Prospective Fisher Falcons,
Below are links to a few documents, videos and forms to make it convenient for you to see all that SJF has to offer your child. I hope this helps you to get a good feel for our school in absence of a traditional open house this year. I look forward to sharing more details as we are committed to achieving high standards Now and For the Future.
Please watch our Open House Video. Please let Linda Murray at LMurray@sjfschool.net know if you have questions in regard to placement, registration or would like to request additional information. If you would like to connect with a parent or teacher in an effort to gain their perspective surrounding St. John Fisher, we would be happy to coordinate that as well.
A few other links to key info to get to know St. John Fisher School:
- 2021-2022 Registration Form
- Tuition and Fees (new year to be set shortly): https://www.sjfschool.net/admission/tuition-fees/
- Catholic Schools Video: Celebrating Faith, Excellence, and Service
- Preschool: Three- and Four-Year-Old Preschool offered across three classrooms with Teacher and Aide in each offering a great learning environment with a 9:1 Teacher to Student ratio.
- Times: 5 full day preschool M-F 8:05 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.; 3 full day preschool T-W-Th 8:05 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.; 5 half days M-F 8:05 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.; 3 half days T-W-Th 8:05 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. It is recommended that 4-year old’s select 5 Full Days or 5 Half-Days.
- Preschoolers attend Art, Gym Library, Computers, and Social Emotional Learning. Before and After School Care Available. Preschoolers have access to fenced in playground.
- Highlights of Our Strategic Plan and our School (2019 – 2024): In order to learn about our strengths and weaknesses, together with our School Board we met and talked with over 200 parents, parish members, organizational heads and staff and faculty members in 2019. As we embark upon SJF’s Drive to 75, we look forward to our continued commitment to work together for our oh so bright future!
- School Highlights: SJF appreciates the value of in-person learning now more than ever and we have proudly invested in the future of our students. A few 2020 investments include: 1:1 technology 1st thru 8th Grade, Classrooms equipped with New SMART boards, New Reading Curriculum: Into Reading and Into Literature (K – 8), i-Ready online assessments and data-driven learning to complement our in-person instruction. We are finalizing plans for next school year as well.
- Our Leadership: Meet our Leadership Team and Early Learning Faculty.
- Until we can get to know you in person, please see the profiles of our dedicated and caring leadership. We are so proud of our teachers especially this year. Your children are in great hands! Teachers have engaged in over 20 hours of professional development and curriculum training in 2020. 35% percent of our Faculty hold a master’s degree or higher. Together we strive to keep learning and our teacher mentor program allows for growth and frequent collaboration.
- Our Classroom teachers are supported by a team of Special Area teachers offering enriching experiences in Physical Education, Technology, Music, Art, Social Emotional Learning and Spanish. Our early education team offers enrichment courses after school and on weekends however these are on hold due to the pandemic.
- Our Full Time Resource Room is staffed with 2 experienced special education teachers plus part time teachers to support the individual needs of students with learning differences. Resource staff provides support within the classroom as well as in a designated Resource classroom.
- Meet a few of members of our collaborative team:
- Mrs. Win Biernacki, Special Education teacher provides individualized support to students and their families in grades Pre-K-4. Mrs. Biernacki has been an integral part of St. John Fisher for the past 7 years. She has cultivated a school-wide inclusion effort as Resource has evolved into a comprehensive program that enables SJF to support all students, regardless of their abilities and differences. Prior to her tenure at SJF Mrs. Biernacki worked at St. Gerald and engaged in community work with senior citizens. Mrs. Biernacki has a master’s degree in special education and is a certified Learning Behavioral Specialist (LBS1).
- Mrs. Karen Brogan, Special Education teacher provides individualized support to resource students and their families in grades 5-8. Mrs. Brogan lives in Oak Lawn with her husband and three children who attend St. Catherine’s. Karen most recently stayed home for five years to raise her children, however, prior to that she taught in CPS for ten years both in the regular education and special education setting. Karen has a Master’s in Special Education and is a certified Learning Behavioral Specialist (LBS1).
- Ms. Mary Schiavone, Reading Specialist, taught 3rd grade for 8 years at St. John Fisher until deciding to specialize in reading intervention. She recently earned her master’s degree in Literacy Curriculum and is an invaluable asset to the St. John Fisher student community. Ms. Schiavone is dedicated to ensuring all SJF students are reading at or above grade level. Ms. Schiavone meets with students individually and in small groups, providing direct reading instruction utilizing the Fountas and Pinnell reading intervention curriculum.
- St. John Fisher’s curriculum and programming is designed to ensure students matriculate as academically prepared, compassionate leaders ready to collaborate with their peers and engage in their communities. A large part of this success culminates in high school placement.
- SJF Faculty members offer a High School Placement Test Prep Class to assist our students prepare for the exam. The Instructors, Mrs. Condon, Mrs. Folliard and Ms. Dunlavy, have a combined 35 years of formal test prep experience at Huntington Learning Center, Academic Tutoring Center, Excel Edge and Sylvan.
- 100% of the class of 2020 was accepted to their first-choice high school.
- The class of 2020 earned over $180,000 in merit-based scholarships.
- MANNA, Start saving now thru our tuition reimbursement program: SJF prides itself on offering competitive tuition rates for families of all sizes. We understand it is a sacrifice. Some families start preschool with significant savings by consistently using this program for everyday spending.