Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a memorable holiday break with your extended family and friends! The kids were buzzing this Wednesday, as their vacation wound up nearing three weeks due to our extremely rare weather. At our Middle School morning meeting I asked the kids to complete this phrase: "Polar ------," and they shouted back, "Express!" So much for the dreaded "Vortex"!

 

And we are so pleased to welcome Lower School Dean and Dean of Faculty Jennifer Griffith back from her

maternity leave! Jen has had her hands full (literally!) with twins Charlie and Olivia (whose darling faces you can see below). It is great to see Jen back among the Lower School kids, and I have a feeling she was ready to get out of the house! Huge thanks are also in order to long-term substitute and parent Abby Yelton who did wonderful work in 2nd Grade Math in Jen's absence.

 

Likewise, we must pay tribute to Dewey Kincade, who stepped in so ably in Heather McGraw's absence. Taking over a Kindergarten class is a little daunting, but Dewey, guitar in hand, did it with grace, compassion, and skill (and probably got a little "education" of his own in the process!). Heather is back with us four days a week now, with Dewey continuing on with his "ducklings" the other day. We are all thrilled to have Heather back where she belongs. Our Lower School feels "complete" again.

 

On a somewhat sad note, we are saying goodbye (only "professionally"!) to After-School and Summer Program Coordinator/Advancement Assistant Andi McLeroy who has decided to work in the family business as of mid-January. Andi has done a phenomenal job in this capacity - and in too many other areas to mention! She can now get on with the business of raising Jane and Eston, which is plenty time-consuming, I'm sure. (And in true "Andi fashion," she has already volunteered to help with costumes for our spring play, A Comedy of Errors!)  

 

Meanwhile, Andi's replacement, Erika Schneider, has already begun and is quickly learning the ropes of St. Francis! Erika is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, and worked for seven years at The Courier-Journal. She and her husband, Todd Harris, have a daughter, Elliott, who will be joining us in the fall. Please join us all in welcoming Erika to St. Francis! You can email Erika at ESchneider@StFrancisSchool.org or call her at 502-795-3488.

 

Here's wishing you a wonderful start to 2014! 

Feel free to email me with any comments, questions or suggestions. 

SAVE THE DATE for this fiery event!

 

Get your tickets now to join us on Friday, January 31, at 6:30 p.m. at the Henry Clay for this year's Imagine! Art Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser. 

100% of the funds raised go directly toward the School's need-based scholarships. 

Invitations to the event should have been received over the holiday break ... don't miss this incredible evening for St. Francis School.

To make your reservation or for more information, please visit our website and click on Imagine! 

As Alexandra mentions in her January "Thoughts" article (coming soon!), progressive schools focus on intellectual skills and habits, as well as deep understanding.  

Differentiation of curriculum and meeting individual student's needs are a major part of that - be it an area that needs support or an area of giftedness.  

We are happy to announce that we have secured a matching gift to fund sending two of our Middle School teachers to Western Kentucky University's Gifted and Talented Endorsement program.  

The McHold/Campbell Family, new to St. Francis School and Louisville but long-time supporters of Progressive schools, have stepped up to fund one full faculty scholarship to WKU Gifted and Talented Endorsement Program as a matching gift. 

We will announce the faculty members chosen for this program shortly. If you are interested in helping to match this donation at any level please contact Síofra Rucker in the Advancement Office.

As a part of our Healthy Choices program, we have invited a Prevention Specialist from FCD Educational Services (Freedom from Chemical Dependency) to our school on January 13th and 14th to provide education to our Middle School students. 

FCD is a non-profit organization based in Massachusetts that provides substance abuse prevention education for schools. Their mission is to encourage and support the non-use of alcohol and other illegal or illicit drugs and to empower students to make healthy, responsible choices regarding alcohol and drug use.

In an effort to educate our whole community, the prevention specialist will be meeting with parents on Tuesday, January 14th at 8:00 a.m. in the Multipurpose room. The discussion will end by 9:15 a.m. We hope to see you there!

 

The Merit Scholarship Competition will be held on January 26th from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

 

Merit Scholarships are available for rising 6th and 9th graders. 

 

You can register for the competition by emailing us.

 

Find out more information about Merit Scholarships by visiting our website.    

 

 

The St. Francis Athletic Committee is pleased to announce the creation of a brand-new book that will bring together the whole SFS community in support of our athletic programs! 

 

This attractive collection of recipes, artwork, and poetry that celebrates all things St. Francis is titled, appropriately,"A Taste of St. Francis!" 

 

We are now soliciting contributions for "A Taste of St. Francis" from everyone in the SFS community which will be sold to raise funds to benefit athletic programs on both campuses in the coming years.  

 

We need YOU! Please submit your family's favorite recipe, a drawing, or a poem to us for potential inclusion in the "Taste of St. Francis". We want students, parents, alumni, teachers, and friends of St. Francis to be represented!  

 

Submissions requested by January 31, 2014. 

 

Please send electronically to Cassandra Zimmerman. 

Due to the rescheduling of the Big South Fork trip for the 8th grade class to the first week of March (the 3rd through the 7th), we have also had to shift our Parent Teacher Conferences to the following week on March 13th-14th. 

Conferences are in the evening on March 13th and all day March 14th (no school Friday). 

Please make a note of this in your calendars too!