Fall 2020 Tau Magazine

THE

aU

FALL 2020 A Magazine for Alumni, Parents & Friends of St. Francis High School

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Story on pp. 12 & 13

President’s Letter Alumni Happenings

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Commencement 2020

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Leadership Through Faith

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Alumni News and Notes

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Class of 2020 Signings

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We’re Back Memorials

Chromebook One to One Program Celebration of Seniors

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Open for Business

Dear Friends, So far so good. The last time I addressed you in the TAU, we were just beginning to deal with the pandemic. What a ride it has been, and I am sure it has been the same for you and your family. Every day has been different, and every day we need to continue to be on guard. However, life continues to go on, and we adapt as best we can. Many things have changed and will continue to change as we move forward. I am happy to report that we are in full session with a few students doing remote learning. Certainly, I am impressed with the student body and their resolve in dealing with everything. Our faculty and staff have stepped right in and are making everything work. I guess it’s no surprise that students want to be in school and do their best work when they are in a social setting.

We have established a new system of broadcasting our classes for those who are doing remote learning, and that seems to be working very well. Yet, being present in school is really the best way for all to learn the life lessons here at St. Francis.

Thank you for the many alums, friends and benefactors who have given generously during this crisis. Like every family, business and organization, we have had to change the way we run our operation. State mandates related to re-opening, and remaining open has had significant impact on the expense line of our budget. We have had to absorb significant costs related to the facility, personnel and PPE materials. Presently we are in the finishing stages of our student fund raiser the Red Raider Raffle. The results of this fund raiser will not available for this issue of the TAU, but I am hopeful for its success.

Certainly, it is difficult to plan any fund raisers this year because of all the mandates of the State, and I do believe it is in the interest of public health that we follow the mandates. Justinian 39 which was postponed in May of 2020 with the hope of celebrating the event in May of this year, is still something that needs careful consideration. Will we be able (or even want) to hold an event in 2021 with a large gathering of people remains to be seen. We will keep everyone informed about Justinian 39 as more information becomes available to us.

I humbly ask and pray for your continued financial support during these most difficult times. I often remind Mr. Braunscheidel that Fr. Justin built this institution during the great depression and was able to make it work through the many benefactors that supported St. Francis. I continue to pray for Fr. Justin’s intercession and help as we continue the mission of educating young men in the Franciscan tradition. What you can do for us now is also to pray and be as generous as you can. The Annual Giving appeal will begin around December 1st. For more information regarding everything St. Francis, follow us on our website or the various social media outlets.

God Bless,

Fr. Michael Sajda, OFM Conv.

President

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2020 SFHS Alumni Association Golf Tourney Raises Over $43,000!

While the 36th Annual St. Francis High School Alumni Association Charity Golf Tournament looked a bit different this year due to the ongoing pandemic, the support shown by participants and sponsors alike was once again outstanding. Originally scheduled for July 2nd at Terry Hills Golf Course, the event had to be moved to September 3rd. The tournament quickly sold out as participation was limited

by New York State mandates. With social distancing precautions in place, an enthusiastic group took to the links under perfect weather conditions. Following the round, golfers enjoyed a BBQ Chicken Dinner “to go”.

The foursome of Bernie Switzer ’95, Dan Puckhaber ’99, Peter Talty ’99 and Marty Bergerson were this year’s tournament champions with a score of -12. Tom Walsh and Pat Howard ’82 were the sharpshooters of the Closest To The Pin Contests while Dan Vargo ’06 and John Goldfinch won the Longest Drive Contests.

A special congratulations goes out to Andy Christie ’76 who scored an ace on hole #22, a 123 yard par three. Andy used an eight iron to card the first hole-in-one at the tourney in over twenty years.

Heartfelt gratitude to the St. Francis High School Alumni Association Board and the staff at Terry Hills for their collective hard work, flexibility and creativity to make this tournament possible under difficult circumstances. We also sincerely appreciate the ongoing support of our sponsors, especially the following:

Tournament Sponsors ($2500)

Beverage Cart Sponsors ($500)

Colligan Law, LLP Greene & Associates

Apex Agricultural Productions Extension, Inc. Big Tree Inn Evans Self Storage Evenhouse Printing Gaughan & Friedman Attorneys

Corporate Sponsors ($1500) Elderwood Excelsior Orthopaedics, LLP Michlaek & Harrington, LLC RP Oak Hill Building Company, Inc. Sgroi Financial/Lawley Insurance Superior Auto Sales

Lakeside Memorial Funeral Homes Niagara National Insurance Queen City Foods Simoncelli Electric

An announcement regarding SFHS Alumni events…

Golf Cart Sponsor ($750)

As we continue to navigate our way through the ongoing pandemic, it is apparent that many of our annual events and reunions will need to be postponed or reimagined for the 2020-2021 school year as they often involve gatherings of groups of more than 50 people in one location. Please know that we are exploring alternatives to these traditional events and will keep you informed of any developments. We look forward to the day where we can once again come together under one roof to share memories and fellowship. Pax et Bonum!

National Property Management Associates Parkview Health Services Scheid Architectural Schneider Family of Services Switzer Manufacturing

St. Francis Tau | Vol. 12 No. 1 Published three times a year by the St. Francis High School Office for Institutional Advancement

4129 Lake Shore Road | Hamburg, NY 14075 | 716-627-1200 | www.stfrancishigh.org Sue Schaffstall Editor VP of Communications & Marketing

Fr. Mark David Skura ’71, OFM Conv.

Cover Design

Paul Bartell ’88 VP of Development & Alumni Relations Alumni News and Notes

Photography Toni Lambert Yearbook Staff Lifetouch Photography

Contributors Jenny Attea Annual Report Kate Taggart Paul Bartell

Proofreading Pat Kaczmarczyk Katie Fattey

We welcome your comments... schaffstalls@stfrancishigh.org

The TAU | 3

Commencement

Keeping wit

What makes St. Francis High School unique and special? There are of course several answers to that question, but the response that resonates with most everyone is our traditions. From the mother and son communion breakfast to the junior ring ceremony, traditions abound at St. Francis High School, especially when it comes to commencement. We could have taken the easy way out and planned a drive by graduation, but Saint Francis did not follow an easy path, so why would we settle. Our graduates deserved a commencement ceremony that reflected their achievements and the traditions that are St. Francis High School.

On July 30, 2020, at Our Lady of Victory Basilica we continued that tradition. The 117 graduates of the class of 2020 were divided into two groups and two separate commencement ceremonies were conducted. The first at 9 a.m. and the second at 1 p.m. This allowed for each graduate to invite two guests to the event while keeping everyone safe and adhering to social distancing guidelines.

The ceremonies were recorded and later combined into one video that was then distributed to graduates and their parents so that they could share with those who were not in attendance.

The Fr. Leon Krop Alumni Recognition Award Steve Otremba ’90

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The Father Justin Figas Memorial Award Jerome Kornowicz ’63

2020

h Tradition The 117 graduates of the class of 2020 were offered $20.8 Million in Scholarships and Institutional grants to continue their education in college.

Students are attending some of the best schools in the country including University of Notre Dame, Clarkson University, St. Bonaventure University, Canisius College, Rochester Institute of Technology, University at Buffalo, College of the Holy Cross, Michigan State University, St. John Fisher College and SUNY Geneseo among others.

Valedictorian Award Benjamin T. Egloff

Salutatorian Award Aidan P. Reichenberg

President’s Recognition Award Alec P. Dobinski

Principal’s Recognition Award Hunter R. Oliver

Sportsmanship Award Alexander M. Dzimian

Creativity Award Christopher J. Desiderio

The Artist of the Year Award Benjamin M. Miller

Man of the Year Award Lucas E. Bell

School Service Award Mario J. Moretti

Athlete of the Year Ty M. Webb

The TAU | 5

Leadership Through Faith

by Sue Schaffstall

As President and CEO of Catholic Health, how does Mark Sullivan’86, the man at the helm of a major hospital system, deal with leading his team in the midst of a Global Pandemic?

Leadership through faith seems like a good way to sum up how Sullivan does his job and lives his life. Being President and CEO of any major organization is challenging on its own, throw in a world heath crisis with no end in sight and the stress level can sky rocket, or not.

Sullivan says that he loves what he does. “I get to live my values at work and carryover what I learned at St. Francis.”

How did he, during the peak of Covid, stay grounded in his faith while working 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week?

“In a time of uncertainty, what I had to do in my life and in my job was create certainty,” said Sullivan explaining that uncertainty instills fear and quells any hope that people have.

“Being so grounded in my faith, no matter how difficult it got, was the buoy to the craziness of Covid.” He further explains that, “no matter what happens, when you know with certainty that we have our health, our family, spirit, hope and faith. If you have those, no matter what happens in the world or in your job, you are going to be okay.”

Sullivan refers to his job as a vocation and gives all the credit to his team at Catholic Health. ”I want to provide them all the tools they need and this includes spiritual care.” At the height of the Pandemic, he needed to make sure that everyone had everything they needed on all levels; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

He was creating certainty in the uncertain world of Covid. “It was like building and repairing an airplane while it was flying.”

Sullivan reflects on the Prayer of St. Francis and how it applies today. “If you seriously read the words to the prayer of St. Francis,” said Sullivan, “the message is so true for not only society but also for how we are dealing with healthcare challenges, how we are dealing with personal challenges, isolation, social distancing, it really does resonate. When you really think about it, where there is doubt -faith, despair-hope, darkness-light; that gets right to the bedside of treating almost 1,000 Covid patients.”

Catholic Health was asked to discuss its COVID approach on international news.

A little known fact about Sullivan is that he didn’t get accepted at St. Francis right away, he was waitlisted. “I was crying in my living room behind a chair in 8th grade because all my friends got into the schools they wanted to get into. Sullivan did eventually

Signs were tied up throughout the community, this one was right near St. Joseph Campus.

The Factory Buffalo - with supplies of gowns in question, we reached out to a local (Kenmore) company and they augmented plant to make gowns!- very cool

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“St. Francis enabled me a safe environment, with the appropriate pressure, a great brotherhood around me that was safe and loyal to start developing the person that I am trying to still be, I’m not the person I want to be yet, you never stop, but it really helped me in those formative years and I don’t think you can measure that.”

“The certainty that St. Francis created in that environment wasn’t as valuable to me as the ability to deal with uncertainty. You have to think outside the box, not become a cookie cutter student and be vulnerable. When you are vulnerable, yes you can get hurt but you can also learn a lot about yourself.”

According to Sullivan, “whenever I go St. Francis, participate in an event or read something, it reminds me of where I came from.”

Press Conference - This was the day we announced re-opening of St. Joseph’s. get into St. Francis after being interviewed and put on probation by then Principal Fr. Peter Saparito. “He really stuck his neck out for me. If it weren’t for Fr. Peter I wouldn’t have gotten in.”

“The uncertainty of my time behind that chair in the living room and maybe always falling short made me think differently throughout my upbringing. The one thing I stayed focused on is my faith, being a person of integrity; that’s something that people can’t take from me. People can take other things, you can lose your job, you could have a disease, but if you have a good moral compass and a strong faith, whatever that faith is, and high integrity, whatever happens, happens.”

“What’s maybe different from myself and others is that I’m not here to keep a job,” said Sullivan. “I’m here to do a job and I don’t fear of the outcome of that job because I’m doing the best I can do, so if people worry about the outcome they are not focusing on the present moment. When people are so focused on a career they are missing the journey and the shaping of their life.”

Sullivan explains that when he got to St. Francis he wasn’t as disciplined as he is now. “Between the Friars and teachers having me come in earlier because I didn’t do well in a subject, or kicking me off the basketball team because I was on probation, these moments in time kind of rattled me, but also shaped me. One of my best friends is from the Catholic Charities drive from sophomore year and I talk to him once a week no matter where we are in the world, he was man of the year in 1985, Eric Young.

The prayer of St. Francis resonates with him. “It’s remarkable, the Prayer of St. Francis, as old as it is, how it applies to today.

It focuses on the we, not the me. It’s not about what I need from the world, it’s how do I understand more and learn more and be a servant of God in a different way.”

Sullivan has daily devotional rituals that keep him grounded.

He shared that he has been saying the rosary in his car on the way to work for the past 17 years.

“I sleep great at night, I have an incredible spouse and family.

Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring? Are we doing everything right, absolutely not, but we’re doing stuff.”

He says, “For the students, indecision is the worst decision because if you are waiting for something to change, sometimes you have to change before anything will change.”

First responders showed appreciation to our healthcare Sullivan explained that he heroes. This was at St. Joseph’s, usually doesn’t quote a non- notice a statue of him is in the religious person but, “Charles forefront.

Darwin said it’s not the strongest or the most fit that survive, it’s the one most willing to adapt to change. That’s the world we are living in right now. If you are forcing yourself against all this uncertainty and change you are going to wear yourself out.”

Taking the good with the bad. “The silver lining (to the pandemic) is that families got to spend more time together than they ever have during covid. Those are gifts that can’t be overlooked, the good things that came out of the pandemic.”

These were nurses on the frontlines, posing for a picture

A very humble man who does not like talking about himself, Sullivan credits his team at Catholic Health, his family and his faith for getting him through this crisis. “There are not a lot of things you can control in today’s world, but the more certainty you have in your faith, family and health, those are the main things no matter what happens.”

The TAU | 7

alumni news 1950s Nicholas Krochta ’57 would just like to announce our second Great Grandchild, Olivia Rae born in July, 2020. We are blessed to now have two great grandchildren. God has been good to us.

Walter (Andrew) Andrzejewski ’58 and his wife Gail are now living and enjoying retirement in Carolina Village, a CCRO Community in Hendersonville, NC where they have lived for the last 26 years.

Andy reminds all Deo Gratias!

1960s Ronald Michnik ’64 is very active in the Chestnut Ridge Conservancy where has served as the organization’s Vice President.

He is a past recipient of the Raymond Fabiniak Guardian Award and has played key roles in the Annual Kite Festival, United Way Day of Caring, mural restorations and outdoor movie nights.

Anthony Mielniczuk’64 and his wife Sue celebrated 50 years of marriage this summer at Cape Cod. Their daughter Dr. Lisa Marie Mielniczuk was recently appointed full professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa

1970s Bill O’Neill ’71 reports that he just completed 51 years of running. He started running track and cross country at SFHS in 1969 and developed a passion for running that has lasted a lifetime. In 2019, he competed in the National Senior Games held in Albuquerque, NM where he ran in the 800m and 1500m, wearing the red and white of St. Francis. Bill has qualified for the 2021 National Senior Games which will be held in Fort Lauderdale, FL in November.

Mark Finucane ’74 was permanently appointed Foreman of the Washington County, TN Grand Jury. His duties include ensuring that deliberations are conducted in an orderly manner and that each juror understands the deliberation procedures.

1980s Charles A. Castiglia '84 owns Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc. which has received two major awards from the National Funeral Directors Association. 2020 also is the 50th Anniversary of Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home, Inc. @ Lakeside Memorial Funeral Homes are the only funeral homes in WNY to ever win these awards. 2020 is the ninth year in a row that they have won the Pursuit of Excellence Award of which the Hamburg, NY location has won the last nine years and the West

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Seneca, NY location has won the last three years. This year there were only four funeral homes in NY State to receive this award of which Lakeside Memorial Funeral Home represented two of the four firms. @ Lakeside Memorial is also the first funeral home in WNY to ever receive The Best of the Best Award. This prestigious honor is bestowed upon a select few funeral homes nationally.

John Chadderdon ’80 retired from the United States Secret Service after 32-year career protecting the President, Vice President, Presidential candidates, foreign heads of state and key official U.S. installations. During his career, “Chad” travelled the world as part of his official duties and spent time in nearly every state in the Union where he drove Presidential limousines as part of countless official motorcades. He also served as firearms instructor for the USSS Buffalo Field Office during his tenure. He is the father of 4 children and is happily remarried after losing his high school sweetheart to brain cancer. He resides in WNY. Terry Dunford ’80 enjoyed stints managing TV newsrooms in Buffalo and across the country, before he came back home to work in public affairs for the US Department of Treasury. After receiving “Employee of Year” honors, he moved on to the position of Vice President for the NHL Sabres. Franchise ownership changes led him to the nuclear industry where he spent nearly a decade in award-winning capacities at a US Department of Energy project.

Terry moved to his current position with the US Department of Homeland Security in 2016. His many community board memberships included 3 years as SFHS Alumni president. He also spent 27 years as an IAABO high school basketball referee.

Happily married, Terry and his wife adopted three kids from Poland.

They all reside in WNY. Gerald Mead ’80 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Niagara University during their 2020 commencement ceremony held in July.

Pat Shea ’80 retired from the West Seneca Police Department ending a long and illustrious career in law enforcement. Before retiring, he reached the rank of Captain of the Detective Bureau which was the culmination of his 32-year WSPD career. During his time at WSPD, “Paddy” was nominated to attend the FBI National Academy because of demonstrated leadership qualities.

Prior to joining the WSPD, he spent a year in the United States Secret Service protecting the White House and the President as part of his duties. Currently, he spends his free time an IAABO high school basketball referee. Happily married, he is the father of 2 daughters and resides in WNY.

and notes...

1990s Craig Rybczynski ’91 was the recipient of the National Lacrosse League’s Tom Borelli Media Member of the Year Award for the 2019-2020 season. He has worked for 21 seasons for the Rochester Knighthawks and is the radio and TV voice of the organization and been behind the microphone for the franchise’s last four championships. He also holds the league record for calling the most consecutive broadcasts and was the winner of the team’s 7th Man Award in 2018-2019.

Dr. Dan Vargo ’06 recently returned to Western New York to start his practice as part of Excelsior Orthopaedics. Dan graduated from the University of Buffalo Medical School and received his training in Massachusetts and North Carolina. He specializes in hip and knee replacements and is ecstatic to be back in the Buffalo area.

Dr. Paul Goodwyn ’07 was married in Albuquerque, NM in May of 2019 to his wife Rachel, a nurse practitioner. They are the proud parents of a spunky French bulldog named Nara. Paul completed his five year orthopedic surgical residency at the University of New Mexico Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. He started his fellowship in July at HonorHealth Medical Group in Scottsdale, AZ where he works at five different hospitals as the chief resident.

2010s

Korry Miller ’93 started earlier this year as an IT Solution Architect within the Space and Defense Group at Moog Inc. in East Aurora, NY.

Lee Patrick Kerwin ’13 received a statewide Millennials in M a n u f a c t u r i n g Aw a r d . A f t e r graduating from Alfred University in 2017 as a mechanical engineer, he worked for Pratt and Whitney in Florida before returning to Buffalo with Buffalo Manufacturing Works.

2000s Dr. Jonathan Senchyne ’00 was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His book, The Intimacy of Paper in Early and Nineteenth-Century American Literature, was published by the University of Massachusetts Press in January 2020.

Nate Suchyna ’00 and his wife Mary Kate welcomed their son, and future Red Raider, John (Jack) Donald Suchyna on June 12, 2020.

He was 20.5" long and 8 lbs. 11 oz. Big sister Sophia loves her new role.

Dr. Christopher Schalk ’04 is an Assistant Professor of Forest Wildlife Management at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Chris received a grant to study the ecology and conservation of Alligator Snapping Turtles across its range in Texas. The picture is just one of the 127 Alligator Snapping Turtles captured this past summer. Next summer, Chris and his graduate students will conduct another season of turtle trapping and wrangling to provide information on their current range and population status in Texas.

Sam Sabato ’14 decided to take a leap of faith and start a home improvement Company, Elite Home Services Buffalo LLC. He is proud to say that business has taken off very quickly and he is currently booked through March 2021. Sam was featured on 106.5 WYRK under “buffalo open for business” telling his story of how he started the business during COVID. The business has a Facebook and Instagram page,@elitehomeservicesbuffalo, and a website, ehsbuffalo.com, where people can go to look at completed work, news about the company, or leave a review.

2020s Tyler Braeuner ’20 has completed his 13 weeks of Marine Boot Camp and graduated as a Marine, Private First Class, on Oct. 23rd.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to attend graduation on July 30th due to his commitment. Thank you for your service Tyler!

The TAU | 9

Cross Country, Golf and Soccer Back for a Limited Golf Fall Sports Season.

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Football Columbia University

Lacrosse John Carroll University

CROSS COUNTRY

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Baseball SUNY BROCKPORT

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soccer

Lacrosse

University of New England

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Baseball D’Youville College

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.

.

Baseball

Football

St. John Fisher College

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College of the Holy Cross

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Football

Track & Field

Queens University

SUNY - GENESEO

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Football

Lacrosse

Clarion University

SUNY/Brockport

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d

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Volleyball

Lacrosse

Wittenberg University

St. John Fisher College

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BASEBALL ERIE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The TAU | 11

We’re Back Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

– Saint Francis of Assisi It It was Friday March 13, 2020 and it just happened to be Friday the thirteenth. Thomas Braunscheidel, Principal of St. Francis High School made an announcement over the loudspeaker telling students to bring home anything they may need from their lockers.

We had no real information at the time about shutting down, but this was a foreshadowing of things to come. If you can remember back to those early days of the Pandemic when words like social distancing and Covid-19 sounded so foreign. This was before the panic buying of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, long before we started buying face masks as a fashion statement to match our outfits or to support our favorite teams. Who knew that Friday, March 13, 2020 would be the last day students would attend class in person until September 9, 2020.

In preparation, Braunscheidel had reached out to teachers at the end of February to make sure they were ready to go remote at

a moment’s notice. Some of our more tech savvy faculty stepped up and were readily sharing resources, just in case. No one really thought it would happen or if it did, that is would last so long. Surprise!

The world of online learning and teaching and working was something new for most of us. Our teachers didn’t miss a beat, and while other schools were just doing review, we were actually teaching, introducing new material, giving test and quizzes and taking attendance. Our guidance counselors checked in with students who were missing classes. We made sure everyone had the necessary technology to attend class online.

We regularly communicated with parents as well as students and sought their input and feedback on how we were doing and what we could do better. While you can’t please everyone all the time, overwhelmingly our parents were very satisfied with the job we were doing educating their sons.

Over the summer, with no official guidelines from the governor announced, we started making plans to bring students back to the

classroom. A parent survey revealed that over 80% of our parents wanted the boys back in the classroom, face to face, five days a week. This was now our goal. During the summer classrooms were reconfigured, safety protocols were put in place, sanitizing

stations were set up, as well as a deep cleaning of the school. We were ready as soon as we got word from the Governor that we could open.

A few Bumps in the Road As of the printing of this Tau we have run across a few bumps in the road, the quarantine of 50 students for 14 days shortly after the start of school was a result of two

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In Memoriam Please remember in your prayers the following members of the St. Francis High School Family who have recently passed away.

ALUMNI

students testing positive. Swift action by the administration contained the spread.

Late on Thursday, October 29th we were informed of 3 positive cases among our student body, all who contracted Covid-19 through an outside activity not related to St. Francis High School. Out of an abundance of caution, school was closed on October 30th to contact trace. It was determined that roughly 70 students were potentially exposed and we decided to transition to fully remote instruction for two weeks as a precaution. We are praying that we will be back face to face on November 16th, but we also realize that this is the world we live in at the moment. The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is of the utmost importance.

What we found out from the students is that they want to be here, learning in person.

Now when was the last time you heard a teenage boy say he wants to go to school?!

Saint Francis, Pray for Us!

+Louis Bartus ’57 +Eric Brege ’02 +Geoffrey Brinkman ’73 +James Carbeck ’86 +Timothy Cieslica ’48 +Dr. Donald Garrow ’91 John Germain ’70 +Pierre Gervais ’68 +John Klimczak ’51

+Anthony Miranda ’00 +John Nyitrai ’75 +James Pasko ’59 +Daniel Piotrowicz ’95 +Andrew Preisler ’65 +Bruce Sage ’77 +Edmund Trella ’55 +Leon Strenkoski, PhD ’58 +Carl Wappman Jr. ’55

FAMILY AND FRIENDS +Gregory Bruno Father of Christian Bruno ’12 and former School Board Chairperson +Leo Butera Father of teacher Toni Lambert +Robert DeVries Uncle of teacher Chris DeVries +Lisa Drozdowski Mother of Tyler Drozdowski ’21 +Mary Ellen Edwards Grandmother of Max Maloney ’21 +Janet Garvin-Schmatz-Nostrant Mother of Steve ’79, Kevin ’80, Bryan ’82 and Collin (Kelly) ’83 Garvin Mother of Edward and Michael ’90 Schmatz Grandmother of Jack ’07, Ben ’08 and Grant ’10 Garvin +Michael Halloran Sr. Father of Michael W. Halloran ’91 +Fr. Brad Heckathorne OFM Conv.

Former teacher and Assistant Principal +Mark Hubbard Grandfather of Mark ’16, Matthew ’18 and Michael ’21 Bevilacqua

+Dennis Hughey Father of Tyler Hughey ’18 +Monica Kasprzak Mother of Dr. Edward Kasprzak ’93 +Ann D. Russell Mother of Andrew ’96 and Joshua ’99 Russell +Franz Stadler Father of Peter Stadler ’88 Grandfather of Matt Stadler ’23 +Robert Swahlon Sr. Grandfather of Robert ’16, Nicholas ’18 and Benjamin ’20 Piwko +Lucille Then Grandmother of David ’01 and Jason ’04 Kilijanski +Richard Thomas Grandfather of Nicholas ’22 and Richard ’22 Thomas +Susan Woyshner Daughter of Marilyn Wilson Sister of Anthony Woyshner ’79 Aunt of Elliott ’10, Kerrick ’13 and Owen Woyshner ’18

Please note that St. Francis High School publishes memorials at the request of family and/or friends of the deceased and reserves the right to edit for content.

The TAU | 13

Chromebook One to One Program Launched St. Francis High School is happy to announce the launch of our one to one Chromebook program. Every St. Francis student receives a Chromebook for use for the school year.

Staying current with technology is a top priority for the school and the students. The launch of this program times out perfectly with the unpredictability of the current learning environment in a Covid world. We know that at any moment we could be thrust into remote learning once again. Making sure that all of our students have the equipment they needed to make a successful transition to online learning is of the utmost importance.

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Celebrating our Seniors

Class of 2020

Friday, May 22, 2020 should have been the 90th Commencement Exercises at Our Lady of Victory Basilica, but it wasn’t. The Corona Virus Pandemic would not allow for us to gather in any traditional way to honor our graduates. In an effort to recognize the accomplishments of the Class of 2020 while still adhering to social distancing, Fr. Michael, President of St. Francis announced a plan to “Celebrate our Seniors”.

The Gacioch Family Athletic Center and Polian Family Field provided enough space to safely conduct the celebration. The 3

hour event allowed for each graduate and his family to walk onto the field with Pomp and Circumstance playing in the background.

Mr. Steve Otremba’90 announced each graduate as he took his place with his parents for a photo at center field with his name displayed on the scoreboard in the background. Faculty and staff cheered and congratulated seniors as they made their way off the field.

Dr. Mary Lou Stahl, Assistant Principal, handled the logistics of the event which went off without a hitch, the rain even held off until after the last senior was recognized. Each student was given a gift bag which included a class of 2020 mask.

Why not just consider this Graduation? Mr. Thomas Braunscheidel, Principal said that “The seniors deserve more than this, they deserve the tradition of Commencement at the Basilica, they’ve earned it.”

At the time we could only hope and pray that the boys would get the traditional sendoff at the Basilica that they had earned.

The TAU | 15

4129 Lake Shore Road • Hamburg, NY 14075-0185 www.stfrancishigh.org

Attention:

All SFHS Alumni…

Throughout the 2020-2021 school year St. Francis High School’s Institutional Advancement Office will be asking you to verify/update your information. This will include your address, email and preferred phone number. We will not be using an outside company for this endeavor nor will we be contacting you by phone. The requests to update your information will come via traditional mail, email and social media invitations. As always, St. Francis High School will never share your personal information with any third party and only use the information to communicate with you regarding St. Francis High School. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bartell ’88, Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at (716) 627-1200 ext. 465 or bartellp@stfrancishigh.org.

Alumni News & Notes Follow your favorite SFHS Sports Teams @SFHS_Athletics

Please forward any Alumni News to: Paul Bartell ’88 St. Francis High School, 4129 Lake Shore Rd., Hamburg, NY 14075 or email Paul Bartell at: bartellp@stfrancishigh.org Follow us on Instagram SFHSATHOLSPRINGS

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