Welcome to the December 4th edition of the Eagle Update. Today is Wednesday of the First Week of Advent. The Mass reflection is below. The complete reading can be found on the USCCB website.  

"Speak, Lord, your servant is listening;

you have the words of everlasting life.”

Dear Savio Family,

We have entered the "ADVENTURE" season of the school year. 

"Adventure" has several definitions including: "an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity." Another one is, "a daring and exciting activity calling for enterprise and enthusiasm." Of course the word "advent" can be defined as, "the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event." or "the first season of the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas."

No matter how it is defined, we can agree that the season of Advent is truly an adventure in so many ways, for so many people. How we have experienced it before impacts our expectations of it now. How our life has changed over the past year can also impact our perspective too.

Whether you have added family members, or lost family members, or experienced both will definitely alter this year's journey to Christmas. Changes in work, where we live, our immediate community, and the world beyond us can also influence us. We can feel excitement and anticipation at the same time we experience worry and trepidation. "'Tis the season" embodies all of the traditions, emotions, and the current status of our lives. The challenge and opportunity for us is how we choose to prepare the way for the Christ child to be born ... how we are preparing our heart and soul to receive the gift of the Savior.

So, let us open our own "advent calendar" each day and celebrate whatever gift it provides us. One day at a time, one event at a time, one wrapped gift at a time, and hopefully, one moment of reflection and transformation at a time too. 

May we embrace this season and the adventure that lies before us. May your journey be full of excitement, enthusiasm, preparation, and celebration!

God bless and take care.

Tim

Dear Savio Family, 

The month of December can be a very busy and stressful time for all of us, especially our students with semester exams coming up. Next week our Positivity Project, P2, lessons will be focused on how to cope with stress and anxiety. This was specially scheduled to help students cope with this time of year. Additionally, it is our Adventful Week, with fun dress down days, also designed to help lower the stress level. 

As parents, here are a few things you can do to help your children during this time. 

1. Pray with and for them during this time. Let them know you are praying for them and praying together with them before their exams. 
2. Talk with your children and help them develop a study plan. Make sure they have a designated time and place, free of distractions, like their phones, to help them focus on studying. 
3. Share with them your own experience with stress and anxiety and how you cope in your own life. 
4. Make sure they are eating healthy, getting enough sleep and taking necessary breaks. 
5. Watch for signs that they are feeling overwhelmed and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Mrs. McLaughlin, our Guidance Counselor, is here to help and can offer necessary resources.  
6. Finally, and most importantly, let them know that even though exams and grades are important, that you love them and that won’t change depending on their grade. 

As a family, let us continue to pray together during this advent season and work together to make it to Christmas break intact. 

Thank you and God Bless, 

Evan 

Upcoming SPA Sponsored Events:

SPA Board Meeting: December 6th @ 8:30 am in the SSC/Library

SPA Community Session: December 13th @ 8:30 am in the SSC/Library

SPA Staff Appreciation Christmas Cash Drive

Wondering what to get your child's teachers for Christmas this year? SPA would like to invite all Savio families to participate in the Annual Christmas Cash Drive. Our faculty and staff are always going above and beyond, and the Christmas Cash Drive is a great opportunity for the Savio community to thank them for their efforts! Your contributions are pooled together to purchase Christmas gift cards for the Savio faculty and staff.

If you would like to make a donation, please bring cash or check (made out to Savio) in a sealed envelope labeled "Christmas Cash Drive" or use the online link below. Donations by cash or check may be dropped off in the business office with Mrs. Fraga or Mrs. Nguyen anytime before Dec. 10th. Click here to donate online: SPA Cash drive. Thank you so much for your generous support of our faculty and staff!

SPA Rosary Group

Class of 2025, We Are Praying For You! 

Over the course of the year, the SPA Rosary Group prays one decade of the rosary by name for every student, staff member and coach at Savio. We are now praying for the seniors. You are welcome to join us anytime! We gather to pray around 8:35 am Monday through Thursday in the Chapel on campus, and we also pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 8:15AM on Fridays in the Marian courtyard outside. We offer a Zoom meeting Monday-Thursday for those who would like to join remotely. Intentions can be shared with us by emailing sparosary@saviochs.org, but no action is required. You are welcome to chime in, but one of our regular members will always be there to lead, so there’s no pressure. 



Daily Rosary Guide 

Divine Mercy Chaplet Guide

Senior Rosary Schedule 

To Join our Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

MeetingID: 558 531 0293 

Passcode: prayrosary 

Check out our Rosary Signup Page and our bulletin board outside the library for more information on rosary and spirituality events. 

The Spirit is Moving at Savio!

Faith formation is going strong. We are blessed to have a large group of students participating in the Behold Advent study this year. We also have a group of students preparing to Consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary on December 12. Jesus gave us His Mother to help lead us to Him, and Consecration is a formal giving of oneself to God with Mary’s help and guidance. Lastly, we are preparing to Venerate Mother Mary as a school on December 9 in honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Special thanks to everyone who helps make all these things possible!

Savio Annual Eagle Golf Tournament & Golf Ball Drop

The Booster Club is blessed to have wonderful families and friends who support the Savio community and our students. We are incredibly thankful for the support of so many who contributed to our extremely successful golf tournament on Nov. 18th and Golf Ball Drop on Nov. 21st. A special thank you goes especially to Eric Messing for all of his hard work in chairing the Golf Tournament this year.

Please join me in congratulating our Golf Tournament winners:

• 1st place - George Kelemen, Jerry Kelemen, Evan Psencik and Randy Vega
• 2nd place - Steve Ammons, Tommy Ledbetter, Ish Mendez and Ben Modisett
• 3rd place - Brent Haman, Kyle Meissner, Mark Parinella and Domingo Valdez
• Longest Drive - Matt Kata
• Closest to the Pin - Ed Tynes

We also owe a sincere debt of gratitude to our many sponsors. Please join me in thanking them and their businesses for their generosity. Our sponsors included:

• BSN
• Tx2 Security Group
• Tito's Vodka
• Austin All Stars Photography
• Austin Oral Surgery
• High Tech Flooring & Design
• Live Rays
• Path to Admissions
• PD Labs Compounding Pharmacy
• R Bank
• Silverado Signature Homes
• THZ

Additionally, we were honored to recognize Veteran Lt. Col. Ronald Venturini, USAF, for his service to our country. 

And last but not least, please join me in thanking our many volunteers who helped make the day possible:

• Savio School President Tim Cullen
• Savio Principal Evan Psencik
• Athletic Director Joe Castillo
• Athletic Admin Jessica Lomas
• Golf Chair Eric Messing
• Savio Student Ava Bien
• Savio Student Carlos Pacheco
• Savio Student Luke Reeb
• Savio Student Ethan Ubias
• Savio Student Alicia Waldrop
• Kristina Arce
• Ray Cantu
• Carey Engesser
• Cece Herc
• Stacy Kelley
• Gina Kerley
• Lan Nguyen
• May Mitchell
• Gretchen Parker
• Katie Sloma

For the Golf Ball Drop, we sold 537 golf balls and awarded $1675 to the purchaser of the ball that landed in the hole. Additionally, we awarded gift cards to the students who sold the most golf balls and other prizes to the sports team and House who sold the most golf balls.

Please join me in congratulating all of our Golf Ball Drop winners:

• Golf Ball Winner - Jack Cogwin
• 1st place student - Tripp Reiman
• 2nd place student - Cyprienne Milbrandt
• 3rd place student - Jayden Sosa
• Team - Cheer
• House - Angelus

Again, thank you all for making this year's tournament a huge success. We look forward to a bright future for Savio Athletics and hope to see you all again next year for our annual golf tournament and golf ball drop. Go Eagles!

Service Opportunities

The students of Christian Outreach will communicate service opportunities that are happening in the Austin area on our website. It is updated now! You may contact Mrs. Heyl at aheyl@saviochs.org if you have any questions. Here are some upcoming service events:

• Participate in Clean Lady Bird Lake on December 14! See more information on our website.
• Feed My People remaining dates for the fall semester are December 5 and December 19. Savio faculty take a group of students downtown at 4:30 am to feed the homeless a hot breakfast. Sign up on this form if you would like to attend! Students will receive an email the week of if they are selected to attend that week.