NOLA Nights: A Night in New Orleans Gala

We are excited about all of the great sponsors and underwriters who are on board in support of this year's gala!  Click here to see a list of our contributors.  We are still accepting sponsorships at a variety of levels.  You can register online now or print out a sponsorship and underwriting form and return it to the Development Office.

We are also collecting items for our class baskets that will be auctioned off at the gala!  Here are the themes for each class, along with some suggestions for items you can donate:  
Freshman: Coffee Basket
- Coffee shop gift cards, gourmet coffee, coffee mugs, etc.
Sophomore: Spa Basket
- Spa gift certificates, beauty products, manicures, facials, etc.
Junior: Cooking Basket
- Gift cards to specialty gourmet stores, cookbooks, serving ware, cooking utensils, etc.
Senior: College Basket 
 - Anything your senior might need for college - gift cards to Container Store, Barnes and Noble, etc. 

Please drop off all items to the Development Office.  

Attention Drama Parents

There will be a meeting for drama parents on February 21 from 5:30-6pm in Mr. Klousia’s room.  Contact Debbie Solcher with questions.

Thrift Shoppe Spring Sale

The SMCA Thrift Shoppe is having a spring sale.  All sweaters, winter coats, and books are on sale until the end of the month.  Please stop by and check us out.

We are also looking for furniture donations as those items sell fast.

There are some Day-Chair spots available.  We're looking for a few people to train for those spots. Please contact Kate Denefe (President) 346-3001 or Leslie Blanke (Vice-President) 494-0987 if you’re interested.

Welcome French Students!

Hopefully you have noticed some new faces around campus this week. The 19 French exchange students and four chaperons from Sainte-Agnes have been enjoying the beautiful Texas weather and sights. Our visitors were welcomed with a breakfast reception in Cafe Loredo on Tuesday morning and then attended the morning classes of their host student. In the afternoon, they took a ride on the Austin Duck Adventure around downtown Austin and Lady Bird Lake. They visited the Bob Bullock museum and the Texas State Capitol on Wednesday, followed by two-step dance lesson at the Broken Spoke! Thursday morning Campus Ministry organized a special Mass for our visitors. They will also be visiting the Rodeo in San Antonio to see some real cowboys. We are so grateful for this opportunity for both the Sainte-Agnes and St. Michael's communities and thank everyone who has graciously helped make it a success.

Pictured here at the Welcome Reception with Principal Sharon Scamardo and SMCA faculty members Heidi Gray and Christina Johnson are chaperons from Sainte-Agnes: Headmaster Bruno Damay and his wife Marie Armelle Damay, Director of International Relations Bassam Badouet and English Teacher Sophie Guichard.

Trying Out For Cheerleader?

There will be a parent meeting for cheerleading tryouts Thursday, February 23 at 6:30pm in the Seminar Room.

NHS Dodgeball Tourney Supports Canned Food Drive

The National Honor Society has created an innovative service project this year!  NHS is hosting their annual Dodgeball Tournament on February 28, under the leadership of Service Coordinator Radica Patel, and with the help of President Kyle Sarradet, Vice President Jack Shea, Secretary Emma Nicolas, Treasurer Caitlin Whitely, Parliamentarian Stuart Heinlein, and Recycling Coordinator Meredith Mancill.  This Tournament is open to ALL students and the entry “fee” is 5 cans of food per team member.  Fans and spectators will each be asked to bring two cans of food. The canned goods will be donated to the Catholic Charities Food Bank.

Understanding the Classics Through Art

AP English IV and English IV students in Dr. Penny Weibly's classes explored the Renaissance sonnets of Sidney, Spenser, and Shakespeare by creating art drawn from the images in the poetry.  Dr. Weibly has an art gallery of pictures hanging in her room – be sure to drop by and see them!

Women's Basketball Area Playoffs
The girls head to Victoria St. Joseph's on Saturday to play in the area playoffs.  The game is on Saturday, Feb 18, at 2:00pm.  Get out to Victoria and cheer the girls on to the second round of playoffs!

Men's Basketball Area Playoffs
The Crusaders travel to Brownsville St. Joseph's to play in the area round of playoffs.  The game will be on Friday, Feb 17, at 6:30pm.  Let's cheer the boys on to the second round of playoffs!  Go Crusaders!

Lady Crusader Soccer Comes to an End
The girls went to Waco on Friday, Feb 10, to play Bishop Lynch from Dallas.  This was the regional round of the playoffs, and it was a tough game.  The girls lost 0-7, but still ended their season with an amazing record of 14-2-6.  Congratulations on a great season!

Swim Heads to State
The St. Michael's swim team travels to San Antonio on Friday, Feb 17, to take part in the TAPPS 5A state meet.  Taking 15 swimmers with them, the team is loaded with talent and looks to do well at the meet.  Head out to Northside ISD and cheer for the 2011-2012 swim team as they strive for state medals!

Deadline Today!

St. Michael's Catholic Academy would like to thank all of the Future Crusaders that met today's application deadline. We are excited about your family's interest in becoming a part of our community. We will be contacting all applicants in the upcoming weeks to schedule interviews. 
If you know someone that has not applied, please urge them to do so. The class of 2016 is sure to fill up fast! 

Video: SMCA Athletes who played their sport in college
Watch a video of SMCA athletes who went on to play their sport in college:  SMCA Collegiate Athletes

Good Soccer and Great Weather Highlight Middle School Night

The St. Michael's Admissions Department would like to thank everyone that attended the Soccer and Swim Middle School Night on January 7th. The Crusaders fell to the Central Catholic Buttons 1 to 0, but the sun and fans were out in force. We hope that all of the Future Crusaders in attendance enjoyed the game.

Come join us for the Basketball Middle School Night on January 14th. Men's tip-off is at 3:00 PM and the girls will start at 6:00 PM. The VIP Tailgate starts at 2:30 PM!

Basketball Middle School Night
Come watch the St. Michael's Men's and Women's Basketball teams on Saturday, January 14th. The Men's team tips off at 3:00 PM against Antonian Prep. The girls take on Providence at 6:00 PM. All families with middle school students will receive free admittance, refreshments and SMCA spirit gear. Representatives from SMCA Men's and Women's Basketball will be in attendance to speak with any prospective families. This is a great chance for Future Crusaders to experience the SMCA gameday atmosphere and meet our family. We hope to see you there!

VIP Tailgate starts at 2:30 PM!

Davis Franklin Named MVP
St. Gabriel's Catholic School's Davis Franklin was named the 2011 Crusader Classic Basketball Tournament MVP this past weekend. He lead the Sabres to a perfect record and a victory over Trinity Episcopal School in the finals to claim the championship.

Sabres Win 2011 Crusader Classic Championship
The St. Gabriel's Sabres took home the hardware this past weekend at the 2011 Crusader Classic Basketball Tournament. The Sabres cruised to the finals by beating the St. Austin Eagles and St. Theresa's Tigers in the first and second rounds, respectively. In the finals, St. Gabriel's took on the Trinity Tornadoes. The Tornadoes put up a great fight, but the Sabres proved to be too much. Congratulations Sabres and many thanks to all of the teams that participated!

St. Francis Girls Take Crusader Classic Championship
Congratulations to the St. Francis Wolves for winning the 2011 Crusader Classic Basketball Tournament Championship. Led by Coach Armstrong, the Wolves fought their way to the finals by beating St. Louis and St. Gabriel's in the prelims. The final game was an epic clash between two very good teams, but the Wolves' ultimately came out on top. The Wolves' performance was highlighted by tough defense and well rounded team-play. Congratulations to the St. Francis School and all other teams that participated.

Great Turnout for Open House
Despite cold weather, St. Michael's had almost 80 families on campus for the December 7th Open House. The Future Crusaders were greeted with hot food and drinks and warm smiles from all of the SMCA clubs and Student Ambassadors. Highlights included a presentation by Principal Scamardo, Aaron Stancik and Blake Ann Seeker and tours given by the SMCA Student Ambassadors. The Admissions Department would like to thank all of the families that attended as well as our great students, faculty and staff worked the event.

Entre Class Presents Business Plans
Congratulations to the Fall 2011 Entrepreneurship class.  This year's course culminated with the student teams pitching their business plan to a panel of successful Austin Entrepreneurs. Special thanks to our judges Dan Graham (BuildASign), Susan Violante (I Have Something to Say Publications), Christine Marquette (Marquette Nutrition), Bill McMeans (Republic Plastics), and Dennis Dautel (Ignite 360).

School Climate Survey

Second Semester Schedule

Your second semester schedule is available for you on PowerSchool. Please print a copy to bring to school with you in January. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your schedule, please contact the registrar at registrar@smca.com. Have a safe and blessed holiday season!!!

Adoration - First Fridays

Bobcats on the Prowl!
St. Michael's hosted 26 St. Ignatius Middle School students on campus today. The students got a chance to shadow some of our own St. Ignatius graduates and see what campus life is like. As always, the highlight of the day was the question and answer period in Christ Chapel with Kevin White and the Senior Leadership Team.

School Prepares for Open House
St. Michael's will host it's second Open House on December 7th at 6:00-8:30 PM. If you are a prospective family, come and meet our faculty, staff and students. All departments, clubs and co-curricular activities will be represented at the event. Come see what has us inspired for life!
Any current SMCA community members interested in volunteering should contact, Joe Bernier. 

Winter Middle School Nights Announced

The SMCA Admissions Team is happy to announce the dates of our upcoming Middle School Nights:

Soccer and Swimming: January 7th, 2012
Basketball: January 14th, 2012
Fine Arts: January 18th, 2012

We have had approximately 400 prospective students at our Middle School Nights so far this year. These are great events to come out and meet some Future Crusaders and welcome them to the SMCA community. Start times and further details will be forthcoming. We hope to see you all there!

Movie Night Featuring Elf
What: Movie Night- ELF
When: Friday, November 18th around 7 PM
Where: Football Field
Elf will be playing on the big blow-up projector on the football field!
Admission is free, but donations are accepted.
The concession stand will be open and serving items like hot chocolate!
Bring blankets and snuggies, it will be chilly!

Cougars on Campus!
St. Michael's hosted 30 St. Louis Cougars on campus today. All of the eighth graders got a chance to shadow a current SMCA student and experience a day in the life of a St. Michael's Crusader. We hope that all of the St. Louis students enjoyed their time at St. Michael's Catholic Academy!

ISEE Entrance Exam
St. Michael's Catholic Academy will be administering the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) on Saturday, November 12th. The test will be given at 7:00 AM in Cafe Loredo. All SMCA applicants are required to have a standardized student evaluation. The Independent School Entrance Exam will be the only entrance exam accepted for applications. The ISEE assessment evaluates students in areas of verbal and quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics and writing skills. The examination is designed to offer an objective overview of students’ reasoning and achievement. Further information and registration can be found at www.erbtest.org/parents/admissions/isee. Students with a disability who would like to receive testing accommodations should contact the ISEE national office to discuss procedures. There is still plenty of room for the November 12th test! Walk-ups are welcome.

Reunion 2012!

  Class Presidents and Class Rep Luncheons
  We need assistance in finding your classmates in preparation for our All-Alumni Reunion June 9-10,     2012.  To volunteer as a Class Rep or to nominate a classmate, please contact Alumni@SMCA.com.

  To get connected join us at www.SMCA.com/updateus

  Class of 1987-25th Year Reunion
  Class of 1992- 20th Year Reunion, contact Molly Mooney Trexler at mollytrexler@mac.com
  Class of 1997-15th Year Reunion
  Class of 2002 - 10th Year Reunion, contact Ricky Nieto at: ricky.nieto@gmail.com.

Student Showcase with Forefront Austin
The SMCA Writing center was proud to host Forefront’s student showcase panel on Thursday, October 21, 2011.  For the past two months, SMCA students have been doggedly working on presentations that effectively answered and demonstrated the question “Why should Austin embrace its creativity”?  After weeks of toil, there were seven final presentations ranging from documentary style videos to handcrafted works of art.  These students then presented their creations to the panel: Andy Welch, Jay Watson, Abby Sandlin, and Anita Erikson of Forefront Austin.  The panel will confer and decide on a winner to be published in Forefront’s November publication.  Congratulations students!

High School Preview Night
The St. Michael's Admissions team attended Trinity Middle School's annual High School Preview on Tuesday. There was a great turnout for the event which was attended by a number of middle schools from the Austin area. SMCA Admissions would like to thank all of the faculty and staff at Trinity for hosting the event. We would also like to thank Ann Easley, Alex Pylypec and Nicolette Spagnola for representing St. Michael's as student ambassadors. 

Volunteer Opportunities



 
Any Baby Can Volunteer Flyer.pdf

Volleyball and Cross Country Middle School Night
On October 12th, SMCA hosted more than 40 families at the Volleyball and Cross Country Middle School Night. All of the Future Crusaders were greeted by our fantastic cheerleaders and mascot at the pregame tailgate. Coach Cunningham and the Cross Country team had a great display in the CAC and generated some buzz for the program. The Admissions Department would like to thank all of our volunteers and the Future Crusaders that attended.

Teacher Presents at Southwest American Academy of Religion Conf.
Theology Teacher, Michael Avery will be attending and presenting his paper at the Academic Conference: American Academy of Religion (Southwest division). His paper is titled: Karl Barth’s Possible Gift to Post-Modernity: Dependency on God and Authority with Christ.
           This paper is a response to the contemporary dilemma of theology--what David Tracy recognizes as an obsession with content and a disconnect with prayer. In a time where theologians have lost the means to talk about God, I look to Protestant theological juggernaut, Karl Barth,  who struggled with the same dilemma (how to speak of the unspeakable without universal claims). Barth is a  20th century theologian who went against the grain of his formation (19th century liberal Protestantism) and focused on the Word of God instead of the human narrative (anthropology) to communicate—with full force—the “otherness” of God.
The conference is a weekend event in March and will take place in Dallas, Texas.

Demolition Begins!
We are excited to reclaim our view of the beautiful hill country.  After many many years two of the portable buildings are being moved to another part of the property to be used as storage and the other two portables are being demolished.  Coming soon- the demolition of Coach Schiraldi's green shed.

Dining Hall Dedication Ceremony for Dr. Judith Loredo
The St. Michael's Dining Hall was dedicated last night in honor of Dr. Judith Loredo.

Future Crusader Day
SMCA hosted 21 students on campus today for a shadow visit. The students in attendance came to us from St. Austin's and St. Andrew's Middle Schools. There was a lot to see and do on campus because of Homecoming and Mr. White even lead the Dining Hall in a cheer. We hope that all of these "Future Crusaders" enjoyed their day on campus and that we see them tonight at Homecoming.

Modern Day Greek Philosophers in English class
The sophomores, who are studying Greek Philosophers in English class, are filming Talk-Show Round Table discussions.  Students adopt the personae of famous ancient Greek philosophers, then stage what they imagine to be a typical late-night TV round table talk show.  Moderated by Socrates, and modeled after his famous Socratic dialogues (less the wine), various philosophers from Aristotle to Zeno will debate the big questions of their day (and ours!) to get to the Platonic essence of truth.

Open House News
St. Michael's Catholic Academy hosted over 40 families at Monday's Open House. All prospective families viewed presentations from: Kevin White, Aaron Stancik, Charlotte Knepp and Principal Scamardo. There was also a great turn out from SMCA faculty, staff and student organizations. The Admissions Department would like to that all that attended. We are excited to host our next Open House on December 7th.

St. Theresa's 8th Grade Visits Campus
St. Michael's had 25 St. Theresa's Tigers on campus this Tuesday. They all had a great time shadowing their hosts to three classes and lunch. The day was highlighted by Mr. White's presentation in the Chapel and Coach Stancik's Prezi presentation in the Theatre. Thanks to all of the faculty and staff that helped make the day a success.  

CruSaber Day 2011
St. Michael's Catholic Academy hosted 37 eighth grade students from St. Gabriel's Middle School today. The Future Crusaders enjoyed presentations from Principal Scamardo, Aaron Stancik and Kevin White. The Campus Ministry Leadership Team also held a Q and A session in the Chapel. We would like to thank all of the St. Gabriel's Sabres for coming to campus and we hope to see you soon!

Facebook Translates Student's Lives
Current Spanish students worked with new teacher, Laura Donnell on a Facebook project in which the students each made their own profile and presented it in Spanish.  They elaborated on their hobbies, favorite sports, music, quotes etc. It was their very first oral presentation of the year and allowed them to get to know each other and practice speaking in Spanish in front of the class. (It was Spanish III Pre AP).

Anonymous Help Line Now Available
Mr. Shakespeare created a site for students to anonymously contact the Counseling Office to report issues of concern that they might not be comfortable reporting in person. Whether a student has concerns about bullying, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, alcohol, substance use, or academic dishonesty, they can request information and receive help without revealing their identity. The form has two parts: an "Issue Summary" where the student can explain the problem, and a "Desired Response" feature where they can request the counselor to share information, enter an anonymous dialogue with the student, or contact a student or parent directly. In the case of a student reporting an intention to harm themselves or others, the school would be able to trace the IP address of the reporter to insure that person's safety. This feature will ONLY be used in the case of a direct threat or a report of abuse. This also means that students should be warned that this feature is for serious inquiries only -- it is not a joking matter, and anyone using the service improperly will face serious consequences.
We hope that this new way of dialoguing with students will open up better communication between those struggling with issues and the people who can help them.  Please click here to access the site.

Students Engineer Mousetrap Cars
Mr. Goertz's physics classes built mousetrap cars to assist their study of position, velocity, and acceleration.  The cars had to travel 5 meters (about 15 feet) and were powered by a standard mousetrap spring.  Some cars went much further than required (current record stands at 14 meters).

Thrift Shoppe News
The St. Michael’s Academy Thrift Shoppe had a great summer!  A big thank you to all the students who helped out this summer, we love having you.  Additionally, thank you to Aylin Eker, our first summer intern.  She was a great addition to the team and provided us the continuity we need. Please click to view the rest of our news.

Check Out Our New Promotional Video!

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