St.

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

October 11, 2013

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

The Divine Maternity of Our Lady

Two things to cover today: First off, regarding the upcoming GALA. It is quickly becoming crunch time for all the auction coordinators and the office staff. Now that the invitations are out, all the many details of the event crash in upon us for the next month. How can you help increase our success and decrease our stress? [See enclosed flyer, too] 1. Send in replies early whether singles, couples or tables.early is great. 2. Get in any donations you can secure as soon as possible. a. Gift certificates are SUPER items, since we can use them in many ways. b. Nice items to build baskets with. c. We have a nice list of Live Auction Items, though not all are confirmed yet, so we are still looking for another one or two. 3. Sponsorships and Ads please help promote these right away so we can sell those and help pay for the evening before it begins! I read an interesting article today about raising boys. In it is one especially germane point which is applicable to the raising of all children. It even applies to ourselves, as adults, as we aim to achieve virtue in concert with our nature and our inclinations. As Msgr. Pope says, reflecting on the passage below: This is a very brilliant insight. It is essential that we not try to destroy the innate gifts that God gives us in order to control them. We must learn to harness them and sublimate them so that they achieve the end to which they are intended. These inclinations are in us for the good; say to become warriors for Christ, courageous in the face of martyrdom, faithful married spouses, etc. Though the fall makes us susceptible to misusing these inclinations, it is up to us to curb them toward the good for which they were gifted to us. As a toddler, one of my sons liked to stand behind his baby sisters chair and pull her head back as far as it would go, to watch it spring up again like a punching bag on its stem.and then she screamed.From my sons point of view, it was altogether a gratif ying exercise. My intervention was always swift and decisiveI implored my son, Dont be rough. Be gentle. I am struck, now, by the strangeness of what I said to him. We dont tell someone struggling with lust simply not to want (marital relations); we dont tell a glutton that his problem will be solved if he stops being hungry. Yet, I might as well have said, Stop being a boy.. What I think I have come to understand about boys is that a desire to (be rough, even violent) is not the same thing as a desire to commit evil. The problem is not that the boys hand itches for a sword. The problem lies in not telling him what [the sword and itch] are for, that they are for something. If I had told my aggressive little son not, Be gentle, but, rather, Pro tect your sister, I might, I think, have had the right end of the stick. Even Our Lord had his rough moments, employing just anger and violence to root out the sacrilege of the money changers in the temple. As Msgr. Pope said, at the end of his commentary on his blog, remember, this is conversation (fodder.) And it is true, this is great fodder for a conversation about the apparent contradictions in the Christian call to holiness and our fallen nature and how distinctions can often help us make clear what is cloudy.

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

CALENDAR EVENTS Oct 12th Life Centers Luncheon Oct 14th NO SCHOOL Columbus Day th Oct 15 Picture Re-Take Day LUNCHEON - Register now by Oct 16th PSAT for grades 10 and 11. calling (805) 486-2721 Senior Breakfast and Rosary. th Oct. 18 Family Movie Night See Flyer End of First Quarter! th Oct. 25 Report Cards Sent Home Oct. 27th Family Oktoberfest and Dance at SAA. 5:00-9:00 PM DEBATE CLUB QUERY Flyer enclosed. We need a minimum of 12 people to sign up in order to offer Debate Club this year. Club fee of $50. Please sign up on Signup sheet posted outside the Science Lab before the PSAT on Wednesday morning we need to have an accurate count to determine if we can hire Mr. Reynolds. FAMILY DANCE Thanks to the student council for a wonderful evening! DANCE DRESS CLARIFICATION Unfortunately we had a few students show up to the dance significantly outside the boundaries of dress code. We will make it clearer on future flyers. Also, I have asked a group of mothers who were at the dance to come up with a better way to fix the problem. For the many students who showed up in code, (some of whom I am sure probably battled with mom about a skirt being too short or neckline too low) it must have been disappointing, since it was not fair. It is not fair to those girls who modified their dress to be in code to show up to see others blatantly ignoring the code. This will be better monitored and rectified in the future. RENTAL AVAILABLE Mr. Faulk has a small house on his property in the Oaks in Santa Paula, that is available for rent, 1 bed, 1 bath, 540 s.f. Please contact Mr. Faulk for details 794-3131 Civic Announcements [FLYERS] Public Square Rosary Crusade Thomas Aquinas Parish, Ojai. Fr. Robert Barrons CATHOLICISM Study Group for Couples- Assumption Parish. FOOTBALL MONDAY GAME POSTPONED @ HOME v. Assumption FOOTBALL Wednesday, October 16th @ HOME v. Sacred Heart VOLLEYBALL Thursday, October 17th v. Sacred Heart @ HOME PRAYERS We continue to keep all our friends and family in our prayers. For the souls of Mr. Zinkewichs mother who passed away yesterday, in thanksgiving that he was able to make it to Uraguay to be with her, and for consolation for the family. For Mr. Henry Teichert, Mrs. Grimms father, who is now in hospice care for a peaceful and holy death. For Fr. Scerbo OFM, of St. Paschals in Thousand Oaks, who is battling cancer. For Mario Antignani, grandfather of the Warnert boys, who is recovering from surgery. For the soul of Nathaniel Mota, a senior at Verbum Dei Hisgh school, who was killed when crossing the street after a youth group meeting at his parish. Please continue to pray for Phillip Vargas and for a relative of the Grimms, Adrienne. For a friend of some of our families, Eric Stoutz (a father of 8), who is gravely ill during his cancer battle. For a relative of the Schubergs who is in a coma following an auto accident. For Mark Meltzer, and his mother, Rose, a good friend of the school. For Sr. Mary Gemma, TOR. We continue to pray for Mr. Curry and for a very special intention. We pray for all our school families, their needs and those of their friends and relatives. We pray for our Pope, our Archbishop, all of our priests and religious, and, for each other.