It has been a tremendous privilege to serve the families of St. Francis school. Over my 28 years, I taught over 300 kindergarten and first grade students. While not all of those students will return to this Catholic community, those who have are starting to bring their children to St. Francis. Fond memories and excellent education bring them back to our beloved school.
0 Comments
We welcome winter and the second term with our students. Our students look forward to snow play time while the staff is concentrating on standardized testing and preparing for parent/teacher conferences in February.
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! I am truly honored to serve the students of Saint Francis School as their principal. Kindness and a sense of family run throughout the school. Christ is the center of what we do. This looks like praying together and practicing the virtues. This month we honored 12 students who demonstrated the virtue of kindness. We kicked off our community service for the Feast of Saint Francis. Our student leaders are taking charge of this event by inviting students who choose to participate can bring in pet food and kitty liter for the Humane Society.  Thank You Parents and Students!Seeing our students in action: helping throughout the school, working with focus, and enjoying each others company reminds me that meaningful contributions come in all sizes.
Yours in Christ, Principal and Head of the Administrative Team Julie M. Manion Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School had another incredible year. We developed a school-wide wellness plan that led to extra movement time and provided a multiage, after-school fit club. Our PE teachers, Mrs. Liz Burns and Mrs. Meghan Nelson, along with our nutrition specialist Mrs. Anne Geoghegan-Watts led students to healthy choices and activities. Our school's garden is in full bloom and producing pounds of vegetables to be given to our local Saint Vincent De Paul Society Kitchen. Mrs. Ana Daniels, the garden teacher, curated our annual plant sale, which brought in over $1000 for yearly improvements to keep the gardening program strong. The Administrative Team listened to parent input and identified areas for middle school Improvements. The Financial oversight committee has dedicated funds to make the improvements. Our goal is as always, academic excellence for all students. Our electives now include beginning career and technical training options, giving students a wide range of occupational experiences. Part-time positions have been moved to full-time creating more time for student support and supervision of small groups. Adding a part-time guidance counselor position will help our students work toward high school success and keep them on the track for advancement. Retreats were intentionally added this year in the fall, Advent, Lent, and spring. Mrs. Ball planned the fall retreat with traditional team-building activities, including St. Thomas Academy and St. Mary's at the Cascade Retreat Center in Powell Butte. Net.Ministries led the spring retreat. It was so successful that we invited them back for 2024. Retreats will continued to be offered along with socials and community service experiences to develop social/emotional maturity. Preschool-5th-grade students also had retreats focused on the Annunciation and the Holy Eucharist. Our Catholic identity is prominent throughout the school as students practice virtues and promote a Catholic worldview by being living examples of hospitality, generosity, and kindness. Working in the garden and completing community service projects are all part of our Catholic stewardship. Students participated in parish Masses as well as our weekly student Masses. Our elementary teachers continue to provide highly engaging strategies such as readers theater, storylines, and engineering projects. We are Oregon Natural Resources trained and draw connections to our states resources across the curriculum. Preschool and Pre-k are blooming! A grant from the early learning division helped us update our furniture and outdoor equipment. Everything is developmentally appropriate for our littlest learners. This is a first school experience for most of them. St. Francis Early Childhood Department continues to be licensed with Oregon State as a daycare center so we are able to offer summer care for our registered Kindergarten through fourth grade students. Our school’s garden is in full bloom and producing pounds of vegetables are given to our local Saint Vincent De Paul Society Kitchen. Mrs. Ana Daniels, the Garden teacher, curated our annual plant sale, which brought in over $1000 for yearly improvements to keep the gardening program strong. We love to hear visitors' comments on the school's warm, family feel and the students' peacefulness. We invite you to visit too. Julie M. Manion Head of the Administrative Team  End of Year Announcements
We will have some staff changes for the 2023-24 school year. 5th grade will be led by Mr. Marr. Middle School Social Studies and k-5 STEM will be taught by Mr. Hann Middle School Math will be taught by Mrs. Cardwell. Middle School Language Arts will be taught by Mrs. O'Donnell. Middle School Religion will be taught by Sr. Shaila. Middle School Health and PE will be taught by Mrs. Burns. We are seeking a science teacher. Middle school Spanish will be taught by Mrs. Daniels. Middle School Art, Music, and Band will remain the same with Mrs. Wambolt, Mrs. Rastovich, and Mr. Zwahlen. A new addition to our middle school line-up will be in Student activities. Ms. Ball will lead academic advising, student leadership, National Junior Honor Society, and student activities, as well as advanced Math. Miss Kirstin Lovely will be returning to University of Portland to complete her Masters in Education. Kirstin taught Social Studies and Language Arts this year. We wish her the best of luck and success in her studies. Mrs. Petersen has decided she is ready to leave Kindergarten but not the teaching profession. She will job share the first grade with Mrs. Blackmarr. She will be looping with her current class. Mrs. Blackmarr will be on site Monday-Wednesday. Mrs. Petersen will be on site Wednesday afternoon through Friday. Our new Kindergarten teacher will be Ms. Glover. She is excited to have her own classroom after substituting and student teaching in Redmond. She enters with experience teaching our Wonders reading program and working with students in centers. We are grateful for our remaining staff who are each amazing, innovative teachers and will be mentors and role models for our newest members. Julie m. Manion Head of the Administrative Team
. . .and they shall call Him Emmanuel, a name which means "God is with us." Matthew 1:23  May our ever present Savior fill your family with peace in this Christmas season so that you may have all that you need to shape your mind and heart to the will of our Heavenly Father.
|
AuthorMrs. Manion is the Head of the Administrative Team Archives
June 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed