August 2012
Dear Parents/Guardians/Students,
School Pictures
In our continued efforts to maximize our class time, we will have our school pictures taken prior to the start of the school year. Dates and times of pictures are as follows:
- August 28 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the PAC
- August 29 from 2:00 p.m.. to 7:00 p.m. in the PAC
- Students should receive their pictures around the second to third week in September.
- Make-up pictures and re-takes will be taken October 5 and should arrive approximately the last week in October.
- Please make every effort to have your pictures taken on the August dates as your child will have pictures in hand earlier in the year rather than later. Seniors typically don’t have their picture taken and will have last year’s picture to use for their school ID.
Schedules
Enclosed is your child’s preliminary schedule. Typically, there are few changes to the schedule, however due to continued summer enrollments, we may need to make adjustments to your preliminary schedule. On the first day of school, we will have tables staffed with our instructors who will hand out your final schedule which will be your schedule for that day and subsequent days of the first trimester. *(Schedules have been mailed out.)
Orientation and Open House
August 28th , we will have 9th grade orientation and Open House. Students will initially meet from 6:00 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. in the high school gymnasium and will have an Open House format to take advantage of from 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Parents will meet in the Performing Arts Center from 6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m. for orientation and will have the opportunity to take advantage of the Open House format from 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. We have approximately 80 Seniors who have volunteered to come in and assist you on that night. August 29st will be an open house format and we invite all students and parents to come in and meet the staff from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Follow us on Twitter
For those of you who want timely updates, you may now follow the high school on Twitter. The location is @SFHS15 or if you would like to follow the activities department @ISD15Saints.
Fall Activities
As our fall activity season begins, we take this opportunity to reinforce and applaud all of the hard work, dedication, and effort it takes to be a part of a sport team or activity. Few people truly know the amount of preparation that goes into participating and being active in our school. In our recent past, we ran into some difficulty with some students who streaked during football games. The consequences for this activity are significant both from a school perspective and from a criminal perspective. This type of behavior is unacceptable and again, carries significant consequences including suspension from school, banning from attending activities, and criminal charges. Please help us promote all that is good about activities, our participants have earned the right to participate, compete, and be recognized for their efforts.
Anonymous Tipline
Last year we piloted an anonymous tipline where students, parents, and community members can call in and leave us a tip related to bullying, chemical use, fighting, or really any other pertinent subject. If you have information about these items, please feel free to use this feature. The phone number where you can leave a message is 763-213-1665. The information you leave allows us to begin an investigation. We do have caller ID and only use that feature in the case of prank calls or in the event we would need to prevent highly significant issues.
Handbook Feature: Cell Phones
We have an “electronic device” procedure that we think allows students to have cell phones in school, but to use them appropriately. Essentially, the general rule is students should not use their cell phone during class time unless they have obtained prior permission from their instructor. Should a student violate the procedure, they will forfeit their cell phone in the following manner: 1st offense—to the end of the day; 2nd offense—24 hours; 3rd offense—48 hours; 4th and subsequent offenses—72 hours. The phone will be locked in a safe, a receipt will be given, and the phone will be turned off during the course of confiscation. Your assistance in helping your child understand when and how the phone can be used is appreciated. Students may use their phones before and after school, during passing times, during lunch, and with instructor prior approval for emergencies.
Handbook Feature: Dress Code
As appropriate for high school, we promote positive decision making. As school officials, we can’t always predict the fashion trend that will cause us some level of difficulty in our school. We have a dress code that essentially asks your students to exercise good judgment. The shortened version is that anything that advertises alcohol, weapons, chemicals, tobacco or promotes sexual harassment is prohibited. Clothing that has double meaning or sexual references is prohibited as well. The two other elements in our dress code that serve as benchmarks are that the midriff should be covered and the collar of the shirt should be such that cleavage is not an issue. Wearing blankets, slippers, and/or pajamas is not appropriate for the school environment. We try to use our judgment and want to teach students to do the same. Once a clothing violation has been determined, we offer a change of clothing, offer a shirt, and trade back at the end of the day. Your help in making clothing decisions is appreciated.
Attendance
Tardies will be handled by the individual classroom teacher. Some examples of unexcused tardies include, but are not limited to, oversleeping and missing the bus. A student is considered tardy if they are not through the threshold of the classroom door by the time the tardy bell has stopped sounding. Students will be considered absent if 30 minutes tardy or if they miss Academic Time. Three unexcused tardies will equal one unexcused absence in the class the student has been tardy.
Attendance Consequence
For each unexcused absence in any class, students will incur a 1/3 letter grade reduction in that class. For example, a student who has earned a letter grade of B+ in a class where they have one unexcused absence will then receive a letter grade of B for the trimester. Should the student have two unexcused absences, they will receive a letter grade of B-. Three unexcused tardies in any class will count as one unexcused absence. Six unexcused tardies will count as two unexcused absences etc.
Each Friday, students will receive notification of their attendance standing from their classroom instructor. The absence must be verified within ten school days of the date of absence.
Buy Back Procedures
Students may “buy back” up to three (1/3) letter grade reductions (one per hour) by attending Saturday Attendance Seminar at St. Francis High School from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. These times represent a change from the previous two years. We have found that students are willing to come in Saturday and skip during the course of the school week. We will offer two Saturday School Seminars in a trimester. During this time, students will have the opportunity to complete homework etc.
Please remember you have 10 school days in which to verify an absence, and that your child will receive a 1/3 letter grade reduction for each unexcused absence that appears in a class. We have several ways to notify parents of absences, these include:
- Letters of unexcused absences that are sent home when a student reaches 5, 7 or 10 unexcused absences in a class
- SchoolView parent access where parents can check their own children’s attendance
- Each Friday, teachers have a report of unexcused absences in their classes and they communicate those to their students.
- You can e-mail an attendance verification for a full day absence at: HS.Attendance@stfrancis.k12.mn.us
Thank you and we look forward to working with you.
Paul Neubauer
SFHS Principal
