- Teachers at St. Francis integrate the faith in all curriculum.
- Students attend Mass once a week at a grade level Mass or all-school Mass. Parents are encouraged to attend the level Masses and do when their children are involved in a special way.
- All-school Masses allow for communal celebration of events such as: Feasts of Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Gaspar, Saint Joseph, All Saints, as well as themes such as: respect life and vocations.
- Students also attend special liturgical ceremonies during Advent and Lent.
- Pre-school and Kindergarten students role-play the Stations of the Cross and Christmas pageant as well as attend age appropriate morning prayer services during Catholic Schools’ Week, Advent and Lent.
- SURVEY SAYS: The 2011 parent survey reports: 98% of parents agree, or strongly agree that “The school is teaching the basic beliefs of the faith.”; 97% that “Prayer is an observable part of the daily life of the faculty and students at school.”; and 97% that “the school has a positive impact on their child’s faith development.”
Testimonial: “Where we live, the public school is an amazing school with very high test scores. But we are selecting to send our daughter to Saint Francis because of the faith-based curriculum, she loves her peers, and more importantly she loves the teachers.”
Testimonial from seminarian: I only chanced to attend St. Francis Xavier School for the last half of 7th grade through my 8th grade year, after my family moved to St. Joseph from Florida. While this may seem too short a time to make a thorough judgment of the school, I would contend that it was just long enough. While I was there, I fell in line with what seems to be the current attitude among school kids at that age, where school is seen as something boring and tedious, with its only upside being the prospect of socializing with friends. However, deeper in me, although this attitude didn't permit me to acknowledge it, I was fond of SFX, and I think most of my classmates today would probably share similar feelings. More than simply being fond of the school though, hindsight has led me to a much greater appreciation of my brief Catholic education at SFX. Christ was the focal point of the school, in both overt and subtle ways, and there cannot be a more sure foundation. At the time, I did not realize the slow formation taking place in me due to the nature of being in a clearly Catholic environment day in and day out. You cannot underestimate the value of Christ infused into a child's education, and SFX provided that for me. Currently, I am finishing up my last year of formation at Conception Seminary College and over the summer I will be sent to Rome for four years to study theology in hopes of being ordained a priest for our diocese at the end of that time. I would encourage anyone considering to send their children to SFX, to think about the benefits of the truly Catholic education that it would provide.
Andy Mattingly, Alumnus and son of Leslie Gossen, 5th grade teacher.
