St.

Augustine Academy
130 South Wells Road Ventura California 93004 805-672-0411 Fax 805-672-2365 e-mail StAugAcad@juno.com www.SaintAugustineAcademy.com

September 6, 2013 St. Eleutherius

Board of Governors President Thomas Q. Ellis Secretary Robert R. Orellana, Esq. Treasurer Michael C. Collins Members Abel Montiel Jeff Schuberg Michael F. McLean, Ph.D. Louise Warnert

Dear Families, Thanks to everyone for attending Back To School Night on Wednesday. One thing I forgot to mention to everyone was to remind you of my open door - it is not exactly a policy, just a way of life. As we go through the year please always feel welcome to stop in or call with any questions, comments, suggestions or friendly philanthropists. I feel strongly that the ease of communication allows for a smoothly run operation. In humility and grace, we keep the school moving along in our mission, assisting each of you in your duty to inculcate the theological, intellectual and moral virtues in the children. A couple other notes which came up in conversations later in the evening: HANDBOOK VERIFICAITON - please read the handbook and review it with you children, then sign the enclosed slip and send it back in the blue envelope. It is very important that the students and parents are aware of the school expectations. Thank you. LIMONEIRA It was asked if I could share the information on the new development down Highway 126 in Santa Paula which is one of the possible sites for a new campus. I have two links. The first is to Limoneiras page on East Area One a one page summary of the project. The second is the PDF which was referred and that will have many pictures and diagrams so you can get a better sense of the scope and feel of the development.
LIMONEIRA - http://www.limoneira.com/real-estate/east-area-i PROJECT PDF -http://limoneira-4ec70e40.s3.amazonaws.com/PDF/EAI-and-EA-II-presentation-Final.pdf

Headmaster Michael J. Van Hecke, M.Ed. Vice President of Development J. Peter Slaga Board of Advisors Hon. Jeremiah Denton Former U.S. Senator Mr. Nicholas J. Healy, Jr. President Ave Maria University Dr. Ronald P. McArthur Co-founder Thomas Aquinas College Mr. Roy S. Rohter, S.F.O. Co-founder St. Augustine Academy Fr. Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. Chancellor Franciscan University Mr. James Stenson Educator and Author

COMMON CORE Two parents asked me about how Common Core, the new national standards movement, will effect St Augustine Academy. It is currently only required in public schools. The Archdiocese is moving towards implementing parts of it in Archdiocesan schools as a private school, we need not have anything to do with this. Additionally, in November, I will be traveling to New Jersey with the Superintendent of High Schools for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. We are helping co-sponsor a national forum, Catholic Concerns on the Common Core. The meeting will gather together a couple a dozen Superintendents and Professors from around the country to discuss the increasingly growing concerns about Common Core and what it means for Catholic education. Additional Sponsors are The Catholic Education Foundation, The Cardinal Newman Society and Ave Maria University School of Education. Announcements follow on reverse side.
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GIVING GUIDE Mr. Slagas Giving Guide is for easy use of internet links. You can also easily share this with friends and relatives around the country so their purchases benefit SAA. Those pennies go into the company profits or to SAA lets make it the latter! We have benefitted from tens of thousands of dollars already with these programs over the years10 minutes of signing up once a year could multiply this amount several times. [I am sending the PDF to my e-mail list this weekend!] PRAYER and FASTING for SYRIA THIS Saturday, from 4-5 PM at St. Sebastians in Santa Paula, there will be a Prayer and Fasting Holy Hour for Peace in Syria and the Middle East. Confessions will also be going on at the same time. SAA Dad, Deacon Jason Miller, will lead the Holy Hour. CALENDAR EVENTS Sept 14th Family Dance at SAA. 7:30 10:30 PM. Sponsored by the Student Council. [Flyer] Sept 25th College Night. 7:15 PM All high school students and parents are encouraged to come join us for a variety of information about COLLEGE information about different programs, colleges, paths, testing, planning, etc. Sept 27th - Progress Reports home in the Blue Envelope. Sept 30th High School Retreats/H.S. Faculty Formation Day Oct 4th Jog-A-thon! Hot Lunches While we do not have a cafeteria, our yearbook committee and Student Council still make available a couple opportunities for hot lunches every week. PIZZA MONDAY This year, pizza will be served on Mondays (beginning Sept 16th) An envelope to pre-order your pizza, for only $1/slice, will be enclosed in the Blue Envelope. Please fill it out, enclose the money and return ASAP. A few slices will always be available on the day, too, but for $1.50 BURGER THURSDAY Continuing the traditionBurger Day resumed this week. Student Council members grill fresh burgers every Thursday. No pre-orders needed, just show up with $1-$3 depending on whether you want cheese and/or a drink and/or chips with that burger. Dont forget to mark your calendar for Ole The Romance of Spain, our annual Gala to be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library! Saturday, November 23rd! It is going to be a really great event this year with this special venue. CONFIRMATION SIGN-UP Many of our students do their Confirmation preparation at St. Sebastian Church in Santa Paula. One of our moms runs the program, and the class schedule is very convenient. Registration is at St. Sebastian on September 9th from 3-5 PM. Bring a copy of baptismal certificate and 1st Communion certificate. Fee $100. Questions? Call Mary Orellana at 525-4551. PRAYERS We continue to keep all our friends and family in our prayers. Urgent prayers for Phillip Vargas (Michael, Tanya, and Phillips dad) for the next week as surgery is planned for his cancer. We pray especially for both Rosie Grimm and Mr. Modrovich, Erics (grade 11) dad, as they are in the final days of their battles with cancer. We pray for their miraculous healing or holy entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven we also pray for their families. We pray for Mr. Tongs father, Alex Liszewski And Larry Baratte (recovering from brain tumor surgery). For Wendy-Marie Teichert who is battling pneumonia. We pray for our Pope, our Archbishop, all of our priests and religious, and, for each other.