St. Francis Update
Week of August 22 to August 26 Dear St. Francis of Assisi students and families, Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen Saint Francis of Assisi was a Catholic friar who gave up a life of wealth to live a life of poverty. He developed a deep love of nature and animals during his life, and is known as the patron saint of the environment and animals. In October, we will celebrate the changing of our school name – more details to come in the upcoming weeks! Welcome back! It has been a wonderful few days welcoming our students back into the building, and we have had a smooth start to the school year. Our priorities have been focused on ensuring students feel safe and supported, and building a sense of welcoming community within each class. Throughout this year, we will try to email all our families at the start of each week with events and relevant information. Course Changes and Classes We have been making schedule changes for students to ensure grade requirements and student interests. Most teachers have set up their class in MS Teams and students should be able to access those in the next few days. Parking A reminder to parents and students regarding parking, morning drop offs and afternoon pickups. The drop off loop is on the north side of the building; the first turn off when travelling on Duke Rd from Lewes Blvd. We are asking everyone to use this location to ensure safety (the staff parking lot is not designed for drop offs). We would also like to remind students to park their cars in the student parking lot. Thank you all for your cooperation in this matter. Attendance Procedures Attendance in classes is the biggest contributor to student success and we take attendance tracking seriously. It is the responsibility of all Parent/Guardians to inform the office of all excused absences from school. The office will call home for unexcused students missing first block. Automated phone calls are generated to call home for any unexcused absences after the school day has finished. Please inform the office of any absences by calling 667-5901 and speaking with any office staff, if you call after school hours you can leave a voicemail. Or, if it is more convenient, please feel free to email us at [email protected]. Grad The new grad website is www.stfrancisgrad.com. Grads, please visit this website to stay informed. Also grad parents, ensure that the school has a current email address for you on file, as that is how most grad related information will be sent out. Student Tutoring All St. Francis students can receive tutoring from other students for assistance in course work, assignments or organizational skills. The students requesting tutors are self-identified, or identified by their parents or teachers. To receive tutoring the student simply needs to fill in an application in the Skills Room (Room 3). Students in Grade 10, 11, or 12 can apply to be a tutor. Tutors can earn either service learning hours or an hourly wage. Peer tutors are paid on a graduated scale, which increases with grade level and number of hours tutored. Potential tutors need to come in person to the Skills room and fill in an application. Students will be matched one on one by the Learning Assistance Teachers. Outstanding School Materials There are many students who have not yet returned textbooks, library resources and English novels which were used last year. These items remain on a student’s record and may prevent them from having access to new resources. We ask for your help in having these items returned ASAP. Picture Day School photos are on September 1st and 2nd. More details to come on Monday! Welcome to Our New and Returning Staff
Join us on Instagram @stfrancisyukon. Blessings, The St. Francis of Assisi Admin Team, Alethea Wallace, A/Principal; Mia Ouellette, A/Vice-Principal; Janet Clarke, A/Vice Principal Dear families,
Today we are excited to share a new name for your school. Together with the school council, we are pleased to announce “St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Secondary School” as the new name for Vanier Catholic Secondary School. This name was picked after accepting suggestions from students and families. The name “St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Secondary School” was chosen because it encompasses the mission and values of the school community. The dedication to St. Francis embodies the school’s focus on Catholic faith, respect for the land, animals, and natural resources, and social, economic, and environmental justice. St. Francis of Assisi is a canonized saint. He was born in 1181 and died in 1226. He is the patron saint of the natural environment and animals, and a champion for interfaith dialogue, particularly with Islam, which is more relevant now than ever. Pope Francis (who chose to be named after St. Francis of Assisi) has always exemplified a renewed focus of serving those “on the margins” and social, economic, and environmental justice. This is something the school promotes and encourages on a daily basis. Thank you to everyone who participated in this renaming process. There will be more details to share at the beginning of the next school year. Have a great summer! Sincerely, Ryan Sikkes ADM, Schools and Student Services Department of Education Well, here we are. The last two weeks of school are upon us. Like much of life under COVID, we have had some mixed experiences, but I like to think we are ending on a high note.
Our students will come back all a little older. This is a time of noticeable change for our students. The older they get, the more noticeable the change. So parents, guardians, enjoy the summer with your children, for they won’t be children much longer. This is one parcel of wisdom I have picked up in my wizened state. I want to sincerely apologise to those who did not get an invitation to our recent Awards I ceremony last Tuesday. A glitch in our school record program, Aspen, prevented some invitations from going out to parents. I am as disappointed as many of you. It was a good night, and to think that many didn’t make it because of computer glitch makes me sick. We have come up for a work around for our Awards II celebration on Wednesday, June 8 in the afternoon. Again, my sincerest apologies. Events The Final Exam Schedule is posted to our website, vcss.ca. If you have any conflicts, please let Ms. Wallace, our VP, know ASAP. She can be reached at [email protected]. The schedule is heavy on the front but light on the back end. Exams start Thursday, June 9. The Last Day of Classes is Wednesday, June 8. Classes will be as normal as possible for the AM. At lunch we are hoping that members of the RCMP will be able to take on our grad class for the Jim Giczi Memorial Dodgeball Tournament. Then, we will have a Pizza lunch brought to us by Jhennette, Kim, and Jerry from the Cafeteria and the YFNED. We will follow this up with the Awards II celebration where we give out the non-subject related prizes. We will have a locker clean-out, and then call it. It is a PLC, so we have an early dismissal. Tuesday, June 7, there will be a school council meeting in the Learning Commons at 7 PM. Any folks interested in training for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori approach to forming young children (ages 3-12) in the faith, please contact [email protected] and have a look at the poster on our website. Report cards should be able to be mailed out by June 20th. The 2022-2023 school year begins Monday, August 22. Grades 8s will have an orientation in the afternoon of Friday, August 19. Finally, I will be back in the classroom next year teaching senior classes. Thank you for your kind words over the past year. We have no news on a new principal, nor do we know much about the new name for the school. May Christ’s love colour all you do throughout the summer. See you next year! Blessings, KJ Awards 1 Ceremony is tonight in the small gym at 7:00 pm.
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