Dear Parents,

How fortunate we are to live in New York during the Fall where we get to witness an annual spectacular display of color and beauty!  Of course, it is “business as usual” for the trees, but for us, it is one of the “greatest shows on earth”.  As in no other season, Fall is our yearly reminder of the diversity of nature and the glory of God.  For all of us at SFA, there is no better season to recognize how all the members of our own school community blend together so richly just like the autumn leaves.  Please join us as we celebrate our togetherness as followers of St. Francis of Assisi on Spirit Day, which will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 4th.

As I mentioned to you at our Back to School meetings, one of the most important 2011/2012 school goals is to develop better student-peer relations.  During this past month, each class, as well as our Faculty, has written Class Charters that identify how our students and teachers want to feel at school. These charters are grade-level appropriate and one of the anchor tools in our Emotional Literacy Program.   They will be our daily reminders of positive behaviors and good decision- making. Maintaining a positive mood throughout the school day is ideal for creating a healthy climate for learning. We hope that the more familiar our students become with these tools, the more introspective and reflective they will become regarding what is right and good for each of them.  Please look at NBC Albany Profiles Dr. Marc Brackett and the Ruler Approach to Social and Emotional Learning to give you more insight into the benefits of this worthwhile program.

Just like our students, our Faculty continues to learn…this month our PD continues.  Our Faculty is participating in several training sessions related to TerraNova Testing, Using the Smartboards and Differentiated Instruction.  We are learning more about implementing the new Common Core Standards and preparing to assess and evaluate our school-wide Catholic Identity Program. It’s a busy, but enriching time, for our teachers and students, as we all commit ourselves to being an engaged learning community.

 Some Ways to Support Your Child’s Learning at Home

• Write a Family Charter

(how does your family want to feel and how will you accomplish this- ex. The _____ Family wants to feel respected, so we will listen carefully to each other’s ideas and opinions.)

• Plan and organize required work for home assignments
• Study together
• Read together
• Create home opportunities for learning
• Share your own learning/work with your child

                                                                                 Wishing you many blessings,

                                                                                 Ms. Stefano