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CSW2013: St. Francis of Assisi School, Astoria

Success For All

 

St. Francis of Assisi School, located in the vibrant and culturally diverse neighborhood of Astoria, N.Y., is proud to be celebrating Catholic Schools Week, 2013.  Since the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, our school community has fully embraced the CSW theme of Raising the Standards and has been firmly committed to our personal motto of Success For All.
csw2013-sfa-math Academics

In July, 2012, our faculty began to take a leadership role in developing our curriculum around the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), adopted as an unprecedented national set of education standards, to provide all students access to a high-quality education that would prepare them for college and future careers. Our initial participation in St. John’s University’s Curriculum Leadership Program facilitated our development of rigorous instructional unit plans of study in both English Language Arts and Math. Since that time, our faculty has continued in this program and translated these common core grade-specific standards into daily teaching practices.  In a school wide effort, we have continuously focused our attention on redesigning our instruction so that our students are engaged in more cognitively challenging tasks and are actively involved in gaining the mastery and proficiency of the skills required to prepare them for competitive postsecondary education and the global arena. Our teachers’ desire to advance their own learning, as evidenced by our involvement in Catapult’s Literacy Coaching Program, has had an invaluable effect on our students’ achievements. Our goal is to teach so that our curriculum supports our students’ strengths and helps them develop to their highest potentials.  As education researcher, Maxine Greene, reminds us, “Our children are poised to reach towards what is not yet, towards a growing that cannot be predetermined or prescribed.”

We at St. Francis of Assisi School believe that we must create a learning environment in which every child can succeed and fulfill his or her potential. We want our students to have true intellectual grit, defined by Angela Lee Duckworth (Harvard Education, Vol. 29) as qualities like diligence, hard work, sustained effort, and the ability to focus on a goal without getting discouraged by setbacks.  Our goals are to convince our students that they can succeed and then guide them to success.

 

Technology
CSW2013-sfaWe also believe that for all 21st-century learners, technology tools are crucial to success. Therefore, SFA has developed a new Technology Plan that will keep us evolving in a modern Wi-Fi environment of SMART tools, iPads and laptops as competent and responsible users of innovative technology. Recently, SFA, in partnership with I.S. 126, was awarded a three-year learning technology grant known as Project TIPS. This program, which is an outreach of Project LEGAL, achieved both state and national validation for advancing elementary students’ problem-solving skills and knowledge of the U.S. legal/judicial system. It is an exciting venture that will lend itself to developing not only better problem-solvers and thinkers but also socially conscious citizens of the world. In addition, we already have a fully equipped computer lab and 60 additional laptops to meet the requirements of being Technology Ready for the Common Core-aligned N.Y.S. assessments in 2014-2015.

 

CSW2013-sfa2Catholic Identity

In addition to the CCSS, there is another evolution-taking place called the Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative (CCCII).  The CCCII will infuse more Catholic teachings, principles, values, and social justice themes into the curriculum content and instructional activities according to the National Catholic Educators Association (NCEA).  At St. Francis of Assisi School, we believe that this will further develop in our students a “way of life” rooted in Christ and a Catholic vision that will provide inspiration and identity to all the members of our school community. It is the mission of St. Francis of Assisi School to form, inform, and transform ourselves through Christ to be active members of our Catholic community and dedicated scholars who serve all of society. We believe in the dignity of all human beings and support a Christian value-laden environment that builds respectful relationships throughout our school community.  During this 2012-2013 school year, our students are thinking much more of others and have joined in several fundraising efforts to support families in need.  More students are joining our parish Youth Group and Children’s Choir and becoming Altar Servers and Student Council members.  They are determined to make the world a better place. csw2013-sfa-spkr 

In this Year of Faith, our school has been more focused on learning about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his teachings.  In Affair of the Heart, by Patricia Jordan, we learned that, “One winter morning in 1208, St. Francis of Assisi heard the words of the Gospel not only with his ears, but with his heart, and it changed his life forever.” It is our hope that our students’ Catholic educations at St. Francis of Assisi School will greatly change their lives for the better too.  To learn more about our special school please call (718) 726-9405 or visit www.sfaschool.org.