It seems hard to believe that it was August 6, 2016, less than one year ago, when Mr. Weber welcomed everyone to the dedication of St. Michael, pictured here. What a year it has been! But ready or not, here comes year 2!
So what's new for year II? We asked Mr. Weber a series of questions about the upcoming year:
Q. So the first question that’s on everyone’s mind: How's enrollment?
(Mr. Weber): Strong! We’re sitting at 183 students at the end of July, and Mrs. Kopf is busy giving tours and interviews for even more, so no telling what our final number will be by August 21 (opening day). Mrs. Kopf does a good job interviewing prospective students, making sure they understand our mission and our expectations, and our vision for students is resonating throughout Baldwin County. Safe to say we will be almost double in size from our first year.
Q. Does anything surprise you about those numbers?
Yes--the junior class. We had 36 sophomores last year, and it looks like we’re going to have 45+ juniors. That’s a 25% increase—I didn’t anticipate that. If I could characterize our transfers, I’d say they’re looking for "more." Most are enrolling in our honors program.
Q. How many new teachers are there? Can you talk about them?
Seven new teachers. I think they're going to add a lot. We have some long-time pros joining us: Rita Treutel (B.S. Auburn, M.S. Alabama/Birmingham) in English, and Lisa East (B.S. Auburn, M.S. Auburn) in Science. We have three dynamic young persons: Ryan Bliss, (B.S. Notre Dame) for Math, Gabrielle Smith for Theology and Spanish (B,A, Spring Hill College) and Rachel Rayburn (B.A.William Carey), who will be assisting Mr. Pryor in Music. I also think Caitlin Scimeca (B.A. Denison University, M.A. Notre Dame) in Art/Reading/PE and Mary Beth Andrews (B.A. Notre Dame, J.D. Notre Dame) in History are going to be really dynamic, creative teachers for our students.
What you aim for on a faculty is a good mix—a cast of characters, if you will. Entering this year, we have 17 full time and 2 part time teachers. Of those, 11 are males and 8 are females. Eight are 50+ years old, five are between 30-50 and six are twenty-somethings. They’re smart, committed to our mission, and enjoy working with teenagers—but they're all quite different in personality. That’s what you want—if you're a student, going from class to class, it would get pretty boring if all the teachers were clones!
Q. Do we have a Counselor?
Not one, but two! Missy Calvery will begin with us part-time, five days/week, as a "School Counselor" to help students with personal and academic issues they may be having. She is fully credentialed, and worked in Kansas schools for 8 years prior to moving to the coast. I think our kids will really trust her. Keith Lindley will be a part time "College Counselor" while teaching three courses in our foreign language program. His job will be to get kids thinking about college, including, perhaps, options they might not have otherwise considered, and assist families in the application and scholarship process. There are many excellent colleges out there, and we want our kids to aim high! Students like Dr. Lindley, and I think they’ll be comfortable in seeking his counsel and help.
Q. What’s new in the curriculum?
Well, the biggest thing is we added a junior year, with all the necessary core classes for that (Biology, American History, Theology, English, Math). We've also added third year options in Spanish and Latin. In addition to our existing Advanced Placement Geography from last year, we now have A.P. courses in English and American History, and anticipate five more in the senior year (Physics, Calculus, Government, English Lit and Spanish). We are installing an Art program, beginning with Studio Art this year, and anticipate the program will grow in future years as we continue to grow. I’m happy about a couple of electives we're offering this year, taught by the Scimecas: Mrs. Scimeca will teach Analytical Reading, with a focused emphasis on preparing students on the reading sections of the PSAT and ACT, and Mr. Scimeca will teach Communications and Public Speaking, a course I believe will be both fun and practical.
Q. It seems like our student-athletes were here all summer! How is our athletic program shaping up?
The commitment of our coaches and athletes has been impressive. They really have been here all summer-- usually quite early in the morning--running, weight-lifting, working on skills. When I see them, they're red-faced and sweaty but have smiles on their faces! They confirm my belief that deep down, teenagers WANT to be pushed. They want to strive for greatness in their lives.
Coach Paul Knapstein, our Athletic Director, tells me the numbers are really good for our second year—so good, in fact, that we’ll be hosting two levels of teams for volleyball, basketball, boys’ soccer and perhaps girls’ soccer. That’s amazing for a school with less than 200 students!
We’re also adding two new sports: Cross County for boys and girls, and Baseball. Those two additional sports will allow us to then become full fledged members of the AHSAA next year, with five or more varsity sports for both men and women. Even so, Paul tells me the upper level teams will play a mixture of both varsity and JV games this year in preparation for full varsity seasons next year.
Our student-athletes are rightfully proud of themselves. They're the founders of our athletic program, and I think we're building competitive teams up and down the board. Paul has done a good job hiring coaches and assistant coaches, and everyone seems bought into our mission, even while striving to win championships. In so striving, they have my full support!
Q. What’s next for athletics?
Playing fields and facilities, God willing! I am pleased that Archbishop Rodi has accepted the recommendation of our Advisory Council to conduct a feasibility study to assess interest and funding for a football/soccer stadium, baseball field, field house/weight-room, track and softball field. They’re all part of our master plan, and it will be up to our donors and God’s providence as to how quickly we can build them. The feasibility study will be in September, and we’ll talk more about all this then. Imagine how much fun it will be, one day, to host a Friday night game right here on campus, with the full-throated support of our fans? Can't wait.
Q. I heard rumor of an international trip. Can you confirm that?
I believe international travel opportunities are an increasingly important feature for college preparatory schools, and I want St. Michael to offer something to students each year. I am pleased to say that Dr. Lindley has agreed to take a group of our students to Paris, France just after Memorial Day this coming year! Both he and his wife, Suzanne, are fluent in French (as well as Spanish), and in fact, Dr. Lindley's Ph.D. includes French. At his previous post at the University of North Alabama, he took a group of students to Paris every year, and he's become a real expert on the city. I think it's going to be a great educational opportunity and a lot of fun for our students!
Q. Whew! There's a lot going on! Anything else?
We'll be starting one day retreats for each class this year with the aim to further deepen our students' relationship with the Lord.
Our music program is growing by leaps and bounds, especially at the 5th-8th grade level in our Catholic partner schools, so much so that we've had to hire a second music teacher to assist Mr. Pryor. I'm excited about the work Mr. Pryor is doing.
We're tweaking our weekly schedule so that clubs can meet on Thursdays every week. Fridays will be optional House days or Student assemblies--whatever our House Council of students decides.
We're beginning a drug testing program, outlined in our handbooks, and modeled partly after McGill's program.
I’m also excited about a financial aid initiative that we’re beginning in late August at our parishes, called the “Guardian Angel” project.
It’s worth emphasizing that everything we began last year is still very much BEING created. We’ve given birth, but we’re still infants! What’s exciting about that, I think, is that this year's new teachers, families and students are still true "co-founders" of St. Michael—who we are, what we’ll become, the traditions we’ll build. They can make a difference!
Q. Final thoughts?
My best advice to new families? DIVE IN! Help us create our school to become something special, to become truly a place that develops “Scholars, Leaders and Disciples of Jesus Christ” (our mission statement). In so doing, we'll be part of a noble pursuit together that makes (literally) an ETERNAL difference in the life of our students.
We're going to have a great second year! Go Cardinals!