Writing Guidelines

IN THIS SECTION

Saint Francis

We spell out “Saint” and never use “St.”
We use either “Saint Francis High School” or “Saint Francis” to refer to ourselves or sparingly “SFHS.”
Avoid writing the possessive Saint Francis’. For example, in lieu of writing “Saint Francis’ community” write “Our Saint Francis community.”
We use "we" and "our" language in lieu of "my" and "I".

We include quotes from Blessed Basil Moreau and Scripture where appropriate.
However, we watch out for exclusionary religious language. While we are proud to be rooted in Catholicism, we do not want to alienate anyone who may not practice the faith.
We avoid words or phrases that have little meaning outside the Church on external communications.

In our visual elements, the cross and anchor should appear in its entirety. We should avoid placing any graphic over the cross, which would be inappropriate positioning from a religious perspective.
Disparaging or insulting others. Playful rivalry banter is acceptable, but we never insult or demean.
Harmful, toxic or questionable language. If there is doubt, we don’t use it.
Gendered terms. Instead, we opt for gender-neutral terms such as “leaders,” “students” or “educators.” Furthermore, we do not refer to female students as Lady Lancers just as we do not refer to male students as Gentleman Lancers. No modifier is needed. We are all Lancers.
Alienating words or phrases, especially those that apply to marginalized groups. E.g. “Driving blind.”
References to war, violence or weaponry such as “spray and pray” or “bite the bullet.”