The Courier | www.the-courier.org
March 2017
3
St. Francis SFHS Knowledge Bowl High School participants finish first and third maintains high Robert Held graduation The St. Francis High School (SFHS) senior Knowledge Bowl team of Zach Mayer, Aaron Emmerich, James Stapfer and rates spokesperson Skyler Todaro opened with a school-record-setting, SFHS Knowledge Bowl head coach
Doug Austin
SFHS principal
St. Francis High School (SFHS) always works to improve and maintain high graduation rates. This past year our graduation rate reached 96.2 percent for the class of 2016. Looking at the 2015 class, SFHS had a graduation rate of 94.9 percent compared to the statewide graduation rate average of 81.9 percent. Over the past five years, the graduation rate at SFHS has exceeded the state average by ten percentage points or more and closely matches or exceeds neighboring schools during the same time period. The graduation rate is reflective of the commitment of SFHS and Independent School District 15 to follow this core value: every person matters and has value, along with the core value: commitment to high expectations is essential to achieve full individual and collective potential. This process starts in the elementary and middle schools as a solid foundation of academic and social skills are developed and continues to grow at the high school level. Starting in ninth grade, students develop a four-year plan with focus on meeting our graduation requirements along with developing their individual pathway goals toward post-secondary and career success. SFHS counselors work closely with all students by doing credit checks and monitoring students that are struggling in school. As needed, counselors work closely with teachers and parents to make sure students get the required credits to graduate and teachers provide interventions for students that are struggling in classes. The SFHS graduation rate continues to improve and staff will continue to maintain high expectations for all students with a focus on post-secondary and career readiness success.
single round performance of 24 points that propelled them to a first-place finish in the 45-team Metro Region Round Robin tournament. Fellow seniors Conor Sullivan, Alex Sweeney, Kelsey Fahland and Alexandra Ferguson rallied to a third-place finish. Former coaches Bo Stevens and Tim McLean were both on hand and they both thought it was the best one-two showing ever by SFHS in a Metro Region meet. Students in Susan Olsen’s first-grade classroom at Cedar Creek Community School enjoyed an extension activity brought in and shared by educational assistant Claudia Burville. The reading story of the week was Let’s Go to the Moon! Students read and learned about the first trip astronauts made to the moon. Burville then worked in small groups sharing more information about space travel and moon facts. The students loved her interesting pop-up book and all of the extended information. Susan Olsen, CCCS first-grade teacher
Pictured (L-R) James Stapfer, Skyler Todaro, Zach Mayer and Aaron Emmerich finished first at the Metro Region Round Robin tournament. Denise Lachinski, community member
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