SUMME R 2013-2014
Dear Alumni, It has been our pleasure to see so many of you on campus this year! We are always happy to have you visit us, and we absolutely love to hear about how well you are all doing in your chosen paths. I want to give a special shout out to Cari McMenemy for her leadership with our Faith, Learning, and Leadership Annual Fund campaign this year, and to thank her for also being an attendee and donor to the annual S.P.I.C.E. (Special People In Catholic Education) Luncheon in February. We have been honored to have many other alums on campus this year! Of course, we see Sarah Glaser and Lindsey Guedry Vainstein every day as they give back to SLCS through their tireless work with our students. We get to see Jessica Osten Eskue when she is on campus with her daughter who is in our kindergarten class, and we saw Steven Cummings here with our Rice Writers 5th grade service project that helped our sister school, Queen of Peace, where he is a Middle School teacher. Each day in BASC, we also see Chelsea Duncan, Amy Dodson, and Emily Kiolbassa as they work after school to mentor our students. We welcomed John Knowles as a guest speaker (we are so proud of him as Valedictorian at Strake Jesuit this year), and we often see Siobhan Thompson and Elizabeth Ennis singing at Masses! It is wonderful to have Laney Ballinger helping as the President of the Junior Catholic Daughters, and Jason Rodriguez helping with track. In addition, helping out with football have been Brandon Porth and Daniel Rutledge. This year at the auction gala, we were so happy to have Robbie Allee, Taryn Le, Anna Mendiola, Alyssa Murray, Joshua Pane, Elizabeth Popp, Brandon Porth, and Daniel Rutledge giving back so that we could continue the auction tradition and make money for our school! This year at the 7th/8th Grade Light of Leadership Mass, we saw Keenan Annicchiarico, Dominic Boneno, Celeste Donati, Cristina Donati, Chelsea Duncan, Lyndsey Foresman, Sarah Glaser, Bailey Hayes, Claire Hoelsher, Grace and Laura Klein, Taryn Le, Patenne Mathews, Lindsey Morris, Rochelle Reyes, Alex and P.J. Pane, Yvonne Perez, Elizabeth Popp, Lindsey Vainstein, and Jordyn Voller. There are also numerous alums that have attended the Band and Choir concerts as well as musical performances. Thank you all for joining us and supporting your siblings, if you had one in the events!
IN THIS ISSUE 2 Mission and Staff Annual Fund / 3 Save These Dates
4 The Heart of a Saint News / Servicemen 5 & Women
We had the privilege of meeting Devin Hotzel’s daughters and his wife, Jacci, at a Fish Fry hosted by the Knights of Columbus, and we saw Elisabeth Grado Christensen with her new baby, John! We had the privilege of catching up with Francisco Martinez and his family, and we were able to say thank you to serviceman Brandon Driscoll as he stopped by while on leave over the holidays with his family. This year, we sadly mourned the loss of Stephanie Kirkpatrick Politte, Class of 1999, who was killed in a domestic violence case. Our prayers continue to be with her family. Whether the events in your life are sad or happy, whether you have accomplished the goals you set out to have accomplished at this time in your life or you are still striving to meet them, we would love to hear about what you have going on in your life! Know that you are always welcome to come and see us back at YOUR favorite school, SLCS! In Him we trust,
Debra Haney, Principal
6 -7 Alumni Updates 7 8th Grade Awards
& Staff Spotlight / 8 Faculty Class Reunion Updates 9 SLCS Class Reunions
ST. LAURENCE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
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SU M M E R 2013- 2014
SLCS ALUMNI HELPING TO MOVE ITEMS IN PREPARATION FOR CONSTRUCTION.
MISSION As a pastoral instrument of the Church, St. Laurence Catholic School sees as its mission the development of the whole Christian person. We will prepare our children to relate positively with the larger society by providing a program of Christian values, strong academics, social skills, and community service. Just as the Holy Trinity permeates
STAFF Editor: Ginger Przybyla, Development Coordinator Contributors: Suzanne Byrne, Development Assistant Marie Brown Beth Dodson Terry Boyer Sarah Glaser Germaine Guedry Debra Haney Kristin Holy ShaLa Kiolbassa Anne Lootens Linda Schurman Lindsey Vainstein
The Saints’ Scoop is a publication of the Office of Development at St. Laurence Catholic School. St. Laurence Catholic School’s The Saints’ Scoop is published twice a year in the fall/winter and spring/summer. St. Laurence Catholic School 2630 Austin Parkway Sugar Land, TX 77479 281-980-0500
www.stlaurencecs.org
Photographers: Parents, faculty, staff and friends of SLCS
the life of the Church, the personal relationship of parent, child, and educator gives life to our school.
Find us on Facebook and “Like” our school page www.facebook.com/pages/St-Laurence-Catholic-School/ or follow us on Twitter @StLaurence_1992 Keep up with all the school happenings at the SLCS Blog: http://slcs-news.stlaurence.org/
Contents of The Saints’ Scoop may not be reprinted without permission from St. Laurence Catholic School.
EVER THOUGHT OF GIVING BACK?
Faith, Learning & Leadership ANNUAL FUND
We would like you, as alumni of St. Laurence Catholic School, to get involved with your time, talent, and/or treasures! We would love to see you on campus: coaching, substitute teaching and beginning your legacy of being a financial supporter of our beautiful school through the Faith, Learning & Leadership Annual Fund. The opportunities to assist our school vary, but by supporting the Faith, Learning & Leadership Annual Fund, you in-turn support the many wonderful programs that have become traditions at St. Laurence Catholic School. All donations are 100% tax deductible and will benefit so many young children as they journey through our hallways, just as you did so many years ago.
S AV E T H E S E D AT E S SEPT.
03 NOV.
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SLCS FAITH, LEARNING & LEADERSHIP ANNUAL FUND St. Laurence Catholic School 2014/2015 Faith, Learning & Leadership Annual Appeal Fund will kick off on Wednesday and Family Commitment Day will be Friday, Sep. 26th. Remember...it’s all for our kids. SLCS TUITION ASSISTANCE GOLF TOURNAMENT The Annual St. Laurence Catholic School Tuition Assistance Golf Tournament will be held at Sweetwater Country Club.
FEB.
STEPS FOR STUDENTS 5K RUN/WALK
APR.
ANNUAL AUCTION AND GALA
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Steps For Students is the Archdiocesan annual 5K event. The Archdiocese asks all Catholic schools and their families to participate. The event will be at the Co-Cathedral.
SEPT.
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GRANDPARENT DAY Please join the SLCS students, faculty and staff in welcoming the many grandparents to our beautiful campus. The day will begin with 8:15a.m. Mass in the church followed by a presentation in the gym and classroom visits.
JAN.
2015 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
FEB.
S.P.I.C.E. LUNCHEON
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Plan to join SLCS and it’s students for this national, week-long celebration of Catholic education. Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday, Jan. 25th and ends Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015.
The annual S.P.I.C.E. luncheon will be held on Friday, February 27, 2015, in the SLCC Parish Hall. You will not want to miss this annual luncheon.
SLCS’s annual auction and dinner will be held at the Marriott Town Center in Sugar Land. It is guaranteed to be a night to remember! Please mark your calendar. ST. LAURENCE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
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THE HEART OF A SAINT St. Laurence Alumni give back to their communities by participating in non-profits that help others. By growing awareness of these causes, our Saints certainly try to change the world for the better.
NARCOLEPSY: NOT ALONE BY ELAINE BROWN GARZA - CLASS OF 1997 A few years ago, I started having problems staying awake throughout the day, and I noticed it even more when driving just 30 minutes to work every morning. After a few frightening episodes of not being able to stay awake on the road, I met with my doctor and was referred to a sleep doctor in Austin. I completed an overnight sleep study test and a MSLT, or Multiple Sleep Latency Test, which required me to take a total of four 20-minute naps, every two hours. The test results were overwhelmingly obvious – I had narcolepsy. One of my friends recommended reading blogs about narcolepsy, and found one called “REM Runner”, a blog by Julie Flygare, a 30-year-old living in Boston who was studying law and loved to run. She has narcolepsy and symptoms of cataplexy. Julie Flygare has been such an inspiration to me, my friends, and family through her blog and Facebook posts and with the publication of her book “Wide Awake and Dreaming: A Memoir of Narcolepsy”. Julie recently started a “Narcolepsy: Not Alone” campaign, urging her followers to take photos with their
friends and family with a Narcolepsy: Not Alone sign, showing that we have narcolepsy. We know it can be difficult, but we are not alone. I volunteered to coordinate a “Sleep Walk Austin” event on March 8, 2014, which is also recognized as Narcolepsy Awareness Day and worked with Julie to invite her contacts in Austin. As a result, over 30 people came together to show their support. I met several new people in Austin with narcolepsy and have an even stronger support system because of it. I continue to follow Julie Flygare and have become a narcolepsy advocate in Austin. I live with my husband, Mike Garza, and two dogs, Toro and Gracie, in South Austin. I am a Chief of Staff for the Infrastructure Management IT team at Dell, and in my free time enjoy playing tennis, running, volunteering as a “big sister” with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and am an active member of the Junior League of Austin. Despite its good days and bad days, I am determined to never let narcolepsy slow me down!
REFLECTIONONS BY BRADLEY BURGESS CLASS OF 2013 As I have moved to high school at Strake Jesuit, I am beginning to realize just how valuable the Catholic education I received at St. Laurence Catholic School really was. At SLCS, I was taught three very important life skills needed to succeed in a high school environment: faith, service, and academics. For example, at Strake Jesuit we use iPads daily so I have been able to utilize my keyboarding skills. I have received many compliments about my keyboarding and note taking skills from numerous teachers as well as other students at Strake. I guess those hours of keyboarding really paid off. I have also noticed that my test-taking skills are very strong and very helpful. Throughout my time at SLCS I took many tests that made me prioritize and learn different study skills and test taking strategies. As the information becomes more challenging in high school, I have had to put these skills into practice. I find I am able to budget my time, allowing me to finish homework and tests efficiently. While SLCS gave me a great academic foundation, it also built a great faith foundation. At SLCS I was able to learn about my faith while growing deeper into a relationship with Jesus. I was encouraged to share, discuss, and even ask questions about my faith. Teachers at SLCS were always open to answering and discussing our Catholic faith, making me feel secure in my beliefs and love of God. As a freshman at Strake, it was so comforting to know that I could continue my journey and spread the love of God to others. I found myself in my Theology class engrossed in the deep conversations and
stories that my professor would share with us. I was able to participate and share in class because SLCS had taught me it’s OK to express your love of your faith. And lastly, SLCS taught me the importance of service. The LEOs club, service projects, and NJHS at SLCS helped me to learn what service really is. Through the LEOs club I was able to see firsthand how a simple act of kindness can affect the elderly, sick, and less fortunate. At Strake we are required to complete hours of service. I found I was ready and excited to continue my path of providing service to others. During these hours of service I remembered and utilized all the skills I had gained at SLCS. I was nominated to represent my freshman class at a leadership luncheon at Strake. It was an honor to be the voice of my freshman class. When I asked myself “Why me?”, I was able to reflect back on my leadership skills gained at SLCS when I served as the LEOs Club treasurer. Often this past year, my parents have asked, “How are your classes going? Are you ready for finals? Have you finished your homework? Do you need help managing time?” You know all the questions parents can ask. My response was always, “I got it. I learned how to do that at St. Laurence.” In fact it got to be a running joke at my house as my parents would start to respond before me, “We know.... you learned it at SLCS!” My St. Laurence Catholic education has given me a firm foundation in faith, service and academics. I plan to continue to strengthen this foundation throughout my high school years preparing me for college. It is my dream to be a pilot one day. While I know it is going to be a long road, I’m ready for the challenge to reach my dream of flying. I just wanted to take this chance to simply say: Thank you SLCS for helping me soar to new heights!
PRAY FOR OUR SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN: PFC Trevor Bello, USMC Capt. Christopher Coffman, US Air Force Capt. Patrick Coffman, USMC 1st Lt Scott Coffman, USMC LC pl Sean D’Oliver, USMC Capt. Brandon Driscoll, USMC 1st Lt Matthew Fenelon, USMC LC pl Kevin McGinnis, USMC 2nd Lt Brendan McPartland, USMC LC pl Daniel Thesing, USMC Capt. Michael Thesing, USMC
ST. LAURENCE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
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ALUMNI CLASS OF 1997 & 2001 The faculty and staff at SLCS would like to express our condolences to Francisco (’97) and Alonzo Martinez (’01) on the loss of their grandfather, Frank Chavez, on May 29th, 2014.
CLASS OF 1999 Jamie Dickson’s Animal Rescue is now an official 501©3. Congratulations! Check out Jamie’s Animal Rescue Facebook page.
CLASS OF 2005 Matthew Scorsone is now pursuing a Masters in Chemical Engineering from University of Pennsylvania after earning an undergraduate degree from Texas A & M University in Mechanical Engineering.
Class of 2006 Tara Schurman is currently attending Texas Christian University and has remained on the Dean’s List each year. She is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and Alpha Lambda Delta. She graduated in May with a B.S. in Early Childhood Education and in will graduate in May of 2015 with a Master’s in Elementary Education. Wesley Murray graduated from the McCombs School of Business at UT-Austin in May with a degree in Finance. He is working for Goldman Sachs in their Irving, TX, office as a Financial Analyst. Daniel Murray graduated from the Cockrell Engineering School at UT-Austin in May with a Petroleum Engineering degree. He is working for Arkanova Energy, an oil & gas exploration company based in Austin, TX.
Class of 2007 Mary Scorsone is a junior at the University of Houston completing an undergraduate degree in Biology with plans to work towards a Masters in Forensics.
Class of 2008 Theresa Scorsone is a sophomore at RIT in New York working on a degree in Sign Language.
Class of 2010 Amy Dodson graduated with honors from Saint John the XXIII High School, on May 24th. She will attend Texas
A&M University, majoring in petroleum engineering, as she was accepted into the engineering academy. Congratulations on a job well done and for all of your hard work. Brian Buckle graduated from Travis High School in May and is attending Texas A&M University in the fall. He will be an Engineering Major. WHOOP! John Knowles, Valedictorian at Strake, was awarded a prestigious Presidential Scholarship at Boston College. Boston College normally receives approximately 35,000 applications from which only about 20 Presidential Scholarships are awarded. The scholarship is worth approximately $185,000 over the four year period. Thomas De Gregorio, won the male soccer award and was honored as a 2014 Greater Houston Male Athlete by The Touchdown Club of Houston at the spring awards dinner in May. To be nominated for the award, the student must be a senior and a starter in their sport. The judges review each nominees’ GPA as well as other extra-curricular activities, religious activities and community service. Congratulations! John Paul Hernandez earned a third place award for his essay in the annual UST/Archdiocesan Essay contest this past January. Angelo Reyes, a junior at Strake, was named 1st Team Academic All-State Football recognition. Congratulations! Cameron Cousino, a junior at Strake, was named 1st Team Academic All-State Football recognition. Congratulations! The following 2010 SLCS alumni earned three of the four top graduation spots at Strake Jesuit and St. Agnes.
Strake Jesuit Valedictorian - John Knowles Strake Jesuit Salutatorian - Johnny Knoebel St. Agnes Valedictorian - Reilly Smith
Thank you to the amazing faculty and staff at St. Laurence Catholic School for preparing these students so well.
Pictured is Bradley Burgess’ first flight lesson at Anison Air in Sugar Land. He went up with a flight instructor for one hour and took over the controls for the very first time. It’s the beginning of his dream to be a pilot.
Class of 2011 Stephen Patrick McLaughlin will be a senior at Westside High School in Houston. He is completing the Magnet Program in Digital Media and is a member of NHS and Civil Air Patrol. He hopes to attend Texas A&M University in the fall of 2015, majoring in Visual Media. Tyler Tumbleson is a senior at Lamar High School and researching options to play baseball in college.
Michelle Collins was diagnosed January 7, 2014 with Leukemia. She had serious complications from chemotherapy, resulting in surgery in February and she spent 44 days in the hospital recovering from surgery. She is currently receiving in-patient chemotherapy through the end of June 2014. July thru September will be three more phases of outpatient chemotherapy. We hope, by the fall, she will be stronger and able to keep her treatment as an outpatient. She will then start to resume a modified lifestyle while continuing her treatments for an additional two years. Please continue to keep Michelle in your prayers.
Class of 2013 Congratulations to Hannah Kaiser who earned Freshman Academic Awards in English, Speech and World Geography at Incarnate Word Academy. Kylie Tumbleson is attending Bellaire High School and just finished her Freshman year. She loves it! Matt Rea earned an Honorable Mention for his essay regarding Pope John Paul II and was recognized at the 10th Annual UST/ Archdiocesan Essay contest this past January.
2014 Graduation ceremony Valedictorian: Molly Isaac
saluatorian: Jurist Chan
Medal of Excellence: Jason Ancheta Jacob Arrell Grace Buckle Zachary Burns Tessa Cantrell Jurist Chan Andre Chavez Claire Cho Danielle Cortez Roxanne Cubero
Keenan Descartin Gabriela Doganieri Kathryn Dzierzanowski Evan Florance Charles Geyer Kathryn Groth Connor Hall Sarah Hartman Molly Isaac Kimberly Jimenez
Thomas Le Colton Marks Grace Meyne Alexander Perrier April Phillips Patrick Rutledge Katia Seitz Isabel Sjodin Neville Tom Andrew Vu
ST. LAURENCE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
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FACULTY AND STAFF SPOTLIGHT
BEVERLY CHEFF
ECC/Elementary Counselor at St. Laurence Catholic School How long have you been at SLCS? I was SLCS’ first counselor and I have been at St. Laurence for 16 years.
What is your favorite part about being a counselor? I love teaching guidance lessons and helping students with problem-solving.
What is your favorite color? I’m becoming fond of gray, especially in my hair.
What is your favorite quote? “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Do you have a favorite Scripture? “You let me rest in fields of green grass, You lead me to streams of peaceful water, and You refresh my life.” Psalm 23:2 What is your favorite memory of SLCS? I have cherished memories of very special people I was privileged to know. One of the very best is seeing the smiling face of a student and hearing, “Hi, Mrs. Cheff”. What is your favorite book? It’s usually the one I’m reading at the moment. Name one thing that we wouldn’t know about you. I am 100% Polish and make awesome pierogi. Where did you attend college? The University of Detroit and The University of Houston
Where is your favorite vacation spot? The Big Sky Country of Montana What was the first concert you attended? Simon and Garfunkel, 1967, at the University of Detroit. I know what you are saying, “Who”??? What do you do in your free time? I love reading, “dirt therapy” in the garden, enjoying good food or a great movie with my husband and friends. What was your favorite thing to do when you were in PreK? I cannot remember back that far.
n Updates: io un Re s as Cl s! te ua ad gr CS Attention SL
Classes 1997, 1998 & 1999
es) are putt ing together a reunion! 1999 (the first three graduating class and , 1998 , 1997 from s mate class A group of your organize the event. Please contact him and group of volunteers who will help ittee comm a form to ing work is rt Jeff Gilbe rt.jeffrey1984@gmail.com at: 832.744.0526, 281.979.3901 or gilbe
Class 2013
say Kristin Holy) is S reunion! Brandon Holy (or should we SLC first their ther toge put to like The Class of 2013 would at: ckholy@windstream.net t. Please contact Brandon or Kristin even the plan help will who ittee comm working to form a
Class 2014
If you are interested in their first reunion this summer or fall. host to like ld wou ni alum est new S’s SLC heta at jasonancheta1@comcast.net volunteering, please contact Jason Anc
If you are interested in coordinating or hosting a class reunion and would like to share the word, please email the details and contact person to Ginger Przybyla at gprzybyla@stlaurence.org
:
aire te Questionn a d p U i n m lu A
s u p e Ke in the loop!
ou t and Please print d form to: te le p m o c n retur lic School o th a C e c n e St. Laur nt f Developme o e c fi f O : n Att Parkway 2630 Austin 9 , T X 7747 Sugar Land tlaurence.org s @ s w e in n alum or email to
First Name______________________ Last Name_____________________ Maiden Name ____________________ Spouse’s Name___________________ Parents Names _______________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City___________________________ State__________ Zip_____________ Phone_________________________ Email_________________________ High School______________________ City__________ Year Graduated_______ College_________________________ City__________ Year Graduated_______ Degree Received_______________________________________________ Occupation_______________________ Employer_______________________ Children’s Name(s)__________________ and Birthdate(s)___________________ News to Share with SLCS_________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________