Summer Letter from President Phil Kerr

Happy summer to our entire school community!

The 2024-25 school year is upon us in four short weeks.

 

As we just recently completed our fiscal year on June 30, I would like to reflect on one of the most incredible years in St. Francis High School history.

 

From academics to co-curriculars and athletics to performing and visual arts, as well as campus safety and security to school leadership, SFHS reached amazing and critical new heights as a premier high school in the United States.

The year started out with a bang as the school received the highest academic award of achievement issued by the United States Department of Education in September, the National Blue Ribbon School Award. Only the top 1% of high schools in the U.S. have an active Blue Ribbon award, and SFHS was the only Catholic or private high school in the State of Illinois awarded this year. This happened at nearly the same time the school received its 7th straight year of designation as a Microsoft Showcase School, one of only 37 schools nationwide.

Our class of 2024 graduated 48 Illinois State Scholars out of 164 students (29%), that's nearly one out of every three seniors. We had two perfect ACT scores, two National Merit Scholar Finalists, and four National Merit Recommended Scholars. 100% of our graduates were accepted into college, earning an average of $160,000 in scholarships.

Before the fall was over, Girls Volleyball earned its 2nd straight State Championship and 14th overall. Football was a state semifinalist for the 2nd straight time. Boys Golf placed 5th in state as a team and sophomore Beckett Jones earned 3rd place individually in the state tournament. Girls Golf was led by Emmy Hollarbush who finished 13th in the state.

A very young Girls Cross Country team finished 6th in state while featuring three freshmen and one sophomore. Boys Cross Country qualified one runner for state, Charlie Coyle. Girls Tennis won its sectional tournament for the second time in school history and five girls qualified for state - the most in school history. Girls Swimming qualified freshman Lilly Janoviak for the state swim meet in two events, the first instance since 1980.

 

Winter was exciting for athletics as well with sophomore wrestler Jaylen Torres placing 2nd in state, Cheer placing 10th in state, and Dance placing 13th in state. Girls Basketball was crowned Conference Champions.

Along the way, Math Team placed 9th in state and reached the Top 10 in state for the 26th time in 29 years!

 

Our Choir achieved a fifth consecutive State Championship and our Music Department overall (band, choir, and orchestra combined) also placed first.

 

Additionally, Band placed second and Orchestra placed third individually.

Moving along to spring, Boys Volleyball made it to the State Quarterfinals for the first time and Girls Track captured 9th in state, not to mention the State Champion 4 x 800-meter relay team of Elena Mamminga, Margaret Andrzejewski, Allie Sheldon, and Erin Hinsdale. Erin Hinsdale also placed 2nd in the 800 meter and Abbie Sheldon placed 6th in discus.

In Boys Track, Gavin Mueller finished 8th in state in Shot Put. In Boys Tennis, Umar Bajwa received All State first team status after finishing 6th in state in singles. Girls Soccer and Softball each won a Regional Championship and Girls Lacrosse won their first playoff game ever.

As a result of the astonishing accomplishments in athletics, The Daily Herald announced SFHS as the winner of its first annual Herald Cup, an award honoring athletic excellence. We are thrilled our post-season performances qualified us as the #1 Overall Athletic Program amongst smaller-sized schools in the Daily Herald coverage area for the 2023-24 school year.

 

The celebrations continue...

 

From a leadership standpoint:

In terms of campus safety and security, the first phases of our Capital Campaign are being completed as we speak and will be ready for the start of school in August. While we don't publicly publish all of the enhancements (for security reasons), a few of the improvements include shatterproof windows and additional security doors and alarms.

 

After a 27-year wait, a four-way traffic safety signal was approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the City of Wheaton for construction at the east exit of the school property and is estimated for completion in 2026. Approximately 50% of the necessary funds are raised to complete this improvement, which will provide a critically necessary safety measure to protect our students and visitors crossing Roosevelt Road.

 

At the start of the next school year, the following projects will be complete:

 

The next phase includes the final classroom safety enhancements and other improvements, and construction of the Student Services Counseling Expansion.

We need your help to raise the next $4 million to achieve the same results next summer as we did this summer. The permitting and design work timelines require us to raise the funds by August 31, 2024, to not interrupt the momentum of advancement of St. Francis High School and the Progress Can’t Wait - Secure our Future Today safety and building capital campaign.

 

We want to make the school as safe as we can, as quickly as we can! Please schedule an appointment today and see how you can help by calling Phil Kerr at (630) 668-5800 ext. 1102 or Todd Shaw at (630) 668-5800 ext. 1143.

 

None of this could have been accomplished without our incredibly talented faculty and staff, students, athletes and coaches, committed parents, donors, and alumni. I sincerely thank all of you.

 

We look forward to another outstanding year of achievements for the 2024-25 school year! Go Spartans!

Phil Kerr, President of St. Francis High School