Campus News

This week, the 2019 Scholastic Art Awards were announced. The Austin Texas Art Region received close to 1700 individual submissions and 44 senior portfolios that were adjudicated by a panel of creative professionals on Saturday, January 12.

We are pleased to announce that nine Savio students received a 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Award for the following work(s):

Gold Key Awards in Photography

Kate DeFeo - Serene

Trinity Garcia- Take a Bow

Abigail Staebel - Investigator in the Dark & Lost Sailor

Ava Williams - Safety Blanket

Silver Key Awards in Photography

Caitlin Neill - Flower Girl

Ava Williams - Contemplation

Haoran Zhang - View of Nature

Honorable Mention Awards in Photography

Avery Daigle - Water under the hoof

Savannah Miller - Abigail

Alma Lopez Montejo - Where Time Goes Slow

Caitlin Neill - Oh Honey

Abigail Staebel  - Life's a Journey and Sewing

The Gold Key Award work is currently being reviewed at the national level in New York City by panels of creative professionals. National Medalists selected by these panelists will be announced on February 1, 2019. The reception and ceremony will take place on Sunday, January 27, 2019, in the Scanlan Gallery at St. Stephen's Episcopal School located at 6500 St. Stephen's Drive, Austin, TX 78746. The reception is from 1 - 3:30 p.m., with the Scholastic Awards ceremony starting at 1:30 p.m. 

St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School is located in northwest Austin, Texas, in an active and thriving community. Savio is a college preparatory school, to prepare young men and women to become faith-filled, visionary and inspirational leaders in service to the Church and the world. St. Dominic Savio offers a faith experience that encourages students to reach their full potential as caring, conscientious, and moral servant leaders. The vision is "Forming Servant Leaders in the Image of Christ." For any questions, please contact the Director of Communications, Cristina Almanza, by email: calmanza@saviochs.org.

This week was National School Choice Week held January 20-26th. This week provided the opportunity to raise awareness about the K-12 education options available to students - from traditional public schools to public charter schools, magnet schools, online academies, private schools, and homeschools. School Choice Week has been celebrated since 2011 and is held every January to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for all children. 

On January 23, Savio Senior students were invited to attend a Rally for National School Choice Week at the Capitol in downtown Austin. Our students stood with many other schools from around the state, to help bring attention to the need to increase school funding.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz was one of the speakers present to speak about the impact of School Choice. After the Rally program, he stepped down from the steps to meet and greet Savio students. During the rally, Senator Cruz said,

“School choice matters. Every child in the state of Texas matters. I believe school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century and every single child in the state of Texas deserves access to an excellent education. It shouldn’t matter what your race is, it shouldn’t matter what your ethnicity is, it shouldn’t matter how much money you have, every child in the state of Texas should be able to access excellent education, because education is the gateway to our hopes, to our dreams, [and] to the future.” 

More statements from Senator Tes Cruz can be found on the Press Release. 

Overall, the rally was a learning experience that helped students internalize the future impact they can have with their votes and presence at future rallies that could directly benefit their lives and decisions. School President, Dr. Joan Wagner reflected on the day overall:

"We are particularly grateful to Senator Ted Cruz for his generosity in spending so much time with Savio students at the School Choice Rally.  Senator Cruz has been a staunch advocate for school choice and was successful last year in amending the Senate’s federal tax reform bill that expanded 529 College Savings Plans to include K-12 elementary and secondary school tuition for public, private and religious schools.  This is a wonderful opportunity that our families can take advantage of now.  At today’s Rally, Senator Cruz indicated that he planned to introduce federal school choice legislation that would create a federal tax credit, a dollar for dollar credit, for every dollar contributed to a scholarship granting organization.  I look forward to hearing more details about this bill and wish him success on future school choice issues."

After the rally, students were able to meet with a few legislators and their staff to explain how impactful the school has been for them and how their vote could help change the lives of future Savio students. The Austin American Statesman covered the event and quoted, principal Dr. Enrique Garcia on page A6. They also shared additional photos from the Rally on their website and captured school President, Dr. Wagner, and Savio students engaging in enthusiasm for school choice. To view more coverage about the Rally click here. 

St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School is located in northwest Austin, Texas, in an active and thriving community. Savio is a college preparatory school, to prepare young men and women to become faith-filled, visionary and inspirational leaders in service to the Church and the world. St. Dominic Savio offers a faith experience that encourages students to reach their full potential as caring, conscientious, and moral servant leaders. The vision is "Forming Servant Leaders in the Image of Christ." For any questions, please contact the Director of Communications, Cristina Almanza, by email: calmanza@saviochs.org.

Volunteers Needed

Please save the date when your parish is celebrating Catholic Schools Week below. We need your help with the promotion of the school! The churches in bold need help with gift bearers and volunteers to distribute Admission information for 15 minutes after Masses on January 26-27 or February 2-3. Please click on the name of the Church below to sign up or contact Cristina Almanza at calmanza@saviochs.org to inquire for your church. 

To help promote the mission of Catholic Schools, all Savio students are encouraged to wear their Mass uniforms the weekend your Parish is celebrating Catholic Schools Week. To participate, please take a photo with a clergy member and post on social media, using the hashtag #SavioCelebratesCatholicSchools to be entered into a drawing for a spirit wear item! 

St. Albert the Great – January 26 - 27

St. Helen Catholic Church – January 26 - 27  

St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church – February 2 - 3

St. John Vianney Catholic Church – January 26 - 27

St. Louis King of France Catholic Church – January 26 - 27

St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church – January 26 - 27

St. Mary, Our Lady of the Lake – January 26 - 27

St. Theresa Catholic Church - January 26 - 27

St. Thomas More Catholic Church  - February 2 - 3

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church – January 26 - 27

St. William Catholic Church – January 26 - 27

This fall, 11 St. Dominic Savio students received National Merit Recognition. On Wednesday,  December 5, the school held a reception after Mass to recognize this extraordinary achievement. This spring, all 11 students and their families will be attending a reception at the Diocese of Austin to be formally recognized by Bishop Joe Vásquez. The list of students and their National Merit recognition is as follows: 

National Merit Commended Scholars

The National Merit Commended Scholars are; Nicholas B. Bianchi, Brandon Boettcher, Maximilian M. Forbes, Teresa A. Lacayo, Michael S. McCuskey, Matthew T. Meskill, Matthew G. Rabaey, Jonathan Shoemaker, and Diego Yanez-Laguna.

National Hispanic Scholars

The National Hispanic Scholars are; Christopher Gonzales, Teresa Lacayo, Sydney Martinez, and Diego Yanez-Laguna.

National Merit Semifinalists

This year there were 16,000 Semifinalists in the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship program. Four students have received this recognition at St. Dominic Savio and will be notified this February if they have made Finalist standing. They are Michael S. McCuskey, Matthew T. Meskill, Jonathan Shoemaker, and Diego Yanez-Laguna.

Congratulations to the students on their hard work and dedication to receive this academic achievement. Please contact Principal, Dr. Enrique Garcia, for any questions by email: egarcia@saviochs.org.

St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School is located in northwest Austin, Texas, in an active and thriving community. Savio is a college preparatory school, to prepare young men and women to become faith-filled, visionary and inspirational leaders in service to the Church and the world. St. Dominic Savio offers a faith experience that encourages students to reach their full potential as caring, conscientious, and moral servant leaders. The vision is "Forming Servant Leaders in the Image of Christ." For any questions, please contact the Director of Communications, Cristina Almanza, by email: calmanza@saviochs.org.

Seven Savio Seniors and an Alumna attended the SEEK conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, January 3 - 7. They heard dynamic Catholic speakers like Paul J. Kim, Fr. Mike Schmitz and Chris Stefanik who gave talks on the topics, A Millenials Guide to Adulting, Anti-Fragile Faith, and Love Yourself: A How-To. The conference allowed the students to seek the Lord and encourage their openness to God's call. 

SEEK encouraged me to step up.

A few students shared about how the SEEK conference impacted their life.

SEEK encouraged me to step up to leadership by helping me to accept and ask daily for the grace offered by the Holy Spirit in courage and humility. Martha Myer

SEEK gave me a deeper understanding of my identity. I may not have my life figured out, but I learned about who I am which is a blessing in such a time when I am trying to figure out where I fit; the beautiful thing is, I fit into my Father’s embrace, because I’m His daughter, and regardless of how much I reject Him, He will save that spot for me. Michelle Gallagher

SEEK gave me a stronger sense of how to take my faith with me when I go to college and showed me that the Catholic faith is still alive in my generation. Caitlin McCauslin

SEEK reminded me that I need to alter my life so that everything I do is a reflection of God’s love for me, His daughter. Kira Winkeler

St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School is located in northwest Austin, Texas, in an active and thriving community. Savio is a college preparatory school, to prepare young men and women to become faith-filled, visionary and inspirational leaders in service to the Church and the world. St. Dominic Savio offers a faith experience that encourages students to reach their full potential as caring, conscientious, and moral servant leaders. The vision is "Forming Servant Leaders in the Image of Christ." For any questions, please contact Cristina Almanza, the Director of Communications by email: calmanza@saviochs.org.