NEW SEMESTER EXCITEMENT

Dear St. Pius X Family,

We are now a few weeks into the second semester and the campus is alive with activity. Wrestling, Swim & Dive, Basketball, and Cheer are well into their seasons, and teams are currently being formed for spring sports. Fine Arts is gearing up for its winter musical, "Curtains," and our Fine Arts Assembly and Juried Arts Exhibition take place in early March. I hope you will join us to see our talented student body first-hand.

Our students are not only talented on the field and stage, but in the classroom as well. This Friday, we will celebrate those students who earned Honor Role, Dean's List, Principal's List, and President's List last semester. Nearly 650 students will be honored for their hard work and success in the classroom. Our faculty provides a challenging, college-preparatory education, and each of these student honorees has a grade average of 90% or greater. Students are learning and succeeding, and we are excited to celebrate their achievements.

Soon we will celebrate the full transition to our new front lobby and rear gates. The key fob system is being finalized, and we hope to begin using the space soon. An integral part of the safety and security portion of the Ring the Bells Capital Campaign, the new lobby welcomes visitors to a central location, allowing us to lock both the front and rear gates during school hours. The road to this point has been long and winding, but we are excited about this beautiful new space!

As part of our improvement process, a new construction trailer now sits behind the school. Although we are poised to start work on our new athletic field house, we continue to experience extreme delays with DeKalb County’s approval of our Land Disturbance Permit. We were approved last week, but now have several issues we must address with the City of Chamblee. We remain hopeful that the permit will be in hand soon.

Of course, our focus is always on our students, and January is a big month for admissions. Our enrollment team had a great fall as we hosted Open House, eleven shadow days, and numerous tours. In total, 465 eighth graders, representing 80 middle schools, visited St. Pius X. On January 6, we hosted Parochial Schools Night at our basketball games against Lakeside. Our school pride was on full display for the sold-out crowd! The application deadline for prospective ninth graders is January 30, and our admissions decisions come out on April 1. We look forward to welcoming new students to our Golden Lions family.

Overall, I could not be happier with the way things are going this school year. The St. Pius X family is second to none, and I am blessed to lead this wonderful school community!

Domini Sumus,

Aaron Parr

Interim President

SEARCH FOR A PERMANENT PRESIDENT BEGINS

The Archdiocese of Atlanta Office of Catholic Schools has retained the services of Partners In Mission to lead the search for a permanent president for St. Pius X. The president serves as the chief executive officer of the school and is responsible for the operational vitality of the school, including advancement, enrollment, marketing, finances, and capital projects. The President leads and articulates the school’s mission and vision, creates and implements strategic plans, and builds and nurtures constituent and stakeholder relationships on and off campus. The President also bears ultimate responsibility for the school’s Catholic identity and is supported by a robust senior leadership team in carrying out these responsibilities. Aaron Parr is currently serving as the Interim President for the school.

Partners in Mission is conducting meetings with school stakeholders over a two-day period in mid-February. Faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, and other stakeholders will be interviewed so that together we can discern what attributes our community seeks in our next president. Future issues of this publication will include updates to this process. The objective is to have a permanent president in place by July 1, 2023. Please join us in praying for a successful search.

SUPPORTING ST. PIUS X

If you have not already done so, please consider supporting the Annual Fund by making a gift today. This year's goal is $925,000, and we've raised over $800,000 to date. Thank you for your generous support.

Fundraising for the Ring the Bells Capital Campaign continues as we strive to reach our $14.8M goal. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we've raised nearly $13.5M, with just $1.3M more to go! The Library, new lobby, field/pathway lights, and rear gates have been completed. Construction begins on a new field house and Seaver Family Sports Complex building this year. Your support ensures the successful completion of these projects. Please consider making a pledge of support today!

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

National Catholic Schools Week (CSW), an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States, is celebrateing its 49th anniversary. This year’s theme is "Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service."

Please join us for our All-School Mass on Friday, January 27 at 9:20 a.m., as we kick-off Catholic Schools Week!

ST. PIUS X CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL www.spx.org