores
This week students in grades 4-8 received copies of their New York State test scores for Math and ELA. Please see the letter from our Superintendent regarding these copies you received.
Band starts on Wednesday! Don't forget your instrument!
St. Francis of Assisi Mass and Pet Blessing - Wednesday, October 4 at 8:30 am.
Please join us for 8:30 am Mass at St. Stephen Church.
Following Mass Fr. Carlos will bless pets on the playground.
Families bringing pets, just note, pets cannot come to Mass with us or stay at school following the blessing.
If your family is unable to bring a pet or if the pet will not do well with other pets, students may bring a picture of their pet.
Student Council
Did you know we have a middle school student council?
Our student council has started the year focused on service and school improvement. It has been very exciting to see the council apply the democratic process to elect positions and to discuss what they desire to do to make a difference for their school and community.
Their first project is shown below:
Walk-a-thon
At the time of publication, we have raised $15,940.
Congratulations to Preschool/PreK, 1st grade, and 6th grade for meeting their class goal and earning a pizza party. A date for this party will be sent home to these classes in the coming days. Students who raised or exceeded their goal will be entered in a raffle for gift cards this week. We are still working on double checking our lists and amounts.
Great job everyone! This really helps us stay on course for our overall fundraising goal.
We want to thank:
- Every family who continued to spread the word and obtain pledges.
- The Chen family and Freihofers for water, juice, and snack donations.
- Mr. Spink for making popcorn.
- The HWS Football team, America Read tutors, family, and friends for coming to cheer us on.
Next fundraiser is Finger Lakes Coffee. Order forms coming home this week.
Ask Fr. Carlos
Every so often we have questions about the Catholic faith and some of our traditions. I asked Fr. Carlos if he would like to be part of our newsletter to help answer some of the questions students and families have. Here is a common one.
My family is not Catholic. Are we still welcomed to attend Mass?
The shortest answer to this question is an absolute Yes. You are more than welcome to attend Holy Mass with us, even if you are not Catholic. The Catholic Church is not a “secret society” where only selected members are allowed to join and participate. People of all faiths and backgrounds are always welcome to celebrate with us in church and join us in worship, to pray and sing together as brothers and sisters. Believe me, the priest will be happy to see new faces in the pews and families coming together. The only request for non-Catholics is to refrain from receiving holy communion. We (Catholics) believe that the very Body and precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are truly contained in the consecrated host. Therefore, to join us in holy communion requires not only to have received the sacraments of Baptism and First Eucharist previously but also having a firm conviction that what we believe about this Sacrament is real and true. However, you are always welcome to approach the priest during communion to receive a blessing. You may want to present yourself to the minister with crossed arms indicating that you are not receiving holy communion. So, don’t be a stranger, join us for mass, bring your family and let us celebrate together. God bless you!
Updated October Calendar
We are going to visit the St. Francis and St. Clare parish October 15 as a school family to say thank you and show off our school spirit.
We have 4 parishes who are part of our school family and they support Catholic education. Each of these pastors and communities would love to see our students in their uniform to know that their support is appreciated and that Catholic education is still thriving in our region.
Virtual Information Sessions for New Families
Didn't we just start school?
Yes, yes, we did! But, it's not too early to start having new families consider our school. And we do enroll students throughout the year.
Please pass on our information to our virtual information sessions to families you know who might consider our school. Our virtual information sessions are convenient for working families and part of our admission process.