news - Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Transcription
news - Santa Margarita Catholic High School
j •I•N•G•S December 2005 – February 2006 ACTIVITIES NEWS . . . . .2-7 ATHLETIC NEWS . . . . . . .7-8 CAMPUS MINISTRY NEWS .9 ACADEMIC NEWS . . . .10-13 GUILD NEWS . . . . . . . . . .14 MOTHERS CLUB NEWS . .15 GENERAL NEWS . . . . .15-17 DEVELOPMENT NEWS . . .17 VALENTASIA NEWS . . . . .18 CAPITAL CAMPAIGN NEWS .19 ALUMNI NEWS . . . . . .20-31 Santa Margarita Catholic High School 22062 Antonio Parkway Rancho Santa Margarita California 92688 The Eagle Newsletter published by Santa Margarita Catholic High School Dear Parents, Imagine! We have already celebrated the Thanksgiving holidays and have been allowed that wonderful opportunity to take stock of all the good things in our lives and the many blessings bestowed on our families. I think that this is the appropriate time to say thanks to all of the coaches and athletes who have participated in the fall sports programs. As usual, most of our teams have progressed into the CIF playoffs. We have been very successful in our team efforts due to the dedication and hard work of so many. Let us wish the best wishes for similar success to our soccer programs, basketball programs, and girl’s water polo. Many other groups have been busy also. Of special note is the success of our marching band and color guard. The sound and staging have been great and so has the garnering of awards at the various competitions. The Christmas Band Concert will be in the Eagle Dome on December 15th at 7:30 p.m. The Choir, Orchestra, and Dance Team will present an evening of Christmas music on December 13th at the RSM Bell Tower Community Center, again at 7:30 p.m. Events on and around campus during December will include the Parent Volunteer Lunch, December 15 and Christmas vacation December 19 – January 3. January and February are busy, too. Please note: January 5th – IB Info Night; January 9th – College Financial Aid Night; January 12th – Incoming Freshmen Info Night; January 14th – Winter Formal; February 4th – Freshmen Entrance Exam; February 9th – College Planning Night for Juniors; February 11th – VALENTASIA. We are thankful for all of the support from so many parents and students in making our Open House a success. The over 100 seniors who volunteered their free day to lead the Freshmen Class Retreat also mirror that wonderful giving attitude. We had two very successful Kairos retreats during the fall semester and look forward to the next on February 8th -10th. The Junior Overnight Retreat will take place on February 23rd and 24th. The entire school community will celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception with an inspiring liturgy on December 8, 2005. Finally, may I encourage all to try to attend the winter sports events and give support to our teams. With most sincere wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I remain, Sincerely in Christ, Brother Lawrence Monroe, FSC 949-766-6000 TEL 949-766-6005 FAX SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL www.smhs.org ACTIVITIES news CATCH THE EAGLE SPIRIT! Battle of the Sexes is back! The Winter Spirit Week is January 9 – 13, 2006. We’ll be celebrating our winter sports teams with a week full of events and activities, ending with our Winter Sports Rally that will feature a competition between the sexes! The guys were victorious last year, can the girls take home the prize this year? AIR GUITAR IS BACK! Saturday, March 25, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. SMCHS will host Air Guitar in the Moiso Pavilion. Don’t miss this exciting event as groups from all grade levels compete for the grand prize. If you want to form a group, pick up an application in the Activities Office after February 1, 2006. SPIRIT DANCE If you enjoyed the Welcome Dance, then you won’t want to miss the Spirit Dance! The dance will be on Friday, February 3, 2006 from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. in the Moiso Pavilion (gym) for $10 per person. Stay tuned for more information! CLASS NEWS SENIOR CLASS NEWS Graduation cap and gown costs are included in the graduation fee paid by senior parents prior to graduation. Please be aware that some outside groups obtain mailing lists from the Department of Motor Vehicles and send notices regarding caps and gowns. Don’t be fooled into paying twice for your student’s cap and gown. For assistance in answering any graduation related questions, please feel free to contact the Activities Office at 949-766-6050. Seniors, check out the Senior Booklet on the SM website for upcoming events and activities. FRESHMAN CLASS NEWS Freshman Class officer elections are scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2006. Class officer applications will be available in the Activities Office in late January 2006. 22 www.smhs.org PEER COURT Peer Court will take place in the Science Lecture Hall after school on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 at 2:45 p.m. Any student who is able to attend is encouraged to volunteer to participate as a juror in this real life courtroom event. If you’re interested in what the sentencing phase of a real juvenile court proceeding is like, make it a point to attend this session of Peer Court! VALENTINE STORE The Valentine Store will be open from Wednesday, February 1st through Monday, February 13th. The Valentine Store helps you remember all of those special people in your lives by offering a wide selection of gifts, cards, candy and flowers. Valentines will be delivered in the morning on Valentine’s Day. If you would like to send a Valentine to your student or let a special Santa Margarita employee know you appreciate them, call the Activities Office at 949-766-6050 for more information. REACH REPRESENTATIVES This year your ASB Leadership wants to hear from you! Each officer and head commissioner has been assigned 30 students to act as a liaison between you and ASB. All decisions are made by the ASB Leadership and your voice will help them make decisions that you like and will hopefully participate in. All sophomores, juniors and seniors should have received an introductory letter and a phone call from your REACH Representative. Please be honest with them, for our goal is to continue to increase the spirit and enthusiasm throughout your high school experience! S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ACTIVITIES news RED CROSS CLUB The first Red Cross Club activity of the year was attended by several of the club’s officers at the annual Orange County Red Cross High School training workshop. The workshop is designed to help students market and run high school blood drives. In part due to the catastrophe in the Gulf caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Santa Margarita Red Cross Club is enjoying an increase in membership and the current members are showing a strong desire to become more involved in helping others. In addition to the successful first blood drive of the year on Thursday, October 20th the club is also selling mardi gras beads to benefit the American Red Cross hurricane relief effort. This endeavor will continue throughout the school year. MAKE-A-WISH CLUB The Make-A-Wish Club is having a very busy year thus far. The year's fundraising is under way with a raffle being held in December for a complete IPOD basket donated by the Bellow and Haber families. The club's booth was very successful at the SMCHS Christmas Boutique held in November on the SMCHS campus. The club would like to thank the SMCHS Boys Volleyball program for this opportunity. Members have also been busy helping the foundation with the Anaheim Fall Festival, Beacon Bay Carwash, and the O.C. Marathon. This January the SM Make-A-Wish Club will not only help at the T-shirt booth but will participate in the 5K run. We have a large number of club participants to represent our club. Thanks to all and remember: The Red Cross Club will also participate in the annual holiday toy drive and carnival, which culminates in festivities at the Santa Ana Zoo in December. At this event, the club will host a carnival booth for several hundred underprivileged children. Elyse Hormuth donating blood during the October Blood Drive. The second blood drive of the year will take place on Thursday, January 12, 2006 from 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the Moiso Pavilion (gym), and will be in conjunction with Mission Hospital. Parents are invited to participate and do not need to make an appointment. Student donors must be at least 17-years-old and weigh 110 pounds. Thank you to all who donated blood during the October blood drive. We were able to collect 77 units of blood. This is the highest amount we have ever collected at our October drive. A special thanks to all of the students, faculty and parents who volunteered. When wishes come true... Tensions ease... Clouds part... Families exhale. A wish coming true may be the most powerful medicine available… Hope. EAGLES FOR CHOC NEWS TOY DRIVE: Eagles For CHOC, along with the SMCHS Red Cross Club, will be organizing a school-wide drive to collect Christmas toys for hospitalized kids and needy families. Toys will be collected at school from Wednesday, November 30th through Friday, December 9th. We encourage everyone at school to please bring an unwrapped toy and help these families who are going through a difficult time. Collection boxes will be located in the SM Front Office and throughout the campus. CHOC DISNEYLAND COMMUNITY WALK UPDATE: Our team of 160 walkers raised $11,000. Thanks to our families and generous sponsors for helping the kids at CHOC! HOSPITAL VOLUNTEERING UPDATE: If you are interested in becoming a CHOC at Mission volunteer, please join us on Wednesday, January 18th from 8:30 a.m. CHOC Walk 2005 until 9:30 a.m. in the Science Lecture Hall (late start day). You will learn more about the program and get prepared for the spring hospital volunteer training session, which will be held in February. Parents are encouraged to attend this informational meeting. Note: Prior to training, prospective volunteers must complete two TB screenings and supply Mission Hospital with a current vaccination record. Please contact Claudia Michaels at eaglesforchoc@cox.net for specifics. Check out our website at www.smhs.org/Faith/Eagles_For_CHOC/index.htm. for our calendar and more information. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 33 ACTIVITIES news EAGLE REGIMENT The Eagle Regiment, Southern California’s 2004 Division 3A Champions, embarked on a demanding field show tournament season this fall. The Eagle Regiment’s 2005 field show, entitled “Defying Gravity,” features several demanding music selections performed to complex marching maneuvers. The marching band and color guard competed in five contests, leading up to an anticipated return performance in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) Championships on Saturday, December 3, 2005. Displaying their awards from the Loara Field Tournament are Eagle Regiment leaders (left to right) Erin English, color guard co-captain; Taylor Bradford, percussion leader; Rebecca Nichols, assistant drum major, David Weinberg, director; Jonathan Tanco, drum major; Margaret Aust, pit crew leader; and Jaclyn Miller, color guard co-captain. SMCHS CHRISTMAS CONCERTS There will be two opportunities this Christmas season to hear SM’s talented singers and musicians. Please join us at the Rancho Santa Margarita Community Center on Tuesday, December 13th at 7:30 p.m. for the The Performing Arts Concert. The SMCHS Choir and Orchestra and Dance Team will perform. All are invited. A donation of $10 at the door is appreciated. The SM Community is invited to the SMCHS Christmas concert scheduled Thursday, December 15th at 7:30 p.m. in the Eagle Dome. The public is invited to attend the Christmas concert and enjoy festive holiday music performed by the school’s award-winning musicians. The performance is free. 44 www.smhs.org At the Loara Band Review and Field Tournament on October 29th, the Eagle Regiment captured seven awards, including five of the highest awards. The band and color guard each won a trophy for highest scores among all 11 Division 3A high schools in field show competition. The Eagle Regiment also won awards for Division 3A highest scores for percussion, visual and general effect. In addition, the band and color guard each won first place trophies in competition against five other schools in the White Division. At the first competition of the year, the 12th annual Irvine Invitational Field Tournament on October 22nd, the Eagle Regiment’s percussion unit won the Sweepstakes Award, while the marching band and color guard each won second place. “Our Eagle Regiment has been working extremely hard this year, considering that we have 23 new freshmen students in our band and color guard,” said David Weinberg, director of bands. “Our approach in rehearsal is the same, but we are taking some greater risks this year with difficult music and faster drill routines. I encourage all students who may be interested in joining our band program in the future to come by and see our group perform at a competition. The atmosphere and fun of a band competition is something that you can't get anywhere else.” Santa Margarita’s 71-member Eagle Regiment is directed by David Weinberg. Assistant band director is Ted Weed. Drum major is Jonathan Tanco and assistant drum major is Rebecca Nichols. Color guard captains are Erin English, Emily Howard and Jaclyn Miller. Percussion leader is Taylor Bradford. Immediately after the conclusion of the field tournaments, the student musicians will prepare for the Santa Margarita Catholic High School Christmas concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 15th in the Eagle Dome. The public is invited to attend the Christmas concert and enjoy festive holiday music performed by the school’s award-winning musicians. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ACTIVITIES news COMPETITIVE DEBATE TEAM KICKS OFF NEW SEASON WITH FIRST PLACE TROPHY FALL ENTERTAINMENT KICKS OFF WITH THE SPIRITED MADWOMAN Talon Theatre’s fall production was the French playwright, Jean Giraudoux’s, The Madwoman of Chaillot. The Madwoman of Chaillot is Giraudoux’s best-known play. Cristina Finch Produced originally on a Paris stage in 1945 it enjoyed Broadway success and was awarded the prize of New York’s Circle for best play of the year by a foreign Gillian Gates author. The play is a poetic fantasy set in the suburbs of Paris in the late 1930’s. In its clear-cut opposition of good and evil, Giraudoux’s fanciful comedy is a parody of modern finance capitalism. Kelsa Trom The cast was highlighted by seniors Kristina Finch as the Madwoman, Maya Smolarek, Kelsa Trom, John Maltese, Nick Nader, James Markel and Jillian Gates in lead roles. The Company included over 60 SMCHS students. Production Director Jean Maya Smolarek Hauser and Technical Director Jeff Stube were assisted by students Kayla Hasler as Assistant Director, Lillian Rae as Stage Manager and Alex Lum as Assistant Stage Manager. The Eagle Debate Team began the season with a win at the first League Tournament. With 20 Orange County schools in competition, the policy team of Kaitlin von Hoffmann and Nick Nick Pizzurro and Kaitlin von Hoffmann Pizzurro overtook La Quinta High School in the final rounds. This year the varsity team and the novice team have 22 members each. The team is looking forward to competing in Policy, Lincoln Douglas, Dramatic Interpretation, Original Oratory and International Extemporaneous. The Eagles are in hopes of including the US Stanford Invitational on their season calendar. Coach Hauser is looking forward to working towards state and nationals. Third and fourth year members are planning the teams’ first invitational on the SMCHS campus to close out the season for the Orange County Speech League. DRAMA STUDENTS SHARE THEIR TALENT Advanced Drama students are presenting classic literature pieces to English classes this school year. Advanced Drama provided new insight into Absurdist Theatre with selections from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. The selection was a summer reading assignment for senior English students. Intermediate Drama students presented Greek classics for sophomore level classes. They offered scenes from Sophocles’ Antigone, the comic Lysistrata and a Roman comedy by Seneca. More presentations are planned for the year including IB level plays from Lorca and Ibsen. Andrew Dadour, Dayeanne Hutton, Danielle Conn, Kori Courtois and Kristen Fiore. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 55 ACTIVITIES news EAGLE DANCE TEAM The ladies of the SMCHS Dance Team are hard at work this winter, preparing for their upcoming competition season. This year, the team will compete with seven routines ranging in many different styles of dance including hip-hop, jazz, lyrical jazz, modern and ballet. We are blessed to have four very talented and innovative choreographers working with the team this year. Lindsay Rosenberg (member of the Los Angeles Clipper Spirit Dance Team) put together a fun and urban hip-hop routine, Alex Little (professional choreographer for studios and teams around the country) gave us a rock and roll jazz routine, Nikki Blakslee (professional dancer in Los Angeles and New York) choreographed a modern lyrical routine and last but not least Gretchen Allred (award-winning choreographer for studios in California and Utah) created a jungle-themed jazz routine. In addition, we will have five soloists represent the team in competition: sophomore soloist-Caroline Bramlage, junior soloists- Lauren Perone and Michelle Pellizzon, and senior soloists- Michelle Campion and Elyse Platt. Overall, the Eagle Dance Team has a wide variety of dances this year, which will hopefully pay off in the eyes of the judges. We will kick off our competition season early this year, starting with Mater Dei on Saturday, December 17th. The dancers will then compete in six more competitions including the Contest of Champions in Orlando, Florida where the team will compete to reclaim their two National Titles from last year. For a complete list of our competitions and information on the Dance Team, please visit the Dance Page of the school web site at www.smhs.org. Come out and support our dancers as they bring home many more trophies this season! MODEL UNITED NATION NEWS MUN students receiving a tour from one of London’s finest. MUN students at the Tower of London. 66 www.smhs.org Eight students from SMCHS just returned from attending the 24th Annual Royal Russell School Model United Nations Conference in East Croydon, England. Students Megan Wood, Meghan Shain, Francesca Giuliani, Michael Erkelens, Michael Craigmile, Gerald Espinosa, J. Matthew Spillers and Trent Salazar were the students in attendance. Students Trent Salazar and Michael Craigmile both won awards as "Outstanding Delegates” at the conference. After the conference the students spent three days sightseeing in London. They saw the Tower of London, the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and took a ride in the London Eye. The students finished the trip with a one-day tour of Bath and Stonehenge. In other MUN news, 10 juniors from the MUN program will travel to the prestigious Harvard MUN Conference from December 3rd – 10th. Students Dani Potter, Michael Driscoll, Michael Welch, Michelle Pellizzon, Kary Yergler, Ali Montes, Anna Thiegartner, Kate von Hoffman, Erica Jain and Eileen Lyle will make the trip. Seventy-five novice MUN Delegates will attend the Mira Costa Conference on Saturday, December 10th. December 10th will be a busy day for MUN as they will also be attending the High Tech MUN Conference. Sixty juniors will be attending this intermediate conference. On Saturday, January 28, 2006 Model UN will host the annual International Dinner and Silent Auction in the Moiso Pavilion (gym). The dinner will raise money to help offset the costs of trips to conferences in London, Washington D.C. and Boston. The rest of the funds will go towards senior scholarships. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ACTIVITIES news PEP SQUAD NEWS & EVENTS ASICS REGIONAL COMPETITION On Saturday, January 21, 2006 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. the SMCHS Pep Squad will host the ASICS Cheer and Song Competition. This is always an exciting affair receiving praise from teams around the southland. To register your team or for further information, please contact Dana Maas by e-mail at maasd@smhs.org or 949-766-6000 ext. 4147. WINTER FORMAL IS JANUARY 14TH! Bids will be available during scheduled lunches beginning Tuesday, January 3rd through Friday, January 13th. Winter Formal 2006 will be "A Night in the Spotlight" where the stars are our sophomores, juniors and seniors from 8:00 p.m. until midnight. Bids are $110 and include the photo package. Upcoming PEP SQUAD COMPETITIONS For exciting entertainment, watch our Cheer and Song Squads perform at the following events: Saturday, December 3, 2005 UCA Regional, Aliso Niguel Sunday, December 18, 2005 18th USA Regional, Anaheim Convention Ctr. Saturday, January 28 – Sunday, January 29, 2006 CA State Competition, Aqua Dome, Long Beach To avoid long lines at the dance, couples are encouraged to have their photos taken early. Photographers will be on campus before the dance from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. FULL DIPLOMA FOOTBALL PLAYERS In June 2006, senior Thomas Hull will be the first SMCHS varsity football player to receive an IB Full Diploma. Hull has been an Eagle football player for four years and a varsity starter for two, playing as punter, tight end and free safety. He has also run track every year, lettering as a varsity hurdler. Hull stays on the run, from classroom to competition to camp. Last summer, he went to Sacramento as a Boys State Delegate and then attended college football camps at Yale and Harvard. For the football season opener the Eagles flew to Hawaii where Hull scored a touchdown. From offense to officer, Hull was named Game Captain against archrival Mater Dei and currently serves as Treasurer of the SMCHS chapter of CSF, as well as a CSF and NHS tutor. In June 2007, junior Nick Pizzurro will be the second varsity football player to receive an IB Full Diploma. Like Hull, Pizzurro juggles scholastics and sports. He has also been an Eagle football player every year and plays varsity at tight end as well. His schedule is busy and varied, with summers spent as a counselor at St. Margaret’s Camp for special needs children. As a sophomore Pizzurro also competed in Varsity Debate, where he qualified for the state competition. This year Pizzurro took first place in policy debate at the OCSL Tournament. Moving from tournament to touchdown, Pizzurro recently scored a touchdown in the Eagles’ victory over Bishop Amat. Congratulations to Thomas Hull and Nick Pizzurro! S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DECEMBER Thomas Hull and Nick Pizzurro 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 77 ATHLETIC news BASEBALL BOOSTER CLUB GOLF CLASSIC MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2006 Sign up now to participate in the Tenth annual Baseball Booster Club Golf Classic. The tournament will be held at the beautiful Coto de Caza Country Club and provides a great opportunity for non-members to experience this renowned course. Preparations are underway for an exciting event. Dinner, as well as a silent and live auction will be held after the day of golf. Multiple prizes will be awarded at the evening’s festivities. Proceeds will be used for playing field construction projects, as well as equipment, travel expenses and other necessary operational costs. If you have questions, or wish to sign-up, contact Stephanie Carlson, Tournament Chairperson, at 949-858-8080 or carlsonsrus@cox.net. GIRLS TRACK & FIELD PRE-SEASON MEETING All girls who want to try out for the Girls Track & Field Team need to turn in all of their completed and signed paperwork to either Coach Ferry or the Athletic Office by Friday, December 16th at 1:30 p.m. A complete packet includes the following: •Completed physical or verification from the SMCHS Athletic Training Office stating that you have a current physical on file that will last through the spring season •Two (2) completely filled-out and signed Blue Cards •A signed Code of Ethics sheet •A signed Transportation Release Form •The last page of the Track Contract signed •Clothing sizing sheet filled-out Even girls who are in a winter sport need to turn in their packets by December 16th at 1:30 p.m. in order to be eligible to tryout when their winter sport ends. If you do not have a packet, you can print one from the Girls Track & Field Team website - click on Campus Life, Athletics, Spring Sports and Girls’ Track and Field. If you have any questions, please e-mail Coach Ferry at ferryh@smhs.org. 88 www.smhs.org BOYS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE MEETING There will be a meeting for all boys interested in competing on the Track & Field Team this spring in the Science Lecture Hall on Tuesday, January 10, 2006. The meeting will take place 15 minutes after school gets out. Important dates will be discussed and paperwork will be distributed. Any boy who is competing on a winter sports team should see Coach Zeitler after January 10th to pick-up the necessary paperwork. All paperwork & the appropriate fees are due to Coach Zeitler by Thursday, January 26th at 8 a.m. This due date applies to ALL boys whether or not you are on a winter sports team. Boys will be allowed to join the team and turn in paperwork after January 26th, but there will be consequences. BOYS TRACK & FIELD PRE-SEASON PARENT INFORMATION MEETING A pre-season parent information meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 7 p.m. in the Science Lecture Hall. Please save all your questions for this meeting so that everybody can benefit from your questions at this Q&A session. Please do not call or e-mail Coach Zeitler concerning the Track & Field Team until after you have attended this meeting. All parents are encouraged to attend, even if you have been a part of the program in the past because we will be taking sign-ups to help with the organization and running of SM home meets. Bring your calendars and sign up to help at the home meets. Helping at meets is both essential & FUN – be a part of your son’s Track & Field experience. Please visit the SMCHS Track & Field website at www.smeaglesxctf.org for further information. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L CAMPUS MINISTRY CHRISTIAN SERVICE Twenty-five students from the Campus Ministry Leadership Class, with the help of Mrs. Connelly and Mr. Kretzmer, completed training to serve as Eucharistic Ministers. On October 12th, the Class of 2009 participated in their Freshmen Class Retreat, and had the opportunity to grow in their relationships with God and their peers. The retreat was held in the Moiso Pavilion (gym) and was a fun-filled day of ice breakers, praise, worship and faith sharing. SMCHS Chaplain, Father Craig Butters, presided at Mass at San Francisco Solano to conclude the day. Special thanks go out to the 100 plus seniors who gave up their day off school to help lead this retreat and make it a success. UPCOMING RETREATS - SAVE THE DATE! SM off-campus retreats provide a unique opportunity to take a break from the stresses of academic life and create time to focus on one's relationship with God. Take advantage of this chance to grow in your faith and have fun with your peers! Retreat applications will be available at the end of January in the Campus Ministry Office (G-204). Space is limited to the first 100 students and we anticipate full retreats, so be sure to sign up soon. February 22-24 - Junior Class off-campus Retreat March 15-16 - Sophomore Class off-campus Retreat Junior and senior student leaders are needed to help with our off-campus retreats. More information will be available in the Campus Ministry Office and through the ETV announcements, so stay tuned... ATTENTION ALL PARENTS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND SM ALUMNI: The Immaculate Conception of Mary Mass will take place on Thursday, December 8th. Mass will begin at 9:45 a.m. in the Moiso Pavilion. All are invited to join us as we honor the Mother of our Lord. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L CAMPUS MINISTRY news Christian service updates... Since the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year, we have done one Corazon build in the slums surrounding Tijuana. The conditions were rough! The roads were unpaved, slippery and the visibility clouded by a dense fog. The actual site was up a short, narrow slope, with little surrounding access. Much of the framing for the building had to be done along the dirt, onelane road skirting the site. The paint never really dried, so we put up the walls, peaked roof and loft “wet.” Needless to say, the family who earned the house was overjoyed to finally have a decent home to raise their children. Another trip was taken to Tecate on November 5th. We will be celebrating our 4th annual Corazon Christmas Party on Saturday, December 17th in Tijuana. This year we are supporting 61 Corazon families from the area of Pedregal. Club Corazon, a student association supporting the work of Corazon in Mexico, is joining with Catholic Relief Services in offering Fair Trade products for Christmas. The goal is to raise money in support of the educational goals of Corazon. Christian Service Coordinator, Peggy Hanley, participated in Loyola’s Urban Plunge during the month of August, spending three days in Skid Row and East L.A. with a group of Loyola students. This form of immersion, which helps students understand the plight of the homeless and poor through direct experience, requires the participants to stay at shelters, use public transportation, carry all of their worldly goods on their backs, to eat at soup kitchens, as well as to interview both the people who live there and the institutions they interact with in order to meet their basic needs. SMCHS is looking at a similar form of immersion, located around Santa Ana, with the Orange County Catholic Worker, where students volunteer regularly, as the base home. SMCHS Habitat for Humanity has been reinvigorated by a fantastic team of students – Alex Halim, Meredith Kramer, Michael Aspegren and Erica Jain, who, with Habitat’s new Campus Chapter Advisor, Dimple Pajwani, have recruited a large number of students to get involved in fundraising, advocacy and builds. ‘In the works’ is a Gingerbread house build contest, SMCHS-Habitat sweatshirts and other exciting fundraisers in the spring semester. Finally, SMCHS students and friends generously contributed over $24,500 to Catholic Charities for the relief of refugees from Katrina. As a fitting capstone to this endeavor, Shivani Patel won first place for a beatitudes based drawing, sponsored by OC Catholic Charities. Her drawing, inspired by the plight of the desperate and poor, fleeing the devastation, will be featured on brochures highlighting the work of Catholic Charities. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 99 ACADEMIC news Semester Exams will take place the week of January 23, 2006. The schedule is as follows: Monday, January 23rd – Period 3 & 4 Exams Tuesday, January 24th – Period 5 & 6 Exams Wednesday, January 25th – Period 7 & 1 Exams Thursday, January 26th – Period 2 Exam INTERDISCIPLINARY TRIAD COURSES lDid you know that there are Interdisciplinary Triads at freshman, sophomore, and junior levels? lDid you know that we are looking at developing a senior level Triad for 06/07? lDid you know that major Colleges/Universities offer Interdisciplinary programs and recognize the value of these programs at the high school level? lDid you know that Interdisciplinary Triad courses are designed for the academic student who learns through field trips, more “hands on” information, and making sense of natural connections between course curriculum? The sophomore Interdisciplinary Triad courses, consisting of Biology, Algebra II and World History, took the train to San Diego for their first field trip. The trip focused on learning about natural disasters and their impact on the regions affected. Part of this project has focused on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, understanding and participating in the need to raise donations for its victims. The students are also looking into other natural disasters throughout history and how each has had its impact on that part of the world. To All Parents, During September’s Back-to-School-Night, a number of parents expressed interest in having a bible study class. SMCHS is looking into offering a class to those of you who would be interested. All materials will be provided free of cost, including bibles. If you are interested, please e-mail Mr. Jim Nielsen at nielsenj@smhs.org with the following information: 1. Day of the week that would be best. 2. Hour of day that would be best. 3. E-mail address and other contact information. IMPORTANT EVENTS FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID NIGHT FOR SENIORS AND THEIR PARENTS: All seniors and their parents are invited to attend the College Financial Aid Night on Monday, January 9, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. in the Science Lecture Hall. This is a great opportunity to review the procedures for submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and get your questions answered! Mr. Gregg Ball from the Financial Aid Office at Chapman University will host this important presentation. PSAT INTERPRETATION NIGHT FOR SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS: The PSAT Interpretation Night will be held on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. in the Moiso Pavilion. All SMCHS sophomore and junior students who took the October 12th PSAT exam will receive their results this evening. Myths and facts related to preparing for the SAT Reasoning Test will be discussed. Don’t miss this important night! COLLEGE PLANNING WORKSHOP FOR JUNIORS: Juniors – Mark your calendars for the College Planning Workshop on Thursday, February 9, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. in the Moiso Pavilion (gym). The SMCHS Counselors will be discussing important information regarding the application process, the college testing timeline, what universities look for in their applicants and much more! ATTENTION FUTURE EAGLES Please join us for the following events: INCOMING FRESHMAN INFORMATION NIGHT Learn about all SMCHS has to offer at this very important information night on Thursday, January 12, 2006. ENTRANCE EXAM The Entrance Exam for Incoming Freshmen will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. APPLICATION The SMCHS Application for Admission for the 2006-2007 school year is available online or in the SMCHS Admissions Office. SHADOW DAYS Be an Eagle for a day! Shadow a SMCHS student for an entire school day. Visit the SM Admissions website at www.smhs.org/Admissions/shadow.html for dates available in the spring semester. Please contact Christine Cosenza, SMCHS Director of Admissions, at 949-766-6076 for any questions regarding the Admissions Process. 1010 www.smhs.org S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ACADEMIC news SMCHS IB AND REBUILDING TOGETHER ORANGE COUNTY The SMCHS and IB Mission Statements express the desire to encourage in our students a commitment to Gospel values and a desire to contribute positively to the society and environment in which they live and the ideals of responsible citizenship, to the end that IB students may become participants in local and world affairs, conscious of the shared humanity that binds all people together while respecting the variety of cultures and attitudes that makes for the richness of life. To this end, SMCHS IB students volunteered on Saturday, October 22nd to be of service to their community by participating in the Fall Rebuilding Together Orange County (RTOC) project. Rebuilding Together is the nation’s largest volunteer home rehabilitation organization dedicated to preserving and revitalizing houses and communities. RTOC is one of more than 250 affiliates in over 850 cities nationwide working to rebuild, revitalize and renew the hopes and lives of our low-income, elderly and disabled neighbors so they may live independently with dignity, in warmth and safety. The number of low-income homeowners and the nation’s senior population continues to increase each year. As these populations grow at an astounding rate, more and more older adults, disabled and low-income families must choose between vital necessities such as food and medicine or a roof that does not leak. RTOC and their volunteers work to ensure that as many individuals as possible do not have to make these difficult choices. On October 22nd SMCHS IB students joined the Irvine and Monarch Chapters of National Charity League in working at the home of “Mama Sarah,” an 89-year-old resident of Irvine. Students completely repainted “Mama Sarah’s” home and performed general clean-up and yard work. Class of 2007 Diploma Candidate, Taylor Zuccolotto, commented “It was a rewarding experience that enriched both my life and Mama Sarah’s life. Mama Sarah is such a sweet and appreciative lady. I love the way she interacted with us and encouraged us to sample the great variety of gum she had purchased for us.” Classmate Ali Montes observed “It was amazing to see the difference we made in just one day. We had fun bonding as a class while being of service to our community.” The entire SMCHS community is invited to participate in the next RTOC volunteer opportunity on April 29, 2006. Contact the IB Office at 949-766-6033 for more information. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L SMCHS EDUCATION FOR LIFE Attention all 9th and 10th grade Students & Parents SMCHS is proud to announce that it will be offering its 8th annual IB Information Night Thursday, January 5th at 7:30 p.m. in the Moiso Pavilion For additional information contact the SMCHS IB Office at 949-766-6034 SMCHS STUDENTS BECOME GLOBAL LEADERS SMCHS students recently experienced what it’s like to run the world through a three-hour, interactive global simulation workshop entitled “How Would You Run the World?” Sponsored by the IB Program, the Global Simulation Workshop provided students the challenge of becoming world leaders responsible for their countries while dealing with issues such as health care, education, human rights and the environment. "As part of our effort to increase students' understanding of leadership and awareness of global issues, we sponsored the workshop to provide them with a unique introduction to the way the world often works and our place in it," said Lyn Alexander, IB Program Director. “The workshop is a valuable learning tool that serves to supplement course content and challenge students to consider new perspectives on the social, economic, and political climates of countries around the world.” Eighty-one students participated in the workshop, most of them enrolled in the IB and MUN programs at SMCHS. Mary Bank (US History AP/IB), Thomas Gerlach, (Latin Vergil AP/IB), Eric Hansen (Philosophy 2 IB), Jean Hauser (Advanced Theatre Arts IB), Greg Rhodes (Theory of Knowledge IB), John Remmell (Social Studies/MUN), and Stephen Schumacher (Social Studies/MUN) were among the SM faculty who participated in the workshop. Lyn Alexander and IB Booster Club Board members served as observers. The game divided the participants into groups assigned to geopolitical regions representing North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, China, and India, four multinational conglomerates of corporations, four non-governmental, human interest groups, and Global Foundation, which is similar to the United Nations. During breaks in the game, the different groups reported their progress. Into the final half-hour of the simulation and 35 years later, a major global disaster loomed. Could the student leaders save the world? Most countries, corporations, and public organizations pulled together to contribute some of their wealth and resources. There were a few exceptions, of course. The Global Education organization kept their wealth and resources intact. Survival? Perhaps. Greed? Most likely. In the end, they avoided the disaster and saved the world. The SMCHS students did it! After the simulation, the students watched consciousness-raising documentaries that dealt with environmental, economic and human rights and other issues. Post-discussion followed so students could share thoughts on their experiences. continue the story on page 12 DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 11 EAGLES IN THE NEWS At the Embassy Suites Hotel Palm Desert Resort in Palm Desert, SM senior, Rachel Brady, Miss Teen Orange County International bested city and county delegates from all across California to win the coveted title and crown of Miss Teen California International 2006. Rachel will spend her year of service championing her personal platform LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT by encouraging schools to offer healthier lunch menu choices as well as influencing girls to live a more active and fit lifestyle. Rachel is a competitive dancer with West Coast School of the Arts. Rachel is also an active member in her community and has spent numerous hours as a volunteer with the YMCA, Special Olympics, the Bell Tower Foundation, Catholic Worker, Revlon Breast Cancer Walk, and D.A.R.E. of Fountain Valley Police Department and Discovery of the Arts. Rachel is actively involved in mentoring youth through the Character Counts program. She also works with James Washington, Dallas Cowboy football player and founder of Shelter 37, in mentoring inner city youth by encouraging them to pursue an education, assisting with scholarships, encouraging the youth to set goals, and lead a positive lifestyle. Although she is busy with pageant activities Rachel puts her SMCHS education and activities first. Rachel is an SMCHS IB Certificate Candidate. One of her favorite courses is IB Dance Higher Level. SMCHS is one of five schools worldwide to offer the pilot program of IB Dance. Rachel credits IB Dance for exposing her to world dance cultures which have influenced her dance style and techniques and broadened her horizons. Rachel’s plans for college include attending Orange Coast College, which has the number one dance team in the country, then transferring to either USC or UCLA to study business marketing. Rachel is looking forward to competing in the Miss Teen International pageant in July. The focus behind Miss Teen International is to showcase young women, 13-18 years old advocating a national platform. Rachel currently serves as a Miss Teen California USA ambassador. SM EAGLE EARNS AN EAGLE! Erik Brown, a member of Boy Scout Troop 818, became an Eagle Scout in June of 2005. For his Eagle Project, the SMCHS student refurbished the backstop and bleachers at Serra Catholic School. Also included in his project was the addition of backboards, a mow strip and players benches. Erik has held many leadership positions in his troop including serving as the Senior Patrol Leader and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. Besides earning 42 Merit Badges, Erik earned the Ad Altare Dei Catholic Scouting Award which is the highest religious award given in Scouting. Erik is a member of the SMCHS Football Team and is also a member of Model United Nations. Congratulations to Erik on a job well done! Brother Lawrence Monroe congratulating Eagle Scout Erik Brown at his Eagle Court of Honor held on September 25, 2005 at Dove Canyon Country Club. 1212 www.smhs.org continuation of Global Simulation story from Page 11 “The workshop was an incredible opportunity for our students. It was very constructive because not only did it teach them what problems the world is facing, but that if they worked together, they could solve these problems,” said John Remmell, Social Studies and MUN teacher at SMCHS. Students echoed Mr. Remmell’s sentiments and enthusiastically endorsed the value of the simulation. “The simulation made it quite obvious that it is the compromises and harmony (or lack thereof) which shapes not only the world as a whole, but each individual country. This game showed me the complex and deep way in which all countries are intertwined and ultimately dependent on one another.” Emilie Winckel “I felt it was an excellent workshop that challenged the participants to continually negotiate while upholding universal ethical values” - Nick Pizzurro “This simulation provided students with the unique opportunity of experiencing the difficulties that face our world leaders and organizations today.” - Katie Fitzpatrick “I loved the osEarth Global Simulation. It taught ma a lot about the position that major industries have in building the economies and successes of the different countries of the world.” - Tommy Mina “It was rewarding for us to experience how the world is run and how one group’s actions affect the whole of the world.” - Taylor Zuccolotto “The workshop allowed us to apply what we learn in the classroom. At the same time, it taught us some real life lessons – teamwork, communications, sensitivity to others’ needs, and entrepreneurial skills.” - BJ Thompson S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ACADEMIC news S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 13 GUILD news Dear SMCHS Family, Thanks to all of you who participated in the Gift Wrap sales. We received many orders, and in return, raffled off six baskets filled with goodies. Santa Margarita’s third annual Open House, held on Sunday, October 16th, was a huge success! Several hundred middle school students and their families toured the school and were entertained by the Band and Color Guard. I joined one of the tour groups with my eighth grader and was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the professionalism of our guide and by the number of faculty in attendance in their classrooms. It’s just another confirmation for me of all that is good at our school and I am so excited for my eighth grader to begin SM next year. Kudos to all who participated for a job well done! By now all of you should have received the Safe Homes information. If you haven’t already done so, please send in your signed pledge cards. We will publish a list of Safe Homes participants in the fall and will update the list again in the spring. If your Pledge Card does not reach us before the fall publication, your name will be added in the spring. It was reported to us that underage drinking took place at recent Homecoming parties. These incidences were particularly upsetting, as these events occurred in the homes of Safe Homes families. Please take time to consider the seriousness of signing this Pledge Card. This is not simply asking you to sign one more form: it requires responsible thought and action from you, the parent. Drug and alcohol use are serious threats in our students’ lives. We all need to work together to prevent problems before they occur. Please take time to look over the booklet, “A Parent’s Guide for the Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use.” It’s a wonderful reference tool and is set up so that you have the information you need at your fingertips. It is always better to stay informed and keep our teens as safe as possible. SAFE OR UNSAFE HOMES? Did You Call? Here are some suggestions to follow when allowing your student to attend a school party: * Call, Call, Call and speak to an adult. * Ask if the party will be chaperoned by adults. * Ask what time the party will end. When hosting a party: * Be prepared to receive parent calls. * Do not permit "crashers.” * Be a visible host/hostess. Let us work together to keep our students safe! MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Tuesday, June 6, 2006 The third annual Golf Marathon is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6, 2006. Once again, we are hosting the event at the spectacular Monarch Beach Golf Links. This spring there will be a General Meeting (date and location to be announced) for all interested participants. Information and incentives will be presented at this meeting as well as food and prizes. We urge our parents to spend June 6th with us at this beautiful golf course or sponsor a golfer. We also encourage Alumni students and parents to join the fun. Last year, Jeff Harris ‘91, Adam Hopp ‘04 and Tim Pierce ‘98 were highly successful players along with Alumni parents Art Sayles, Dan Congelliere and Phil Nasser. Call the Office of Administration at 949-766-6002 for more information. We wish you a very Happy and Blessed Holiday Season. Sincerely, Patty and Hal Brand Guild Co-Presidents 1414 www.smhs.org S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L Wow - life has been a whirlwind with all the happenings of school and Mothers Club. The fall was full of football, fall sports, band, freshmen retreat and of course, those college applications. Many of us were sitting on the sidelines cheering, volunteering at the events or trying not to pull out all our of hair over a college essay. Yet somehow the moms managed to enjoy a variety of activities and make a lot of new friends. Sydney Riccio and Kim Miller have brought our programs to life and enlightened us with a variety of topics. We covered the college process and then figured out what new traditions to start for the holidays or how to survive the traditions that we somehow can’t evade. For the spring semester they have much more up their sleeves and I hope you will attend a meeting and see what they have put together for you. The annual Halloween Hoot was a smash as always. Again we putted our way around the greens and found our way to the food. The costumes were all on the dashing side, from the Lucy’s to the “housewives” to those ladies from the 80’s. The crayons made sure they colored our world and then the blind mice found their way just in time for lunch. That of course only mentions a few of the outfits (mostly because I ran out of cute puns). Linda & Annette did a fabulous job putting the event together. Christy Graniere was in charge of the Mothers Club table at the annual SM Christmas Boutique and made sure we had time to shop as well as man the table. As if that wasn’t enough, she rounded us all up to start our holiday shopping in Carlsbad and then enjoy a scrumptious lunch. She is laying the ground work for more social events. The spring will bring another trip to the races. Come to the meetings and find out all the details. Remember you have to sign up for the events and they fill up quickly. MOTHERS CLUB/GENERAL news IF YOU’RE NOT PRAYING FOR YOUR CHILD, WHO IS? Moms In Touch International for SMCHS invites you to join us in prayer for our school. WHAT IS MOMS IN TOUCH? Moms In Touch International is two or more moms who meet for one hour each week to pray for their children, their schools, their teachers, staff and administrators. Moms who believe that prayer makes a difference. WHO IS IT FOR? Any mom with a heart to pray for her SMCHS student. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? Our purpose is to pray! To pray for our sons and daughters who attend SMCHS as well as the teachers and the school administration and staff. We want them to know they are valued and that we appreciate all their time and work on behalf of our children. HOW DOES MOMS IN TOUCH DIFFER FROM OTHER PRAYER GROUPS? Our prayer time is based on a conversational format called the Four Steps of Prayer: Praise, Silent Confession, Thanksgiving, and Intercession. We are devoted to praying in one accord, interceding on behalf of our children. The SMCHS Moms In Touch group meets weekly on campus in the Birtcher Chapel on Thursday mornings from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. All SM moms are welcome. No previous prayer experience needed! For more information, please call: Sue Prietto 714-730-0919 or svpmit@cox.net Isabel Bloom 949-581-5525 or isabelita2@cox.net ATTENTION PARENTS The Holiday High Tea is sure to be a success. Marla Arthur and Marcia Feucht have outdone themselves and the event will make us all feel as if we are at the Plaza having tea with the queen. The Holiday High Tea is taking place on two days this year due to the popularity of the event. The Holiday High Tea is one of our traditions that is so special to Mothers Club and starts our busy holiday season off in grand fashion. In the spring we will have several functions that you won’t want to miss. There will be another cooking class that will be sure to dazzle our taste buds. For Lent we will have a special retreat at the Mission San Juan that will encompass a day of reflection. Our year will end on our grandest note, our Fashion Show which is set for Sunday, May 7, 2006 at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach. We will be giving out a lot of information on all of these events at our upcoming monthly meetings. Remember, we have moved our meetings to the Bell Tower in RSM (it’s across from the movie theater). Please come and hear what we are up to. You are all a part of Mothers Club and we are here for you! You can join at any time or at least come keep us company and find out what you have been missing. Happy Holidays and may 2006 bring you all you hope for! Gail Nichols Mothers Club President 949-766-5996 http://www.smhs.org/about/Parents/Mothers_Club/welcome.htm S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L A number of websites have recently developed that allow young people to post information and pictures about themselves. An example of such a website is myspace.com. The information on this website often includes personal information such as a picture, the school the student attends, where he/she lives, names of their friends and e-mail or instant message contacts. Please take a few minutes to talk to your son or daughter about the potential dangers in posting personal information on the web. In this day and age, we all need to protect our identity: • Never share a photo online. • Never post your own personal information online. • Never allow friends to put private information or photos of you on a website. • Never agree to meet someone who contacted you from a website. In addition, students need to be aware that they are responsible for the good name of SMCHS. Any student who brings discredit to him/herself and/or SMCHS through any unethical, immoral or unlawful activity outside of school is subject to school consequences since these behaviors are contrary to the philosophy and mission of Catholic education. Remind your child that the internet is open to everyone. There is no way to be sure the person accessing the information isn’t a child molester, burglar or kidnapper. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 15 GENERAL news SMCHS COVERLETS MAKE GREAT GIFTS! The SMCHS coverlet, created by Mill Street Designs, captures the beauty of our campus and depicts Our Lady of Joy, the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that resides in our Strader Grotto, and many of our school’s most significant buildings. A coverlet is on display in the front office. At $45.00 each (additional $7.00 to have the coverlet shipped anywhere in the Continental United States), the 100% cotton, two-layer jacquard coverlet is preshrunk, colorfast and machine washable. Not only is it handsome and practical, but it makes the perfect gift for family members near and far. Proceeds benefit the Academic Boosters and the Teacher Classroom Enhancement Grant Program. To purchase your coverlet, stop by the Reception Desk or mail your check payable to SMCHS in the amount of $45.00 ($52.00 if being shipped to an alternate address). Include your name, address, phone number and indicate alternate mailing address, if applicable. Call the front desk at 766-6000, Ext.0. MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE ON TUITION Albertson’s, Sav-On and Ralph’s Grocery stores have discontinued their paper scrip program, however, they have replaced it with another program that is easier and more convenient! You may register your Albertson’s Preferred Savings Card at the front desk of SMCHS in person or you may e-mail your name, card number, phone number and the name of the SMCHS student to receive your credit to HassenC@SMHS.org. Albertsons will donate back to the school quarterly a percentage (up to $250/month = 1%; $250-$450/month = 2%; $400-$500 = 3% and over $500/month = 4%) of your purchases from Albertsons and Sav-On which we will split with you; half to the school’s operating fund and half to your student’s tuition, sport or club. You may register your Ralph’s Club Card at the front desk of SMCHS or via e-mail as above to also receive credit for your student’s tuition, sport or club. Please provide the student’s name, the card number, mailing address and phone number of the card holder. Your Ralph’s purchases will be tracked by your club card usage and a percentage of your purchases ($0-$500/month = 4% and over $500/month = 5%) will be donated back to the school quarterly which we will also split with you. Register your credit cards/ATM cards at www.escrip.com and when you use those cards to make purchases at eScrip vendors listed on their website, a percentage of your purchases will be donated back to the school and we will also split that percentage with you. Please make sure that you update the credit card expiration dates with eScrip so they can continue to track your purchases. Obtain even more credit by registering family and friends’ cards, also! IMPORTANT: Please remember to notify us of their name(s) so we can give the credit to your student. Call Catherine Hassen at (949) 766-6004 or e-mail HassenC@SMHS.org with any questions. HELP! MISSING ALBERTSONS INFORMATION! If you have registered your Albertsons card in the Community Partners Program and designated SMCHS to receive your credit, please check your card number to see if one of the following card numbers belongs to you or someone you registered: 42555121525, 42555117789, 42570155895, 42574940451, 42572993266 Also, we are not able to match the following supporters to a SMCHS student: Anna Cuterrer – 42571770072 Mike Gentaf – 42570786765 Raina M. Goff – 42555147791 Vaughn – 42532052276 These names and numbers are listed on the quarterly Albertsons’ report, however, we are not able to apply the credit to any SMCHS student’s tuition account, sport or club. If one of these names or numbers belongs to you, please call or e-mail Catherine Hassen at 949-766-6004 or HassenC@SMHS.org 1616 www.smhs.org BUSINESS OFFICE NEWS The Business Office would like to wish all of our families a blessed Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that we are nearly half way through the school year! At this time we would like to thank all of you who are making your tuition payments in a timely manner. Those of you who may have encountered some difficulty in making your tuition payments when they are due are asked to please contact the Business Office so that a payment plan can be worked out. Please be reminded that your monthly payments are due on the first of every month and are considered late after 4 p.m. on the 10th of the month. Monthly tuition began on July 1, 2005 and will conclude on April 1, 2006. If you are on the Semi-Annual Payment Plan, your second half yearly payment is due on January 1, 2006 and will be considered late after 4pm on the 10th of January. There is a $10 late fee that will automatically be charged to your tuition account if your payment is not received in the Business Office by 4 p.m. on the 10th of the month. There are no exceptions. Also, it is very important that you tear off the top portion of your statement to return to the Business Office with your payment. If you need to discuss your tuition payment please contact the Business Office at 949-766-6051 during regular business hours. LET SCRIP MAKE GIFT-GIVING JOYFUL & EASY! Great Gifts, Stocking Stuffers, Corporate Gifts, plus there is Scrip for every age group! Scrip Certificates & Cards are perfect to mail to family & friends. No waiting in long lines at the Post Office with heavy boxes! “These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things:” South Coast Plaza Macys Nordstrom Starbucks Coffee Claim Jumper Restaurants Borders Books Shell & Exxon Mobil Gas Cards Check our website at www.smhs.org, click About SMCHS, click Parent Information, then click Scrip for a complete list that you can print and keep with you! S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DEVELOPMENT news CHRISTOPHER CVENGROS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP On Sunday, December 15, 1996, Christopher Cvengros, a junior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School drowned in a free diving (diving without the aid of scuba tanks) accident in Laguna Beach. He was an active member of the Mariner Sea Scouts for five years and enthusiastically enjoyed boating and diving. The family and friends of Christopher Cvengros endowed a memorial scholarship in his name, which provides tuition assistance to SMCHS juniors and seniors each year. Students either apply or are nominated by a member of the SMCHS faculty or staff and are then hand-selected by the Cvengros family based on their applications. In the scholarship’s nine year history, $49,807 has been distributed in tuition assistance to 39 SMCHS students. Congratulations to the 2005-2006 winners of the Christopher Cvengros Memorial Scholarship: Jeremy Collins Caitrin Connolly Michael Driscoll Luke Pezanoski (not pictured) Laura Spurlock Tracey Stromberg Attention all parents involved in SMCHS Booster Club Activities. Please make sure to notify the Development Office of ALL donations given to a particular sport or club so that we can ensure all donors are receiving proper recognition for their lifetime giving to SMCHS. For more information or if you have questions on specific procedures involved with donations, please contact the Development Office at 949-766-6080. TUITION ASSISTANCE Want to help a family in need? Each year over 200 SMCHS families receive Tuition Assistance. With your help, we could give so much more! To help offset the tuition of a deserving SMCHS student, please make a donation to the Tuition Assistance fund today. Contact the Office of Development at 949-766-6080 for more information. EMPTIES 4 CASH Michael Driscoll Santa Margarita Catholic High School participates in a recycling and fundraising program with the help of a recycling company called Empties4Cash. Please bring the empty cartridges, secured in a sealed plastic bag, to school and put them in the collection box located in the Front Office. SMCHS will be reimbursed for each empty inkjet cartridge that has a print head. We need cartridges from all of the following brands of printers that have print heads: HP, Lexmark, Xerox, Compaq, Samsung, Kodak, Canon (not BCI), Apple. From left to right: Jeremy Collins, Caitrin Connolly, Brother Lawrence Monroe, Tracey Stromberg and Laura Spurlock sit in front of the Christopher Cvengros Memorial Tree and Plaque located in front of the Birtcher Chapel. No Epson, Laser Toners or Canon BCI cartridges, please! Find the December 2005, January 2006 and February 2006 school calendars online at http://www.smhs.org/Calendar/index.html S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L BOOSTER CLUB DONATIONS Thank you in advance for helping us recycle ink cartridges and participating in this fundraising program. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail Catherine Hassen at 949-766-6004 or HassenC@SMHS.org. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 17 VALENTASIA news Dear Parent or Friend of SMCHS: Valentasia 2006 As you have hopefully heard by now, we at Santa Margarita Catholic High School are currently gearing up for our 16th Annual Benefit Gala, Valentasia! This year’s event will be held at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. This is a new venue for Valentasia and we are looking forward to another successful event as we celebrate “Sweet Sixteen.” This year’s event will be held on February 11, 2006. The purpose of this letter is to ask you to make a donation that will enhance our silent or live auction at Valentasia 2006. If you are wondering what this entails, here are some examples of items that we are looking for. Remember, even if you don’t have personal access to these kinds of items, you might know of a friend or local business that does and we are looking for your help in soliciting those people as well. Here is an abbreviated “Wish List” for our auction: lVacation packages including private homes, hotels, airfare, spa packages, golf packages, theatre tickets, unique experiences, and more! lTickets to sporting events, cultural events, Emmy or Grammy Awards shows, concerts, or other events happening locally or that could be paired with a limo ride or airfare for a mini getaway! lAccess to one-of-a-kind items, such as custom made furniture, clothing, art, jewelry etc. lGift certificates to local restaurants, spas, golf courses, nail salons, hair salons, etc. lOnce-in-a-lifetime opportunities, such as behind-the-scenes tours, the opportunity to appear in a television show as an “extra”, back stage passes, celebrity meetings, private dinners, etc. lSports memorabilia, autographed items, tickets to college or professional sporting events, etc. lAny other creative items you can think of! As a donor to our auction, you (or your company) will be recognized in the Valentasia program as well as at the event. This is an exciting time to support Valentasia because your donation will support our current Capital Campaign to complete our campus. Though we are blessed with a beautiful campus here at SMCHS, we are lacking several crucial facilities. For example, we have over 200 families involved in our aquatics program and we do not have a pool on campus. Also, many of our classrooms as well as athletic and performing arts facilities are currently being housed in temporary structures. We have recently updated our Master Plan and are now working toward completing our campus, which includes building an aquatic center, a new classroom building, a new athletic building and a performing arts center. All proceeds from Valentasia will be designated to this campaign. Our campaign goal is over $20 million and, with your support, Valentasia can help us reach that goal. With your help we can accomplish the goals of our Founders and COMPLETE OUR CAMPUS! To make a donation, please complete and return the donation form and the committee will make arrangements to pick up the donation at your convenience. Or, you can drop off the form and the item at any time to the Development Office at SMCHS. Cash donations are welcome too and can be designated to Valentasia. We hope to have 100% parent participation! Valentasia is the only fundraiser on campus that benefits our school as a whole. Your participation will directly impact each student here at SMCHS. On behalf of Santa Margarita Catholic High School, we thank you in advance for your consideration. Should you have questions or need additional information please don’t hesitate to contact the SMCHS Development Office at (949) 766-6080. In Eagle Spirit, Megan Meihaus, Director of Development Linda and David Birck, Valentasia Chair Couple Brenda and Rick Hertel, Valentasia Co-Chair Couple 1818 www.smhs.org Opportunity Drawing WIN FREE TUITION OR $5,000 CASH! Tickets are $50 each or $200 for 5 tickets. l Odds are great! Limited amount of tickets sold! l Winner will receive a check for $5,000 in Spring 2006 or tuition will be credited to your account in Fall 2006. l Winner will be announced at Valentasia. l l Winner need not be present. Tickets will sell out fast! Don’t miss this exciting opportunity! Winning either prize is a taxable event and is subject to income tax withholding requirements issued by the Internal Revenue Service. Tuition will be credited at the current Catholic Rate ($7,850 value). Contact the SMCHS Development Office for more information: 949-766-6080 development@smhs.org SMCHS Tax ID: 33-023-5681 S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L BUILDING CAMPAIGN As we prepare for our Capital Campaign at SMCHS, we would like to address some FAQ’s... SMCHS CAPITAL CAMPAIGN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: What is the timeline for this Campaign? A: We have received permission from the Diocese to raise funds publicly for an extended amount of time, until December of 2007. We are currently interviewing professional counsel to assist with the fundraising. We hope to officially kick-off the campaign in early 2006. Our goal is to break ground for the construction of Phase I in June 2006. Q: Does the Diocese support this Capital Campaign? A: Yes, the Diocese is in support of this Campaign, but they will not contribute financially to the Campaign. SMCHS will contribute some of our savings to the campaign. Q: If I donate to the Parent Pledge Program, will it count toward the Campaign? A: Yes, all Parent Pledge Program contributions will be designated toward the Capital Campaign. Q: Does my support of Valentasia 2006 count toward the Campaign? A: Yes, all funds raised through Valentasia 2006 will be designated toward the Capital Campaign. Even by attending Valentasia or donating an auction item, you are supporting the Campaign. Q: How do I make a gift to the Campaign? A: Gifts of all sizes are welcome and appreciated. Gifts can be made by check (payable to SMCHS), credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) or stock (call (949) 766-6078 for information on transferring stock). Remember, your company might have a matching gift program that can double your contribution… make sure to ask! Q: Can I make a pledge to the Campaign instead of an outright gift? A: Yes, pledges are encouraged as they allow individuals and families to consider larger commitments than they could ordinarily make with a one-time gift. Pledges are typically made over a 3-5 year payment period in monthly, weekly or yearly installments. Q: Can I designate my Campaign gift to a specific area? A: We encourage unrestricted gifts to the Campaign so we may direct them to the areas of greatest need. Q: Will there be naming opportunities associated with this Campaign? A: Yes, specific naming opportunities are available. If you wish to discuss this in further detail, please contact us at (949) 766-6078. Q: What donor benefits will I receive for my gift to the Campaign? A: All gifts to the Campaign will be added to your cumulative level of lifetime giving at SMCHS. Please see the Development webpage at www.smhs.org for more information. SMCHS Phase I Q: To what extent are gifts to this Campaign tax-deductible? A: Gifts to the Campaign are tax-deductible as allowed by law, which varies with individual financial circumstances. Contact your attorney or financial consultant with specific questions. Q: Who do I contact to if I have further questions about the Campaign? A: Please direct all questions to Megan Meihaus, Director of Development (949) 766-6078 or meihausm@smhs.org S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 19 ALUMNI news WELCOME TO OUR ALUMNI EDITION OF WINTER WINGS! The months sure do fly by quickly, as it feels like we just mailed the summer edition of Wings, but yet here it is time for the winter one. We hope you enjoy reading the alumni section as much as we enjoy putting it together. We always have so much fun reaching out to all of you, catching up on your news and creating fun ways to keep you informed about Santa Margarita and each other. We truly feel that Santa Margarita is a “family” and that is our theme in this edition. So, enjoy your Alumni issue of Wings! As always, send us your comments, suggestions, updates and photos. Contact Michele Papay in the Alumni Office at 949-766-6000, ext. 1511 or alumni@smhs.org Not a day goes by that we don’t hear some news about one of our alumni and we want to hear about YOU! We are so proud of all of our former Eagles! ALUMNI GIVING We now have almost 5,500 alumni! The 2004-2005 Annual Report was recently mailed to those alumni who made a donation during that fiscal year. However, we wanted to share the donor list with all of you. As SMCHS is approaching our 20th anniversary in 2007, we feel we are now at the exciting time when many of our alumni are in the position to give back to Santa Margarita through their time, talent and treasure. We have already received some significant charitable contributions from our alumni and we’d like to thank those of you who have been generous with your support. MASTERS: $2,500 - $4,999 Sheila (Peyrebrune) '93 & Robert Stiles BACHELORS: $1,000 - $2,499 Jeffrey Harris '91 SENIOR: $500 - $999 Ten Year Reunion Chairs Tiffany (Blackburn) King ‘95 and Joleen Austin ‘95. Read about the Ten Year Reunion on page 21. Lisa Gantz and Bryan Kretzmer are one of many Eagle Alumni who have returned to teach at SMCHS. Read about all Eagle Alumni on campus on page 22. Darci Dutton '93 Dori Dutton '94 John '91 & Stacie Mc Keehan JUNIOR: $250 - $499 Michelle Rockwood, Ashley Howe & Carly Draudt attended the Five Year Reunion. Read about the Five Year Reunion on page 21. SAVE THE DATE FOR FUTURE EVENTS Girls Soccer Annual Alumni Game - Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at 2 p.m. Boys Soccer Annual Alumni Game - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 at Noon Valentasia 2006 – Saturday, February 11, 2006 (alumni attend at half price) Lady Eagles Softball Alumni Game - Saturday February 18, 2006 at 10 a.m. Boys Volleyball Annual Alumni Game – Friday, May 13, 2006 Mothers Club Fashion Show – Sunday, May 7, 2006 – Fairmont Hotel 2006 Eagle Classic Golf Marathon – Tuesday, June 6, 2006 For more information on upcoming events, be sure to visit www.smhs.org/alumni Brian Buckley '92 Kelly Doyle '01 Patrick '94 & Dana Strader SOPHOMORE: $100- $249 Drew '97 & Lauren (Owens) Bordages '97 Melissa Wetherbee '98 & Alex Bovee Ashley (Kweder) '98 & Bill Branch James "Barry" Hawkins '95 Scott Hitzeman '05 Adam Hopp '04 Jason Lee '97 David Mc Cullagh '99 Aishling Mc Cullagh '01 Michelle Mc Cullagh '00 Brian '96 & Megan (Strader) Meihaus '97 Kelley O'Halloran '97 Linda (Mc Cullagh) '98 & Stephen Pelligreen Timothy Pierce '98 FRESHMAN: $1 - $99 Paul Bretag '92 Alicia Sayles '00 UPCOMING CLASS REUNIONS Class of 2001 Five Year Reunion – Saturday, July 8, 2006 Class of 1996 Ten Year Reunion – Saturday, July 22, 2006 Brian Meihaus ‘96 - Ten Year Reunion Chair Note: As with any publication, we try our best to have all the facts and spelling correct. We apologize if we overlooked anyone who sent information to us for this issue of WINGS and for any errors that may have occurred in this publication. Thank you for your understanding. 2020 www.smhs.org S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ALUMNI GIVING PROGRAM Donor Benefits and Recognition Levels FRESHMAN $1 - $99 Name Recognition in the SMCHS Annual Report, in Wings and on our website. Invitations to all SMCHS Development Office special events. SOPHOMORE $100 - $249 Two free tickets to the SMCHS homecoming game** and benefits listed above. JUNIOR $250 - $499 Season pass to all SMCHS home games** and benefits listed above. SENIOR $500 - $999 One free ticket to SMCHS’ Benefit Gala, Valentasia**. Recognition on the Honor Roll of Donors in Lyon Hall and benefits listed above. BACHELORS $1,000 - $2,499 Invitation to Principal’s Eagle Court Dinner* and benefits listed above. MASTERS $2,500 - $4,999 Special thank you gift* and benefits listed above. DOCTORATE $5,000 AND ABOVE Permanent recognition on campus and benefits listed above. *This benefit is awarded only during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30) in which the level is achieved. ** This benefit is awarded in the year following the fiscal year the level was achieved. SMCHS is embarking upon a Capital Campaign to complete our campus! Additional information on how you can get involved will be coming soon. Please see page 19 for more information. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ALUMNI news CLASS OF 1995 AND CLASS OF 2000 ENJOY SUMMER REUNIONS! July is a month for getting together with former classmates with over 300 students attending the summer reunions. The Class of 2000 reunited for their Five Year Reunion on July 9, 2005 at Dave & Buster’s in the Irvine Spectrum and the Class of 1995 attended their Ten Year Reunion on July 23, 2005 at the Westin Hotel–South Coast Plaza. There were lots of hugs, bursts of laughter and cameras flashing as the classmates were busy all night reuniting with friends. During both events, the classmates were transported back to their high school days while watching their Grad Night senior videos. These videos sparked funny, fond and sentimental emotions! Each classmate at the Ten Year Reunion received a Memory Book which was made up of personal “This is Me Now” pages. These pages were submitted by the students with current information, photos and personal memories from their high school experience. Also, four couples at the Class of 1995 reunion were married alumni who met their prospective spouses at SMCHS. Ten Year Reunion Chairs Tiffany (Blackburn) King and Joleen Austin worked hard to help create a fun evening. If you ask anyone who attended, they will tell you that both nights were a wonderful success! We look forward to the Class of 1996 and Class of 2001 celebrating their reunions in July of 2006. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 21 ALUMNI news ALUMNI & ALUMNI PARENTS WORKING AT SMCHS Santa Margarita Catholic High School means something different and special to each one of us! But one thing we know is that SMCHS truly does become your “family”, whether you were a student here or a parent of a student, or for that matter, even a grandparent of a student. We recently did some research to see just how many SM alumni and alumni and/or current parents have now joined the “work forces” of Santa Margarita. The numbers are IMPRESSIVE! We came up with 46 alumni and 61 parents who now work at the school as faculty, staff or coaches. Wow ~ We truly are a family! Enjoy some photos of just a few of the many who now collect their paychecks from Santa Margarita instead of (or along with) paying tuition to them! ALUMNI EMPLOYEES Lisa Gantz ‘99 and Brian Kretzmer ‘99 Corey Lindabury ’93 Dana (Woods) Maas ’92 Scott McIntosh ‘94 Erin (Zeitler) Meserve ’99 Angela (Martinez) Di Piero ’95 2222 www.smhs.org Jennifer Angel ’01 - Varsity Song Coach Lauren (Owens) Bordages ’97 - Community Relations John Byszewski ’91 - Security/Asst. Football Coach Heather Casey ’01 - JV Cheer Coach Jon Castillo ’05 - Football Asst. Coach Brandon Cosenza ’92 - Spanish Teacher/Surf Coach Tim Dean ’00 - Substitute Teacher Angela (Martinez) Di Piero ’95 - Visual Arts Teacher Patrick Eaton ’04 - Frosh/Soph Boys & JV Girls Volleyball Coach Andrew Ferraro ’04 - Boys Basketball Freshman Coach Hayes Ferry ’91 - Spanish Teacher/ Girls Track & Field & Cross Country Byron Foss ’98 - Boys Soccer Assistant Coach Erick Foss ’01 Boys Soccer Assistant Coach Lisa Gantz ’00 - Religion Teacher Mike Guevara ’91 - Girls Basketball Asst. Coach Jeff Haig ’91 - Math Teacher Lacie Harsh ’95 - JV Cheer Coach Jessica Jones ’05 - Girls Swimming & Girls Water Polo Asst. Coach Bryan Kretzmer ’00 - Religion Teacher & Boys Basketball JV Asst. Coach Corey Lindabury ’93 - Visual Arts Teacher & Audio/Visual Technology Mike Lopez ’04 - Football Asst. Coach Dana (Woods) Maas ’92 - Pep Squad Advisor, Varsity Cheer Aaron Maldonado ’94 - Boys Basketball Freshman Coach Scott McIntosh ‘94 - Social Studies Teacher, Football Asst. Coach Megan (Strader) Meihaus ’97 - Director of Development Erin (Zeitler) Meserve ’99 - Boys Track & Field/Boys Cross Country Asst. Coach Shane Mielke ’91 - Football Asst. Coach Erin Miller ’00 - Girls Tennis Asst. Coach Shannon O'Connor ’05 - Girls Basketball Asst. Coach Blake Oldfield ’99 - Boys Basketball Asst. Coach Kristina Pacek ’01 - Substitute Teacher Mary Katherine (Heim) Patterson ’99 - JV Song Coach Melanie Petersen ’98 - Varsity Cheer Coach Tim Pierce ’98 - Boys Soccer Assistant Coach Paige Prescott ’94 - English Teacher Tim Renden ’05 - Boys Water Polo & Boys Swimming Asst. Coach Alisa Rodriguez ’04 - Girls Swimming & Girls Water Polo Asst. Coach Alicia Sayles ’00 - Substitute Teacher & Girls Swimming Asst. Coach John Shannon ’05 - Boys Soccer Assistant Coach Jeff Stube ’92 - Drama Teacher Steve Tashjian ’98 - Boys Basketball Sophomore Asst. Coach Quincey Trigillo ’97 - Counseling Secretary/Senior Affairs Valerie Van Leuven ’01 - Frosh/Soph Girls Volleyball Coach Mary Wesierski ’05 - JV Cheer Coach Alyson Wysocki ’03 - Girls Basketball Asst. Coach Sean Zeitler ’01 - Boys Cross Country Asst. Coach Lauren Bordages ‘97 and Megan Meihaus ‘97 Brandon Cosenza ‘92 Jeff Stube ‘92 Blake Oldfield ‘99 and Quincey Trigillo ‘97 Aaron Maldonado ’94 John Byszewski ’91 S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L CURRENT/ALUMNI PARENT OR GRANDPARENT EMPLOYEES Michele Papay and Claudia Nieves Michael Woods Estela Riela Mary Redwitz, Lorraine Binsfield and Chris Rodda Lucia Wooley and her “girls” Dave Zeitler Jim Nielsen Diane Weaver, Cindy Cunha, Sao Padayachee and Eileen Rodriguez Lesley Carroll and Kim McGrath Andrea Aldridge - Football Administrative Assistant Lyn Alexander - IB Coordinator/English Teacher Kathy Baker - Admin/Personnel Geraldine Balser - Counseling Secretary Adrienne Beattie - ASP Learning Specialist Lorraine Binsfield - Business Office Betty Boscarini - Human Resources Fran Campbell - AP Coordinator/Mentor Teacher Lesley Carroll - Food Service Kathleen Casey - Food Service Jo-Ann Clogg - Receptionist Cindy Cunha - IB Secretary Liliana Doffo - Spanish Teacher Cheryl Dopudja - Admissions Assistant John Fitzpatrick - Dean & Softball Varsity Coach Carol Gabbert - Bookstore Manager Doris Gatfield - Math Teacher/Department Coordinator Anne Goudreau - Administrative Secretary Janice Guarneri - Food Service Terry Harris - Asst. Activities Director Jill Hegna - Girls JV Golf Coach Jamie Heim - Campus Ministry Retreats Nancy Keane - English Teacher Karen Kneisel - Science Teacher Cathy Koenig - Administrative Secretary/Athletics Rita Leiter - Activities/Campus Ministry Secretary Peter Leonard - Information Technology Colleen Livingston - Food Service Judy Luttrell - WASC Coordinator/English Teacher Mary Manese - ASP Program Coordinator Christy Maxey - ASP Learning Specialist Liz May - Library Kim McGrath - Food Service Pam Moen - Administrative Secretary/Athletics Meredith Moody - Visual Arts Department Coordinator Margie Mosman - Registrar Jim Nielsen - Religion Teacher Claudia Nieves - Development Secretary Micaela Norris - On-Call Employee Sao Padayachee - Food Service Mary Paez - Math Teacher Michele Papay - Alumni Coordinator Jim Poettgen - Boys Track Assistant Coach Mary Quaresma - Bookstore Mike Ramoska - Boys Track Assistant Coach Mary Redwitz - Business Office Randy Redwitz - Business Manager Estela Riela - Spanish Teacher Chris Rodda - Business Office Eileen Rodriguez - School Nurse Joanne Sarkees - Copy Center Kathy Shafranske - Visual Arts Teacher Nancy Shearon - English Teacher Carol Smith - Math Teacher Michelle Stout - ASP Secretary Diane Weaver - Food Service Dave Weinberg - Performing Arts/Band Director Michael Woods - Social Studies Teacher Lucia Wooley - Performing Arts Department Chair Greg Young - Social Studies Teacher Dave Zeitler - Science Teacher/Boys Track & Field/Boys Cross Country S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L DECEMBER ALUMNI news ANOTHER SANTA MARGARITA SWEETHEART STORY: In the summer edition of Wings, we highlighted a few of our Santa Margarita Sweetheart stories. Our list of alums marrying alums is continually growing. From time to time, we will share more of the fun stories of how and when they knew their classmate was also their soul mate! Below is the just one more from the long list of romantic tales. Our list is at 34 couples and growing! Allie (Moffatt) Brennan ‘98 and Daniel Brennan ’98 as told by Allie: "We met our summer going into senior year at PE (physical education) summer school!! Danny was a soccer player and I was very lazy. That day I was faking a sprained ankle so I would not have to run the mile the first day of class. I mean, who wants to run at 7 a.m. in the summer?! Anyhow, Danny came up to me and asked if I was ok, and I said, "yeah, just a sprained ankle" (wink-wink). After that day, he started calling me non-stop. When school started, he asked me to Homecoming and that was that. After SMCHS, we went to the University of San Diego together in the fall of 1998. We got engaged after we graduated in 2002 and were married on March 6, 2004. After the wedding, Daniel moved me out to "HOTlanta" (Atlanta). Danny has been working as a Project Manager for General Electric for three years. I work for a mortgage company in secondary marketing and we are still living in Georgia.” 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 23 ALUMNI news Years may pass, but the friendships continue long after graduation. From Boston to Alaska, Eagle Alumni and Friends spent the summer and fall months together across the country! 1. Notre Dame Wedding: SM friends reunited at Allison Henisey's wedding including Patrick Fisher '97, Math Teacher Carol Smith, Brooke Fitzgerald '98, Rebecca Roy '98, Allison Henisey '98, Nick Mosich '98, Kari Williams '98, and Gina Gajdos '98. (See write up in Class Updates section.) 1 2 2. Halloween in Boston: Class of 2000 alumni Lisa Gantz, Cara Shiel, Bryan Kretzmer & Craig Smith enjoy a night out in Boston. Bryan & Lisa have returned for a second year of teaching in SM's Religion Department. 3. Forever Friends: Jessica Riela ‘02, Cara Ferragamo ‘02, Venessa Ferragamo ‘00 and Jordana Riela ’00 get together at the USC vs. Notre Dame game in October. The girls have been friends since they were three-years-old. They all attended pre-school at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac in Tustin and SMCHS together. 4. Alumni Cheer: Class of 2005 graduates Mandy Graniere, Jessica DeFilippo, Nicole Jurinek, Briana Wolfsmith, Danielle Johnson and Brittney Campbell came back to SM to celebrate their first Alumni Homecoming. 3 4 5. Katie Keane’s wedding: Class of '94 alumni - Patty Arjun, Leslie Nolan, Katie Keane, Stacey Clements, Jodi (Julian) Cerrutti and Jaime Donnelly at Katie Keane's wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on July 9, 2005. (See write up in Class Updates section.) 6. Halloween Hoot: Fun was had by all at the Mothers Club Annual Halloween Hoot Golf Tournament including all these alumni moms who have had at least one student already graduate from SMCHS. 7. Anne Harper’s Birthday: SMCHS Mothers Club Alumni reunite for a surprise birthday party for Anne Harper! 8. Alaska Get Together: SMCHS Visual Art Department Coordinator, Meredith Moody, recently visited Sarah Steenblock ’97 at her home in Homer, Alaska. (See write up in Class Updates section.) LOOK FOR A WRITE UP ON THE GIFT OF THE HEART TOURNAMENT which was held on Friday, November 25, 2005 in the summer edition of Wings! 2424 www.smhs.org 8 6 5 7 SALUTE TO OUR MILITARY ALUMNI Thanks so much for continuing to contact us about our alumni in the Military. We are sure there are still more of you out there that are not on our list so drop an email to the Alumni Office. Right now our numbers are at 60 and still growing and we are so proud of all of you! As we do with our “Santa Margarita Sweetheart” stories, we will continue to highlight our military stories in the future. In this issue, be sure to read our Class Updates to find out about some of our alumni in the military! S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L CLASS OF 1991 Patrick Keane ‘91 is a stand up comedian/writer living in Los Angeles. He performs at clubs and colleges all across the country. You can see him at the Irvine Improv in the Irvine Spectrum the last Tuesday night of every month. Danielle (Dodge) Roedersheimer ’91 and her husband, Jeff, welcomed their daughter, Abigail Grace, into the world on July 23, 2005. Danielle and her family reside in Irvine where she and Jeff are senior managers working for Accenture. CLASS OF 1992 James McGrath ’92 graduated from UC Berkeley in l997. He taught math here at Santa Margarita for two years and then went on to get his Masters in Philosophy at UCI. He then taught at Long Beach City College for two years before recently beginning his first year at UCLA Law School. At UCLA, James stays busy as the President of the Sports Law Federation, writing for the Woman's Law Journal and also playing soccer. Morgan Moody ’92 graduated from Boston University and then went on to receive two Master of Arts degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music. Morgan and his wife, Alexa, have been living overseas for the past two years. Morgan is performing with the Zurich Opera Company in Zurich, Switzerland and his wife, Alexa, has been performing children’s plays in Stuttgart, Germany. Morgan’s mom, Meredith Moody, has taught at SMCHS since 1988 and she and Morgan’s sisters, Travis ‘93 and Tracy ’96, hope to visit Morgan in summer 2006. Jeff '92 and Megan (Mc Millan) Stube ‘99 welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Lauren Theresa, into the world on July 19, 2005. She is a blessing to her parents and warms their hearts daily with her smiles and giggles. Lauren was a great early present for Jeff and Megan's two year anniversary, which they celebrated on August 9th. CLASS OF 1993 Jamee (York) Fontenot ’93 married Major Johnathan Fontenot, a 1995 US Air Force Academy graduate, on October 9, 2004. Johnathan is stationed at Hill Air Force Base as an F-16 pilot. Jamee is currently working as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. The couple is living in Utah. Mark '93 and Karly (Farris) Foster ‘98 have an adorable 15 month old daughter, Molly, who will become a “big sister” soon. Mark and Karly are expecting a son in February 2006. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ALUMNI news Noelle (Hawley) Hendrixson ’93 and her husband, Brad, proudly announced the birth of their beautiful daughter, Jane Louise, on October 11, 2005. Noelle and Brad have been married for two years and live in Dedham, Massachusetts. Jon McGrath ’93 graduated from Cal State Long Beach before going on to complete Law School at Cal Western in 2004. Jon recently passed the Bar exam in May 2005 and was officially sworn in as an esquire in October 2005. Jon will be starting his own law practice in Orange. Travis Moody ‘93 graduated from USC with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. Travis worked at Morgan Stanley in New York City for about three years and is now working for Credit Suisse, First Boston as an International Sales Assistant to the London Desk. Darci (Dutton) Reidmund ’93 was recently married to Todd Reimund. The wedding took place on October 15, 2005 at Auberge du Doleil in Napa and Dori Dutton ’94 was a bridesmaid for her sister. Darci graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Arts and received a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her husband, Todd, graduated from Cornell with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Darci and Todd enjoyed a month long honeymoon to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand and are residing in Palo Alto. CLASS OF 1994 Brandie M. Barrows ’94 graduated from UC Berkeley in 1998. As a junior, she followed her passion for law by working for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as an intern in Washington DC, and had the opportunity to meet individually with former Attorney General Janet Reno. At Berkeley, she continued lifeguarding, teaching swimming and practicing the martial arts. She competed with the UC Berkeley Tae Kwon Do team and served as the team captain. Brandie is currently a third degree black belt. After college, she completed her first year of law school at Northwestern on a scholarship. Realizing she was really a California girl, she returned and completed law school at the prestigious Boalt Hall Law School at UC Berkeley. While at law school, Brandie also taught a "Street Law" class for disadvantaged high school students in Oakland. Brandie is currently an associate attorney at Baker McKenzie Law Firm in San Francisco. She enjoys coaching, teaching and refereeing martial arts competitions and competing with her Dragon Boat team. Capt. Paul Ferguson '94 and family are finally settled in Seattle. Paul is currently working at a Boeing facility as the government's Program Integrator for both the C-32 and C-40 aircraft. However, he is looking forward to deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan in the near future. Paul’s wife, Nicole, recently finished a Master’s degree in Teaching, but she is staying at home with their son, Chandler, for the next few years. Nicole (Lamperis) Hanley '94 and Stephen Ferguson '96 joined in the celebration with Fr. Ken Schmit, Paul and Nicole at Chandler’s Baptism in June. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 25 ALUMNI news John Gunther ‘94 married Katharine Morrell on October 15, 2005 at El Niguel Country Club. Seven of John's groomsmen graduated from SMCHS with John in the Class of 1994.They were Ryan Bittner, John Budimlya, Steve Clements, Dave Grant, Bill James, Michael Jones and Dave Tarullo. John currently works in the mortgage business for Union Federal Bank in Laguna Niguel. Kate works for Iflo Corporation as the Marketing Manager. The couple met through their best friends six years ago and is now living in their home in Ladera Ranch. Nicole (Lamperis) Hanley ‘94 and her husband, Brett, are enjoying every moment with their son, Jack, who is now 15 months old. Nicole has taken a leave of absence from teaching kindergarten to stay home with Jack and absolutely loves it. Her husband’s business is doing well and they are very happy. Nicole also recently got her motorcycle license to ride with Brett and they are having tons of fun with many new adventures. Katie (Keane) Jackson ‘94 married Chad Jackson on July 9, 2005 in Jackson, Wyoming. Former SMCHS teacher, Father Martin Benzoni, performed the ceremony in a nuptial Mass in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in the breathtaking Grand Teton Park. Leslie Nolan '94 and Stacey Clements '94 were bridesmaids, and Patty Arjun '94, Jodi (Julian) Cerrutti '94 and Jaime Donnelly '94 also attended the wedding. A week of water rafting, hiking, mountain biking and exploring Yellowstone Park was enjoyed by all. Other alumni attending the wedding were Matt Nickels '96, Eric Brown '96, Kevin McNeil '96, Ryan Zalta '92, Chris Bodell '91 and brothers of the bride, Pat Keane '91 and Dennis Keane '96. Katie is Marketing Manager of Cloudveil Activewear, Inc. and Chad is Director of Photo Journalism at Teton Gravity Research. CLASS OF 1995 Court Holland ’95 former SMCHS JROTC Commander was married to Jennifer Grant on June 4, 2005 at the Old Post Chapel, Fort Myer, Virginia in a formal military wedding, complete with honor guard. The reception was held at The Top of the Town, with a magnificent view of all the Washington monuments. Court was serving as Chief, Bilateral Exercise/Operation Plans, Security Forces at Yokota Air Base in Japan where he met Jen, Special Agent for the Air Force, also working at Yokota Air Base. Among the wedding party, serving as honorary best man, was Lt. (JG) Andrew McKee ’98, United States Navy, former SMCHS JROTC Commander, currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Groomsmen included Kyle Alexander ’98 and Jason Castner ’96, also a former SMCHS JROTC Commander. Court was recently promoted to 2626 www.smhs.org Captain in the United States Air Force. He is currently Flight Commander of the 89th Security Forces Squadron, Andrews Air Force Base and is also finishing his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. His wife, Jennifer, is working in the field of counter terrorism at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and is also studying for her Masters Degree in Strategic Intelligence. Court and Jennifer are making their home in Kingstowne, VA. Matt Savant ’95 and his wife, Jennifer, recently welcomed a sweet little baby girl, Ainsley Elizabeth. Matt and Jen had a great time at Matt’s Ten Year Reunion in July which was actually Jen’s due date. Fortunately, Ainsley waited a few more days until July 28, 2005 to enter the world. Lisa Waggoner ’95 continues to work for Fox Studios where she is a Color Animator on the TV series, “The Simpsons,” where she won her first Prime Time Emmy Award. She also has been working on other upcoming animated feature films. Lisa also enjoys being a professional Belly Dancing Teacher and she currently lives in Los Angeles. CLASS OF 1996 Josh Farra ’96 and Erin Walsh ‘99 were engaged in October and will be married in October 2006. For more information and a photo, please see the update under Erin Walsh ’99. Robin (Miller) Rinaldi ’96 and her husband, Mike, welcomed another baby boy, Matthew Robert, into the world on June 3, 2005. Big brother, Michael, who is now two and a half, was thrilled with the new addition and often refers to his little brother as “his best friend.” Robin and Mike will celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary in April and are living with their two sons in Wynnewood, PA. Robin is currently employed as a Senior Sales Analyst with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Tracy (Moody) Skenandore ‘96 and her husband, Michael, have been married since 2002. Tracy graduated from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and is now working in mortgage banking. Tracy and Michael currently reside in Henderson, Nevada. CLASS OF 1997 Benjamin K. Griffin ‘97 received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2000, graduating with honors from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Completing his Juris Doctor degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 2004, Ben was licensed to practice law in California in June 2005. He is currently an Associate at Bois & Macdonald and resides in Irvine. Ben recently became engaged to Rachel Feldman, formerly of New Jersey. Rachel graduated from Biola University in 2002 and is currently a Doctor of Psychology student at Rosemead School of Psychology. Ben and Rachel are planning a wedding in March in Orange County. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L Kelley O’Halloran ’97 was recently engaged to Paul Stratton. Paul proposed at Kelley’s favorite restaurant in Laguna Beach on October 8, 2005. They're planning to wed in the winter of 2006 in Seattle, Washington. Megan (Strader) Meihaus ’97 and Brooke Martin ’95 will be Kelley’s attendants in the wedding. Jessica Pierog ’97 graduated from the Western University of Health Sciences Medical School in May 2005. She has recently started her Emergency Medicine residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania and loves it! There she will be training at one of the busiest level one trauma centers in the nation. If you can’t find her at the hospital, you can find her training for another marathon. Last year, Jessica qualified for the Boston Marathon and she hopes to get time off to run it! Katie (Ferguson) Rando ‘97 and her husband had been living in his home town of Curitiba, Brazil since the end of 2002. This July his job transferred him to Ribeirão Preto (a city in São Paulo state). They miss their family and friends in Curitiba (and in the USA!) but they love the new city, especially the year round warm weather! Their first child, Isabella, is due Jan 1, 2006. Her godmother, Caroline Staub ‘96, will be going to Brazil for her arrival and they can’t wait! Sarah Steenblock ’97 graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2001. Sarah has been living in Homer, Alaska for about two years on a home that overlooks a beautiful bay. She is currently working with special needs students in Homer. Recently Mrs. Meredith Moody from SMCHS and Sarah’s mom, Lindsay, went to Alaska for a visit. (See page 24.) Christopher Woodrell ‘97 graduated from Swarthmore in June 2001 and moved to New York. He has been working at Rockefeller University and is now a Lab Manager in a Structural Biology lab. In the lab they use biophysical techniques to look at the links between protein structure and human disease (e.g., cancer). Christopher has also done quite a bit of dancing in New York. This year's major projects have included dancing with a live, 40 voice choir singing Thomas Tallis' Spem in Alium at St. Mark's Church, and performing in a modified Cinderella with lots of real dough (yes, as in eggs and flour) on stage. Both received very good press! S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ALUMNI news CLASS OF 1998 Nicole (McDonald) Anido ‘98 married Vince Anido (Corona Del Mar High School ‘98) on August 6, 2005 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Newport Beach with the reception following at the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel. The two met at the University of Southern California. Nicole is currently pursuing a law degree and Vince is a film editor. The couple resides in Los Angeles. Other Santa Margarita alums who were members of the couple’s bridal party include Kristin Fowle ‘98, Dayna Nigohosian ‘98, Leasa Gouin ‘98 and Nicole’s brother, Sean McDonald ‘99. Ted Bowersox ’98 is an orthopedic medical device representative with Osteo-West Surgical, Inc., of La Jolla. Ted’s expertise lies in surgical implants used in joint replacement operations on the shoulder, elbow and hand. The implant components are used to repair finger and shoulder joints respectively. Through his career, Ted gets special satisfaction in helping patients acquire better health and quality of life. He also relishes sharing his product knowledge as he assists surgeons in the operating rooms of Orange County’s leading hospitals and surgical clinics. There’s no job he’d enjoy more as it’s “the perfect combination” of his primary interests: outside sales, medicine and advancements in technology. Ted is a 2002 graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with emphases in both Finance and Entrepreneurship. Single, enjoying life and living in San Juan Capistrano, Ted traveled earlier this year extensively in Europe visiting the French Riviera, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. Besides traveling and spending time with friends, Ted enjoys following the USC football dynasty. He would enjoy hearing from any of his former classmates or teachers. (See page 31on how to contact Ted or any other SMCHS alumni.) Allie (Moffatt) Brennan ‘98 and Daniel Brennan ’98 were married on March 6, 2004. See page 23 for a photo and another special story about “Santa Margarita Sweethearts”! Gina Cavalieri ’98 and Kevin Winters recently announced their engagement. Gina graduated from Loyola Marymount University and Kevin from the University of Colorado at Boulder. The couple met while living in Manhattan Beach, CA. A May 2006 wedding is planned at St. Edward’s in Dana Point, with the reception following at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel. Mark '93 and Karly (Farris) Foster ‘98 have an adorable 15 month old daughter, Molly. They are also expecting a son in February 2006. (See photo under Mark Foster ’93.) Kyndell Gaglio ’98 is happy to announce her engagement to Arthur Paine. Arthur proposed during the fireworks display on the Fourth of July in Big Bear, with Kyndell’s entire family present! Wedding plans are currently in the works. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 27 ALUMNI news Allison (Henisey) Howard '98 was married on October 1, 2005 to Griffin Howard of San Diego. Their Nuptial Mass was held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of their Alma Mater, the University of Notre Dame. Quite a few Eagle Alumni were in attendance including Kari Williams '98, Brooke Fitzgerald '98, Rebecca Roy '98, Gina Gajdos '98, Nick Mosich '98, Chris Taggart '98, Patrick Fisher '97 and Santa Margarita Math Teacher, Carol Smith. Sister of the bride, Teresa Henisey ’07, was the Maid of Honor. Brother of the bride, Ken Henisey ’01, who recently graduated from Notre Dame, was a groomsman, as well as a musician as he played the violin with the Notre Dame Folk Choir at the wedding. The couple honeymooned at the Princeville Resort in Kauai and then at the Sheraton in Keauhou, Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. Allison and Griffin are now living in San Francisco. Emmeline (Martin) Jennings ‘98 graduated from Fresno State in 2002 with a degree in Liberal Studies and with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. She met Jake, her husband and soul mate, while attending Fresno State. Jake is a 2005 graduate with a degree in Mass Communications and currently works in Construction Management for Union Local 3 for W.M. Lyles Co. The couple has settled in Fresno where they have purchased a home. Emmeline works for the Clovis Unified School District as a Child Development Supervisor. She also continues in her love for cheerleading and is the competition cheer coach for Clovis West High School. Emmeline has continued to work for USA Cheer Company since graduating from Santa Margarita, currently on their Development Team. Emmeline and Jake were married on July 1, 2005 at St. Kilian Catholic Church in Mission Viejo. Their reception was held at Orange Hill Restaurant. Several SMCHS alumni attended including Fauntelle Carrillo ‘98 (Maid of Honor), Jessie Balsis ‘97 (Bridesmaid), Veronica Guy ‘98 who flew in from Chicago, Brian Walton ‘98 who came from San Francisco, Adam ’96 and Meri (Riley) Carrillo ‘96, Desiree Carrillo ‘00, Dana (Woods) Maas ‘92 and former SMCHS teacher Jodi Sweet. Everyone danced and partied into the night under the stars and above the city lights. Gwynne Langley ’98 is at the University of Illinois, Chicago, currently in a Doctorate program in History with a concentration in Work, Race & Gender in the Urban World. Her research is focusing on the development of company towns and workers' migration and immigration patterns. Gwynne is enjoying Chicago and is always interested in knowing if there are other “Eagles” in the Midwest. Brandi (Morales) Lopez.’98 and her husband, Jimmie Lopez ’98, have celebrated their third wedding anniversary. The couple was blessed by the birth of their first child, James Thomas, “J.T.”, on August 1, 2005. Brandi and Jimmie currently live in Ladera Ranch. 2828 www.smhs.org Brian O'Neill ‘98 was married to Katherine Daube Vestal on October 8, 2005. Brian attended Princeton and graduated in 2002. After college, he attended the University of Michigan Law School and graduated in May 2005. He is currently an Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a law firm in Irvine. His wife, Kathy, is a researcher and grant writer for the Pediatric and Adolescent Department at UCLA. Angelee M. (Persons) Willis ‘98 is currently living outside London with her husband, Keith. They have purchased a home and are in the process of refurbishing it. Angelee will soon be starting a job as the Assistant Director of Nursing for the Luton and Dunstable NHS Trust. Angelee has also continued painting and has had some of her work displayed and sold locally. She hopes to be in the US and specifically California for Christmas, so if any of her old friends are lurking around, please call or email the SM Alumni Office to get Angelee’s contact information. Curtis Wright ’98 graduated from USC in 2002 with a major in Business Entrepreneurship. Curtis was married to RoseLynn Kenny on July 21, 2001, in Grass Valley, California. Commissioned into the US Army on May 10, 2002, Curtis served as a Fire Support Officer and Platoon Leader for one year in Mosul, Iraq. Curtis and RoseLynn are expecting their first child in February 2006. CLASS OF 1999 Stacy Barnes ’99 graduated from the University of Arizona in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Consumer Sciences. While at U of A, Stacy was President of the Delta Gamma Sorority. Stacy continued on with her education and received a Master’s in Accounting from USC in 2004. Since then, she has been working at KPMG in Costa Mesa as an auditor. Stacy also recently became a homeowner as she just purchased a condo in Rancho Santa Margarita. Matt Concialdi ’99 graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with an emphasis in Radio/TV/Film in June of 2004. Matt and his wife, Kelly, were married on January 15, 2005. Stacy Fikert ’99 graduated from UCLA in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology. She returned to Orange County and worked for two years in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. Stacy is currently attending medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Ashley (Hutchins) Hales ’99 and her husband, Bryce, continue to enjoy living in Scotland. This photo was taken during Christmas 2004 in front of Edinburgh castle. (Note from SM Alumni Office: This photo was not included with Ashley’s update in the summer 2004 Wings so we wanted to share it now.) S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L Erin Walsh ‘99 and Josh Farra ’96 were recently engaged in October. Josh and Erin both attended the University of Arizona. Even though they both graduated from the same high school and college, they did not know each other before they met for the first time in June 2004. Josh is working for a mortgage company in Irvine and Erin is working as a paralegal, also in Irvine. An October 2006 wedding is planned. ALUMNI news department performing ultrasonic metals inspections at Sunday Lighting and Electrical. Cameron is still single but has been dating his girlfriend, Shellser Lambert, for one year. Dominic Manna ‘01 and Melissa Parks are engaged! Both are 2005 graduates of Pepperdine University. Dominic is currently working with GQVCS as an e-commerce Account Manager and Melissa is pursuing her dreams of working in TV as an Executive Assistant at Dick Clark Productions. They are looking forward to a July 2006 wedding in Dana Point. CLASS OF 2000 Kyle Carroll ’00 graduated from Concordia University in 2004 with a degree in Business Administration. He took the following year off and traveled to Europe and also around the United States. Fellow SM graduates Jesse Rodriguez ’00 and Non Wels ’00 accompanied Kyle in the US where they visited different baseball stadiums and attended several professional baseball games. Kyle is now in his first year of law school at Chapman University. Alexa Frazee ‘00 graduated from USC in 2004 with a degree in English. Alexa has moved to Colorado and is staying very busy with two different jobs that she enjoys. She has also been volunteering her time as the director in the development of a foundation to support "God's Golden Acre." This is an orphanage in South Africa for children of AIDS victims which is Christian based and has been getting interest and support from many different sources, including The Rockefeller Foundation and Oprah. Brett Murphy ’00 has recently moved to Newport Coast. He is currently the Account Director for a fiber optic and networking corporation named Danbru Wire and Cable, INC. out of Orange County. Brett is part of the team of executives heading the public relations campaign to raise funds for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Their latest golf tournament and auction at Coto De Caza raised thousands of dollars for the treatment and care of children stricken with all forms of cancer. It has truly been a rewarding hobby for him outside of the office. Jordana Riela ’00 graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2004 where she majored in Communications and had a minor in Spanish. While at LMU, she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. Jordana is back in Orange County, California working as a Technical Recruiter for Apex Corporation. Kellie Stromberg ‘01 recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She is currently attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in their Single Subject Credential Program in English. Kellie plans to teach high school English or English language development and eventually get her Master’s Degree. Matthew Svensson ‘01 was commissioned May 8, 2005 as an Infantry 2LT (branch detailed from Signal Corps) from Wheaton College's ROTC program and sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for the ROTC Leader's Training Course. In August, he reported to Ft. Benning, Georgia for Infantry Officer Basic Course followed by Ranger School and Airborne School. In May 2006, he will be assigned to the 7th Army Training Command in Germany. CLASS OF 2002 Christopher J. Ferraro, Jr. '02 graduated from the University of San Diego in 2005. Chris completed his studies in three years and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. While at USD, Chris was the university's Sports Editor and VP of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Chris will either be attending law school or pursuing a career in the field of Sports Marketing/Management. Wesley Frazee ’02 is currently a junior at Chapman University. Wes attended Saddleback Community College after SMCHS but has now transferred to Chapman where he is majoring in Creative Writing. Katy Gorelick ’02 is a President's Honor Roll Student at the Art Institute of California in the Culinary Arts Bachelor’s Program. She has been selected to be included in a new textbook being completed on the Baking Program by one of the school's Master Chefs. Katy's own catering business "The Culinarian" was successfully launched in August with monthly events in Coto de Caza and the surrounding areas. Chris Rix ’00 graduated from Florida State University where he was a four year starting quarterback. After FSU, Chris opened Champion Training Academy in Newport Beach. Chris also enjoys working as a High School Football Analyst for Fox Sports Net and a College Analyst for Fox Sports Radio. Chris and his wife, Anita, are currently living in Newport Beach. CLASS OF 2001 Richie Hawley '01 graduated with honors from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in June 2005 with a double major in Business and Political Science. Richie is currently employed at IndyMac Bank in Pasadena as a Financial Analyst. Cameron Hunnel ’01 recently graduated from UC Riverside with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics. He is currently managing a S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L Cutberto Hernandez ’02 is a junior at Loyola Marymount University. He is currently training and competing with the Mexican Junior National Water Polo Team. Cubie has duel citizenship which has allowed him to participate in this unique experience. He is also on the Water Polo Team at LMU and is current teammates with Julien Lormant ’05. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 29 ALUMNI news James Hoff ‘02 is in his senior year at USC where he is majoring in Sociology with a minor in Sculpture. He has found a great passion in his sculptures and is currently working on incorporating sports into his work. James pole-vaulted on the USC Men’s Track and Field Team for the past three years but has decided to step back to explore other areas of interest. He is madly addicted to skydiving and currently has 44 jumps and his A-License to jump with other divers. He is not all that far from the wonderful SMCHS and can often be found wandering around campus and running into his younger brother Joey Hoff ‘07. Upon graduation, James is looking to go into business and private real estate investment. He is currently employed by Franklin Resource Group on the research team to find new clients. The company merchandises and creates sell-through for numerous athletic vendors in several retail stores. James traveled around the country over the summer with the company learning more about retail and sales and says it has been a great learning experience. He also says, his “love life is GREAT...yep I have a girlfriend.” James met Brianna in 2004 on an airplane at 10,000 feet about five minutes before it was time to jump out, as she is a skydiver too, and he couldn't be happier. James is also requesting prayers for Chase Worchester ’01, as he is driving the striker vehicles in Iraq right now as a proud member of the United States Army. Kristina Kunkel ‘02, a senior at UCLA, Erika Figge ‘03 and Aimee Stachowski ‘03, all competed this summer with the women's USA National Water Polo Team traveling to La Jolla, New York, Montreal and Russia. Their selection to this team is the first step in a four year process of selecting the team for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and they are well on their way to achieving this goal. Lucille (Francois) McFall ’02 recently married Shawn McFall in December 2004. Shawn is in the US Navy and they are currently living in Japan for the next three years during his tour of duty there. Lucille has passed on her e-mail and address to the Alumni Office and would like to keep in touch with other classmates. Jessica Riela ’02 is enjoying her senior year at Loyola University, Chicago. Currently, Jessica is majoring in Communications with a minor in Spanish. She is a member of the Journalism Club and has been involved in the Events Planning Committee. She was part of the committee that planned the “Black Eyed Peas” concert at her university last year. After college, she plans on returning to southern California. Rochelle Taylor ‘02 finished a year at Cal State Fullerton as a drama major. While there, she loved the department, but was unhappy in school. She left there and went to Saddleback Community College and took general education classes for a year and a half. Still unhappy in school and in Orange County, she moved back to England in December 2004. Rochelle then got a job in retail and a house share. It was awesome! She also did a 20 day tour around Europe with Contiki Holidays and had such a ball that she went to work with them and is now a Contiki Concept Site Representative in Lauterburnnen, Switzerland. Rochelle loves her job but has no idea what she will be doing after the season is over. But for now, she says she kind of likes it that way. 3030 www.smhs.org CLASS OF 2003 Kelsey Carroll ’03 continues to enjoy Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she is in her junior year and majoring in Communications. Kelsey is also playing varsity soccer at Cal Poly where she is one of the team’s leading scorers. Alexis Etow ’03 was featured in the September 2005 issue of Golf Digest in the First Annual College Review for the College Golf Guide. Alexis is currently a junior at Princeton and plays golf for the #1 academically ranked Princeton Women's Team. The Princeton team has won three of the last five Ivy League Championships. Erika Figge ’03, a junior at USC, was named the USA Water Polo Top 40 Tournament MVP. This tournament is a showcase of the top 40 female water polo players in the country in a tournament format held each fall at the Los Alamitos Olympic Water Polo Training Center. Erika was joined at this tournament by fellow alumni Kristina Kunkle ’02 and Mary Cousineau ‘05 and current Eagle Darby Anderson ’06. Erica continues to do an outstanding job of heading towards the goal of making the 2008 Beijing Olympic Team. Nathan Imperiale ’03 is a junior at George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he is majoring in Political Communications with a minor in Electronic Media. He recently completed a White House Internship which he says was one of the most incredible experiences one can imagine. Nathan reported to the White House Communications Director and was involved in all press and media related events, giving him “up close and personal” exposure to the President and the “who's who” of Washington politics. Nathan is attending college full-time but also works full-time for the United States House of Representatives where he is the Director of Visual Media. He is responsible for anything TV related in Congress, setting up press conferences, writing, filming and editing all House Public Service Announcements and developing a cable TV show. He credits Mr. Sellwood and Eagle TV for giving him the skills he needs to perform this job before graduating from college. Aimee Stachowski ‘03, a junior at UCSB, joined Kristina Kunkel ‘02 and Erika Figge ‘03, as they traveled throughout the US and Europe this summer competing with the women's USA National Water Polo Team. Being selected for this team is the first step towards being a part of the USA Team which will compete in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. CLASS OF 2004 Michelle Hull ’04 is currently a sophomore at Harvard with a Government concentration. She continues to start on the Harvard Women’s Soccer Team as a right back defender. Michelle enjoys being part of the team and the defense which is the nationally ranked #1 defense in the Ivy League. The team is also ranked seventh in the nation among all Division I teams for “shutout percentage” and 10th in the nation for “goals-against average.” Boston is quite a change from soccer in southern California as Michelle has already played three games in the snow during her collegiate career. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L Alek Ramoska '04, pictured here with his brother, Andre ’09, is enjoying Colorado where he is a sophomore at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Alek is majoring in Applied Physiology and had an internship at PRO PT Physical Therapy and Personal Training this summer. Just recently, his family flew out for Family Weekend to see the beautiful campus and attend a college football game. GO BUFFS! His family had a great time but was glad to get back to warm, sunny California, however, Alek cannot wait for it to snow and get back into snowboarding. Michael Wolfsmith ‘04 is currently a second year student at University of Colorado at Boulder. Michael is enjoying UC Boulder and will be majoring in Kinesiology with a minor in Business. Michael is pictured with SMCHS and Boulder classmate, Alex Ramoska ‘04. CLASS OF 2005 Brianna Bowman ’05 recently completed her Paderewski Gold Medal piano work and also received the Music Teachers Association of California Certificate of Merit medal for completing its piano requirements during high school. Brianna is currently attending San Diego State University on a volleyball scholarship and has been accepted on the Cultural Arts and Events Board. Elizabeth Cattern '05 is attending the University of Washington in Seattle where she is majoring in Theatre. Recently, she went through rush and pledged her grandmother's sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. Elizabeth has also joined the choir at the Catholic Church on campus. She says SMCHS really prepared her for college classes and appreciates all she learned here. Mary Cousineau ’05 is currently a freshman at USC. Mary spent the summer training with the USA National Junior Water Polo Team. This team will compete in the Pan-American Championships next summer, followed by the Junior World Championships. In early November, she competed in the prestigious USA Water Polo Top 40 Tournament along with several current and former Eagles. Julien Lormant ’05 is a freshman at Loyola Marymount University. He was selected as a member of the USA National Water Polo Youth Team. As part of the team, he traveled to Slovakia to compete in a prestigious international event in August before heading off to LMU for his first season. Julien returned with more knowledge of the sport and it was a trip he is not soon to forget. Julien is teammates at LMU with Cutberto Hernandez ’02. Justin Miller ‘05 is in his first year at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While at SMCHS, Justin was a two year member of the California Wing Skyhawks Composite Squadron, which is a Civil Air Patrol Squadron at Camp Pendleton. Justin was the First Sergeant of the squadron and also the Color Guard Commander. S A N TA M A R G A R I TA C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L ALUMNI news Courtney Nichols '05 is in her freshmen year at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is involved in the Volleyball Club, Vanderbilt Catholic Community, the Baptist Campus Ministry, Circle K, Paws-itive Outreach and has signed up to give campus tours. She still finds time to practice her flute and attend the sporting events. She is planning on going through rush when she returns from Christmas break. Courtney is enjoying both Vanderbilt and Nashville and she looks forward to the rest of her time there. Sabrina Ricci ’05 is very happy in her freshman year at UC Santa Barbara. Sabrina is currently majoring in Communications. While at UCSB she has also been writing articles for the Daily Nexus, a newspaper that circulates around campus and Isla Vista. Kurt Rommel ’05 is in his first year at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is adjusting to military life. Kurt recently received his "Shoulder Boards" on “Acceptance Day” from fellow SMCHS graduate and third year Cadet, C2C Kevin Winblad ’03. Kurt asked Kevin to fulfill the honor of pinning on the boards as Kevin was a very positive influence on Kurt's decision to attend the USAFA. Both of them were looking forward to being home in southern California to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. Briana Wolfsmith ’05 is currently in her first year as a nursing student at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. LOOKING FOR OLD FRIENDS? We hope you enjoyed reading all the Class Updates! Sometimes we receive updates with personal e-mail addresses or websites included. Due to the Right to Privacy Act of 1974, SMCHS will not release or publish personal information about our graduates. We want to keep you all connected so we have the SMCHS Alumni Locator Service. If we have current information for the person you wish to contact, we will forward your letters or emails to them and follow up to make sure you have connected. Just e-mail your request to Alumni@smhs.org or send us your letter in a stamped envelope with the addressee’s name and we will fill out the address and forward it for you. It’s that simple. Please mail correspondence to: SMCHS Alumni Office, 22062 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688. In the future, we hope to have a secure alumni section of our website where you will all be able to reconnect with each other, but until then, the Alumni Office is here to help you find your old friends. DECEMBER 2005 - J A N U A RY - F E B R U A RY 2006 31 SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 22062 Antonio Parkway Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 Non-Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Mission Viejo, CA Permit #581 Visit the SMCHS website for the most up to date calendars for December, January and February. www.smhs.org/Calendar Past issues of Wings can be found on the SMCHS website. Look under Eagle News & Notes for the Wings link! Please mail, fax, or email information to the SMCHS Alumni Office 22062 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 (949) 766-6000, ext. 1511 Fax (949) 766-6040 ~ E-mail: alumni@smhs.org