Catholic Schools Week | St. Francis de Sales: Best School Ever! | An Essay by Daniel Barker (Jan 18, 2018)

St. Francis de Sales is a fantastic school full of wonderful people. It has an excellent education, many fun activities, as well as being accepting and helpful to all people. I used to wonder why my parents sent me to St. Francis instead of a public school, but after being here for nine years, I know why. I have had many unforgettable experiences and am extremely lucky to have attended the school for nine whole years.

St. Francis has an extremely good education and helps whoever attends the school to become better Catholics. We go to the same classes every day, but learn in different ways throughout the classes. Sometimes we make presentation so we can teach the class ourselves. We also do some projects so we aren't just reading from a textbook all day long. We even work in groups to learn how to solve problems better. These are just some of the examples we learn here at St. Francis de Sales. St. Francis also has great religious education. Every Wednesday the whole school goes to mass where Father Ryan ask questions to help us learn more about our Catholic faith. On the first Friday of the month, we go to First Friday Adoration. Along with going to Church and Adoration, we have religion class every day, where we learn about Jesus and his apostles. The variety of things we learn at St. Francis makes learning enjoyable and makes me want to learn more.

Along with school work, St. Francis has many extracurricular activities. For example, the play and the variety show give kids a chance to perform on stage and showcase their talents for the whole school. There is also various sports to play to stay active and have fun with your friends. Even if you aren't into sports there are still things for you to do. There's a band that performs concerts for the school, and there is many clubs that take place after or before school. The extracurricular activities gives you a break from the school work and a chance to have some fun with your friend. Having basketball or National Junior Honor Society after school gives me something to look forward to even if I'm having a bad day. These activities make St. Francis a great place to have fun and learn at the same time.

Even if you aren't Catholic or come from a different place than us, you are still welcome here and St. Francis. We are accepting to all people and welcome any new students that come here. When we go to mass on Wednesdays, you are still welcome even if you are a different religion. Not only are we accepting to people, but we try to help whoever we can. We make cards for people who are sick or for the veterans of the army. There is  different types of drives like the food drive, and clothing drive that we have to benefit people that are in need of certain things. Around Christmas time we have a tree that is decorated with mittens. The mittens have items that less fortunate people need. People take the mittens, buy the item that's listed on the mitten, and then return it to the church as a wrapped present. The present then go to the people who are in need. Finally, we have the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. Every Thursday people who need food can come and get food from our food pantry. The ways that we try to help all people and accept everyone shows that St. Francis is not only a school, it is a community.

Some people may think that the cost is too high to attend St Francis. Although this is a big deal to some people, we will help you throughout your journey. We provide you with help if you are in need of the money. If you think that is just not worth it, it most definitely is. There is experiences here that can be matched in any other school and we want you to experience them with us. So if you think that St. Francis is too much money attend, know that we are here to help you.

St. Francis is a great school that people should attend. If you are in preschool or even an eighth grade, you are still welcome to come here. We have a great education, many fun activities, and are welcoming to all people. No matter what age you are we hope to see you soon at St. Francis de Sales and as father Ryan says “We are all for one and one for all in Jesus Christ.“