Top Ten List, 2018!

Happy New Year! In the spirit of the season, we look back with gratitude at the year just passed, a very consequential one in the history of our young school!  Here’s St. Michael’s “Top Ten Stories of 2018", as we see them.  

#10 Purchase of 40 Acres of Adjacent Land (May) and Beginning of Capital Campaign for New Athletic Fields (October)—The land purchase doubled the size of our property, giving us an extraordinary 80 acres, which will give us flexibility for many years to come! For a layout of this new land, go here.  Though still in the “silent phase,” we started a campaign for a new field house, football/soccer stadium, baseball field, concessions and side walking in October. May God give us success! 

#9 All-Pro Quarterback Philip Rivers Hosts Camp for Boys (June) —Through a local family connection, the current QB of the Los Angeles Chargers hosted a one day football clinic here at St. Michael. For some pictures of the camp, go here.  Pretty cool! 

#8 Choral, Band Programs Thrive (May, December)—As a sure sign of our young school’s growth, the choral and band concert had become so big that we had to divide the Christmas concerts in December into two separate evening events—one for band, the other for choral.  For vids of the Chamber Choir singing “Gloria” from the 2018 Christmas concert, go here!  and for the Concert Band, go here.  Both the Band and Choral programs scored “superior” in 2018 state festival competitions. 

#7 Students Excel in National Testing (Spring, Fall)—Under the leadership of Suzanne and Keith Lindley, 34 Spanish and 7 Latin Students “crushed” the national exams in April, making St. Michael one of the highest performing schools in the state. For a review of the Spanish medalists, go here and for Latin, go here.  Early results from ACT testing also look promising, as this year’s senior class prepares for college in the fall of 2019. As of this summer,  the top quartile of the class of 2019 had an average A.C.T. score of a 32. The top decile has an average score of 34.6. 

#6 St. Michael Completes Faculty, Hiring 9 New Teachers (April)—To become a full 9-12 school, we’ve hired one third of our faculty in each of our first three years. This year’s teachers included a certified OB/GYN to teach Biology and Health, a Ph.D for English, graduates from Oxford, Auburn, Dartmouth and Duke (for Theology, Math, History and History, respectively) an additional full time coach, a new French teacher, and a former FOCUS missionary. To read more about our extraordinary faculty, go here. 

#5 St. Michael Welcomes Back Caroline Berry for Child Cancer Awareness Day (October)—With the school decorated in gold, St. Michael students raised money for childhood cancer research and welcomed back its own Caroline Berry. Caroline enrolled as a freshman in the school’s first year, but had to  withdraw after the first semester when she became sick with a very virulent form of cancer. After fighting for two years, Caroline died on Thanksgiving Day, 2018. She is our first Cardinal in heaven, we believe!

#4 St. Michael Football Team Wins First Ever Varsity Game (November)— In the last game of the season, the Cardinals beat Elberta High School to win its first ever versity football game. There was great celebration, as the founding seniors of the program went out as winners. Here’s a brief clip of our jubilant students as the clock ticked to zero. 

#3 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Volleyball and Swimming and Cheerleading Teams Qualify for Play-offs or State Finals (Fall, 2018)— In just our third year, five teams from the fall, 2018 season qualified for playoffs, four for the state finals (both CC, Swimming and Cheerleading). When SM teams qualify for the state finals, the student body gives a “send-off” to the athletes as they board the busses for travel. Here’s footage of the cheerleaders as they leave campus for the state finals in Hanceville. 

#2 Swim Team Wins 7 State Championships, Boys Finish 2nd in 1A-5A (November)—In its first ever state championship meet, St. Michael students won 7 first place medals, becoming our school's first "state champions." The boys team, with only four boys, finished 2nd overall among every 1A through 5A team in the state. It was an extraordinary performance.  For a review of the medalists, go here. 

#1 (tie) March for Life (January) : 110 students  (of 192) attended the “March for Life” Rally in Washington, D.C., led by our theology department and Director of Campus Ministry, Philip Martin. Campus Ministry also hosted two retreats, one for men, the other for girls, in October and December, and continues to lead our student body in weekly school masses every Wednesday, with local priests presiding. 

#1 (tie) St. Michael Adds Senior Class, Becoming Complete 9-12 school (August)—We became a full 9-12 school in August, adding the senior class, with an enrollment of 290.  Our seniors have been true leaders and “co-founders” of St. Michael, and their impending graduation will be a watershed moment for St. Michael. 

God has blessed us! May 2019 be as wonderful as 2018!