A Message from the Principal
New Director of Technology
Introducing Mr. Christopher Molinar
Eagles,
It is my pleasure to introduce you to Christopher Molinar, the new Director of Technology. Mr. Molinar holds a degree in Computer Science Systems Management from St. Edwards University and is a technology professional with over 20 years of experience.
Mr. Molinar has worked as a Director of IT for the past five years during which he successfully transformed business operations with a very lean IT team utilizing system and process expertise to increase efficiencies throughout his workplace. In this capacity, he led numerous enterprise projects that resulted in automation of processes, increased productivity, and lowered operation costs. During this time, Mr. Molinar’s also developed short and long-term strategies to support overall business objectives. As Director of IT, Mr. Molinar was the sole infrastructure administrator supporting all technologies including Cisco Meraki Routers, Firewalls, Backup and Disaster Recovery appliances, WAP’s, Active Directory, DNS, and Switches.
Asked about his transition to Savio, Mr. Molinar stated, “My passion is utilizing my technology expertise to enable growth and optimization of technologies in the workplace, and I am glad to bring that back to an academic environment. I thrive on establishing positive environments through faith, motivation, mentoring and completion of established goals all with a focus of serving our people and customers. It is my sincere pleasure to begin working with you at St Dominic Savio.”
“My passion is utilizing my technology expertise to enable growth and optimization of technologies in the workplace, and I am glad to bring that back to an academic environment.
Additionally, Mr. Molinar worked in a school environment for ten years during which he supported students by implemented numerous technologies including Google Suite for education. He also assisted district police in conducting forensic analyses of social media including Instagram and Twitter, as well as other social media platforms.
On a personal level, Mr. Molinar is a lifelong Catholic, husband to his wife Marcia of 19 years, and
Father of two beautiful daughters, Bella and Ali. He is very active in his parish, St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, in Pflugerville where he serves as a 4th degree Knight of Columbus, Eucharistic Minister, and serves as an ACTS Team member. When not participating in parish events, he enjoys Longhorn football, listening to live music, and eating good BBQ.
"I thrive on establishing positive environments through faith, motivation, mentoring and completion of established goals all with a focus of serving our people and customers."
Please join me in welcoming Mr. Molinar to the Savio family.
Blessings!
Dr. Garcia
The Savio Student Section is FANtastic!
The Savio Student Section is FANtastic!
Eagles,
Greeting and salutations! I hope you had an amazing week, because I know I did. It was a busy week, , filled with lots of Savio sports goodness. Eagle JV and Varsity Volleyball continued their winning ways vs Waldorf and Regents and followed up their achievements on the court with service off the court, helping to pack more than 50,000 meals for victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. The new Eagle Dance Team continued to gel and get down their dance routines, while our Eagle Cross Country Teams competed in the Cedar Park Invitational. And despite playing on Friday the 13th, our Eagle Football team took on the TSD Rangers and came away with a solid 31-15 victory to go 3-0 for the first time in Savio history.
What a week!
All these accomplishments by our student-athletes are great, and we love our student-athletes for all they contribute to building Savio Spirit. However, today I want to focus on our fans, in particular, our student fans, and especially the Savio Student Section.
As principal of Savio, it’s always great to get a compliment about Savio’s fans, especially our students! So, I was really happy after Thursday’s volleyball game against Regents, when some Regents parents pulled me aside and complimented the Student Section. “We just want to tell you that we loved your students,” they told me. “They were fun. They had lots of energy, and we really enjoyed them! You have some great students!”
Not only did this compliment leave me beaming with pride and joy, but it made me think about how amazing the Student Section has been this year. And the more I thought about, the more I came to the conclusion that the Student Section is FANtastic!
“We just want to tell you that we loved your students,” they told me. “They were fun. They had lots of energy, and we really enjoyed them!”
Last year’s Savio Student Section left its mark, but this year’s student section has already distinguished itself. In addition to keeping alive a such treasured Savio Student Section traditions, like dressing up according to the game theme for the night, having a football player complete 10 squats with a Savio student on his shoulders, spelling out E-A-G-L-E-S followed by S-E-L-G-A-E, while a student hops from letter to letter in the gym, and quoting the seagulls from Finding Nemo with “Mine! Mine! Mine!”, this year’s Savio Student Section has been as loud and proud as ever not only during Varsity volleyball games but also during JV games!
That’s a great change from last year! Not only that, but in addition to their solid presence for both JV and Varsity games, the Savio Student Section has shown great Savio Spirit getting in on some cheers like never before. After the “We. Are. Eagles.” chant for our players on Thursday, the Savio Student Section then started a “You. Are. Regents.” chant for the opposing team. Great stuff, folks!
This year’s Savio Student Section has been as loud and proud as ever not only during Varsity volleyball games but also during JV games!
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And it hasn’t just been during volleyball games that the Savio Student Section has been loud and proud.
The Savio Student Section has also been FANtastic during our Eagle Football games. During our first two home games, the Savio Student Section filled the bleachers to the brim with Savio FANtasticness—just made that up! Throughout both games, the Savio Student Section cheered, interacted with our Eagle Cheerleaders’ cheers, and threw in a few cheers of their own, including some interesting “cheers” and game commentaries by students who managed to get a hold of a megaphone!
On Friday, I even heard the Savio Student Section get in a loud “I-believe-that-we-will-win” chant and a guided “Move-to-the-left-Move-to-the-right” routine that kept the Savio Spirit flowing until the final seconds on the clock ticked away and we celebrated a 31-15 win and going 3-0 for the first time!
My goodness!
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So, thank you, Savio Student Section, for being so FANtastic. Your Savio Spirit is flowing and soaring high! Keep it going!
So, thank you, Savio Student Section, for being so FANtastic. Your Savio Spirit is flowing and soaring high! Keep it going! Can’t wait to see you at Homecoming and during our upcoming Eagle Basketball season. And here’s a suggestion: make it out to a Cross Country meet this year! And to Baseball, and Softball, and Soccer, and Swim, and Cheer competitions. In fact, get out to Golf as well! Get out there and show the world some serious Savio Spirit and just how FANtastic the Savio Student Section can be!
Blessings!
Dr. Garcia
Thank You for Making Football Possible
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Eagles,
Last week I wrote to you about the amazing season that our Eagle Football Team is having and about the faith, blood, sweat, and tears that went into making the 2019 Football Season possible. Well, things just got more amazing with our Eagles’ win over the TSD Rangers on Friday the 13th. With that win, St. Dominic Savio Football is 3-0 for the first time in its ten-year history!
Can you believe it?
With that win, St. Dominic Savio Football is 3-0 for the first time in its ten-year history!
Due to space, one thing I was not able to do in last week’s Message from the Principal was to send out some well-deserved “Thank You’s” to several people who made Eagle Football possible in 2019. So here we go with the “Thank You’s” in the form of Savio Claps…just to make it go a little faster!
Eagle Football Thank you
First, a big Savio Clap goes out Coach Clark and Coach Prukop, who exemplified the saying that the season begins the day after the last game. Immediately after the Student vs Faculty Football Game last year, Coach Clark and Coach Prukop went to work making sure that the off-season workouts and summer strength and conditioning program was set and ready for our players to start preparing for the 2019 season. Additionally, Coach Clark and Coach Prukop put in long hours scheduling the scrimmages and games for the 2019 Eagle Football Season.
Eagle Football Coaching Staff
Another Savio Clap goes out to the entire Eagle Coaching Staff: Tim Prukop, Bill Hemphill, Yogi Beitia, Bryan Hicks, and Chandler Worthy. These coaches made sure that our players not only kept the faith after a tough 2018 season but ensured that our players attended off-season workouts, summer strength, and conditioning, and participated in 7-on-7 this summer.
The 2019 Eagle Football Team deserves a major Savio Clap for all the hard work they put in during the off-season and summer to ensure that Eagle Football would continue in 2019, after a tough 2018 season, and the hard work they continue to do to prepare for each game, despite not knowing if there would even be a 2019 season because at the time there were only 12-14 players showing up every day.
A Savio Clap also goes out to our Aquila members: Collin Brown, Troy Foster, Chris Janak, Sara Lange, Gage Nusbaum, and Garret Veenis. Coach Prukop announced the members of the Aquila at the pre-game meal before our season-opener against the Rosehill Eagles. According to Coach Prukop, these players and trainer-led by example all throughout the offseason and summer.
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A Savio Clap goes out to Eagle Football Parents and Volunteers who continue keep the faith for Eagle Football! 2019 Eagle Football would not exist without you!
Eagle Football Parents and Volunteers
A Savio Clap also goes out to our Eagle Football Parents and Volunteers who continue to keep the Eagle Football faith! 2019 Eagle Football would not exist without you! Eagle Football Parents made sure our players came to off-season workouts, summer strength and conditioning, and 7-on-7’s. We couldn’t have the 2019 Eagle Football Season without our Savio Parents and Volunteers who line the practice field in 100 degree weather, run the cameras to video practices, work the concession stand, provided pre-game and post-game meals, take tickets, work for the chain crew, film the game, announce during the game, and worked the Press Box, including trouble-shooting the scoreboard. There are so many of Savio parents who helped make Friday’s game possible that Coach Clark said, “The number of volunteers it takes on football game day is substantial. Truly takes a village. And some are people whose kids graduated years ago!”
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Savio Boosters
Savio Boosters also get a Savio Clap for setting up the concessions, making sure there are people to run concessions, arranging for port-a-potties, and taking tickets at the door. And of course, a Savio Clap also goes to the different Savio teams who run the concession stands.
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Eagle Cheerleaders and Pep Band
And I would be remiss if I didn’t send out a big Savio Clap to our Eagle Cheerleaders and Pep Band! Coach O’Connor and Assistant Coach Clay, our Cheer Parents, and our Cheerleaders put in a lot of hard work, time, and sweat, preparing for the 2019 season. Similarly, Mr. Schneider and the Pep Band, which boasts an additional seven new members this year, have also practiced hard to be ready to pump up Savio Spirit during this season’s games.
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Savio Student Section
A big Savio Clap also goes out to the Savio Student Section. From the start of the season, our Savio Student Section has come out ready and rowdy, full of Savio Spirit to support our Eagle Football Team and cheer them on to victory!
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Fr. Dean
Fr. Dean. Wilhelm, Pastor of St. William Catholic Church in Round Rock, also deserves a Savio Clap. A long-time supporter of everything Savio, Fr. Dean led the team in praying the Rosary before home games throughout the 2018 season, and he continues as a spiritual leader for us in 2019 leading us in the Rosary, blessing for our players before games, and leading us in the opening prayer at the game.
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Athletics
Finally, a hearty Savio Clap goes out to Coach Matamoros and Coach Clark for all their work to make the 2019 Eagle Football Season a reality! Together, Coach Matamoros and Coach Clark have worked with players, coaches, administration, parents, volunteers, and other members of the community to make sure that all preparations are made for our games.
Thanks to the Savio community, the 2019 Eagle Football season has started off with a bang! I want to thank all everyone who has and continues to contribute their time, talent, and treasure to ensure that Eagle Football continues in 2019 and beyond. May God bless you and repay you ten-fold for your generosity, and I look forward to seeing you at the next Eagle Football game!
Blessings!
Dr. Garcia
Eagle Football is Back!
Are you ready for some Eagle Football?
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
Happy Sunday, Eagles! I hope you are having a blessed day on this the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I love all our athletics teams. That goes without saying. And I love any opportunity to go out and watch Savio’s young women and men perform on the field, in the pool, on the court, on the pitch, and on the links.
It also goes without saying that athletics play an important part in the life of Savio, and I believe that no one sport is more important than another. But today I want to give a major Savio Clap to our Eagle Football Team, who opened the 2019 season with an amazing 33-20 winning performance vs Tomball Rosehill in their season opener and followed it with an impressive 61-6 win over Western Hills High School this past Friday.
After a season highlighted by four losses and six forfeited games in 2018, there were those who believed that football at Savio was done.
After a season highlighted by four losses and six forfeited games in 2018, there were those who believed that football at Savio was done. Many wrote off Eagle Football, and I must admit, while Eagle Football wasn’t dead at the end of the 2018 season, it was on life support! But that did not deter a small but dedicated group of players, coaches, parents, athletic directors, and school administrators who refused to allow Eagle Football to fade unceremoniously into the sunset. And the result from this steadfast and gritty refusal to die was the incredible return to the field of Eagle Football in two games that thrilled from start to finish, culminating with resounding Savio victories!
And the result from this steadfast and gritty refusal to die was the incredible return to the field of Eagle Football in two-game that thrilled from start to finish, culminating with resounding Savio victories!
There were several great moments from the season opener, but a few stand out, beginning with our Eagle Football players running out onto the field in their new uniforms, a moment made all the more poignant by the fact that Coach Matamoros, Coach Clark, and myself spent the better part of the summer and the first three weeks of school telling the players that we had to cut the new uniforms from the budget, only to be surprised on game-day with the new uniforms they thought they were not going to get. I have to say our Eagle Football Team looked amazing when they ran out onto the field when they hit the field for the season opener!
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Captains Garret Veenis, Chris Janak, Gage Nusbaum, and Collin Brown sport the new Eagle Football uniforms for the 2019 Football Season.
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Eagle Football Captains revealed the new uniforms to their fellow teammates on the morning before their season-opener against the Rosehill Eagles. They wore their new jerseys for the Spirit Wear Day.
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Eagle Football players hit the looking sharp in their new home-field blues.
"What I am so impressed with them about is their commitment to the football program and more import their faith, if they worked hard and asked God for help, the season would be possible. And here we are. With not only enough players to play football but a core group that is physically able to compete and stay safe. It is amazing what these young men and women have done. And in the process, they are nearing unbelievably valuable lessons about how hard work and faith pay off." ~ Tim Prukop, Head Football Coach
Once the game began, Collin Brown gave everyone a moment to remember when he plucked the ball meant for a Rosehill running out of the air and ran it back for the first Eagle touchdown. Another standout player at Friday’s season was Troy Foster when broke out for a long run from scrimmage. Troy had a great night running the ball and followed up the season opener against Rosehill with an even bigger night gaining over 100 yards against the Rattlers from Western Hills High School this past Friday. These two achievements, though extraordinary, however, pale in my opinion, with the fact that Troy is back on the field this year after having spent the entirety of the 2018 season sidelined with an ankle injury. It would have been very easy for him to give up hang his head, but Troy stayed true to his teammates, supported them all throughout a very tough season, and returned to the gridiron in 2019 with a bang! Eagle Quarterback, Chris Janak slung the football all over the field, hitting several receivers including fellow captain Garret Veenis. And I have to give props to our Eagle defense who kept the Rosehill Eagles scoreless until the second half.
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Chris Janak launches a pass with perfect form against the Rosehill Eagles.
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Joseph Chavez flies passed the Rosehill Eagle defense and prepares to receive a perfect pass during the season-opener.
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Gage Nusbaum reaches high over a Rosehill defender to make a incredible catch for a big gain.
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Troy Foster breaks away from a Rosehill defender's tackle and gets ready to cut uphill behind the block of Gage Nusbaum.
Talking to Coach Prukop, you really get a sense of the faith, blood, sweat, and tears needed to make Eagle Football possible in 2019. "The core group of the team has been working out four days a week since April preparing for this season. When they started this process they didn’t know whether there would even be a season because at that time there were only 12-14 men showing up each day. We prayed about it and then made it a goal to recruit enough players to get to over 20 players. Those prayers and recruiting paid off as we had a few boys join. What I am so impressed with them about is their commitment to the football program and more import their faith that if they worked hard and asked God for help, the season would be possible. And here we are. With not only enough players to play football but a core group that is physically able to compete and stay safe. That’s a long answer but it is amazing what these young men and women have done. And in the process, they are nearing unbelievably valuable lessons about how hard work and faith pay off."
And now, after going 0-10 in 2018, 2019 Eagle Football is 2-0!
And for Coach Prukop, the early success of Eagle Football has not simply been a matter of hard work. "Finally our one core value is 'To love like Christ'. We define that as: Give everything you have, to benefit another, without regard for yourself. When you watch them play that is the standard and I think why they play so hard."
Coach Prukop noted that Savio football players described Gage Nusbaum's self-sacrificing effort on this play as an example of loving like Christ.
"Gage Nusbaum is a classic example in the [Rosehill] game, he gave everything he had on that tackle where he hurt his shoulder for the benefit of the team and without regard to himself. Several of his teammates commented on that as another example of one of ours Loving like Christ. I guess the message is, With lots of hard work and faith in God anything is possible."
And now, after going 0-10 in 2018, 2019 Eagle Football is 2-0
Our first two victories of the young 2019 Eagle Football season, were just that, two victories. We still have the rest of the season to go, including our next game this coming Friday against a very tough and hard-hitting TDS football team, but it fills my heart with joy to see how far we’ve come not just as a football team, but as a community. Savio Spirit fills the air as we look ahead to Friday's game against TDS. And it's a great feeling, a feeling that really sunk in at our season opener when I heard someone in the student section say, "Eagle football is back!"
"With lots of hard work and faith in God, anything is possible." ~Tim Prukop, Head Football Coach
Have a great Sunday and week, Eagles, and remember every day is a great day to be an Eagle!
Blessings,
Dr. Garcia