High School News

October 6th, 2022

From the Desk of Eamonn O'Keeffe - High School Principal

TEACHER FEATURE WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK!

SAINTS FOR OUR TIME

Recently, the Church celebrated the feast days of two popular saints who happen to be favorites of mine. The Feast Day of St. Therese of Lisieux was celebrated on October 1. St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated in the Church on October 4. For as long as I can remember, my family has had a special devotion to St. Therese and St. Francis - both Franciscan saints. I have also been fortunate to serve in Franciscan institutions and be educated and formed by Franciscan sisters and priests.

I have learned that saints do not live in some other world. Rather, when we study their stories, we are able to discover that they live in the same world that we do. Saints like Therese and Francis show us that spirituality is intensely down-to-earth. Like them, we too learn to love through frustration, disappointment, and failure. Like them, we too learn and grow through seemingly trivial incidents of our daily lives. Neither Francis or Therese strived to be perfect…instead, they sought to be open to God’s presence in all of their encounters…finding God in the humblest of places, in the most vulnerable people, and in their everyday experiences. When we emulate the lives of saints like Francis and Therese, we too, can experience the living God present in our every-day lives, and even when we least expect it.

CATHOLIC SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Catholic Social Responsibility Guidebook of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was designed with clear guiding principles for integrating key Catholic social teachings into school culture. It provides theological resources that correspond to contemporary challenges, and alignment of Catholic Social Teachings to current Archdiocesan curriculum, policies, and accreditation standards. All SMSA parents and guardians are invited to become familiar with this document.

Here is an overview of Racism addressed the document:

“Our Church teaches that racism is a sin that divides the human family and violates the fundamental human dignity of the Children of God. The existence of racism in our world requires Catholic schools to respond with action and with love for our neighbor. As all human life is sacred and created in the image of God, Catholics reject racist ideas, personal acts of racism, and systemic racism found in social structures that perpetuate injustice. Thus, Catholic schools provide a safe and loving environment rich in resources for helping students understand and appreciate their own inherent dignity and that of all people. As students encounter Jesus, they learn to love as Jesus loves. Catholic educators teach and model the essence of Catholic social action: love for God and neighbor.” [Guidebook p. 9]

I urge SMSA parents and guardians to take a closer look at the Church’s theological response to the challenges associated with “Racism,” provided in the Guidebook. On the Ledge, we all have room to grow, and we value opportunities to meaningfully reflect on our own conscious and implicit bias. Like the Church itself, SMSA strives to be a welcoming and inclusive community that embraces human diversity while also seeking spiritual unity as Children of one God.

You may also review these additional resources released by the Archdiocese and intended for parents/guardians:

Our Lady of the Ledge, pray for us.

Eamonn O’Keeffe

High School Principal

Upcoming Dates

October 12 - Picture Retake Day
October 12 - PSAT Exam for qualifying Juniors
October 13 - NO CLASSES. School Closed for Faculty in-service Day
October 14 - NO CLASSES. School Closed for Faculty in-service Day
October 17 - Classes resume
October 18 - ACT Testing on campus for registered seniors or juniors
October 19 - Fall Concert at Holy Family Church (7:00 - 8:30 PM)

Parents of Performing Arts Meeting Dates

Parents of Performing Arts meeting dates for the 2022-2023 school year are:

October 18 (note the revised date)
November 16
December 21
January 18
February 15
March 22
April 19
May 16 (note the revised date)

All meetings will be held at 6:00 pm in the Lauby Lounge (first floor teacher lounge).

Contact Maggie Rose with any questions about PPA!

Yearbook Snap

Yearbook is looking for your photos!

Yearbook Snap, Walsworth Yearbooks’ new mobile app version of Community Upload, allows you to share your photos with the yearbook staff! Yearbook Snap is available for iPhones and iPads in the App Store, and for Android phones in Google Play.

The app allows parents and students to take photos at games, dances, theatre performances, concerts, or your favorite hangout and upload them to the yearbook staff immediately using their mobile device.

The access code to share your photos with Walsworth and your yearbook staff is: SMSA2023.

Please submit your photos today!

Bikes for the Boys & Girls Club of Fond du Lac

Members of the newly formed club, St. James House, participated in team bonding and community building by assembling four bikes which were donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Fond du Lac. This is the third year that SMSA high school students have assembled bikes for the Boys and Girls Club, providing an ongoing partnership with such a wonderful organization.

At the end of last school year Mrs. McCarthy, Mrs. Burkart and several high school students met over lunch to begin a pilot House System, focused on team bonding and community building. The St. James House is the first house established, consisting of approximately 18 students in all grade levels, a second house is in its initial stages. The goal is too create six houses named after all six saints depicted in the stained glass windows in our beautiful chapel.

Students interested in participating should reach out to Mrs. McCarthy or Mrs. Burkart.

Space Day returns to EAA Aviation Museum

A day of fun family activities and exciting guest appearances are on the horizon, as the EAA Aviation Museum’s annual Space Day returns to Oshkosh on Saturday, October 8, with a theme of sustainability in space.

Space Day marks EAA’s participation in World Space Week, with activities from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. all included with regular museum admission that day.

Eileen Collins, the first female space shuttle pilot and commander, will be the featured speaker. Collins was selected as an astronaut in 1990 and made history in February 1995 as the first woman pilot of a U.S. space shuttle while serving on the Discovery. In July 1999, Collins took the shuttle Columbia into orbit as the first woman to command a space shuttle mission. Before becoming an astronaut, Collins served in the Air Force where was the first female flight instructor. Collins will be presenting at 4 p.m. in the museum.

Additional Space Day activities include:

Mercury and Gemini Capsule Replicas: Climb inside a full-scale replica of the Mercury space capsule, which was the first U.S. spacecraft, and the Gemini space capsule, which helped NASA get ready for the Apollo moon landings.
Moon Game: Work as a team to solve a series of challenges founded in science about living and doing research on the moon.
Compressed Air Rockets: Learn what makes a rocket fly high by building an air-compressed rocket out of basic household materials.
Re-Entry Capsule Design: Ever wonder how astronauts return to Earth after a mission from space? Design a re-entry capsule that can survive a wind tunnel.

In addition, youths 18 and under can submit entries in the Space Day Habitat Creation contest. Participants can choose from two types of habitats, land-based or orbital, and must be constructed at home or off-site with recyclable material.

More details are available at the EAA Aviation Museum website.

iNDIEFLIX Shines the Light on Anxiety with Must-See Documentary

High School Music Department Disney Trip Parent Informational Meeting

The High School Music Department is headed to Disney!

Any student in band, choir, vocal jazz, or jazz band in either semester is invited to go. This informational parent meeting will give you all of the information you need: When, Where, Cost, etc.

Attending this meeting does not lock you into the trip, it just gives you the important things you need if you choose to send your son/daughter.

Hockey Season - Player & Parent Meeting

All high school hockey players and parents should plan to attend our 2022-2023 hockey season planning meeting on Wednesday, October 26th at 6:30 in Korbie Commons (school cafeteria).

Players will be introducing themselves and parents/guardians at the meeting. Prior to this important meeting, please make sure all of your required forms (scroll to the bottom of the page to find the forms) are completed and turned into Mr. Hoffman.

If a parent of any player is not receiving emails from Coach John Welsch, please email Andrea Welsch ASAP so you can be added to team communication.

2022-2023 Yearbooks

2023 high school yearbooks are now available to order from Walsworth!

Order yearbooks and senior ads online today!

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

This Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, The JED Foundation is helping students, educators, and caregivers have open and important conversations about suicide. JED wants everyone to know that It’s

OK to Say Suicide. In fact, it’s the first step on the journey to getting help.

On the Suicide Prevention Awareness Month landing page, you can listen to the stories of nine amazing young adults whose lives were saved by saying suicide and asking for help and find resources on how to have these conversations that you can share with your school community.

Articles and resources to help students, educators, and parents talk about suicide:

Crisis Resources for Families

Crisis Resources for Families.pdf

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

988.pdf

2022-2023 SMSA Concession/Admission Help Needed!

Are you the parent of a SMSA Middle School or High School athlete? If so, please consider signing up below to help out ABC (Athletic Booster Club) by volunteering your time and talent to work in concessions or admissions at an upcoming sport event.

Booster Club is encouraging ALL parents of ALL athletes to embrace teamwork and help out at an event that fits for your schedule. For those that have already signed up and volunteered, ABC sincerely appreciates your help!

Use the links below to sign up through SignupGenius:

Winter sports will be added at a future date with a follow up email

Snow Removal Services Available!

County K Speed Limit

With the newly paved and widened County K, between 151 and Winnebago Drive, please be cognizant of the 35 mile per hour speed limit. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office has received concerns regarding excessive speed in the hour before and after school.

The Sheriff’s Office will be placing a radar trailer on that portion of County K to monitor speed. Please have a conversation with your student drivers on the importance of following the posted speed limits on all roadways, and being aware of people walking.

School Safety

As always, if you or your child become aware of a potentially dangerous situation that may threaten campus safety, we urge you to contact the Fond du Lac Police Department.

To report life threatening urgent matters, please dial 9-1-1. To report concerns that may not be urgent, please call 920-322-3700. You may also call the high school main office at 920-322-8062.

Speak Up/Speak Out (SUSO)

Created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS), the Speak Up, Speak Out Resource Center (SUSO) is a comprehensive, one-stop place to turn with important concerns currently offering: threat assessment consultation, critical incident response, and general school safety guidance.

Visit the SUSO website for additional information on these three services as well as resources on school safety best practices.

Colleges Visiting SMSA

College visits are open to all juniors and seniors! Sign up for all visits in your SCOIR account!

Job Opportunities

Fond du Lac Boys & Girls Club

Ledger Learning Guide

SMSA High School Ledger Learning Guides Home Page 2022-2023 School Year

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