St. Michael welcomed 354 students to begin our seventh year as a school, including 94 freshmen and 6 transfer students. We have 83 sophomores this year, 88 juniors and 89 seniors. 82.7% of the student body is Catholic. We also welcomed 7 new teachers, including Mrs. Wilber (English), Mrs. Lyon (Spanish), Mrs. Beckmann (Aegis), Coach Roberts (P.E., Volleyball), Mr. Williams (Theology), Mrs. Impastato (Science), and Mr. Hamilton (Science). We added one new custodian, Mr. Jones. They will add greatly to our program!
Mr. Weber formally welcomed the students to St. Michael as part of the Monday assembly after 3rd period. He challenged them, saying he hoped they would “risk failure,” because that means they are also “pushing themselves, stretching, and growing.” He advised students to “become part of something bigger than themselves,” beginning with fully embracing the fact they are part of the Cardinal student body. He encouraged them to come out to the ball games to cheer for their classmates, to join clubs, and to enter fully into the life of our House system. And he told them to “visit our chapel often.” It’s a “converted conference room,” he said, “so it's not particularly beautiful, but Jesus is there, and he wants to be with you. Seek him out this year, lean on him, pray for guidance and courage, and he’ll be with you.”
Mr. Weber also emphasized two changes in the student-handbook for 2022:
- Formal tutorials are now Tuesday through Thursday from 3:10 until 3:50, with Mondays now reserved for club meetings or practices right after school. Mr. Weber says the change is geared to boost school clubs, which often need more than the 20 minutes they’re given on Thursdays. (The net effect, he explained, is just two fewer tutorials per month, since faculty meetings will also be moved from 2nd and 4th Wednesdays (when there are no tutorials) to 2nd and 4th Mondays.
- The absence policy has been amended. Students are now allotted 5 excused absences per semester. Excused absences, just like previous years, are for sickness, death in the immediate family, emergencies in the family, and pre-approved family trips (parents must request these of the principal generally a week before they happen). Any absence beyond the 5th in a semester is marked “unexcused” unless a student comes back to school with a doctor’s note. An absence with a doctor’s note does not “count” as one of the five absences, nor does a school related absence (if a SM team checks out early for a ball game, if the Chamber Choir is asked to sing at the Cathedral, etc.). He said that if students are sick and return without a note, they will be marked “absence pending,” which means it has not been finally adjudicated as “excused or unexcused.” They will not be able to make up work until it’s been excused.
Original source can be found here.
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