At Antonian College Preparatory High School (ACP), our twins, Alex and Emma, have found a truly special home – one that is based on faith, character formation, family, and excellence in both academics and competitive sports.
Our first year at Antonian was everything we could have hoped for, at least until the pandemic hit us in March! Starting each class with prayer, and attending Mass once a week, set a great tone for our children. Emma and Alex both had a rigorous honors curriculum where they were challenged, and were surrounded by many motivated and talented students. Emma found a new group of friends in Cheer, but had to work extra hard as she had not had prior formal training like many of her peers. This was a test of her resilience and character, and she learned the importance of not giving up, and teamwork. It has been inspiring to see the team flourish, finishing 2nd in the country in their division at Nationals.
Alex found a new set of friends on the freshman football team, priding himself on making sure that every hit counted. He too had to learn some important life lessons that included not giving up, even when there was no hope of winning, restraint when taunted by opposing teams, and the importance of good sportsmanship. This was definitely a character-building season for Alex and the other boys, as they were frequently outsized and overmatched by other schools. Perhaps the highlight of his year was the IHS retreat. The Holy Spirit was working overtime that weekend, and Alex was able to experience the first true spiritual high of his life – it was great to see!
As we attended various ACP activities, we also began to recognize that there was a need for significant upgrading of many of our dated facilities. We learned about the ongoing capital campaign, and we asked how we might be able to help. We were surprised to learn that the ACP community was solely responsible for funding these much-needed upgrades for our students. Additionally, we were inspired by former and current ACP families who had given generously to the campaign, and were particularly humbled to learn of the many ACP faculty and administrators who had also committed to helping out financially, going above and beyond their already noble task of educating, and guiding our precious children.
We felt compelled to make a financial contribution to the campaign, but with Phase IIA, a brand new indoor multi-sport facility equipped with a new weight room, training room, and girls lockers, we needed to do more. We committed ourselves to helping find additional sources of funding, as well as do what we could to increase awareness about the capital campaign among current families and alumni.
We would encourage all parents to please do more than just drop off and pick up your children at the front of the school. Request a tour of the places where your children learn, exercise, change, bathe, and compete. You will quickly realize that there are significant improvements needed to benefit not just our current students, but the many families that will come behind us. We have all benefitted from the facilities that were originally built many years ago, and of the completion of Phase I of the campaign, the Pettit Family Center for Academic Excellence. If you value a faith based Catholic education for your children, we must remain competitive with the many public, charter, and other competing private schools. We petition you to consider paying it forward and supporting our efforts to start and complete Phase II of the Our Faith, Our Hope, Our Future Capital Campaign. Please help us to achieve a 100% participation among all alumni and parents in this endeavor, no matter how much or how little you contribute, please give – every dollar counts.