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Dear Students, Alumni, Parents, & Friends of St. Francis:

The school year is in full swing as we move from the novelty of a new school year to the cooler days of autumn. As I write this newsletter article today, Halloween, I am touched by the playfulness of our student body and our staff. From exotic cats to Scooby Doo, Steampunks to Mary Poppins, our community embraces the playground and creates a nurturing home where all are welcome.

 
 I am pleased to share that we are off to a great start. First quarter grades are in, and we have just completed a wonderfully-attended Parent-Teacher Conference night and a Winter Sports Parent Meeting. Because of our rigor and our caring staff, along with the use of all-school study and daily tutorial periods, we have reached an unprecedented level of academic success. On the heels of this observation, I am thrilled to have received the news that one of our seniors has been named a National Merit Semi-Finalist based on his outstanding scores on the PSAT exam taken during his junior year. Congratulations to Cooper Scherr on this fine honor. We also received word that one additional senior has been named National Merit Commended Student: Caroline Casper. We are very proud of these two students and their achievements! This year's PSAT was taken on October 15th.  The Math and English departments worked diligently to maintain their content rigor and standards while preparing your 10th and 11th grade students for success on this exam. We all know that one test does not define a student, but these tests are used as benchmarks for future success on the SAT and AP tests and place your student on the radar for some of America's top universities and scholarships.
 
 On November 10, 2014, we will have our NHS Induction Ceremony led by Mr. Falcone. He will send out invitations to those students accepted for their participation in this important event.

We will have our Parent Campus Beautification Day on November 15th from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Please come help us beautify the campus for our November 16th Fall Open House the next day. Besides completing those necessary parent service hours, your assistance on this day helps us maintain a beautiful campus as the leaves begin to fall and we move toward winter.

 With the research done by ISM, and our collaboration with our other Salesian schools and Dr. Denise Pope, we will be taking a true Thanksgiving holiday! There will be no classes for the week of November 24-28. Sports will continue, but, beyond those obligations, please take this time to give thanks and enjoy family. We all expect to return from this well-deserved break with renewed enthusiasm for the hard push to the semester finals prior to Christmas Break.
 
 As all of our signage says, we are fostering excellence in that all we do.  Consequently, we want to celebrate our successes with each of you. Please continue to use the brag button on our website (www.stfrancishigh.net) and continue to support all of our students' efforts to strive for excellence. In Chip and Dan Heath's book, Switch, they call this "focusing on the bright spots." Here are some of ours:

• We want to recognize Marissa DeVogelaere for her passion and commitment. Because of her efforts, we were able to secure an Ocean Guardians grant and are working to become an Ocean Guardian School.  

• We want to thank Mr. Dan DeWig and his ensemble cast of actors, directors, producers, and lighting techs for their fall performances in the newly-renovated St. Francis BlackBox Theater.

• Congratulations to our women's tennis champions - again.  Our young ladies impress me more and more with their presence, poise, and their passion.

• Congratulations to Nick Ciandro and Abigail Briley for being voted the 2014 Homecoming King and Queen. Thank you to all of the Animas members for a super fun and amazing Homecoming Week.

• A special thanks and congratulations to our Cross Country teams and Coach Ramona Young: we are the biggest in school history and are ranked in the CCS as we move into the SCCAL Finals on November 6th at Pinto Lake.

• Congratulations to our Iron men and women: Larissa Rocha (Cross Country and Dance), Andrea Rodriguez (Cross Country and Dance), Alexis Rodriguez (Cross Country and Dance), James Young (Football and Cross Country), and Nathan Lee (Football and Cross Country).  All 5 of these students are above a 3.0 and are participating in two varsity sports concurrently.

 As part of our recognitions, I want to thank Mrs. Megan Martinelli and Mrs. Cynthia Baylis for their leadership with our 3rd annual Burgundy & Gray event. We saw a record attendance this year and record fundraising as we honored two critically important figures in our school's life - Fr. John Roche, our first Director, and Mr. David Cmaylo, Assistant Principal of Academics. We added more than 40 new ticket sales and grossed over $97,000. After all expenses were paid, we netted over $81,000. Along with this tremendous success, we garnered over $8,000 towards our $20,000 goal for a new gym sound system. Thank you to all of our sponsors, donors, auction winners, and volunteers for making this the best event ever. The Burgundy & Gray continues to grow as our signature SFPA fundraiser for the school.

Also, the SFPA Board will begin working on the Spring BBQ - an evolution of the traditional Spring Festival. This year's Spring BBQ will be held at St. Francis, instead of across the street at OLHC, and it will be paired with an All-Alumni event. It will happen on Saturday, April 25, 2015.  Since OLHC is not available this year, we want to streamline and simplify the event to be a Spring BBQ and alumni event, rather than a big festival. You will hear from your grade-level representatives for our committee meetings that will begin after Thanksgiving.
 
 This school year we are celebrating the bicentennial of St. John Bosco's birth. On January 30, 2015, we will take the entire school to San Francisco to celebrate mass with our Salesian school in Richmond as well as the members of the Western Province. We will do this by providing transportation, by bus, to and from the celebration. The Salesian Province is providing lunch for us. Although we do not have room on our busses for extra passengers, parents are welcome to join us at SS. Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco for the mass.

 Since this is the bicentennial celebration of our founding Saint, I want to share a few short excerpts from his life. When John Bosco was just 9 years old, he had a dream that unfolded his life's work: the young. In his dream, a shepherd figure - Jesus - assured him that a teacher would guide him - Mary. Indeed, this was the experience he had throughout his life.  It was on Mary's feast day - the Immaculate Conception - that Don Bosco met a homeless boy and began his outreach to the young in 1841. On that same feast day, 18 years later in 1859, he founded the Salesian Congregation - to extend his outreach to the young. In Don Bosco's final years, he would often remark, "Mary has done everything." Our school community here at St. Francis lives with that same conviction - Mary brings us here, together, for a reason...she has done everything. We are here for the young--Youth for Youth!