Soccer with the Seminarians
Big thanks to seminarians Nolan Shannon, Will Young, Jimmy Fitzsimmons, and Luke Davis for coming out to play soccer with our middle school boys! Afterward, the seminarians took part in a question-and-answer session over a pizza lunch. They shared what life is like in the seminary and how they first heard the call to the priesthood. It was an afternoon full of joy and inspiration!
St. Louis Feast Day Field Trip
Our Form IV teacher, Miss Lauren Prize, took her students on a field trip to celebrate St. Louis’s feast day! The students attended Mass at The Oratory of Sts. Gregory and Augustine, received a reflection on the life of St. Louis from seminarian Mr. Steven Kalinowski, and spent the rest of the day exploring the St. Louis Art Museum.
Middle School Retreat
The Middle School community had the opportunity this year to begin with a retreat. Students gathered to learn about the Benedictine virtues, focusing on each virtue individually throughout the morning (Community, Hospitality, Moderation, Prayer, Respect for Persons, and Service). Icebreaker games were enjoyed, cards were made for the Lower School, and goals were set for each class to focus on a particular virtue this year. The highlight of the morning was a beautiful time spent in Eucharistic adoration together – praying the Scriptural rosary, doing spiritual reading related to the theme of “True, Good, and Beautiful,” and having the opportunity for Confession and silent prayer. By starting their year seeking Christ together, the middle schoolers hope to be able to continue to grow in virtue and community as a group this year.
2023 Co-Valedictorians
“Our world is a beautiful place that was created by God and filled with wonderful opportunities to evangelize everyone we meet, so that they might also share our love for Christ. Throughout the years, our graduating class has created entire, imperfect worlds. These worlds all held something in common. We all faced millions of problems, but there was no problem that we could not overcome together. This is because we have been taught how to think, not just what to think, how to problem solve, and how to work together as a team. So, any of us eighth graders, can solve real-world problems because of our formation and education here at The St. Austin School.”
– Emily, Class of 2023 Co-Valedictorian
“St. Austin has a very special place in my heart. I’ve been taught all of my classes here, but I’ve also been taught to find God in them. Every teacher has taught me to glorify the Lord in everything I do whether inside of the school or out. They’ve also encouraged me to love learning. I love it so much that I would cry on the last day of school every year because I didn’t want to leave. They make the classes interesting and fun. No matter how difficult or confusing the topic was all my teachers made sure I understood it. They all push me further than I ever thought I could go.”
– Chloe, Class of 2023 Co-Valedictorian
2023 Graduation
On the evening of Friday, May 26, our school community gathered for the graduation ceremonies for the 2023 graduates. In accord with tradition, the graduates, faculty, and Board members entered the auditorium to the festive music of a bagpiper. The co-valedictorians, Emily O’Brien and Molly St. Onge gave heartfelt speeches reflecting on their nine years at the school, and Abbot Gregory gave the students advice as they go into high school. We are very proud of our graduates and know they will continue to “preach the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8) everywhere they go!
May Crowning
Each May, The St. Austin School commemorates the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a May Crowning ceremony. Each student brings in one flower which is put together with their classmates’ flowers to create a bouquet for Mary. Then, the eighth graders lead the school in saying the Glorious mysteries. The ceremony ends with a special recognition of the students who received their First Communion within the past year. It is a beautiful way to honor Our Lady and ask for her intercession for our school.
Field Day
For the past twelve years, The St. Austin School has gathered as a school community in May to compete in Field Day. Each grade is divided into two teams, yellow and green, to compete in games ranging from soccer to tug-of-war to puzzles. This year, the teams were neck and neck with the winner being decided by the PreK tug-of-war! Congratulations to the yellow team on their victory!
Violin Recital
Thanks to the resounding success of the 2022 Benefit Dinner, we were able to offer violin to our kindergarten through second grade students. The students ended their year with a beautiful violin recital. Thank you to our donors’ generosity for making this possible!
2023 Drama Production: Winne the Pooh
This year’s drama production was Winnie the Pooh! The middle schoolers did a wonderful job telling the story of Pooh and his friends as they confront the “backson” in the Hundred Acre Wood. It was a delightful show for all ages. Great job, St. Austin thespians!
