Today we finish the official celebration of Black History Month. We proudly commemorate this special month, though we also endeavor always to weave a multidimensional, full, inclusive approach throughout our curriculum. Students and faculty/staff coordinated several events, during this week in particular. In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter At School movement, the Black Students Association put together a weeklong program for this final week of the month to emphasize certain themes each day. One day honored Trans and Queer Black people; another emphasized Diversity and Globalism; yet another affirmed the concept of Unapologetically Black, and the week finished with a nod to Intergenerational Black Families and Black Villages. The BSA shared relevant resources for each day's theme with the High School community. Two special presentations were made available to students. This past Wednesday, Centre College welcomed Stacey Abrams for the keynote conversation for their Black History Month programming and we shared the link for that with all students. It was a deeply thought-provoking conversation and I shared my reflection on it with students in our Morning Meeting the following day. Click here if you would like to watch the recording. Then the BSA hosted its own event today on Black Experience in the Art World, featuring Jyreika Guest and Tez of 2Deep, who spoke with SFS students about their personal experiences as Black artists, as well as the role within the art world of Black artists and performers. Finally, BSA student members and adult leaders took on the poem-reading duties (we always end our Morning Meetings with a [...]

While you are currently focused on the process of choosing your child’s high school, we can personally attest to the fact that the high school years go by incredibly quickly, and before you know it, you’ll be touring college campuses and sending your child off to one of them. We want to share some thoughts on why the way that St. Francis guides students (and their parents!) through the college selection/application process (as well as the financial aid and scholarship process) is a major advantage. First, our overall goal in the college counseling process is to help each student find the “right-fit” college. We are not trying to win a race or push kids to certain schools because they look good on our list, though we’re certainly proud of the way that their hard work pays off in college admissions. Instead, like everything at St. Francis, the college counseling process is very much tailored to each individual student. What are their academic passions? What other interests do they want to pursue in college? Are they interested in an urban or rural environment, and what region of the country would they prefer? Liberal arts or pre-professional? Small college or large university?   Our college acceptance list demonstrates the individualized nature of this process at St. Francis, because every year it represents a wide array of fantastic schools. It is a list of which we are immensely proud because it reflects the diversity of our students’ interests and aspirations -- from Ivy League schools to state schools to small liberal arts colleges [...]

Recently, a group of administrators, faculty, Board members, and students have been examining our Core Values and our Vision statement, revamping them to reflect the School more clearly. During that process, we had several conversations about "critical thinking," a concept that is at the core of a SFS education.   John Dewey, one of the founders of the Progressive education philosophy, originated the idea of critical thinking (which he referred to as "reflective thinking") as a goal of education. As he defined it, this sort of thinking is "active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends." In considering it a century later from an educational perspective, what occurs to me is that for this Google generation, the honing of their critical thinking skills is really the means by which we can consider them educated. Today's St. Francis students have come of age in an era where facts are at their fingertips. For that matter, so is information parading as facts. I recently started my freshman Health & Skills students working in groups on projects about drugs and alcohol. One of the cautions I gave them about researching these topics is that they can likely find sources to directly contradict one another, so they have to not just see information and accept it as fact, but rather evaluate it carefully. In today's information-heavy world, it's crucial for students (and, indeed, all of us) to consider the source, to gauge [...]

Prospective parents and students are often surprised by the number and variety of athletic teams, extracurricular activities, and clubs at St. Francis. It seems counterintuitive, but a small high school can actually provide varied and diverse opportunities for student involvement. There are no barriers here: from our no-cut athletic teams to organizations and clubs that are always excited to have more members to starting your own activity, the opportunities are many!  Read on to learn more about our athletics, extracurriculars, and clubs. Our mascot is the Wyvern -- a fierce, fire-breathing dragon. With 14 varsity athletic teams, our Wyverns are true competitors. St. Francis fields varsity teams in soccer, volleyball, field hockey, golf, basketball, bowling, tennis, track, and baseball. Talented and experienced athletes gain varsity experience starting in freshman year, and we’ve sent student-athletes in recent years on to play at the University of Kentucky, Michigan State University, Northern Kentucky University, Berea College, Vassar College, Furman University, Greenville University, Tiffin University, the College of Wooster, Centre College, and Dickinson College. Plus, 2013 alumnus Napo Matsoso was an All-American at UK and has now been a member of Louisville City FC’s stellar team for several years. St. Francis teams are no-cut, however, so less experienced athletes can also pick up a new sport or continue playing something just because they enjoy it and want to be part of a team. Students who want to have the team experience, but don’t love actually playing sports can serve as team managers, photographers, scorekeepers, etc. We also offer the “Underground Lifting Society” after [...]

And we're back! Second semester is underway and with it, we have opened our basketball season (I do want to note for all parents' information that we are practicing/playing with masks and only playing other teams who agree to wear masks), are gearing up for virtual Governor's Cup next week and weekend, and are starting our Senior Project presentations next week! Senior Projects are a longstanding (over two decades) SFS tradition. They are a graduation requirement and function as a culmination of the St. Francis education, blending research, written, and presentation components and enabling students to focus on something they are passionate about. This year's Senior Projects include an analysis of world pantheons, a look at the reliability of personality tests and types, a comparison of sabermetrics vs. basketball analytics, creation of an aquaponics system, a study of the design and doctrine of tanks during the first part of the 20th century, an examination of Roman emperors and another of U.S. Presidents, a focus on making sex education more accessible in Kentucky, a history of instrument flight rules, and various cooking, musical, artistic, creative writing, and other topics.  The presentations will take place on afternoons beginning next week and stretching all the way until Spring Break. I can't wait to see the results of the hard work the Class of 2021 has put in!