Reed Gabhart Head of Goshen Campus

This Friday at a full school Morning meeting, we were all treated to a special presentation courtesy of first-year Mandarin Chinese teacher Qianxin Zhu!

Sunday, February 2^nd may be Groundhog Day and "Super Bowl Sunday" here, but in China it is a much more meaningful day: Celebration of the Chinese New Year! We found out that this is the biggest holiday of the year to the Chinese people, much like our Christmas/Hanukkah holiday season in December, and lasts for two weeks. So while Qianxin enjoyed experiencing the American version of the "holidays" (and seeing snow for the first time!), we feel for her as she is missing her homeland's most special days of the year.

 

As for the cultural program, Chinese students first defined for us the significance of this holiday. Slides on the big screen in the background showed the special foods, traditions, and folk tales that are traditionally eaten and shared over the fortnight. They spoke and displayed Chinese words and characters, which are always interesting to those of us with no knowledge of the Chinese language (and the kids loved repeating them back!). We saw all the animals of the Chinese zodiac and heard their Chinese names. 2014 is, as we found out,  "The Year of the Horse"! Two students wore an ornate lion costume, courtesy of the Confucius Classroom grant, and pranced around the stage. But the highlight was undoubtedly the Chinese Kung Fu Dance several of the students performed to traditional Chinese music and accented by bright red Chinese fans. 

 

We are so pleased we were able to receive a grant to allow Qianxin to travel to our community and teach Mandarin to our Middle School students. We are currently in the process of renewing this grant in the hopes we will have her back for next year. Either way, our Chinese program is growing! Next year, students in every Middle School grade will have the opportunity to study Chinese at the level that is appropriate for them. For students who move up to our Downtown Campus, they can continue on with their study of Chinese, as we are one of the very few schools in the Louisville area who offer this program - a program that is of ever-increasing value in a shrinking and changing world.

 

Later this spring we will offer a program to our rising 5th Grade students and parents to help them choose their World Language course for their Middle School years: Chinese or Spanish. In the meantime, watch out for the dancing lion!   

If you were in the Lower School this past Tuesday, you may have noticed that we had more little bodies than usual! 

 

We held a Kindergarten Try-On Day for our current 

St. Francis Preschoolers. 37 four year-olds traveled by bus with their teachers to spend a few hours in our Kindergarten classrooms. They played, listened to stories, did an art project, and had a snack. The morning ended with the very talented Kim Aberle and her current Kindergarten students, who performed several songs for all of us and even played some instruments. 

 

Next Friday, we will host another Kindergarten Try-On Day for those preschool students who are not currently SFS students. This day will include a Gesell assessment, which is a predictor of a child's readiness for Kindergarten. 

 

If you know any children who you think would be a good addition for next year's Kindergarten class, please let them know that we'd love to have them come and visit! They can register for this event by contacting Richard Butcher, our Admissions Director. 

 

We look forward to welcoming our newest students in the fall!

 Imagine! 2014 full event tickets are SOLD OUT!  

However, if you haven't purchased a ticket yet, please do still join us tonight at 9:00 p.m. for the Dessert Reception and Art/Jewelry Auction.  
Tickets ($75) are available at the door.  
Imagine! is at the Henry Clay, 604 S. 3rd St.

LISBL Make-up Schedule

Due to the snow cancellation of the 4th, 5th and 6th grade basketball games this past Saturday, the new LISBL schedule is as follows:   

                       Court A             Court B

8:00 a.m.	A-SFS v. LCS 2	A-PCS v. LCS 1
9:00 a.m.	A-LCS 2 v. PCS	A-dePaul 1 v. dePaul 2
10:00 a.m.	B-dePaul v. CAI	B-LCS v. OSL
11:00 a.m.	B-SFS v. PCS	B-LCS v. CAI
12:00 p.m.	C-SFS v. PCS	C-MD v. LCS
1:00 p.m.	C-LCS v. PCS

 

4:30 p.m.	B-SFS v. LCS	B-PCS v. dePaul
5:30 p.m.	B-OSL v. SFS	B-dePaul v. LCS
6:30 p.m.	C-SFS v. MD	A-PCS v. dePaul 1
		A-dePaul 2 v. LCS 1
7:30 p.m.	A-SFS v. dePaul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(NOTE: A - 6th Grade Boys; B - 4th/5th Grade Boys; C - 4th-6th Grade Girls)

 

The Wyverns secured their first win of the season last week as they defeated A.I.E., 18-14. Playing inspired basketball, the girls had to work extremely hard to hold off a late charge by the Cougars. Assistant Coach Cassandra Zimmerman followed through on her promise of providing doughnuts for the team at lunch last week to celebrate the victory. The team consists of all 7th graders, who have been challenged to play against older competition all year. This bodes well for the future as they have gained valuable experience. The basketball season will come to a close as they will face Anchorage in the opening round of the OSL Roundball Classic this weekend.

Boys' 7th & 8th Grade Basketball
The 7th grade team, with the help of 6th graders Connor Gorman, Eli Jaffe and Will Cole, captured two victories over Evangel and dePaul to end their season. In the Evangel match-up, the Wyverns torched the nets for a season-high 38 points and limited the Wildcats to 27 points. In the season finale, some clutch free-throw shooting and critical defensive stops helped the Wyverns defeat the Huskies 24-17. The 7th grade team finished the year with a 5-4 record.
Even though their record hasn't indicated it, the 8th grade team is peaking at the right time as they are playing their best basketball of the season. In the regular season finale, the Wyverns were involved in a highly intense battle with dePaul. The game went back and forth with each team grabbing the lead from each other. After instituting an all-guard lineup, SFS had the momentum late, causing easy steals which led to easy baskets. The game went to overtime as the Huskies hit some clutch free throws to win the game. Next up will be the OSL Roundball Classic Tournament that will take place this weekend, with St. Francis taking on Portland Christian in first-round play Friday afternoon.
MS Spring Sport Offerings and Sign-ups
The Athletic Department would like to get a head start on spring sports - Lacrosse, Track, and Tennis - and wants to start compiling names of those students who may have an interest in participating. We would like to offer Lacrosse to boys grades 4 and up. There will need to be at least 13-15 players to have a team. We have plans to have two separate teams -- one for 4th and 5th graders and the other for 6th-8th grade players -- pending interest. The season should begin in early March. We did not get much interest on the summer participation forms, so we need to know now if there is indeed sufficient interest to have these teams.

We are also looking to judge interest in students playing Tennis. The 7/8 graders will have the opportunity to play on the High School teams. Practice will be daily beginning in late February at Crescent Hill Park next to the Bubble. Students joining this team would ride Bus 1 after school to practices and may be picked up by parents after practices at the park. Practice times and schedule will be released soon, but team members should plan to practice until 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. daily.

We also need to gauge interest in Track this year. Track is open primarily to 5th-8th graders, but also may be appropriate for some 4th graders. Practice will begin in mid-February and the meet schedule will also be released soon.  

Parent Teacher Conferences are Friday, March 14th (no school).

Please make a note of this in your calendars too!

 

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.