Parent Newsletter Archives
Principal’s Newsletter 2/24/23
Dear St. Francis Families,
This week we celebrated a beautiful Ash Wednesday Mass in our gymnasium, and welcomed a number of parents, grandparents, and family members. I am always moved by the beauty of our service and the involvement of our Troubies. We are truly blessed to have such a dedicated parent community that supports and cherishes our Catholic values.
I am also happy to welcome Dr. Felicia Haecker as our new Diversity Coordinator. She will officially join the St. Francis staff on Tuesday, February 28. I look forward to you meeting and interacting with her in the near future.
Additionally, as we begin the Lenten Season this week, I offer you the following prayer:
Heavenly Father,
As we enter our Lenten journey, guide us to the path that leads to you. Fill our hearts with gratitude, patience, strength, and peace as we strive to become the best version of ourselves, honestly admitting our shortcomings and sins.
As we renew our resolve each day to become a better person, let us hear your voice in the deepest reaches of our heart. Give us rest in you.
Help us to accept others, showing them your great love instead of casting judgment.
Stay with us through the busy days this week, and remind us that when we need comfort, solitude, wisdom, or guidance, we can always turn to you.
Help us develop discipline and generosity through fasting and almsgiving and come closer to you through prayer this Lent.
St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us!
In the spirit of Pax et Bonum (peace and goodness),
Elias Mendoza
Principal
Principal’s Newsletter 2/17/23
Dear St. Francis Families,
As we close out the third week of February, it’s important to note that we have 13-weeks remaining in the school year and plenty of work to do in the meantime. Please encourage your Troubies to keep their eyes on the prize and not lose sight of the finish line, whether it be graduation or completing their current grade level. Summer break will be here before they know it.
I hope you have a wonderful Presidents Holiday and get some time to enjoy the three-day weekend. We look forward to the coming week, as we begin course registration for the 2023-2024 school year.
Dear Lord, thank you for all the men and women who have given their talents to educating our young women. We thank them for their hard work and dedication, and we pray that they may continue to work in support of our school.
St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us!
In the spirit of Pax et Bonum (peace and goodness),
Elias Mendoza
Principal
Principal’s Newsletter 2/10/23
Dear St. Francis Families,
Earlier this week, official acceptance letters went out to our new Troubies and their families. The class of 2027 will come to St. Francis in a few short weeks to formally register for their classes. We are excited to welcome all of our new families, and look forward to a fun, faith-filled and rewarding four years together.
Also, as you are aware, Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday, February 14, and several of our students ask about balloons, flowers, stuffed animals, chocolates, and other items being delivered. We do not accept any deliveries for students due to health and safety concerns, as well as our inability to store them in the front office. We encourage students to celebrate after school and/or have those items delivered to her home address. We appreciate your understanding, and I hope all of our Troubies feel loved and appreciated on Valentine’s Day.
St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us!
In the spirit of Pax et Bonum (peace and goodness),
Elias Mendoza
Principal
Principal’s Newsletter 2/3/23
Dear St. Francis Families,
One of my favorite things about our students is their ability to work hard and play hard. This shined through during our week-long celebration of Catholic education for Pax et Bonum Week, where treats and creative dress-up days were in abundance. Our Troubies brought their energy, enthusiasm and school spirit every single day this week. Several members of our Board of Trustees witnessed our festivities firsthand when they joined us to celebrate mass, share in community lunch, and visit classrooms and departments.
It was a fitting week to launch the official start of our Strategic Planning work with the first visit from our team of consultants from Meitler, who have a 50-year history of serving Catholic schools across the nation. The visionary, mission-driven, long range planning that takes place during the process aims to provide a clear vision for the future, define our key priorities for the medium to long term, and set out strategies for achieving goals and defined objectives. We are blessed to have a dedicated Strategic Planning Committee comprised of school affiliates, diocesan partners and community members. All of our parents/guardians will be asked to participate in a survey in March as part of our Strategic Planning work. We encourage and welcome your insights and input.
We also cap the week off with an exciting announcement that we will formally share next week. St. Francis will be piloting a new program in fall bringing two college courses right here to our SFHS campus. This new partnership with the Los Rios Community College District will allow St. Francis students the chance to complete college credits without ever leaving our campus. We are grateful to American River College and the two professors who will be teaching the courses. We promise to share more details with all of you soon including course offerings, registration, and schedules.
We hope your daughters enjoyed celebrating the blessings of a St. Francis education with us!
In the spirit of Pax et Bonum,
Fadia Desmond
President
Principal’s Newsletter 1/27/23
Dear St. Francis Families,
It was a pleasure seeing so many parents and grandparents at today’s Switch with a Parent (SWAP) Day. It was great to see the enthusiasm of parents getting involved, experiencing their daughter’s classes in a fun and memorable way. Hopefully your daughters got to sleep in and enjoy the day off from school.
We look forward to seeing you again next year and appreciate those parents that were able to spend half of their day with us.
Next week is Pax et Bonum week, in which we recognize and celebrate the value of Catholic education. If you’re available, please join us for our Pax et Bonum Mass on Wednesday, February 1 from 10:00 – 11:10am.
Lastly, I hope to see some of you tomorrow evening at our sold-out Crab Feed! Cocktail hour begins at 5:30pm, followed by dinner at 7:00pm.
May God continue to bless our school community.
St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us!
Pax et Bonum (peace and goodness),
Elias Mendoza
Principal
Principal’s Newsletter 1/20/23
Dear St. Francis Families,
We are anticipating a fun week ahead as we resume our annual SWAP (Switch With a Parent) Day on Friday, January 27, and our always fun-filled (and sold out!) Crab Feed on Saturday, January 28. I look forward to seeing you at one or both of these events. The week after is Pax et Bonum Week, in which we celebrate the gift of Catholic education.
In the spirit of the upcoming weeks, I offer this reflective prayer:
Loving God,
We give you thanks for the many blessings you have given us through our families: through our parents, our primary educators in the faith; through our siblings, who walk with us on our earthly journey; and through all who guard and guide us in your light and in your truth.
We pray you will continue to inspire our families, so that our devotion to you and our care for one another may be a visible sign of your conditional love. We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us!
Pax et Bonum (peace and goodness),
Elias Mendoza
Principal