Thanksgiving Greetings!

On behalf of the students, faculty, and administration of Saint Francis DeSales High School, I wish each of you a blessed and joy-filled Thanksgiving spent with family and friends. 

This time of the year provides each of us with opportunities to reflect on our abundant gifts and blessings. As I sat down to write this letter to our community I could not help but reflect on what a tremendous autumn we have enjoyed. 

Our school community has been blessed with an excellent start to the 2023-24 school year. The diligence and creativity of our students has been substantiated by the quality of their work. The level of dedication exhibited by our students to their curricular and co-curricular endeavors is something for which we can all be proud and thankful. Furthermore, the leadership of our upperclassmen has provided our community with the positive energy required to meet our goals.

And while all of the above factors have contributed to our success we understand that we are blessed with a community that values in a fundamental way that all success has its origins in Christ. It is with this in mind that I encourage our community to take the time in upcoming days to offer a prayer of Thanksgiving for the many gifts associated with our school family. 

During this upcoming Thanksgiving recess I would humbly request that we continue to pray for the poor and vulnerable. Let us never forget our call to bring the face of Christ to those in need. Please accept my heartfelt appreciation to all who worked so diligently to ensure the success of our recent food drive. With the love and support of the Saint Francis DeSales High School community we were able to contribute in excess of 30,000 goods to benefit the Saint James the Less Food Pantry and the Saint Stephen's Community House. I am incredibly proud to witness our students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni living their faith. 

In closing, as we rapidly approach the end of November and prepare to move into the Holy Season of Advent please know that the Saint Francis DeSales High School family will hold you and your family in our prayers. May each of our families find the peace and love of Jesus Christ during the upcoming Advent Season and always.

Peace and God’s Blessings,

Daniel J. Garrick

Principal

“It is to those who have the most need of us 

that we ought to show our love most especially.”

~Saint Francis de Sales

Stallions in the Spotlight

Ten Stallions had an opportunity to participate in the 2023 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) over the past few days in Indianapolis. This conference provided an opportunity for our students, as members of the young Church, to encounter Christ in a special way, enabling them to take part in a pilgrimage-journey. Our SFD delegation included Brandon Heil '24, Ashley Zacherl '27, Allison Heil '27, Mayte Moran Barrita '27, Nkatha Thuranira '27, Rebecca Gebhart '26, Ashley Zavala Leon' 27, Beatrice Foley '27, Cori Gaddis '27, Ben Reither '26 (not pictured), and chaperones Karen and Pam Heil (not pictured).

We are grateful for the overwhelming support of our annual Canned Food Drive! Yesterday a team of students dropped off the items at the St. James the Less Food Pantry and the St. Stephen’s Community House.

A special shoutout to 13 members of our St. Vincent DePaul Club who made a significant contribution to the canned food drive. The effort was led by sophomores Nick Hunsaker and Ben Reither; they were helped by Tony Celebrezze, Rebecca Fekru, Rebecca Gebhart, Larkin Hatton, Allison Heil, Cindy Li, Emma Minser, Abbie Smith, Tereza Sprungle, Maria Thomas, and Veronica Vitullo. We also want to thank the members of our National Honor Society who helped make this drive a success, and to the sophomore class--the winners of our class competition, bringing in the most donations this year.

The Animal Lover's/Future Vet Club hosted two guest speakers last week. Dr. Shmall and Dr. Bishop, both veterinarians, came to talk to club members about their profession. Teddy (the dog) acted as a patient for their demonstration.

Congratulations to sophomore Luis Jimenez Noyola, freshman Adilene Buitron Rocha, freshman Catherine Hageman, and freshman Veronica Vitullo, all members of the Spanish club, for winning the Sugar Skull competition that was part of our Day of the Dead celebration.

Members of Sororitas, SFD women’s bible study group, gathered yesterday during lunch periods to celebrate “Friendsgiving!” Special guests included Hard as Nails missionaries Marygrace and Catherine, as well as St. Matthew’s youth minister Maggie, and everyone’s favorite guest, baby Isidor. Our 6th period members “spread the warmth” by passing out flowers to a few of the teachers they were thankful for.

Congratulations to the following recipients of the Guardian Angel Scholarship--a scholarship given to students who have shown continuous academic growth:

Sophomores - Cam Ellis, Jovanna Jemison, Kayley Spence

Juniors - Anthony Celebrezze, Dane Crabtree, Michael Henderson, Lucy Hickman, Jordyn Miller, August Sabo, Isaac Stewart

Seniors - Mercedes Bassitt, Luis Camarillo, Ty Hampton, India Holland, Micah Grayson, *Mia Lantz, Andrew Ofosu, Kenyetitta Quinn, Aaron Saucedo, Jaeleah Smith, Addie Stonis, *Kevin Sullivan (* not pictured)

Next Tuesday is Giving Tuesday!

Triple Your Impact: Here's an opportunity to amplify your generosity! Until Wednesday, December 13, the first $75,000 raised will be matched by ten Stallion families. 

Junior Chloe Ray, a student in our Graphic Design 2 class, had her poster design selected to be printed and displayed around school in celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

During Native American Heritage month, and as we prepare for the upcoming time set aside for Thanksgiving, we ask that you would join us in a special prayer today for all Native Americans and their descendants.

God of all Creation, 

Thank You for the people who inhabited this land before us, especially the Shawnee, Miami, and Wyandotte, among others.

R: Lord, hear our prayer.

Thank You for their innovation in science, mathematics, mapmaking, and more.

R: Lord, hear our prayer.

Thank You for their cultural contributions first encountered in trade.

R: Lord, hear our prayer.

Help us to recognize the ways we benefit from their irreplaceable loss.

R: Lord, hear our prayer.

Help us to look for long-term solutions to issues affecting Native-American communities.

R: Lord, hear our prayer.

Increase our desire to not only engage in conversation, but to also act. 

R: Lord, hear our prayer.

A Message from the Catholic Bishops of Ohio

St. Paul tells us that it is in hope that we were saved and, “if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.” Please click here to read the Catholic Bishops of Ohio's statement on the passing of Issue 1.

Fred Felter and his daughter Isabella are excited for the upcoming Father/Daughter Dance. See how this has been a tradition for them over the years.

Join us for the Father/Daughter Dance!

This is your LAST WEEK to purchase Early Bird tickets. Get yours now at https://rb.gy/od0s38. 

SENIORS: send three pictures you'd like to use in the video shown at the dance to Jen Crabtree (mjcrabtree1@att.net) or Heather Van Syckle (heather.vansyckle1@gmail.com).

We'd like to have as many people attend the dance as possible. If you would like to discuss assistance purchasing tickets, please contact our Mother's Club at mothersclub@desales.co.

March for Life Trip

Registration is open for the March for Life Bus Trip to Washington, D.C. on January 18-19, 2024: March for Life 2024. The trip includes tickets to the two-day Life is VERY Good events sponsored by the Diocese of Arlington, dinner Thursday evening, breakfast and lunch Friday and a one-night hotel stay. The registration fee for the trip is $180 and is non-refundable. While registration for St. Francis DeSales students is now open, students from other diocesan high schools can register after December 8th, so please register as soon as possible because spots on the bus will fill quickly. As a reminder, any parents interested in assisting us as a chaperone for the trip must have completed Protecting God's Children and an FBI/BCI background check: https://columbuscatholic.org/protecting-gods-children. Contact Molly Kraker at (614) 353-5686 or mollykraker@columbus.rr.com or Colleen Mascarin at 614-378-7266 or mascarin@desales.co with any questions regarding the trip.

The holidays are meant to be a fun and relaxing time; however, sometimes for teens it can come with some specific challenges that the adults in their lives don’t always think about. A common worry heading into the holidays is how to navigate questions from extended family about college choice, career choice, and the like.

It is important to remember that we all have our various comfort levels in responding to questions from “Please don’t ask me about anything” to “I’m an open book, fire away!”

Family dinners and get-togethers can be more challenging for those of us who prefer to fly under the radar or who simply don’t know the answers–yet. If this is you or your child, this info is for you!

First of all, ground yourself about the motivation behind the questions. Challenge yourself to consider what’s real and what might be an assumption about a family member’s intention.

1. Family members who do not get to see you day to day may simply be genuinely interested in updates about your life. They are likely not asking to torment you.
2. Questions about what is next for you are natural questions; these questions are not meant to suggest that you ought to have it figured out. These questions generally mean that they are interested in your life and what you think.

Strategies to navigate these conversations:

1. You only have to provide information that you are comfortable sharing. Someone asking does not mean you have to share beyond your comfort zone. 
2. Identify some talking points that are comfortable to share about your experiences and interests in high school or beyond. Most family and friends simply want to hear about you and your experiences. For some, asking about college, career and activities are simply meant to be conversation starters. If you take the lead in the conversation, you can surprisingly reduce your anxiety about the conversation.
3. It is okay to not know. If you don’t know what specifically is next for you, say that. It can be helpful to elaborate with something like, “I’m looking forward to figuring it out” or “I know I’m generally interested in…(the arts, the sciences, etc).
4. Giving a response beyond a yes or no answer can facilitate more mutual conversation and flow vs. what sometimes feels like a rapid fire of questions. Taking time to respond with some detail actually gives you more power to steer the conversation to safe and pleasant topics. 
5. Ask questions about the other person and their experience. Most people simply want to feel connected to their loved ones, especially if they don’t see you that often. Being curious about them in return, takes the pressure off of you and helps build that connection.  

Parents can play an important role in practicing and identifying comfortable topics ahead of time. Resist the urge to answer for teens.  

Nurse's Notes

2023-2024 Sick Policy 

Sick children often expose other students and school staff members to illnesses and germs. These illnesses are disruptive to the educational process and to other children and their families. Students who are ill should be kept home to help control the spread of germs. Please follow the guidelines linked here to help keep our school safe and healthy.