Monday Mail November 15, 2021
Season of Giving: Give Thanks, Give Back
This week, as we continue our November Season of Giving, we are taking a moment to give thanks. St. Benedict has been a place to foster thought, spirituality, and inspiration for so many in its 45-year history. Nearly 5,000 eagle alumni hold the memories and lessons of beloved teachers and coaches near and dear to their hearts. The teachers at SBA have always been our hallmark – caring, dedicated,
and unparalleled in their field. For them, we give thanks. Today we launch SBA’s first-annual alumni giving appeal, Give Thanks, Give Back. Give Thanks, Give Back is our opportunity to do just that – acknowledge the blessings St. Benedict at Auburndale gave us through the giving of time, talent, treasure, and testimony. No gift is too small. The gift an alumni provides for our school, whether monetary, volunteered, or given in-kind sustain our future. In this inaugural year, we are asking our alumni to help us raise $6,000. If we reach $2,000, we will unlock two $2,000 gifts from 1993 alumnus Dr. John Hyden and our longest-serving faculty member Jamie Schneider. All gifts given to Give Thanks, Give Back will be earmarked for SBA’s Annual Fund and Tuition Assistance Fund, supporting the vision of our school for a future generation. Over this next week, please keep an eye on our social media channels as we highlight some of the wonderful teachers and alumni that have made an impact on our Eagle community.
Make a Gift
Meet Me in St. Louis!
Congratulations to the talented cast and crew of Meet Me in St. Louis! From the singing to the acting to the sets and the lighting - it was Broadway caliber. We are lucky to have such talented and dedicated theatre students, as well as Mr. Vaziri. Thank you and congrats to all!
Thanksgiving Break - School and Office Closed St. Benedict will be closed for Thanksgiving
break November 22-26. Classes will not be in session and the office will be closed. Please plan in advance to pick up anything you may need from the school this week. If your student will be applying for their Drivers license or permit over Thanksgiving Break, you will need an attendance form. Please email attendance@sbaeagles.org to get one by November 19. Please also fill any spirit shop or transcript requests by November 19 (side note we will have new items in the spirit shop after the break). To see important calendar dates for the remainder of the year, please click on the image or visit sbaeagles.org/quicklinks and click on the 2021-22 School Calendar link.
National Honor Society 2021-22 Inductees Congrats to our 2021-22 NHS Honor Society Inductees: Jenna Adcock, Avery Barber, Adrian “McKenna” Barton, Ryan Beatty, Leah Benjamin, Lydia Bray, Natalie Cardone, John Carkeet, Maxwell Clark, Gianna “Gigi” Claus, Lindsey Crossnine, Kara Crunk, Ryleigh Deeley, Janethzie Delgado, Lily Demilio, Isabella Donato, Madeline Duffee, Valeria Esquivel, Gian “Lucas” Ferro, Marcus Fors, Rachel Gammill, Alexis Gohil, Magdalena “Maggie” Gore, Rose Guimer, Evelyn Grace Hinesley, Michael Hoffmeyer, Abigail Hunt, Rachel Igharas, Bridget Kennedy, Anna Leoni, Destiny Lowrance, Isabella Maher, Ana Maske, Riley May, Joseph McCusker, Claude “Griffin” Mednikow, Isabel Mejia, Samuel Morris, Joshua Neely, Lily Obenauer, Joshua Parker, Madelynn Pemberton, Gabriel “Chad” Perez, Erika Perkins, Zackery “Pierce” Petroff, Cara Pirani, Elizabeth Raspa, Farrah Rector, Grace Regan, Andrea Rivera, Jacob Ryan, Savannah Scott, Erin Sharp, Sean Simoncic, Katie Skinner, Megan Spillyards, Joshua St. John, Adrianna Thompson, Delaney Urban, Zoe Vales, Emma van Dongen, Samantha Waldrop, Michael Weber and Jacob Woods
SBA November Business Directory Spotlight
Faith at St. Benedict
Monday 11/15 No Mass
Tuesday 11/16 8th Period Mass
Wednesday, 11/17
Thursday, 11/18
Friday, 11/19
7th Period Mass
6th Period Mass
5th Period Mass Confession during lunch
Eucharistic Adoration at the Nest A favorite tradition at SBA is First Friday Eucharistic Adoration. Parents are needed in the Chapel during these hours each month. Please email Father Dexter to offer a time and day you would like be present with the Lord.
SBA Weekly Sports Report Congratulations to Neely Taylor (softball at University of Memphis), Izzie Polania (basketball at Freed
Hardeman) and Colin Lee (swimming at Southern Indiana), the stars of Signing Day last week! Full recaps, stats and photos for all our teams can be found on our new athletics website. Be sure to check it out - recaps and photos are largely courtesy of our talented students!
Cheer On Your Fellow Eagles At This Week's Events:
Thursday, November 18 - SBA Girls vs. ECS (SBA) JV 5:30pm, V 6:30pm Friday, November 19 - SBA Boys vs. FACS (FACS) JV 4:30pm, V 7:30pm
Friday, November 19 - Preseason Match (Arlington High School) Saturday, November 20 - Preseason Match (Arlington High School)
Join us for an all new season of Eagle Basketball! Coach Josh Weeden and Coach Paul Stoddard have their teams on fire and ready to go! Let's send them off into the season hyped and knowing that they have the support of Eagle Nation! Eagle Extravaganza Wednesday, 11/17 6:00 - 7:30pm $2 admission or 2 canned goods
Athletic Season Passes & Game Tickets If you are planning on attending multiple sporting events this year (and you SHOULD!), consider picking up an Athletic Season Pass. Passes are good for admission for two to all SBA home events, excluding TSSAA postseason events. Don't miss out - a limited number remain! Individual game tickets will also
be sold. Note - Students should use their student IDs to get in at SBA-hosted regular season games. In order to expedite entry into games, anyone attending a game at SBA who needs a ticket, should plan on purchasing via the link below prior to the game:
SBA Athletic Season Pass
Individual Game Tickets
Fan Covid Guidelines We are excited to welcome fans back to the Nest for the start of the 2021-22 home sports season. SBA continues to follow all Shelby County and CDC guidelines to ensure the safety of our students, staff, parents and guests. Masks are required for entry into the building and must be worn at all times. Fans are asked to stay as socially distanced as possible in the stands. Failure to adhere to these policies will result in removal from the building. Thank you for your understanding!
Student News Blood Drive - Friday, November 19 This Friday, NHS is sponsoring a blood drive from 9:00am - 1:00pm in the gym. Donors must be 16 Donors must have signed parent or guardian form (can get from NHS during lunch this week) Make an appointment with Mrs. Vaughan or visit donors.vitalant.org and use the code SBA to sign up online. Masks are required by donors, staff, volunteers and guests at the drive. Donors will receive a $5 Amazon gift card!
Attention Parents of Graduating Seniors A representative from Herff Jones met with members of the senior class last week to discuss graduation announcements and cap and gown orders. Students were provided with a packet of information, an order form and picture example of the SBA graduation announcement. Extra packets can be picked up in the front office by those students who were absent on Friday. Parents, you are invited to watch this informative video: Grad Achievement Seminar - herffjones (wistia.com).
We will need all seniors to place their cap and gown order even if they do not plan to order any announcements. The fee for the cap and gown is part of the senior fee that is assessed through tuition, so while no additional funds are required, the order form still must be filled out. Our Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation for the Class of 2022 will be held on Thursday, May 5 on campus (football field). Plans are to allow for eight tickets per family. Inclement weather would mean moving indoors to gymnasium and those tickets would be limited to four per family. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Stephanie Scates, College Placement & School Counselor at scatess@sbaeagles.org.
Food Drive Continues! As I'm sure you know, Bishop Talley offered SBA a day off school if our students can bring in at least 2,000 canned goods by the end of the month. All food will be donated to the Associated Catholic Charities Food Bank. We are well on our way, but KEEP THOSE CANS COMING!
School Picture Info Holland Studios has sent picture proofs home by email for your child’s Fall Portrait. The email will contain the student’s picture proof with a unique student pin number and ordering information (If you have multiple children, one or more email may have fallen into the spam folder). All orders must be placed online or by phone to eliminate the school collecting money and handling passing out final orders. You will have the following options to order your pictures: Online - fastest, most effective way for ordering - with your student’s individual unique student pin number. Orders print and ship within 48 hours of being received. (shipped to your home) Phone - call Holland Studios directly, at 901-362-1818, to order (shipped to your home) Orders placed online and by phone will be mailed to the address entered for shipping and will be charged a shipping fee. You are able to combine multiple children’s fall portraits into one order to save on shipping costs too. If you have not received a link for your child’s photo, please feel free to contact Anne Fortwengler at HollandStudio to have a link sent to your email. She can be reach either by email, anne.fortwengler@hollandstudio.net or by phone, 901-362-1818. If you missed our picture day last week, Holland studios will be back on November 30th. Any 9th, 10th, or 11th grader, as well as any faculty or staff member who has not been photographed, should plan on having their picture taken.
Sean Simoncic Win Heisman The Heisman High School Scholarship presented by Acceptance Insurance honors the most accomplished, community-minded high school senior athletes in the country. Last week we announced Ryan McCulley as a winner. We couldn't be more proud to announce Sean Simoncic as another winner from SBA. It's rare to have mulitple winners from one school, but the caliber of these two students merits it! Congratulations!
SBA Library News The November Newsletter from the SBA Library is now available. Be sure to check it out and note some nostalgic movie showings this month!
National Honor Society Tutoring If you need tutoring, the SBA National Honor Society has several different convenient options. Take a look on quicklinks.
VFW Voices of Democracy Program Since 1947, the Voice of Democracy has been the Veterans of Foreign Wars' premier scholarship program. Each year, nearly 57,00 high school students compete for more than $2 million in scholarships and incentives. Students compete by writing and recording an audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. This year's theme is, "America: Where do we go from here?" Please stop by the office for an application with further details.
SBA Health News COVID cases since school started: Students (20) Staff/Faculty (5) No new cases this week!
SBA COVID Policies SBA is following the Shelby County Health Department as well as for all of our COVID-19 guidelines. You can find our most current policy here. Please note that while absences due to quarantine will count as we return to preparing our students for higher learning, students will have the opportunity to remote in and keep up with classroom instruction and assignments. To see the algorithm we follow for returning to school, please click here. Please note that per Health Department guidelines, only negative PCR test results will be accepted for returning to school.
If your student will be taking any as-needed medications (Tylenol, Advil, ibuprofen, and/or allergy medication) during the school day, please fill out our Prescription Form, and send in with a bottle marked with your student's name. We will not share any medications amongst students. They will only receive medicine from their specially-marked bottle. If your student needs to carry an Epi Pen/Auvi Q injector or inhaler, please fill out the appropriate form and submit to Nurse Lynn.
Prescription Drug Form
Epi Pen Contract
Inhaler Contract
Mark Your Calendar St. Michael's Church Speaker Series - Judaism & Christianity: Commonalities St. Mike's has invited the SBA community to their speaker series on November 15 at 7pm. Rabbi Micah Greenstein from Temple Israel will be sharing how we may have more in common with our Jewish brothers and sisters than we thought! To register, click on the button below.
Register Project Graduation Trivia Night - Rescheduled for February 15, 2022! Trivia Night has been postponed to February 15, 2022. This gives you plenty of time to rewatch Baby Boom and Ferris Bueller so you are ready for our 80's Night Theme! Get your table together and reserve your spot. RSVP to Amy Iovinelli - amyiov6@gmail.com. All proceeds go towards hosting Project Graduation for our seniors.
Save the Date! - SBA Gala & Auction Mark your calendars for April 30th for "Many Eagles, One Mission," SBA's gala and silent auction. This will be an evening you don't was to miss.
Did You Know? The Daily Eagle Our students receive a newsletter every Monday though Friday called, aptly, "The Daily Eagle." There is a good bit of overlap with the Monday Mail content, but also more time-sensitive announcements, daily menu offerings, schedule changes, etc. If you would like to read The Daily Eagle, you can find that day's version by scrolling down on the "News from the Nest" page on our website and clicking on "The Daily Eagle."
Drivers Ed Through Pitner Driving School - Now Enrolling Drivers Ed will be offered through Pitner Driving School weekdays from 3:00pm-6:00pm on February 7-22 (except for school holidays) for classroom instruction. Driving instruction will be February 23 through March 12 (specific times/dates will be arranged with each student.) Overall, the program consists of 30 hours of classroom instruction and 6 hours of driving instruction. Tuition is $595 per student and must be paid in full to reserve a spot. Please pick up a form from the office to enroll. Did you know that a certificate of attendance is required for a student to get a Driver’s Permit? You may pick up a form in the front office during office hours. Please have the student's Social Security Number to complete the form.
SBA Business Directory If you are interested in being featured as a spotlight member of the SBA Business Directory, you can join here. We will feature a member every month. We would like to thank the DaRosa Family and Dunkin Donuts for their generous coffee and donut donation for our Final Friday Coffee and Conversation series!
Attendance While we certainly hope that the steps we are taking to reduce the spread of any communicable illnesses will lower overall absences this year, we know they will happen. Whenever a student must be absent from school, a parent or guardian should call the school office (901.260.2893) or email us at attendance@sbaeagles.org before 9:00am to notify us of the reason. Upon the student's return to school, he or she must bring a doctor's note, if applicable, and a written statement signed by the parent stating the reason for the absence. This must be brought to the office before the student's first period class.
The Eagle Cafe The Eagle Cafe is back and better than ever this year. Your old
favorites like the legendary cookies and meatloaf with sides haven't gone anywhere. But this year the Eagle Cafe will also feature new items, like fusion cuisine (think Korean tacos) and iced coffees from the new Java Nest. There are multiple ways to pay (declining balance cards and meal plans). Find out more about your dining options and view our current menu here.
2021-2022 Academic Calendar We are working on a new interactive calendar feature for our website. In the meantime, this School Calendar has been updated with new dates, including retreats and exam days. All dates are subject to change. Please watch for schedule announcements on social media and through Monday Mail.
Quicklinks We talk a lot about Quicklinks on the website, but we realize that they can be hard to find! Quicklinks live on the homepage. You can access them by clicking on the small gray box (pictured circled in yellow) on the scrolling banner on the homepage. We put timesensitive and current information there, as well as things like the current year's school calendar or forms you need easy access to. Of course, anytime you have questions on where to find something, feel free to call the office or contact us at communications@sbaeagles.org.
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God Bless & Go Eagles!