A Message from the Principal
MLK Day
Happy MLK Day, Eagles!
Eagles,
Happy Sunday! I hope you and your families are doing well and staying safe and healthy. Tomorrow, our country honors Martin Luther King, Jr. In doing so, we have the opportunity to continue his legacy of non-violence in the pursuit of racial equality. Today, Catholic churches around the country celebrated...
..the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through scripture and song, to recognize his good efforts and advancement of our Human Rights and Civil Rights as certainly in keeping with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While he was not a Catholic himself, we celebrate the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. because his goals are completely aligned with the themes of Catholic Social Teaching: the life and dignity of all people; the call to community participation and inclusion of all Americans, regardless of their skin color, in our democracy; the duty to advocate for those who are downtrodden, putting the needs of the poor and vulnerable first; and solidarity in our one human family, regardless of racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. The National Holiday is observed annually on the third Monday of January. Reverend King’s actual birthday is January 15, St. Francis of Assissi Parish in Ann Arbor Michigan.
In keeping with this struggle for Human Rights and Civil Rights, please join me in the prayer Open Wide Our Hearts: Prayer to Overcome Racism from the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism:
Mary, friend and mother to all, through your Son, God has found a way to unite himself to every human being, called to be one people, sisters and brothers to each other. We ask for your help in calling on your Son, seeking forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love and respect one another. We ask for your help in obtaining from your Son the grace we need to overcome the evil of racism and to build a just society. We ask for your help in following your Son, so that prejudice and animosity will no longer infect our minds or hearts but will be replaced with a love that respects the dignity of each person. Mother of the Church, the Spirit of your Son Jesus warms our hearts: pray for us. Amen.
Have a blessed Monday.
Dr. Garcia
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4
Snow on the Baptism of the Lord
Eagles,
Happy Baptism of the Lord! And happy snowy Savio Sunday! What an end to the Christmas season, right? Today's snow is an extraordinary way to conclude the Christmas Season and usher in Ordinary Time. What a beautiful blessing, indeed.
In celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, please join me in prayer:
Lord, I believe that You are the Son of the Eternal Father and the Savior of the World. I believe that You have brought about a new era of grace and truth and that I am called to follow You wherever You lead. As we begin this liturgical season of Ordinary Time, may it be a time of extraordinary grace in which I daily heed Your voice. Jesus, I trust in You.
I hope everyone is enjoying this Savio Snow Day Sunday and having fun in the flurries! Here are few pics of today's snowfall on the Savio campus:
We still have a steady snowfall, and it looks like it will stick through the rest of the day and into the night. We will keep an eye on the weather and let you know of any changes to the schedule for Monday, January 11.
Lord, I believe that You are the Son of the Eternal Father and the Savior of the World. I believe that You have brought about a new era of grace and truth and that I am called to follow You wherever You lead. As we begin this liturgical season of Ordinary Time, may it be a time of extraordinary grace in which I daily heed Your voice. Jesus, I trust in You.
In the meantime, have a blessed Baptism of the Lord, enjoy the snow, have some hot chocolate, and remember to stay healthy, stay safe, and stay strong, Savio!
Blessings,
Dr. Garcia
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4
Happy New Year and Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord, Savio!
Happy New Year and Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord, Savio!
Eagles,
Happy New Year and happy Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord. I hope that the last two weeks were filled with joy, love, peace, and rest. I am sure that like me, you bid a quick farewell to 2020 and welcomed 2021 with open arms! Having gone through such a challenging 2020, let us begin the New Year and the new semester in prayer.
Epiphany House Blessing for Savio
I want to begin this week’s Message from the Principal with an Epiphany message/blessing. Most of the message/blessing is taken from an Epiphany House Blessing, but I changed it for us. An Epiphany House Blessing is a great way to begin 2021 because “Home is Here” is a motto we often use at Savio.
In this time of uncertainty and hardship when we are spending so much more time in our homes and seeing fewer family members, friends and loved ones let us keep faith and hope alive in our homes and our hearts. It is a timely reminder, as the Christmas season draws to a close and the New Year begins, to place Savio and our homes under God’s watchful gaze. With the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we can entrust Savio, our families, our loved ones, our friends and our neighbors into God’s loving protection as we bless our school and homes.
Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless Savio and the homes of our students, faculty, and staff and all who live there and all who visit. May we be blessed with health, kindness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
20+C+M+B+21
New Year Blessing
Having asked for God’s blessing over Savio and our homes, let us ask His blessings in the New Year. Moreover, after the kind of year we had in 2020, let us pray especially for hope in 2021.
Gracious God, as a new year begins, we place our trust in you. May the time to come bring us closer to recognizing our need to love and cherish one another. May those in power understand the importance of cultivating peace and bring an end to conflict, strife, and injustice. May those who struggle with disease, loss, poverty, and despair find light in the midst of their struggles and suffering. And may we grow stronger in our desire to imitate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ, your Son, in whom our hope abides.
Amen.
As with the Epiphany Home Blessing, I took this prayer and modified it for this week’s Message. The original prayer written by Kathy Hendricks can be found at: Hope for a New Year.
Prayer for the Class of 2021
Finally, let us pray for our graduating Seniors, Savio’s Class of 2021. Our Seniors and their families have faced what is probably their most challenging year at Savio. The excitement and anticipation of graduating and starting a new chapter in their lives has been tempered by the ongoing COVID pandemic. Please join me in prayer for Savio's Class of 2021.
Heavenly Father, as our Seniors begin their final semester at Savio, we ask for your blessing, that they may complete their journey here with success. May they look back on their time at Savio in years to come and say that they found something wonderful in themselves here and recall that Savio was more than a school, but a family as well. May they look back at Savio as a place of truth, growth, joy, hope, love, and faith. Give them peace of mind, heart, and soul as they close this chapter of their lives as high school students and begin a new journey on new paths. Help them be strong in their Catholic faith and resolute in their dedication to their studies that they may continue as servant leaders in the image of Christ and go forth as faith-filled, visionary, and inspirational leaders in service to the Church and the world.
Amen.
This prayer was adapted from the Benediction for a New School Year from Catholic Relief Services.
So here we go, Savio! It’s a new year! Thanks be to God for a new start. May your 2021 be filled with hope, love, and joy, and may every day be a great day to be an Eagle!
Blessings,
Dr. Garcia
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4
Last Week of the Semester, Eagles!
It's the Last Week of the Semester, Eagles!
Eagles,
Happy third Sunday of Advent! I hope you and your families are doing well and staying safe and healthy. We are blessed to arrive at the final week of the 2020 Fall semester and to be one week closer to celebrating the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us give thanks for the many blessings we received this semester, the joys and the sorrows, the victories, and the losses, all the events and people that brought us closer to Christ and to each other.
As we head in this week, please join me in a prayer for the third week of Advent:
O Almighty God, gracious provider and giver of life, we anxiously await the celebration of your birth. Like the people of long ago, our ancestors in faith, we, too, are in need of light, in need of direction, in need of your Word, to show us the way. Our busy lives and the consumerism that surrounds us make it difficult to recognize your kingdom and to hear your voice. Help us Lord, to focus on you. Amen.
Looking ahead to the coming week, here are important events and instructions to keep in mind:
Week of December 14-18 — Third Week of Advent
REMINDER FOR MIDTERMS: Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, we changed our process for midterms. Please review the following instructions:
Communicating with Faculty and Staff
All Savio faculty and staff will be working from home. Faculty and office staff will not be on campus, but they will be on duty. If you need to contact faculty or staff, please do so via email.
- For Accommodations and Counseling: Dr. Ken Kohutek kkohutek@saviochs.org
- For Admissions, RenWeb, International Students: Holly Bologna hbologna@saviochs.org
- For Athletics: Louise Swain lswain@saviochs.org
- For Attendance, Transcripts, VOEs, and Eagle Weekly: Evie Cascarano ecascarano@saviochs.org
- For Calendar/Scheduling, with Dr. Garcia: Carmen Garza cgarza@saviochs.org
- For College Advising: Marina Glava mglava@saviochs.org
- For College Board Testing: Patrick Goertz pgoertz@saviochs.org
- For Communications: Katherine Mackowski kmackowski@saviochs.org
- For Development/Donations/Gifts: Gina Kerley gkerley@saviochs.org
- For Medications stored at Savio: Carmen Garza cgarza@saviochs.org
- For Questions about Class: Contact your own teacher
- For Questions related to Health (e.g., COVID symptoms): Angelita Guzman aguzman@saviochs.org
- For Questions about School Status/Report COVID issues: Enrique Garcia egarcia@saviochs.org
- For Questions about Online Learning: pgoertz@saviochs.org & cmolinar@saviochs.org
- For Scheduling with Dr. Wagner: Danna Kelemen dkelemen@saviochs.org
- For Student Life: Stefanie Schiesser sschiesser@saviochs.org
- For Questions about Formation and Ministry: Gian Gamboa ggamboa@saviochs.org
- For Supplemental Digital Resources: Diane Powell dpowell@saviochs.org
- For Technical difficulties (hardware): Chris Molinar cmolinar@saviochs.org
- For Tuition/Fees: Lan Nguyen lnguyen@saviochs.org
Schedule
- Monday 12/14 — A Day
- Tuesday 12/15 — E Day
- Wednesday 12/16 — A Day
- Thursday 12/17 — E Day
- Friday 12/18 — No School
The bell schedule will remain the same. All classes this week will be remote. Students need to log in at the beginning of class and follow teacher instructions.
Additionally, there are no extracurricular activities Monday-Thursday, and there will be no Mass, Family Time, or Academic Office Hours on Friday, December 18.
Mid-Term Exams
In lieu of traditional exams, teachers assigned short projects or skills checks. These assessments are intended to be completed within the two, 80 minute periods that each class meets that week. Teachers worked within their departments to verify that projects do not require burdensome amount of time outside of class. Some elective classes do not typically give midterm exams. These classes will still meet during the last week of the semester for instruction.
Monday, December 14-Thursday, December 17
- No ADVENTful Day Activities.
- All students attend classes online for short projects or skills checks.
- All faculty and staff working from home; available via email.
- No extracurricular activities.
Friday, December 18
- No Mass, Family Time, or Academic Office Hours.
- 2:00-4:00 PM — Eagle Boys and Girls Soccer will play against St. Stephens at Town and Country. Games will be played simultaneously, starting at 2:00 PM.
- 5:00-7:00 PM -- Eagle Girls Basketball will play against Granger at Savio. All games will be live-streamed.
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That's all, Eagles. This is the last final week of the semester and the final Message from the Principal until we January 3, 2021. Additionally, today's Eagle Weekly will is the final Weekly until January 3 as well.
Please keep our students, faculty, and staff in your prayers as they close out the Fall semester this week, that they may do so successfully and joyfully, and with the Holy Spirit guiding and enlightening them.
Also keep our Savio community in your prayers as we take time away from schooling to enjoy the remaining days of Advent and the coming of Jesus on Christmas Day. May the holidays be filled with hope, peace, joy, and love. Have a great Sunday evening, Eagles, and remember, stay healthy, stay safe, and stay strong, Savio!
Have a blessed Advent and a joyous Christmas, and we'll see you in 2021!
Dr. Garcia
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4