St. Francis de Sales Catholic School

Our school offers a variety of special classes throughout the week. The Frank and Peggie O'Neil Art and Music Center is a recently constructed addition, designed to accommodate our Art and Music Programs. The first floor of the addition houses the acoustically sound Music Room, which has graduated flooring, a piano, white boards, instruments, and a T.V./DVD player. The 35 upholstered oak chairs leave plenty of room for either a standing or sitting choir.

The five-year-old music program includes lessons for all students: two music lessons a week for K-3 and one a week for grades 4-8. Keyboard is taught to grades 2 and 3 in the keyboard lab. Percussion is presented to grade 4, recorder to grades 5 and 6 and choral to grades 7 and 8. There are three music teachers and three music rooms dedicated to this program. Furthermore, a new initiative last year has allowed a growing group of students to benefit from private instrumental lessons at the Settlement Music School. A professional documentary film of this program was made four years ago and a follow-up film about the program was just made this year.

The second floor of the Frank and Peggie O’Neil Art and Music Center contains the art room. Students K-8 enjoy classes in a well-lit art-deco room with sky lights and two full walls (floor to ceiling) to display their art. The art curriculum is aligned with various content-area subjects, including social studies, language arts, and religion. Once a year, two to five students from each grade level are chosen to display their work in a gallery setting (for sale to the general public) at a local restaurant, Abbraccio.

One of the features that makes St. Francis de Sales unique is our Peace Program. Our school has worked to train our students to solve problems without violence and to take that which they have learned to their homes and neighborhoods. This program is truly a way of life within the school. Faculty, staff and students nominate fellow students who exemplify the inner courage to resolve situations peacefully. These Peacemakers are honored on our Peace Wall, and from those Peacemakers one individual is chosen to receive the Peace Medal, the highest honor for a De Sales student, at an end of the year culminating Peace Assembly. Students are taught about important human virtues that provide peace by a Peace Pilgrim, who travels from room to room. One of the cornerstones of the program is a Peace Room which is dedicated to the use of the students for conflict resolution. We also have after-school Peace Clubs that provide the students with a chance to explore fun activities and interact with students from different grade levels. Our Peace Program has received much publicity as well as numerous national and state awards.

The technology class coincides with library. This computer room has a computer monitor who is there to guide the children through the basic steps of Internet and other features on an IBM.