● For hosting students over the weekend: the Bonello Family, the Hierro Family and the Schardt Family
● For all those participating in school carpools
Sunday Night Drop-off
This year the school is making a temporary change in its rule for the Sunday Night drop-off. For the remainder of the 2011-2012 academic year, whenever a student does not have any Sunday evening school obligations (i.e. class, meeting, etc.) and when there is no parent obligation either (parent meeting, etc.), he may return to school on Monday morning, in time for his first period class. Of course, all students are welcome to return on Sunday evening if they so wish. The same applies to Monday evening/Tuesday morning when there is a 3-day weekend. The school will review and evaluate this procedure at the end of the school year. Your feedback is welcome.
Successful Opening Day
Thank you to all the parents and students for participating in the school’s Opening Day events. This was meant to help all students and their families help ease into the school year. Overall it was a very successful and enjoyable day. Below are some of the results from a recent poll taken by the parents who participated in the Opening Day 2011-2012:
Parent/Student Handbook: CHAPTER 1, SECTIONS 1-7
SECTION 1: SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY
Drawing upon a tradition of over eight centuries in education, the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael’s Abbey govern and serve St. Michael’s Preparatory School. They are assisted in this mission by dedicated lay people who share the same philosophy and vision. The formation of a St. Michael’s student integrates faith, academics, and character. These advantages will continue to form him throughout life, long after he has left his school days behind.
Faith: St. Michael’s welcomes young men who possess the aptitude and commitment both to receive and to enrich what its school community has to offer. The heart of our unique school’s identity is the Catholic Faith, from which flow the truths on which we base our approach to education. The person and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ are the source and fulfillment of true happiness. The experience of Catholic Christian living leads the student to Jesus through a liturgical and sacramental life, supported by prayer, teaching, guidance and example. The sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist are available to students every day. The bishop confers Confirmation on eligible students every other year.
Academics: Our program consists of challenging academic courses for the college-bound student. These courses endeavor to communicate knowledge in fidelity to the Catholic intellectual tradition, and so to form our students as men of insight and integrity, qualities which will enable them to be discerning, responsible citizens in a world which has great need of them. Our scholars center their efforts on preparing for college and fulfilling life work. While emphasizing the Western heritage of theology, humanities, the arts and the sciences throughout our curriculum, we seek to round-out a young man’s education through athletics as well.
Character: As a boarding school, St. Michael’s offers significant opportunities for a consistent and wholesome growth toward maturity. Much of the responsibility for the day-to-day running of the school is shared with the students who learn to cooperate with their peers and with those in authority in attaining common goals. A positive but realistic self-knowledge along with an attitude of respect for others is the foundation of a young man’s moral character. The cultivation of individual dignity guides students to accept self-discipline and responsibility as essential aspects both of personal freedom and of participation in a community. St. Michael’s fosters this character development in all areas of student life.
SECTION 2: MISSION STATEMENT
St. Michael’s Preparatory School witnesses to the fullness of the Catholic faith and teaches in fidelity to a sound Catholic intellectual tradition. St. Michael’s is exclusively a boarding school for boys, grades nine through twelve, who a
re capable of benefiting from and contributing to its spiritual and academic community. The School provides the academic attainments necessary for acceptance to a four-year college or undergraduate program at a university in the United States of America. St. Michael’s is served by Norbertine priests and seminarians and by a committed lay faculty and staff.
SECTION 3: ACCREDITATION
St. Michael's Preparatory School is jointly accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA).
SECTION 4: CEEB/ACT CODE: 052273
SECTION 5: SCHOOL SHIELD
The school shield closely parallels that of the Abbey. The wing which appears on the left represents St. Michael the Archangel, the heavenly patron of the school. The fleur-de-lis on the opposite side represents the Norbertine Order which was founded in France. The ribbon surrounding the shield is the motto of the school. This practice of “looking ahead from the vantage point of tradition” has taken its character from the educational philosophy of the Norbertine Order; it receives its spiritual moorings from the very roots of the Catholic Church itself. The “tradition” St. Michael’s seeks to embody is truly timeless. Such a tradition affords one a “vantage point” without equal. The value of this tradition is proportionate to our fidelity to it.
SECTION 6: SCHOOL COLORS
White, Blue and Gold.
SECTION 7: ALMA MATER
Purity of purpose, values and ideals,Wings of St. Michael guide us through the years.White, blue, and gold, a fleur-de-lis, a cross,Prepared for all good works, no matter what the cost.
Friendships are formed, tradition’s found its home;Deeply rooted people the world to ever roam.White, blue, and gold, a fleur-de-lis, a cross,Prepared for all good works, no matter what the cost.
St. Michael’s Preparatory School witnesses to the fullness of the Catholic faith and teaches in fidelity to a sound Catholic intellectual tradition. St. Michael’s is exclusively a boarding school for boys, grades nine through twelve, who a
re capable of benefiting from and contributing to its spiritual and academic community. The School provides the academic attainments necessary for acceptance to a four-year college or undergraduate program at a university in the United States of America. St. Michael’s is served by Norbertine priests and seminarians and by a committed lay faculty and staff.
SECTION 3: ACCREDITATION
St. Michael's Preparatory School is jointly accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA).
SECTION 4: CEEB/ACT CODE: 052273
SECTION 5: SCHOOL SHIELD
The school shield closely parallels that of the Abbey. The wing which appears on the left represents St. Michael the Archangel, the heavenly patron of the school. The fleur-de-lis on the opposite side represents the Norbertine Order which was founded in France. The ribbon surrounding the shield is the motto of the school. This practice of “looking ahead from the vantage point of tradition” has taken its character from the educational philosophy of the Norbertine Order; it receives its spiritual moorings from the very roots of the Catholic Church itself. The “tradition” St. Michael’s seeks to embody is truly timeless. Such a tradition affords one a “vantage point” without equal. The value of this tradition is proportionate to our fidelity to it.
SECTION 6: SCHOOL COLORS
White, Blue and Gold.
SECTION 7: ALMA MATER
Purity of purpose, values and ideals,Wings of St. Michael guide us through the years.White, blue, and gold, a fleur-de-lis, a cross,Prepared for all good works, no matter what the cost.
Friendships are formed, tradition’s found its home;Deeply rooted people the world to ever roam.White, blue, and gold, a fleur-de-lis, a cross,Prepared for all good works, no matter what the cost.
This Week’s Sports
Friday, Sept. 9th: Football vs Concordia @ St. Michael’s; 3:30 p.m.
This Week’s Photos: Football practice
This Weeks Birthdays
9/5 Luan Tran
Friday, Sept. 9th: Football vs Concordia @ St. Michael’s; 3:30 p.m.
This Week’s Photos: Football practice
This Weeks Birthdays
9/5 Luan Tran
9/8 Brian Schardt
Weekly Homily by Fr. Brendan Hankins, O. Praem.
Among other things Fr. Brendan teaches American Literature and is one of our assistant deans.
Weekly Homily by Fr. Brendan Hankins, O. Praem.
Among other things Fr. Brendan teaches American Literature and is one of our assistant deans.
There are 403 photos of St. Michael’s Prep School alumni from 40 different graduating classes hanging on the walls in the high school dorms. And our current high school students spend a lot of time looking at those photos. But they do more than just look at them. They study them, compare them. Even 
students who rarely study anything else devote a great deal of time and thought to these photos. They try to find which alumni resemble students who are currently enrolled in the school. They see something of themselves in those photos. Students who have endured the same trials, slept in the same dorm rooms, etc. Upper classmen pass on the history of the school, the history of the students to the under classmen as they move from year to year and from frame to frame. The first week of school freshmen were already pointing out where their class picture will be hung.
We might look at the scriptures in a similar light. St. Augustine speaks about reading our rule of life as if we were looking in a mirror. “that you may see yourselves in this little book, as in a mirror, have it read to you once a week so as to neglect no point through forgetfulness.” As often as we hear the scriptures read we should be doing more than simply listening, but studying them, comparing them. Are our actions motivated by the hope reserved for us in heaven, in accord with the Colossians before us? Is the Gospel bearing fruit and growing among us.
Do our words and actions preserve or defend the unity of the Church or the unity of our own community as St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians was intended to do. When we encounter Christ in Holy Communion or in the Confessional are we moved to do works pleasing to Christ. The Church Father’s commenting on Christ healing Peter’s mother-in-law and how she promptly rose to minister to him say “For when He (that is Christ) has visited us, we carry Him in our heart and mind; He will then extinguish the flames of our unlicensed pleasures, and will make us whole, so that we minister to Him, that is, do things well-pleasing to Him.”
Despite the 403 alumni whose portraits adorn the walls of the dorms, there are many who lived in the same dorm rooms, even for several years, but whose portraits never made it to the wall. Graduating from the high school doesn’t exactly guarantee the Beatific Vision, but it certainly can be a means by which God trains and prepares you to persevere in your commitments in life ; through the good and the bad alike. Because, most likely, there will be other commitments which, believe it or not, will be even more challenging than graduating from St. Michael’s Prep.
In publishing this homily, we hope to share a portion of the spiritual treasure by which the students are enriched every day. However, this homily may not be reproduced without written permission of the author.
Prayer Requests
● Mrs. Marge DeClue, past parent-league president, who has declining health.
● Mrs. Mary Fischinger, grandmother of Ian Shaffer, who is recovering after some difficulties with her heart.
● Mrs. Beverly Schaefgen, whose thyroid cancer has returned after having been in remission
● Those who are in the armed forces.
● St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them
students who rarely study anything else devote a great deal of time and thought to these photos. They try to find which alumni resemble students who are currently enrolled in the school. They see something of themselves in those photos. Students who have endured the same trials, slept in the same dorm rooms, etc. Upper classmen pass on the history of the school, the history of the students to the under classmen as they move from year to year and from frame to frame. The first week of school freshmen were already pointing out where their class picture will be hung.
We might look at the scriptures in a similar light. St. Augustine speaks about reading our rule of life as if we were looking in a mirror. “that you may see yourselves in this little book, as in a mirror, have it read to you once a week so as to neglect no point through forgetfulness.” As often as we hear the scriptures read we should be doing more than simply listening, but studying them, comparing them. Are our actions motivated by the hope reserved for us in heaven, in accord with the Colossians before us? Is the Gospel bearing fruit and growing among us.
Do our words and actions preserve or defend the unity of the Church or the unity of our own community as St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians was intended to do. When we encounter Christ in Holy Communion or in the Confessional are we moved to do works pleasing to Christ. The Church Father’s commenting on Christ healing Peter’s mother-in-law and how she promptly rose to minister to him say “For when He (that is Christ) has visited us, we carry Him in our heart and mind; He will then extinguish the flames of our unlicensed pleasures, and will make us whole, so that we minister to Him, that is, do things well-pleasing to Him.”
Despite the 403 alumni whose portraits adorn the walls of the dorms, there are many who lived in the same dorm rooms, even for several years, but whose portraits never made it to the wall. Graduating from the high school doesn’t exactly guarantee the Beatific Vision, but it certainly can be a means by which God trains and prepares you to persevere in your commitments in life ; through the good and the bad alike. Because, most likely, there will be other commitments which, believe it or not, will be even more challenging than graduating from St. Michael’s Prep.
In publishing this homily, we hope to share a portion of the spiritual treasure by which the students are enriched every day. However, this homily may not be reproduced without written permission of the author.
Prayer Requests
● Mrs. Marge DeClue, past parent-league president, who has declining health.
● Mrs. Mary Fischinger, grandmother of Ian Shaffer, who is recovering after some difficulties with her heart.
● Mrs. Beverly Schaefgen, whose thyroid cancer has returned after having been in remission
● Those who are in the armed forces.
● St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them
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