SMHS Weekly Newsletter

January 9, 2026

Principal Update

Dear Parents,

I hope our students and families had a wonderful Christmas break. The new year brings an opportunity for our students to build upon past successes, and learn and grow from past setbacks and disappointments. We had a really strong and successful first semester. Let’s make this second semester an even better one!

Fall semester grades are now posted on OnBoard. These are the grades that will appear on the official transcripts. If you have any questions about your child’s semester grades, please email your child’s teachers directly.

With spring semester upon us it is an exciting time for the class of 2026 as the countdown begins toward graduation. It is imperative that our seniors avoid getting that dreaded Senioritis and remain focused the entire semester. Good attendance and ensuring that all work is completed and turned in on time is very important. Missing assignments was an area of concern last semester for all grade levels.

Winter sports and activities are in full swing and doing well. Please come out and support our students. Have a happy new year, and as always thank you for your continued support of our great school. Go Horsemen!

Yours in Christ,

Martin C. Sandoval, Principal

Academics:

Activities:

SMHS Choir and Orchestra

We are excited to send our prayers with all of the students participating in the All-State Choir and Orchestra concerts next week. If you see the following students wish them good luck:

All-State Orchestra:

John McCabe - Symphony Orchestra

Felix Montoya - Concert Orchestra

Mataya Sand - Concert Orchestra

All-State Choir:

Ansley King-treble choir

Jaslene Ramirez- treble choir

Charlie Ortiz-mixed choir

JANUARY Activities

Jan 13th: Meeting Schedule

Jan 19th: Martin Luther King Jr. ~ No SCHOOL

Jan 21st-24th: Girls Kairos Retreat

Jan 26-30th: Catholic Schools Week

Athletics:

Winter Athletic Schedules

JR High Girls Basketball

Highschool Girls Basketball

JR High Boys Basketball

Highschool Boys Basketball

Athletic Passes

Athletic Season Passes are in, please contact Athletic Director Dakota Montoya at dmontoya@smhs.me for purchase of season passes. We will also sell them at the gates for our athletic events, please have cash or check available in full at the time of purchase. Passes are good for all SMHS Regular Season Home Games Only.

Streaming Options

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/ Search for St. Michael’s High School - Santa Fe, NM (Must purchase a subscription to watch)

On-line ticket sales

https://gofan.co/app/school/NM13920

2025 Coach of the Year

Congratulations to Coach Joey Fernandez for being named the 2025 New Mexico High School Football Coach of the Year, an honor reserved for the best coach in the state regardless of class.

Fernandez guided St. Michael’s to a 13-0 season, a third straight 3A state championship, and extended the team's 33-game win streak, the longest active run in New Mexico. This year’s title marks the school’s eighth state championship, tying them for 10th all-time in New Mexico history, and their 17th appearance in a championship game.

For Coach Fernandez, it represents his sixth state championship as a head coach. His 217 career wins (217–71) rank fourth in New Mexico history, trailing retired coaching legends Eric Roanhaus (343), Bill Gentry (245), and Cooper Henderson (238). That makes Coach Fernandez the winningest active head coach in the state.

Foundation_Scholarship_Summary_2025-2026.pdf

Let us remember . . .

This Sunday, we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. This marks the end of the liturgical season of Christmas, and the return to Ordinary Time. But don’t be fooled. “Ordinary Time” is not “ordinary” because it is regular, typical, or dull. Rather, “Ordinary” comes from the Latin for “ordered.” During this season, the liturgy takes us through a carefully curated — or “ordered” — number of weeks (34 in all) that allow us to experience Christ’s incarnated life on earth and His public ministry.

What was Jesus doing all that time between His birth (Christmas) and His death and resurrection (Easter)? Well, it was anything but “ordinary.” The richness of Ordinary Time is found in the opportunity to know Christ more intimately in the everyday realities of life. The gospel readings proclaimed on these Sundays reveal the teachings, healings, and mission of Christ. We learn that Christ is about humility rather than pride, and vulnerability rather than power. We learn that Christ is about including the excluded, eating with social and religious outcasts, and dismantling structures of hypocrisy, sin and injustice. We learn that Christ is about the self-giving love that is only possible through authentic relationship — the relationship with an incarnated God-made-man, that is the central focus of the journey through Ordinary Time

Live Jesus in our hearts . . .

SMHS Alumni Association:

SMHS Parents Association:

NEWS AND ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGES AFFECTING YOUTH

Social media can spread dangerous trends quickly. Talk to your child about not participating in online "challenges" that involve unsafe behaviors, substances, or medications. Encourage them to ask questions and talk with a trusted adult before trying something they see online. Remind them that many videos do not show the risks or consequences of the "challenges".

Over-the-counter medications are often featured in the online trends. The FDA recommends that parents monitor medications and eliminate unsupervised access to youth. Any use of medication should be supervised by an adult.

Los Tres Reyes Magos

Date: 10 January 2026

Mariachis: 12:30 pm

Show Time: 1:00 pm

Location: Santa Fe Convention Center

Cost: Free

Los Tres Reyes Magos is a play about the coming of Our Lord and The Three Kings. Los Caballeros De Vargas invites all to join them in the folklore presentation of the age-old dramatic story of the Wise Men from the East. Delivered in Spanish, a renewal of the Christian spirit born in the humble surroundings of Bethlehem is the object of Los Tres Reyes Magos.

Please contact YBIC, Paul Garcia, Class of '83 Caballeros de Vargas for questions 505-670-2065

GIVE TODAY!