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Dear Holy Spirit Prep Families,
Reflecting on this past school year, I cannot help but think about how blessed we have been as a school, and how grateful I am to our faculty, staff, students, and parents for everything you have done to help HSP thrive during the pandemic. While looking back reminds me of the many challenges we faced together, it also brings back many wonderful memories of the successes achieved by your amazing children along the way.
While we were unable to hold a number of our traditional events, the ones we did have seemed to be extra special. These included First Holy Communion and Confirmation ceremonies, several band, choral, and theatrical productions, art shows, and countless sporting and other events. In addition, next week we are excited to host our Baccalaureate Mass and Graduation Ceremony on May 28 live in the Church (masks optional!)
As if to highlight the HSP community’s positive attitude and collaboration throughout the past year, our varsity boys soccer team ended the year on an incredible high note by winning the GISA State Championship - reminding us that anything is possible!
I am truly excited about the year ahead and look forward to inviting our students and families back on campus live next fall, where you belong (without masks!).
We hope that you found the emails with curriculum updates on our Computer Science Program and Humanities Courses informative. You will continue to receive curriculum updates through a series of emails over the coming weeks along with important information for the school year ahead.
In Christ,
Ed
Calendar of Events
2021 - 2022 Key Dates
Tryouts for varsity and middle school cheer teams will be Monday, May 24 and Tuesday, May 25 from 4-6pm in the Lower School cafeteria. All 6th-12th grade girls are welcome to try out!
Tryout participants will be taught a cheer, chant, dance, and jumps on the first day and will be expected to perform the material the next day in small groups. Please contact Coach Morgan (morgan.gallagher@holyspiritprep.org) with any questions.
Want to work on your skills before tryouts? Come to Open Gym! Open Gym is for any interested students, especially prospective cheerleaders who'd like to try out for next year's middle school and/or varsity teams. We will focus on stunts, tumbling, jumps, and conditioning with less emphasis on cheers and dances. This is a great opportunity to develop and improve your skills for next season!
Sign Up for Cheer Open Gym
It has been a tradition at HSP that one of the first responsibilities of our incoming Head Boy and Head Girl is to attend the Preschool's May Crowning event. This year was no exception. Our preschool students enjoyed having Max and Olivia help them place their flowers before Our Lady. Below are some pictures from the special event.
New this year, we are recognizing a high school female and male grade-level Athlete of the Year. There were 26 male student athletes and 27 female student athletes that were nominated by their coaches for the grade-level athlete of the year. From this list of students, the top Female and Male student athlete was then selected. We are very excited to share these names with you today.
Female Cougar Athlete of the Year Honorees 12th - Sofia Oliver* 11th - Erin McGrath 10th - Kira Taylor 9th - Ella Johnston
Male Cougar Athlete of the Year Honorees 12th - Michael Cabrera* 11th - Adam Marshall 10th - Jacob Wilhelm 9th - Timi Browne
From this list of grade-level Cougar Athletes of the Year, the coaches voted on the top Female Cougar Athlete of the Year and the Male Cougar Athlete of the Year.
This year’s recipients are Sofia Oliver and Michael Cabrera. They will receive their awards at graduation next Friday.
We also recognized the Varsity Coach of the Year, selected by the whole Upper School student body and middle school, JV, and varsity coaches. Congratulations to Boys Varsity Soccer Coach Sam Walker. Coach Sam was also named the GISA State Coach of the Year. Way to go!
*not present due to Senior Disney trip
Congratulations to the 5th graders! Parents and students marked the milestone completion of 5th grade on Wednesday evening! Students were recognized by their 5th grade teachers and welcomed to the Middle School by members of the Middle School staff. The event concluded with a ceremonial walk to "cross the courtyard" officially!
Thanks to all who made this evening possible. It is the start of a beautiful new tradition for our school!
Plan to spend your summer at HSP! Our summer camps are designed to support the formation of each student by embodying the four pillars of our school: faith, academics, athletics, and arts. Your student will continue to learn and grow throughout the summer in a fun, faith-filled environment. Please visit the summer camps page on our website for the most current information and register as soon as possible to avoid camps being cancelled. Register here for Summer Camps
Holy Spirit College will be offering two summer classes to which parents, faculty, staff or students are invited to attend. See information below.
Holy Spirit College Offers Course in Mariology Tuesdays, June 1 - August 24 9:30am—11:00am | via Zoom Dr. Matthew McWhorter $150 audit fee
The Blessed Virgin Mary has a special place in Catholic belief and devotion. This course explores the person of Mary as described in Scripture, in theological texts, and in the documents of the Magisterium of the Church. Topics such as the Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, Mary’s divine maternity, perpetual virginity, and role as Mediatrix will be explored, along with important prayers such as the Magnificat and the Rosary. Contact Kim Schulman at kschulman@holyspiritcollege.org to register.
Holy Spirit College Offers Introduction to Sacred Theology Course Tuesdays, June 1 - August 24 6:30pm - 8:00pm | via Zoom Mr. Tom Cole, MA, MTS and Dr. Mathew McWhorter $150 audit fee
Do you have an interest in learning more about your Catholic faith? Have you ever wondered why the Church teaches what it teaches about Jesus, Mary, or the sacraments? If so, Holy Spirit College is offering a special summer course that will provide a detailed overview of the major topics of the Catholic faith. The course will be taught at an introductory level. No previous study of theology is required. The course will meet weekly via Zoom for 1.5 hours during the months of June, July and August, with the periodic addition of extra sessions. To register, please contact Kim Schulman at kschulman@holyspiritcollege.org.
Registration for this summer's Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Holy Spirit Catholic Church is currently underway. VBS will be held July 12 - 16 and is for rising 3 year olds (as of July 1) through rising 6th grade (as of September 1). Parent volunteers are needed to make this camp possible.
Parents, if you are available to help, please contact Sarah Gillingham at: SGillingham@hsccatl.com.
Help us grow our GOAL funds this year! 2021 GOAL tax credits still remain, and you have the opportunity to support our school by participating in an important program. Be a GOAL Getter and submit your 2021 tax credit application at www.goalscholarship.org. Choose HSP! Please contact Emily Lyles at elyles@holyspiritprep.org with any questions.
Please click on the link below to view the Preschool's Weekly Newsletter.
Weekly Newsletter
Congratulations to the following students for being the recipients of this month’s Virtue Award. This month's virtue is Love for Mary.
PK4- Noah Joffre-Irizarry
K- Leila Lee
1st- Claire Olguin
2nd- Scarlett Evans
3A- Harper Grubbs
3B- Charlotte Rosenzweig
4A- Enzo Kuhlman
4B- Theresa Meder
5A- Rafael Pelaez
5B- Luke Sacco
6A- Evelyn Labbe
6B- Audrey Gatwood
7th Gr. Servant Leader Award- Hadley Darby
Congratulations to all!
Lower School Early Dismissal: May 24, 25 and 26 Monday, May 24th, Tuesday, May 25th, and Wednesday, May 26th (the last three days of the school year) will be half-days at the Lower School. The Lower School will dismiss at 12:30 pm on these dates. ESP will be available on Monday, May 24, and Tuesday, May 25, of this week.
Last Day of School To conclude our exciting school year, the Lower School and Middle School students will be celebrating Mass on the last day of school. Our grade-level award ceremony will follow Mass in their classrooms as well as their class party. Only two parent volunteers per grade will be allowed to attend and assist during the end-of-year party. Please let me know if you have any questions by contacting me at sirizarry@holyspiritprep.org.
5th Grade: Monday, May 24 5th Grade will be participating in the Middle School House Day this year, as this is the last year that they are a part of the House System. This will take place on Monday, 5/24. Students should wear their House shirt, PE shorts, and tennis shoes. Please have them bring a change of clothes as one of the events includes water balloons. Tuesday and Wednesday, 5/25 and 5/26, are normal uniform days.
6th and 7th Grade: Monday, May 24 The Middle School House Day will take place on Monday, 5/24. Students should wear their House shirt, PE shorts, and tennis shoes. Please have them bring a change of clothes as one of the events includes water balloons. Tuesday and Wednesday, 5/25 and 5/26 are normal uniform days for the Middle School.
Virtual Learners Virtual learners will end the school year on Friday, May 21. Please return items such as Chromebook, charger, and/or tablet to the Front Office before or on Wednesday, May 26.
ERB Testing The ERB (Educational Records Bureau) Standardized Testing student results will be sent out at the beginning of June via mail.
Summer Work The Summer Reading and Math Packet for our rising grades will be posted next week on our HSP website.
Any Lost and Found items not claimed by Monday, May 24, will be donated to charity.
The PVA is already looking ahead at the 2021-22 school year and WE NEED YOU!
Without volunteers, we cannot maintain the current events and support on campus.
Please consider stepping up as a chair-person for one of the following events. If you’d like some clarification about the role and responsibilities, please reach out to Maria Kichler (mariakichler@gmail.com). We will not finalize the calendar of events until we have a chairperson aligned for each event.
Click Here to Volunteer: https://forms.gle/Q4rrEoEg79via2UW8
Click on the link below to view the weekly newsletter from your child's Homeroom teacher.
To celebrate the end of the year, the high school enjoyed a half-day of classes followed by 3 hours of fun today! They received their yearbooks, ate pizza, and played spikeball and volleyball. An ice cream food truck, Cereal and Cream, also showed up to add some delicious treats to the mix. It was a much-appreciated day of fun to cap off the pandemic year.
In the annual faculty vs. students kickball game, the Upper School students took down the teachers 6-0 through 5 innings. The faculty insist they were hamstrung by COVID preventing their normal intensive practice routine leading up to the game.
Congratulations to the students!
Upper School Used Book Collection During May!
Please have your student drop any used textbooks into the bins in the Rotunda (Liberal Arts Building). The PVA inventories and re-sells the books over the summer during the online Book Sale. The bins are labeled by subject.
If you are interested in helping inventory and price books over the summer, please reach to Cindy Jones at mikeandcin@msn.com.
Rising Seniors and Families (and anyone else already thinking about the beloved college essays):
It is FINALLY TIME to start brainstorming! If that declaration just stressed you out, then congrats! You are normal! And I suggest you keep reading…
On May 24th at 8:00 PM, we will have a FREE & ONLINE Webinar with Prompt covering the "Secrets to Great College Essays"!
REGISTER HERE
This quick webinar involves no work on your part AND YET it will be so beneficial for breaking down that first wall of intimidation between you and the essay you will draft at our bootcamp in August. See you all there!!
Dear HSP 10th - 12th grade families in Christ,
I hope you are all well. I wanted to send you a note regarding a new initiative we are currently working on for the summer for a group of High school students. Over the past few years, I had the grace to be able to run a leadership course in Washington DC , where I would bring High Schoolers from around the country to visit political and business leader in our Nation’s capital. This year, because of Covid, providentially, we are not able to have the course in DC. So we began to see if we could start up something here in the Atlanta area. So we began to ask around for speakers, and the response was very positive. We took that as a sign from the Lord to bring the program to HSP.
The Objective of this course is to bring young men and women in front of some business leaders where they will have the opportunity to interact with them. The men and women will be able to share their story about what they did to make it to the position they are in, what attracted them, some of the principles they use to guide their life, and also what role Faith plays in their life.
Venue: We will be staying at Georgia Tech, where we will be commuting as a group to visit the business leaders, either in office, home or other venue.
Dates for the course are June 16-23. Arriving Wednesday (June 16) evening and departing on Wednesday (June 23) midday.
Cost: $900
Other than visiting offices, we will be having a time to plan and run a service activity for some poor immigrant families, and learn classic etiquette.
Some of the speakers that have confirmed their availability:
Kelly Loeffler – Politician
Frank Hanna – CEO of Hannah Investment firm
Orlando Ojeda – President of Full Circle Restoration
Anthony Cabrera – Senior Finance Council for Coke
Kelly Angelo – Treasurer at Coke
Dr Adolph Casal – Psychiatric Childhood Medicine
Dr Grigorian – Neurosurgeon
Rick Kuhlman – Kuhlman Chiropractic Care, Work ethic
Kathleen Magnusson and Sue Nardelli – Etiquette
Erik Gunderson – Primus Executive VP
Dan D’Aniello (virtual visitor from DC) – Co -Founder of Carlyle Group
Please consider joining Fr Juan, Andrea Vargas and I on an unforgettable journey with some of Atlanta’s Catholic Leaders.
Registration link
https://holyspiritprep.formstack.com/forms/summerleadership
God bless!
Fr Andrew, LC
Calling all volunteers for Upper School PVA Chair and volunteer positions for the 2021-2022 school year!
We are looking for parents to help with all kinds of Upper School events, including dances and ROMA for the next school year.
Any interested parents, please reach to Christian Riley at rileycn@hotmail.com or Cindy Jones at mikeandcin@msn.com.
Announcing Holy Spirit Prep's Summer Choir Chant Camp for Students in Grades 7 to 12!
Dates: July 19-23 Time: 12:00 pm -3:00 pm
Where :Holy Spirit Preparatory School
The program will culminate by singing at the 11:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
Sign up at https://holyspiritprep.org/summerprograms/
Lower School Musical Theater Camp for Grades 3 to 6 on July 26 - 30!
Campers will perform their favorite songs from Broadway and Movies. This camp is sure to be fun for both new and experienced performers! Camp will conclude with a showcase performance for Friends and Family
Ascension Music Academy is offering individual music classes over the summer as outlined in the link below.
AMA Registration Form - Summer 2021-3.pdf
Do you have a child who belts showtunes in the shower and adores weekly choir? Are you tired of listening to the same Olivia Rodrigo song over and over? Then your budding performer is the perfect fit for our Holy Spirit Singers- an exciting new music course for students in grades 6-8 to be offered in the fall.
In this vocal performance class, students will apply vocal technique to perform pieces ranging from traditional to contemporary: everything from Dona Nobis Pacem to Dear Evan Hansen. Students will develop skills in music theory, sight reading, vocal technique, performance skills, and more!
Vocal performance is interdisciplinary; students apply history, math, writing, art and others skills to improve their performances and understanding of the piece.
Our HSP Singers go on to perform in our annual theatrical and musical showcases, as well as excel in their other classes. Your Cougar’s talent will SHINE and their confidence will SOAR!
Enjoy this clip of our singers rehearsing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j52KzdG2zwI&feature=emb_logo
Public performances include
Mass* Required
Spring musical ** optional
And 3-4 annual concerts * Required
HSP Singers is the course for the fall for any High School students interested in singing for weekly Mass.
In this vocal performance class, students will apply vocal technique to perform pieces ranging from modern Musical Theatre to sacred polyphony.
Through creativity, improv games and extracurricular events, HSP Singers is an exciting opportunity for students to perform! From experienced performers to those new to singing, HSP Singers provides opportunities for everyone’s talents to SOAR!
Students will develop skills in audition prep, music theory, sight reading, vocal technique, performance technique in order to hone their skills for college and beyond! Vocal performance is interdisciplinary; students apply history, math, writing, art and others to improve their performances and understanding of the piece. While there is ample rehearsal time in class, advanced students should be prepared to dedicate work at home as well.
In addition to singing for weekly Masses, Upper School HSP Singers go on to perform in our annual theatrical and musical showcases,and important school wide events such as the HSP Gala, Confirmation Mass and more.
Our fall play and winter concert were amazing, and you can always remember them by ordering candid photos from Cady Studios! Follow the links below to browse the galleries and order your digital copy or physical prints online.
Fall Play - How To Overthrow Your Student Government
Winter Band and Chorus Concert
Congratulations to our boys varsity soccer team for defeating Frederica Academy 1-0 for the GISA State Championship this past Saturday!
Our girls varsity soccer team ended their season in the semifinal game against Frederica, 0-1. Congratulations on an amazing season!
Join us in congratulating the following players on both the boys and girls varsity soccer teams on their selection to the All-State teams!
Boys All-State Michael Cabrera Ben Cumbie Timi Browne Daniel Jones Luke Ciprari Dylan Delaney
Girls All-State Natalie Olsen Sofia Oliver
Coach Sam Walker was also selected as the GISA All-State Coach of the Year. Congratulations to all of you on this honor! It is well deserved!
This past Tuesday, we honored our spring sports athletes for all of their achievements this season! Many student athletes received their All-Region and All-State plaques, as well as team trophies from region and state tournaments and competitions. Congratulations to all on a great spring season!
This is a new award this year is given to the student athlete that exemplifies the virtues that were covered during the season both on and off the field of play.
Here are all of the student athletes that received this award for the entire 20-21 school year:
Varsity Cheer - Kira Taylor Middle School Cheer - Hadley Darby Varsity Clay Targets - Max Bendig Varsity Cross Country - Emil Sacco Middle School Cross Country - Brooke Nguyen Varsity Football - Patrick Radosta and Paydn Devine Varsity Volleyball - Mary Anna Cumbie JV Volleyball - Alexia Riley Middle School Volleyball - Alondra Olguin Girls Varsity Tennis - Sophia Raus Boys Varsity Tennis - Ulises Ramirez Sanroman Girls Middle School Tennis - Araceli Ramirez Sanroman Boys Middle School Tennis - Aram Santillan Girls Varsity Soccer - Sofia Oliver Boys Varsity Soccer - Michael Cabrera Girls Middle School Soccer - Savannah Tate Boys Middle School Soccer - Hollis Weiss Varsity Track - Kira Taylor Middle School Track - Evan Craig Varsity Golf - Emil Sacco Middle School Golf - Charlie Sturgeon Varsity Baseball - Gilberto Lajara Girls Varsity Basketball - Reagan Westenberg Boys Varsity Basketball - Mac Harlow JV Boys Basketball - Cuahutli Santillian Boys Middle School Basketball - Bradley Magnusson Boys Varsity Swim - Jacob Wilhelm Girls Varsity Swim - Analise Oliver Middle School Boys Swim - Jude Brown Middle School Girls Swim - Maddie Van Oss
The Athletic Booster Club is seeking Corporate Sponsorships!
Limited 4x6ft vinyl outdoor banners on the baseball fence and the soccer fences on both campuses are available for corporate sponsors, in addition to all the benefits already included when you become a member of the Athletic Booster Club. The banner will be up for a full school year. Sponsor now for the 2021-22 school year!
Special Offer: Now through the end of April when you pledge to be a corporate sponsor, get two 4x6ft banners for the cost of three. Have your corporate logo displayed in all three locations!
To learn more about the opportunity to advertise on our athletic fences while supporting our Cougars, please contact Director of Athletics Kristina Wilhelm at kwilhelm@holyspiritprep.org.
Want to have the latest information on all things concerning Athletics? Follow us on our social media channels by clicking the links below:
Facebook - @HSPCougars
Instagram - @HSPCougars
Twitter - @HSPCougars
Love for Mary: It's the month of Mary! Saints - Maximillion Kolbe, Bernadette
“To succeed in your intentions, entrust yourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary always, but especially in moments of difficulty and darkness. ‘From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s will in things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God…Learn from her to be always faithful, to trust that God’s Word to you will be fulfilled, and that nothing is impossible with God.’”
- St. John Paul II
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