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oard of Governors

resident

homas Q. Ellis

ecretary

Robert R. Orellana, Esq.

reasurer

Michael C. Collins

Members

Abel Montiel

eff SchubergMichael F. McLean, Ph.D.

ouise Warnert

Headmaster 

Michael J. Van Hecke, M.Ed.

Vice President of Development

. Peter Slaga

oard of Advisors

Hon. Jeremiah Denton

Former U.S. Senator  

Mr. Nicholas J. Healy, Jr.President 

ve Maria Uni versity 

Dr. Ronald P. McArthur

Co-founder 

Thomas Aqui nas Coll ege 

Mr. Roy S. Rohter, S.F.O.

Co-founder 

t. Augustine Academy  

r. Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.

Chancellor 

Fr anciscan Uni versity 

Mr. James Stenson

Educator and Author  

St. Augustine Academy130 South Wells Road Ventura California 93004

805-672-0411  Fax 805-672-2365  e-mail StAugAcad@juno.comwww.SaintAugustineAcademy.com

October 11, 2013 The Divine Maternity of Our Lady

Two things to cover today:

First off, regarding the upcoming GALA. It is quickly becoming crunch time for all the auction

coordinators and the office staff. Now that the invitations are out, all the many details of the

event crash in upon us for the next month. How can you help increase our success and decrease

our stress? [See enclosed flyer, too]

1.  Send in replies early –  whether singles, couples or tables….early is great. 

2.  Get in any donations you can secure as soon as possible.

a.  Gift certificates are SUPER items, since we can use them in many ways.

b.  Nice items to build baskets with.

c.  We have a nice list of Live Auction Items, though not all are confirmed yet,so we are still looking for another one or two.

3.  Sponsorships and Ads – please help promote these right away so we can sell those

and help pay for the evening before it begins!

I read an interesting article today about raising boys. In it is one especially germane point which

is applicable to the raising of  all children. It even applies to ourselves, as adults, as we aim to

achieve virtue in concert with our nature and our inclinations. As Msgr. Pope says, reflecting on

the passage below: “This is a very brilliant insight. It is essential that we not try to destroy the

innate gifts that God gives us in order to “control” them. We must learn to harness them and 

subl imate them so that they achieve the end to which they are intended .” These inclinations are

in us for the good; say to become warriors for Christ, courageous in the face of martyrdom,

faithful married spouses, etc. Though “the f all” makes us susceptible to misusing these

inclinations, it is up to us to curb them toward the good for which they were gifted to us.

 As a toddler, one of my sons liked to stand behind his baby sister’s chair and pull her head back 

as far as it would go, to watch it spring up again like a punching bag on its stem….and then she

 screamed….From my son’s point of view, it was altogether a gratif  ying exercise. My

intervention was always swift and decisive…I implored my son, “Don’t be rough. Be gentle.”

…I am struck, now, by the strangeness of what I said to him. We don’t tell someone struggling 

with lust simply not to want (marital relations); we don’t tell a glutton that his problem will be

 solved if he stops being hungry. Yet, I might as well have said, “Stop being a boy.”…. What I 

think I have come to understand about boys is that a desire to (be rough, even violent) is not the

 same thing as a desire to commit evil …. The problem is not that the boy’s hand itches for a sword. The problem lies in not telling him what [the sword and itch] are for, that they are for 

something.  If I had told my aggressive little son not, “Be gentle,” but, rather, “Protect your 

 sister,” I might, I think, have had the right end of the stick .

Even Our Lord had his ‘rough’ moments, employing just anger and violence to root out the

sacrilege of the money changers in the temple. As Msgr. Pope said, at the end of his

commentary on his blog, “remember, this is conversation (fodder.)” And it is true, this is great

fodder for a conversation about the apparent contradictions in the Christian call to holiness and

our fallen nature  –  and how distinctions can often help us make clear what is cloudy.

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CALENDAR EVENTS –  

Oct 12th

Life Centers Luncheon

Oct 14th

NO SCHOOL – Columbus Day

Oct 15th

Picture Re-Take Day

Oct 16th

PSAT for grades 10 and 11.

Senior Breakfast and Rosary.

Oct. 18th

Family Movie Night – See Flyer

End of First Quarter!Oct. 25

thReport Cards Sent Home

Oct. 27th

Family Oktoberfest and Dance at SAA. 5:00-9:00 PM

DEBATE CLUB QUERY – Flyer enclosed. We need a minimum of 12 people to sign up in order to

offer Debate Club this year. Club fee of $50. Please sign up on Signup sheet posted outside the

Science Lab before the PSAT on Wednesday morning – we need to have an accurate count to determine

if we can hire Mr. Reynolds.

FAMILY DANCE – Thanks to the student council for a wonderful evening!

DANCE DRESS CLARIFICATION –  Unfortunately we had a few students show up to the dancesignificantly outside the boundaries of dress code. We will make it clearer on future flyers. Also, I

have asked a group of mothers who were at the dance to come up with a better way to fix the problem.

For the many students who showed up in code, (some of whom I am sure probably battled with mom

about a skirt being too short or neckline too low) it must have been disappointing, since it was not fair.

It is not fair to those girls who modified their dress to be in code to show up to see others blatantly

ignoring the code. This will be better monitored and rectified in the future.

RENTAL AVAILABLE – Mr. Faulk has a small house on his property in the Oaks in Santa Paula,

that is available for rent, 1 bed, 1 bath, 540 s.f. Please contact Mr. Faulk for details 794-3131

Civic Announcements – [FLYERS] Public Square Rosary Crusade – Thomas Aquinas Parish, Ojai.Fr. Robert Barron’s CATHOLICISM Study Group for Couples- Assumption Parish.

FOOTBALL – MONDAY GAME POSTPONED @ HOME v. Assumption

FOOTBALL – Wednesday, October 16th

@ HOME v. Sacred Heart

VOLLEYBALL – Thursday, October 17th

v. Sacred Heart @ HOME

PRAYERS  –  We continue to keep all our friends and family in our prayers. For the souls of Mr. Zinkewich’s

mother who passed away yesterday, in thanksgiving that he was able to make it to Uraguay to be with her, and 

 for consolation for the family. For Mr. Henry Teichert, Mrs. Grimm’s father, who is now in hospice care – for a

 peaceful and holy death. For Fr. Scerbo OFM, of St. Paschal’s in Thousand Oaks, who is battling cancer. For 

 Mario Antignani, grandfather of the Warnert boys, who is recovering from surgery. For the soul of Nathaniel  Mota, a senior at Verbum Dei Hisgh school, who was killed when crossing the street after a youth group

meeting at his parish. Please continue to pray for Phillip Vargas and for a relative of the Grimms, Adrienne.For a friend of some of our families, Eric Stoutz (a father of 8), who is gravely ill during his cancer battle. For arelative of the Schubergs who is in a coma following an auto accident. For Mark Meltzer, and his mother, Rose,

a good friend of the school. For Sr. Mary Gemma, TOR. We continue to pray for Mr. Curry and for a veryspecial intention. We pray for all our school families, their needs and those of their friends and relatives. We

 pray for our Pope, our Archbishop, all of our priests and religious, and, for each other. 

LUNCHEON - Register now by

calling (805) 486-2721