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HSP celebrates its first of four All-School Masses of the year on Friday, September 15, at 8:15am! This Mass celebrates our 5th graders and new 6th-graders, who will be inducted into the House system in a tying ceremony following Mass. Our school community will gather in Holy Spirit Catholic Church to worship together. Parents are encouraged to attend!
Parking and Drop-Off Drop-off for Lower and Upper School students will be at the Upper School in front of the Commons Building. Drop-off for Upper School students (including those with Lower School siblings) should be between 7:25–7:40; Lower School students should be dropped off 7:40–7:55.
Law enforcement officers will be helping direct traffic in and out of campus; they may not allow cars to turn left onto Northside Drive. Lower School students will meet their homerooms in the gym, and Upper School students will meet in their homerooms before Mass.
Preschool The Preschool will start at its normal time this morning. Preschool students are welcome to attend this first All-School Mass of the year with their families!
Uniform This day is a dress uniform day.
The Cougar Dads Club is a club for every dad at HSP. It hosts several different events for dads during the school year, including the upcoming events below. If you want to learn more about the Cougar Dads Club, email HSP dad Jason Neff at jneff01@gmail.com, or pop by one of the events below.
Click to RSVP
Get your hair cut and your dress uniform looking spiffy! Picture Day, sponsored by HSP's official photographer, Cady Studios, is scheduled for Wednesday, August 31.
Lower School students are scheduled to take their photos by class in the morning in the Lower School courtyard. Upper School students will have their photos taken during lunch on the putting green behind the Liberal Arts building. Preschool students are scheduled to have their photos taken in the memorial garden behind the Preschool (Pre-K2s will have their photo taken on Tuesday, September 26).
You'll be able to see proofs and order your photos online. Cady Studios will email you directly with ordering information.
A makeup day for photos is scheduled for January 2018.
Through November, families at Holy Spirit Prep will host parent parties for each grade level. Save the date for your grade(s) parent parties! Invitations will be sent through your grade level.
Preschool Parent Party Friday, November 3 Hosted by Stephanie and Jim Briles
K/Pre-1st Parent Party Saturday, October 14 Hosted by Sandy and Luis Rosales
2nd Grade Parent Party Friday, October 20 Hosted by Araceli Sanroman and Ulises Ramirez
3rd-6th Grade Parent Parties To be scheduled
7th-8th Grade Parent Party October 28 Hosted by Lauryn and Scott Masterson
9th Grade Parent Party Saturday, November 11 Hosted by Pam and Rob Jones
10th Grade Parent Party To be scheduled
The prayer intentions below have been compiled by the volunteers of Connections for Women and Cougars Care. Please consider adding the following intentions to your prayers:
Dear Holy Spirit Prep Parents,
My name is Sarah Durham and I am the Head Girl for the 2017-2018 school year. I am so excited to have the opportunity to provide insight into both the workings of the House system and the events in which your children are able to participate in each month.
September is full of House events, as the students and the teachers get back into the swing of things. The first activity of the month is the Upper School activity fair (September 8th). It is organized by the student leadership of each club and is meant to spread the word about what extracurricular events each club offers. Here students will have the ability to show their interest in getting involved.
Also fast approaching is the Tying Ceremony. This is an exciting event that takes place on September 15th and helps introduce our 5th and new 6th graders to life at the Upper School. During the Tying Ceremony, each 5th or new 6th grader finds out to which House they have been assigned and in which House they shall spend the next 7 or 8 years. I speak for the entire leadership team when I say that we are ready to welcome the newest members into each House.
Patrick and I are so excited with the start of the new school year, especially for all the House events that are planned. We hope to make the most of the time that is given to us in this school year and to make the 2017-2018 school year especially memorable. I glad that I have the chance to continue to inform you of everything that the House system entails.
Cross country took some strong individual wins away from this Saturday's Augusta Prep invitational, a huge annual meet hosted by Augusta Preparatory Day School in Augusta.
In their respective 5Ks, Julia Del Bosque earned 4th place out of 83 competitors, with her sister Camila following up at 5th. Andrew Churchill placed 14th out of 120 runners. Claire Donner took 16th out 125 middle school runners in the 2-mile race.
Cross country now trains for the Wingfoot Classis meet in Cartersville on Saturday, September 23.
Read the full results at MileSplit
The inaugural clay targets team is preparing for its first GISA meet, set for this Saturday, 9/16, at the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds here in Atlanta. The co-ed team formed after the initial success of a skeet shooting club in the spring, and features students in 8th-12th grade. HSP dad Duncan Gibbs will act as head coach for the inaugural season.
The team will compete in the following GISA meets this fall:
9/16, Tom Lowe (Atlanta) 9/30, South River (Covington) 10/14, Tom Lowe (Atlanta) 11/11, Forest City (Savannah)
Thank you for sharing a morning with your student at Bring Your Dad/Mom to School Day! Here's some photos from our mornings together!
Mr. Schultz has been hosting a series of coffees by grade, an opportunity for Mr. Schultz to meet with parents, share updates of the school, and hear parent feedback. Our closing earlier this week forced us to reschedule our Kindergarten/Pre-1st and 1st grade coffees for later in the semester!
The Kindergarten/Pre-1st grade coffee is Thursday, October 5.
The 1st grade coffee is now scheduled for Thursday, September 21.
If you'd like, you can join Mr. Schultz for Mass at 8:15am with your student's class, then enjoy some coffee and conversation in the media center starting around 9:00am.
Some after-school activities are still open for signups, including:
Challenge Island Championship Chess ImagineThat and FutureTech SewFun Studios
We are inviting families to send in fresh flowers at the beginning of each week for the Lower Chapel during the 2017-18 school year. During Lent, we ask that you send in a simple plant.
Sign up to donate flowers this school year
The flowers add to the beauty of the liturgy and offer a way for you to honor a special person or date in your lives. You may commit to one or more than one week. The flowers should be sent in on Monday morning or if Monday is a holiday, the first day of that week. A vase is provided in the chapel for flowers. Thank you for your beautiful addition to our LS chapel.
Please feel to let us know if you have any questions: Serena Young, serenagyoung@yahoo.com Amanda Eckert, aeckert@holyspiritprep.org
9th-graders and new high school students were formally enrolled into the high school on Wednesday, August 30, at the Upper School's Matriculation ceremony. During the Mass, students observed two traditions of the Upper School: first, signing into the Matricula, a book formally acknowledging a student's enrollment in the Upper School. Students will sign out of the Matricula on the day they graduate from HSP. Secondly, the students received candles lit from the Paschal candle and shared by HSP's student leadership. Students will receive this candle again on the day they graduate, and carry it out of their graduation ceremony, symbolizing the formation in Christ they received while at HSP, which they will carry out into the world.
HSP's robotics team kicked off its school year with something it's never done in its four years, joining the Georgia FIRST Tech Challenge at its kickoff event in Atlanta. Juliette and Nicholas McKinley, along with teammates Dominic Sanchez and Dillon Harrington, attended the event as part of the robotics club's inaugural Tech Challenge Team, coached by Dr. Kuczynski.
The robotics team is open to new members as well as sponsors, volunteer coaches (including engineers, electricians, tinkerers and thinkers)! Please see Dr. Kuczynski or email her at bkuczynski@holyspiritprep.org if you are interested.
According to their website, FIRST Tech Challenge teams (10+ members, grades 7-12) are "challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have!” Guided by adult Coaches and Mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles (like keeping an engineering notebook), while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and sharing ideas. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and can be programmed using a variety of languages, including Java. Teams also must raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach for which they can win awards. Participants have access to tens of millions of dollars in college scholarships. Each season concludes with Super-Regional Championships and an exciting FIRST Championship."
If you have a daughter in 7th or 8th grade who is interested in becoming a Girl Scout, it is not too late! We are having a troop planning meeting for parents of girls interested on Wednesday, September 20, at 5:30 pm, in the Upper School Library's board room. Please join us to learn more about our new Girl Scout troop.
Holy Spirit Prep has a history of successful Girl Scout Troops. Since 2014, HSP has had fourteen Girl Scouts earn their Gold Award, the highest Award available to Girl Scouts (equivalent to Eagle Scout). This is an incredible accomplishment which has been reported by local newspapers. These fourteen girls have been Head Girls; House Presidents; soccer, basketball, volleyball, cheer, and cross country athletes; and members of the Liturgical Choir. They are all successfully pursuing degrees at the universities of their choice. Girl Scouts not only offers leadership skills, but also provides girls with opportunities to gain new skills and potentially travel.
Please contact Kelly Angelo at kangelo@coca-cola.com for more information or with any questions.
Holy Spirit Catholic Church St. Mary's Chapel 4465 Northside Dr. NW Atlanta, Ga., 30327
Thursdays Sept. 21 - Nov. 16, 2017 9:30-11:30 a.m.
PLEASE REGISTER BY Sept. 17, 2017 9:30 - Hospitality 10:00 - Commentary 10:30 - Small Groups
Homework is Optional but Encouraged No Cost - Free Will Offerings
Nursery Available Upon Request Children 6 months to 3 years
Register online: Click Red Button Or Email: info@proclaimmyword.org Or call: 404-281-5741
PROCLAIM MY WORD, INC. A 501c3 NON-PROFIT MINISTRY Dedicated to the teachings of the Catholic Church www.proclaimmyword.org
Holy Spirit is pleased to welcome the relics of St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) on Tuesday, October 3rd. We will be the only parish in the Archdiocese hosting the relics and are expecting a tremendous crowd - potentially exceeding the number of pilgrims that came when we hosted the relics of St. Maria Goretti. Please consider giving your time and talent to assist. The volunteer opportunities are listed on this Sign Up Genius page. If you have any questions, contact Kim Schulman at 404-353-4513.
To learn more about the St. Pio's relics at Holy Spirit, please visit: www.hsccatl.com/stpio.
Join Fr. Juan for a father-son campout!
Click to register