St. Augustine High School
Covid-19 update – 4/20/2020
From the Principal – Mr. James Horne
Saintsmen and families,
Welcome back! We hope you had an Easter break filled with rest and renewal for the last weeks of school. As we make our way down the home stretch, I remind all students of the importance of staying engaged and on pace with your studies. The work you complete now will constitute your final grade for the semester.
The national conversation has continued to change and now there is momentum behind limited re-opening of the American economy. Saints has no plans to reopen …. Saints will continue to follow guidance of health officials and educational leaders and make decisions it sees as a best option for the school community in this continuing health crisis.
Our leadership team will now turn our attention to how covid-19 may affect our summer programming. In the coming weeks our weekly newsletter will address those questions.
Thanks for your continued prayers, know that we are praying for you (and invite you to join us for our weekly Facebook Live Mass), and hug those who are with you at home.
“You have made us for yourself O’ Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
From the office of the President – Mr. Edwin Hearn
TASTE of SAINTS is our largest fundraiser of the year. However, it is about more than the money we raise for our endowment. It is an evening of connecting with former classmates, catching up with friends we do not see enough and making new friends. Taste of Saints would not be the same any other way.
With that in mind, we have made the decision to reschedule for this summer. Our tentative date is Saturday, August 15, 2020.
If you have already purchased tickets, we can hold on to your registration or we can refund you. Please email ccallery@sahs.org if you prefer to receive a refund.
We look forward to seeing you at Taste of Saints this summer. Stay well.
From the Director of Finance and Facilities – Mr. Kevin DeRieux
At this time of financial difficulty for many, Saints has pushed back the re-enrollment and registration deadline to April 30th. We hope this extension alleviates any stress at this time of uncertainty.
From the Assistant Principal for Academics – Mr. Gregory Hecht
Welcome back! I pray you had a wonderful Easter and a restful break:
- To all our Saintsmen – Important reminder – spring final examinations, whether online or on the ground at St. Augustine High School, WILL NOT TAKE PLACE. Teachers will be basing final grades on the assignments and assessments given up to and including the final day of instruction, be it online or face-to-face. Thus, it becomes all the more important that Saintsmen continue to remain focused and engaged in their coursework for the balance of the school year.
The final day of instruction for seniors will be Friday, May 22.
The final day of instruction for all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will be Friday, May 29.
- To all Advanced Placement Students – Please visit the Advanced Placement corona virus update website (see link below) and carefully review ALL documents concerning the format and implementation of this year’s AP exams. The link also includes the revised exam schedules. Students will be testing from home.
https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students
It is imperative that ALL AP STUDENTS review the details of the new examination protocols. AP students MUST know their AP account Username and Password and verify that they are able to sign into to their account BEFORE the date of their examination (s). This is a VITAL step as St. Augustine High School DOES NOT have access to ANY student Usernames or Passwords and WILL NOT be able to assist students during the examination days.
AP students should also be sure to consider the following in preparation for the exams at home:
- Do you have a clean, well-lit place to conduct your exams?
- Have you reviewed the revised exam schedule and noted the new dates and times for your exams?
- Do you have a power source handy for your device if your battery gets low or runs out during the exam?
- Is the software on your chosen device up to date?
- Do you have a backup device?
- What is the plan if the Wi-Fi drops out?
We understand that taking Advanced Placement exams in the home environment might induce some unnecessary worry and anxiety, so hopefully being prepared and having your technology in order will help alleviate some of the stress associated with these new protocols.
- To all Juniors and Seniors – Mrs. Oliwa has made your current transcript available on your SOTW account, in the same place as your Report Card. Remember that when you print out or email this copy of the transcript that it is an “unofficial copy” that can be used for planning purposes or for sending to college reps or coaches that are willing to take an unofficial copy from you. If you need an “official transcript” you must contact your counselor or Mrs. Oliwa to request that it be sent.
- Follett Book Return and Buy Back
- Book returns will be handled through the mail this year. All customers will receive an email with a link to a free shipping label for their returns.
- These mailed returns will only apply to rental books.
- Follett will include a link to valorebooks.com for students looking to sell a purchased book.
- Follett will send some additional information around the beginning of May, so we should be prepared to make some announcements regarding that stuff at that time.
From the Assistant Principal for Student Services – Mr. John O’Beirne
- For those parents who paid for an event online and that event is canceled, we will be processing a refund. The refund will be made to the card or account used to book the event. There is no need to contact the school for the refund.
- Although we are in the process of remote learning it is important that we remember the work we turn in is our own. There have been instances where the work that was turned in as the students was actually from an internet source, came from another students IP address, or copied from another student. We would like to remind you of our Academic Integrity Policy, our Saintsman’s Pledge and your own personal integrity to do the right thing in these challenging times.
- Yearbook – Thanks to the tireless work of the Yearbook staff, this year’s copy of The Saintsman was submitted before the quarantine went into full effect and the SoCal publishing plant was shut down. Luckily, Jostens has other plants and they are working hard to have them printed and sent to the school by May 26th. In the first week of May, I’ll know more about when they’ll arrive and how we’ll be distributing them. If you know any of the following students or staff, thank them for making sure the book was completed before the shutdown:
From the Assistant Principal for Auxiliary Services and the Athletic Director – Mr. Michael Haupt and Mr. Matthew Linville
NCAA Eligibility
Students with an expected Spring/Summer 2020 graduation date who initially enroll full time at an NCAA school in 2020-21 will be academically eligible to receive athletics scholarship, practice and compete in the first year of full-time enrollment if they meet the following criteria:
Division I*
- Meet the core-course progression requirement for NCAA-approved core courses (10 core units, seven of which must be in English, math or science) before start of the seventh semester; and
- Present a 2.300 or higher core-course GPA in such courses.
Division II*
- Complete 10 NCAA-approved core course units before start of the seventh semester; and
- Present a 2.200 or higher core-course GPA in such courses.
*Note: These criteria do not include ACT/SAT scores. The criteria also do not apply to students who are expected to graduate after Spring/Summer 2020.
If you would like to read more information regarding NCAA eligibility please visit the NCAA website at the following address:
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/COVID-19_Public.pdf
From the Director of Counseling Services – Dr. Jerry Rey
Today’s update applies mainly to graduating seniors who have been accepted to a UC or CSU school, and to juniors who will be applying to UC or CSU schools for Fall of 2021.
Both the UC System and the CSU System have announced that they have temporarily relaxed their admissions standards for both newly admitted students and prospective high school and community college students to account for issues related to the COVID-19 disruptions.
For Seniors: At UC campuses, the deadline for students to accept their admissions offers remains May 1 for freshmen and June 1 for transfer students. However, the university has asked campuses to provide maximum flexibility for students who request extensions. Students should contact campus admissions offices directly with these requests. And, despite changes to the format and content of AP exams this term, the university will continue to award credit for exams with scores of 3, 4 or 5.
CSU campuses are prepared to be as flexible as possible with students who need may need more time to meet intent to enroll, and transcript deadlines. And regarding AP Exams, the CSU will honor all existing transferable credit articulation for spring 2020 AP exams on which scores of 3, 4, or 5 are earned.
For Juniors: UC will suspend the standardized test requirement (SAT and ACT) for students applying for fall 2021 freshman admission. This modification is not intended as an admissions policy shift but is rather a temporary accommodation driven by the current extraordinary circumstances.
For the UC Response on Admissions to the COVID-19 outbreak you can go to https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/response-covid-19.html
For the CSU schools you can go to the specific website for the schools you are interested in.
Events Update
The following is a list of events that, as of March 16, have been cancelled or postponed:
April 23 – Spring Concert-CANCELLED
April 28 – Sophomore Retreat-CANCELLED
May 9 – Prom-CANCELLED
May 21 – Underclass Awards Ceremony-CANCELLED
May 22 – Senior Class Awards Ceremony -CANCELLED
May 25 – Memorial Day – No classes
May 29 – Baccalaureate and Graduation – TBD
Questions? – email us …. The Faculty and Staff email directory can be found here https://www.sahs.org/faculty/
We will continue to be diligent in communicating facts and changes to school plans/activities and push notifications to the community using CANVAS, social media sites, and the website.
Thanks … pray for us and know we are praying for you.
