Crusader

NEWS FROM THE ATONEMENT ACADEMY Volume 2019-2020, Issue 4 (August 15, 2019)

Fri., Aug. 16: Coffee with Mr. Watson (RSVP today!) 8:30 a.m.

Mon., Sept. 2: Labor Day, No School

Fri., Sept 20: Early Dismissal (12:30) Parent-Teacher Conferences (afternoon)

15415 Red Robin Road San Antonio TX 78255 210-695-2240 www.theatonementacademy.org

Times

Upcoming Events

Nota Bene / Note Well:

• PTC NEWS: Fullness of Truth Catholic Conference Aug. 16-18! See p. 3

• BOOKMARK OUR NEW WEBSITE! Use www.theatonementacademy.org for the most current information.

• BACK TO SCHOOL PHOTOS are being sought by most local television news stations! One such station is NEWS4. (https://news4sanantonio.com/chimein) Upload your photos and help get exposure for our school!

• CONSTANT CONTACT COMING! We soon will have a different way to send you the newslet-ter and other news! Stay tuned!

WELCOME BACK

TO SCHOOL!

“The mission of the Catholic school

is the integral formation of stu-

dents, so that they may be true to

their condition as Christ’s disciples

and as such work effectively for the

evangelization of culture and for

the common good of society.”

—Pope St. John Paul II

“Whatever ...is excellent.” —Philippians 4:8b

Dear Atonement Families,

I hope you and your children’s first week has been as enjoyable as mine! I have seen faculty, staff, students, and parents working in harmony to execute a strong start. Let’s keep it up!

This letter’s epigraph is an abridged formulation of St. Paul’s admonition in Chapter 4 of his letter to the Philippians. It also emerged during in-service as an informal motto among faculty and staff. Whatever is excellent. What does this mean for us as a new year begins?

We could go in a few directions, all profitable. What I would like to highlight in this letter, however, is how this motto applies to something that may have been on many minds for some weeks now. “A new head of school; what will this mean?” Serious stu-dents of my weekly letters may have noticed certain themes, but would have searched in vain for five-year plans, rollouts, or re-structuring. Prudence dictates that a new head of school who joins an institution that will be celebrating its twenty-fifth year do so in a spirit of humility. What is it that makes the Academy so special to so many people? What do the Academy’s families see as its strongest points? I certainly have much to share from my experience working in schools, but my first year among you is a time set apart for gaining a thorough understanding of my new context and its people. Where attention is needed, attention shall be applied, but where all is well, even mostly well, “watch,” “listen,” and “learn” will be my watchwords.

In the three points below, I offer a sketch of where I anticipate directing attention in the coming year:

1. Building a Team

•Administration - Define administrative responsibilities and grant corresponding authority; cultivate a corps of teacher and staff leaders • Staff Culture - Provide guidelines for virtuous, professional communication; initiate a cycle of information sharing and activity coordination; introduce annual goal-setting and evaluation

• School Culture - Assign responsibility for school practices and traditions so that they can be nurtured and executed with excellence

2. Moving Toward Good Order • Communication - Establish school-wide communication expectations as well as protocols, practices, and checklists to support internal and external school communications

• Discipline - Establish clear discipline processes; introduce a Love & Logic philosophy of discipline and character education

• Governance - Clarify division of responsibility and channels of appropriate communication at the governance level; work with the Pastor and church staff to ensure harmony between church and school operations; clarify the means by which parents may contribute to building up the school community

3. Learning the Community • Openness - Administration is visible and accessible; administration communicates Mission and Vision regularly; faculty and staff are actively building relationships with Academy families

• School Plan - Developed with faculty and student leaders, pastor, school council, and parents; Plan articulates the unique charism of an Ordinariate school

• State of the School Address - Evening event in January; announce mid-range goals and defines attendant timelines and resource needs

No headlines perhaps, but I imagine devoted parents and those with professional experience in successful organizations will resonate with this approach. Greatness is our tradition, and greatness lies ahead. Whatever is excellent. After twenty-five years’ labor in this vineyard, we must ensure that the good fruit remains. Whatever is excellent. The rubric by which we must assess all plans for the future. Thank you for your prayers; we have truly felt them this week.

Your servant,

Matthew David Watson Head of School

August 15, 2019

This Week’s Letter from Our Head of School, Mr. Watson—

Parish Information

Fr. Mark Lewis, Pastor

Sunday Masses 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.,

and 6 p.m. (Latin)

Saturday Mass 10:00 a.m., followed by Confessions

4:30 p.m. (Sunday Vigil Mass)

Weekday Masses 7:00 a.m., 12 noon

For information on becoming a

parishioner, having a Mass said,

making arrangements for the

Sacraments or other matters, contact

Mrs. Adame at the Church Office at

210-695-2944.

PTC News—

The PTC Community Outreach Committee has coordinated our first Community Service Event. Please consider volunteering your time to assist with the Fullness of Truth Catholic Evangelization Ministry Conference this coming weekend starting Friday, August 16 - Sunday, August 18, 2019. There are both adult and teen opportunities at vari-ous times each day.

For more information, please see the following links

or feel free to contact Mrs. Laura Nichols at Snichols3377@gmail.com.

Teen: https://m.signupgenius.com/…

Adult: https://m.signupgenius.com/…

Or https://www.fullnessoftruth.org/sanantoniohyatt2019

Today Marks Our School’s 25th Anniversary!

Today is Also

Our Parish’s

36th Anniversary

This Year!

“August 15th has always been

an especially important date for

us in our parish because as we

celebrate the triumphant mys-

tery of the Assumption of the

Blessed Virgin into Heaven,

when Mary, who was Immacu-

lately conceived, was taken

body and soul into heaven

where she intercedes for us, we

also celebrate our anniversary

as a parish.”

So begins a great narrative about

our parish’s great beginnings! Our

parish’s Pastor Emeritus, Fr. Phil-

lips, has a blog with the rest of the

story. Take a moment and read

about our past here! (https://

atonementparish.blogspot.com)

Atonement Success Story:

Caden Padilla

When Caden Padilla began his first day of kindergarten last year, there was a lot to take in, but he took the challenge and exceeded his parent’s expectations.

“When he started kinder he couldn’t read,” says his mom, Angie Padilla.

But throughout the year, Caden embraced the accelerated reading (AR) program, and flourished.

“I was astounded at the fact that he went from not reading at all, to reading at a third grade level in one year,” says Angie.

Caden also won first place for his grade level last year in a national handwriting contest sponsored by Universal Publishing. She and her husband, Daniel, are thrilled with Caden’s progress at the school and are anxious to witness what first grade has in store for their gifted son.

“What he’s learned at Atonement, it’s even changed us,” says Angie. “It’s been a success for him, and for our family.”

Twenty-five years is a long time— and

we look forward to the next 25 with

great hope and anticipation!

As this year unfolds, we will share 25th

Anniversary activities . In the

meantime, be sure to keep praying for

our school!

Back to School photos are always a treat

to see — especially those in front of

the Big Red Doors!

• The Atonement Academy FB (our public profile— what we want everyone to know about our great school,

our current and former students, and our faculty):

https://www.facebook.com/TheAtonementAcademy/

• Atonement Academy Exchange (private group for current families, alumni, and supporters):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/268926669877839/

• Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AtonementSA

• Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/17119739/the-atonement-academy/?hl=en

NOTE: We are working on a new YouTube channel!

SOCIAL MEDIA —IT’S HERE TO STAY!

For those of you who routinely use social media, we ask for your help in promoting our school, so please like, share, retweet, or comment on the content we promote through our various social media channels. A great deal of news, information, and events involving Atonement are promoted on social media, so we encourage you to share our news with your audiences.

THIS FRESHMAN HAS A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP WAITING!

One of our freshman students,

Christian Sanchez, spent the last

few months completing a three-

year summer program and earned

a $17,000 a year for four years —

and an additional year if he en-

rolls in their engineering program.

This is a total of $85,000 in

scholarships to St. Mary’s

University.

The San Antonio Tex Prep offers

a Pre-Freshman Engineering

Program which can be a chance

for middle school students to earn

scholarships from area Universi-

ties. The Pre-Freshman Engineer-

ing Program (PREP) is an

academically rigorous, mathematics

-based summer enrichment program

conducted at several college and

university campuses in San Anto-

nio, as well as, across the State of

Texas and nation. Students can

begin this process during their 6th or

7th grade years.

Applications for summer of 2020

will be available November 2019.

Visit https://future.utsa.edu/prep/

prep/ for more information.

Way to go Christian —we are proud

of you! Parents of 6th and 7th

graders, mark your calendars to

apply in November!

Our school library is growing! Reading is always an emphasis

at our school, and this coming year we will have the second

floor open for tutoring, group study...we even have a chess

game nook!

Studies have proven that children who read are able to com-

prehend information at a higher level which affects all areas

of learning. The St. John Paul II Library at The Atonement

Academy houses one of the largest spiritual literature collec-

tions for children in primary or secondary school. The library

also incorporates fiction and nonfiction, and these works are

geared towards reputable sources that support in-class re-

search projects.

As we begin a new school year, we’re asking for volunteers

to become library monitors and assistants. These duties

will include monitoring students on the upper and lower floor

of the library during lunch and after school. We also ask that

volunteers be physically able to shelf books and lift items if

needed, and climb stairs. All volunteers will be trained by the

librarian. Your help and the positive influence you might

bring to our students is immeasurable! If you’re interested in

volunteering, please contact our librarian, Mrs. Deborah

Wendtland: dwendtland@atonementonline.com

The Atonement Academy’s St. John Paul II Library is Expanding!

“The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~Dr. Seuss

Above and below: The first floor of the library.

Above three photos: Our expanding library!

Were you a BIG GIVE donor?

If so, your contribution helped make possible this

wonderful library expansion!

We so appreciate your generosity!