Welcome to St. Pius X High School quarterly Alumni Newsletter. The focus of the newsletter is to inform you, our Alumni, about what is happening on campus and to celebrate all accomplishments. We would love to hear from you!
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Congratulations to the Class of 2021 |
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St. Pius X High School recently graduated 67 students in its 2021 class. 100% of the class is enrolling in college this fall or the following spring after military training.
College statistics for Class of 2021.
67 students will be attending 26 different colleges in 10 states, with two also serving in the Missouri National Guard. Students were accepted at 57 colleges in 20 states
- 24 (36%) attending two-year/technical college
- 39 (58%) attending four-year college/university
- 4 (6%) attending a technical/trade school
- 47 students earned $1.966 million in accepted merit/talent scholarships
- 8 Seniors earned Bright Flight Scholarships from the Missouri Department of Higher Education. This means they scored at least a 30 on the ACT which places them in the top seven percent in the country.
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Since the graduation ceremony of the class of 1963, St. Pius X graduates have walked across the stage in the Ralph Boyer Gymnasium to receive their diplomas. When the school went into quarantine in 2020 we had to get creative on how to recreate that along with offering an alternative graduation ceremony for our seniors at the time. For the first time, we decided to hold graduation outside to allow the members of the Class of 2020 to have a graduation ceremony as well as allow for a safe environment for their families. However, we did not want to lose the tradition of the stage walk. We asked each senior and their parents to schedule a time to take part in the stage walk. It was filmed and uploaded to YouTube to honor the class and our tradition. The graduation parade, the outdoor graduation, and the stage walk were such a hit that we continued it with the Class of 2021. Not only does it give us a small amount of one-on-one time with each family, but it also allows us to continue the tradition started by St. Pius’ first graduating class. You can watch this year's stage walk using the link below. |
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St. Pius X High School Campus Improvements and Growth |
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As we head into the summer, St. Pius X faculty and staff remain focused on our commitment to education and continuous improvements. Over the last three or so years, we have made strides forward in several areas regarding our campus. Below is a high-level list (listed alphabetically):
- AD Office Build/Move
- Annex Chiller & Flooring
- Art Room Renovation
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Boys & Girls Locker Room Update
- Cameras/Electronic Doors
- College Area Refresh
- Equipment Storage Area
- Football, Softball, Soccer Field
- Gym Refresh
- HVAC Gym
- Library Update
- Parking Lot Striping
- Robotics/Industrial Arts Rm
- Server/IT Room
- Science Lab, Classrooms Update
- Soccer Field and Sprinkler
- Softball Field
- Trainer Room
- TV Monitors in Classrooms
- Visitor Locker Room
- Wheelchair Lift
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This summer will bring additional improvements to our campus with the majority of our efforts focused on the following (listed alphabetically):
- Front Office Redesign
- Maintenance/Storage Area Refresh
- Outdoor Classroom
- School Boilers
- Softball Field Hillside Landscaping
- Tennis/Softball Pavilion Landscaping
- Update/Refresh Classroom
- Wellness Center Mezzanine
We constantly find ourselves balancing necessary improvements and funding. Future opportunities include, but are not limited to, property expansion for a new soccer/lacrosse field, new parking lot, stadium field reconfiguration with a track, new gym, and a performing arts center.
While facility updates and improvements are important, we will never lose sight of our primary focus, providing an extraordinary Catholic education. This was never more apparent as our dedicated faculty and staff continued to educate our students in the optimal environment using proven, in-person techniques. This success is evident by the performance of our students with the senior class maintaining an average GPA of 3.57 and an average ACT composite score of 22.9, with the top 25% of that class posting an average of 29.7 and the top 50% in the class posting a 27 ACT composite.
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This year’s track season was one for the record books, literally. Seniors Rita Eimer and Cole Seek and junior Nate Ruble broke multiple school records while finding a place on the MSHSAA Class 2 State Podium.
Senior Rita Eimer broke Jennifer Marchand’s 1990 record of 5:45.00 in the 1600m setting the new school record and a personal record with a time of 5:26.12 placing 7th at state. Eimer also broke Katherin Block’s 1995 record of 12:28.00 in the 3200m setting a new school record of 12:04.51. Senior Cole Seek broke Joshua Govero’s 1995 record of 53.54 in the 400m sprint setting the new school record with a time of 53.03. Seek was the Class 2 State Champion in the Triple Jump with a jump of 13.41m(44-0) and placed 5th in the Long Jump with a jump of 6.41m (21-0.5). Junior Nate Ruble broke Mitch Bair’s 1991 record of 151-7 in discus setting the new school record and a personal record with a throw of 153-8. The Javelin was introduced to the Lancer Track Program by junior Logan Jacobsen setting a school record of 138-6.25 and Sophomore Hanna Burch setting a school record of 94-5.5
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Finished 10-12, made it to the district championship game. Beat Roxana (IL) 2-1 in a thrilling win at Busch Stadium and also got to play at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget IL. First Team All Conference Honors went to sophomore Andrew Merseal and junior Tate Ramey. Second Team All Conference Honors went to senior Zander Parson and junior Nathan Schwer. Honerable Mention went to senior Michael Bollinger and junior Austin Almany. Parson will be playing for junior college baseball powerhouse Jefferson College next year. |
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The doubles team of seniors Paul Borrego and Blake Dobey made it to the MSHSAA state tournament before finishing with a stellar 18-1 record. Team went 11-2 overall. Dobey ends his career at 97-10, the winningest player in program history, with Borrego right behind at 95-11. |
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Went 10-12-1, winning four of five going into the district title game, a heartbreaking 2-0 loss to Lutheran South. Again played one of the most challenging schedules of any Class 1 team in the state, taking on several quality higher classification teams such as Northwest, Notre Dame, St. Francis Borgia, Oakville and John Burroughs. First-team All Conference honors went to senior AJ Agers and sophomore Riley Cappozzo. |
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Senior Colten Richey qualified for the state championship tournament at Silo Ridge Country Club and shot a career-best 86 in the second round en route to tying for 30th place in Class 2. |
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The team played its first competitive varsity matches this spring, going 1-7 against area teams. No seniors, so the returning group will be experienced. |
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Athletic Director Tilden Watson has announced that St. Pius X will begin fielding boys and girls wrestling teams starting in the 2021-22 school year, with Lancer alumnus RJ Eberhart ‘97 leading the program. |
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St. Louis Post Dispatch Scholar Athlete: Hannah Schappe '21 |
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Congratulations to Hannah Schappe '21 on being recognized with St. Louis Post Dispatch Scholar Athlete Honors. Hannah’s role model is her mom, alumna Mascheal (Lee '84) Schappe. “She was the first person in her family to attend college and she earned her EdD in Educational Leadership. She is now the Dean of the School of Education at Maryville University. My mom taught me the value of hard work and the power of education. She worked her entire life to give our family an easier life than she had growing up. My mom showed me that the best leaders in life are driven to succeed without sacrificing compassion.” To read more about Hannah Schappe go to https://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/scholar-athletes.
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Faculty Focus: Scott Taylor & Ron Roskowske |
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Congratulations to Scott Taylor and Ron Roskowske on their retirement from St. Pius X High School. Mr. Taylor is retiring with 40+ years at St. Pius X High School and Mr. Roskowske has been sharing his musical talents since 2017. We wish them both the best! |
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Scott Taylor came to St. Pius X High School in 1978. He was hired by Sister Margarita and Father Dalton. In those early years, he found himself hanging out with fellow faculty members Marty Zielonko, Rick Overberg, Ron Navratil, Dan Bokern, Bill Schmidt, and Fr. Dalton. This community of people really connected him to St. Pius X. He grew up a high school basketball fanatic, so he was thrilled to be able to coach the Freshman and then junior varsity basketball teams. He also enjoyed his time as the girl's varsity basketball coach. He coached alongside Ralph Boyer and with Ron Navratil and Barb Charboneau. In the 80s, he was the stage manager for the musicals performed in those days. They were big productions directed by Adele Greaving and he enjoyed working with the kids on the crew and with Adele. In the 80s, he spent tons of time with fellow faculty member Dick McCreary listening to music and watching movies. In the 90s, he was a junior varsity and varsity baseball coach and in the late 90s, he started a 15 year run of coaching softball. The experience coaching with Charb and Kevin Halley was great and the girls on the teams really made it enjoyable. He reflects that the best and most fun coaching experiences included the teams with Tori Aubuchon (current faculty member), Holly Magre, Ashley Marks, and Caroline Basler. In recent years the highlights include the amazing accomplishments of the St. Pius X High School volleyball teams, which resulted in multiple trips to the Missouri state finals. Mr. Taylor is also proud to have been a part of the new House System over the last six years. Being the head of Dalton House has been an honor. He’s always been proud to tell people he was a teacher at St. Pius X. The friendly atmosphere, the sense of community and caring for each other, and the high academic standards make it a special place. He feels lucky and is humbled to have been a part of its history. |
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Faculty Focus: Ron Roskowske |
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Mr. Ron Roskowske taught Music at St. Pius X High School since the fall of 2017. Prior to his stint at St. Pius X, he was at John F Kennedy High School in St. Louis, where he taught Concert Band, Beginning Band, Jazz Band, Concert Choir, Chorus, Music Tech, and Music and Culture (an 1818 class through SLU). His best memories were all the concerts (especially this Spring’s) and all the students, who were great! During retirement, Ron plans to continue teaching private guitar lessons, music ministry at his parish (Seven Holy Founders in Affton), and playing dates with his blues band Kingdom Brothers. In fact, the band has an album coming out next month. St. Pius X wishes all the best to Ron and his wife, who look forward to finding some time for travel in the coming months and years. |
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Featured Alumni: Anna Bartz '17 |
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Anna recently graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. She graduated magna cum laude and in the top 20 % of her graduating class. She is moving to Ogden, Utah, to start a career as an engineer with Northrop Grumman. She will be working on their brand new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program which is a revamp of the Minuteman III missile. She will be working on the payload/warhead part of the missile, testing the part that holds the missile to make sure the warhead does not experience any environments it cannot handle.
In college she was involved in the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Engineering Honor Society, and Order of Omega Greek Honors Society and was an Orientation Leader.
Since she was eight years old, she has wanted to work on rockets that would take humans to another world. When she was in high school, she found out about Embry-Riddle and their aerospace engineering program. It is ranked the #1 aerospace engineering program in the nation. She wanted to be the best engineer she could be, and Embry-Riddle seemed like the place for her to achieve that. These past four years have been the most challenging years of her life, from moving across the country away from her family and taking out loans to afford this education, but it was all worth it.
Embry-Riddle has allowed her to ignite her passion for learning about engineering and spacecraft. She found a support group that encouraged her to be successful. She never felt like she did not belong, or she was not good enough to be an engineer. No matter what people said, or how few women were in her class she knew she belonged in this field. Not only does she belong, but she excels at it. She took her passion and did everything she could to achieve her goal of working on spacecraft. She even worked two jobs to support herself and was still able to balance school, work and extracurricular activities. She was awarded the outstanding senior award for the Class of 2021 for her leadership and the impact she made on campus. She really did become the best engineer she could be.
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The support and encouragement she received during her experience at St. Pius X shaped her for success in college. Being one of the few women in engineering, it is common for women to not be encouraged by their male counterparts. Coming from a high school where students and professors encouraged her to pursue her passion gave her the confidence to push through college even when others were not confident in her abilities. Having four-plus years of support to do her best in engineering gave her a base to have confidence in herself and her engineering abilities.
The advice she would give to current students is the quote that says “you have the power to achieve anything you set your mind to” is true. The key to success in college is not being the smartest, or knowing the right people; it is the willingness to learn and work hard at understanding concepts. The best college students set their mind on a goal and they work hard at achieving it. It takes sacrifice and late nights, but, in the end, when you achieve your goal, you will be grateful you did.
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On May 15th, 2021 St. Pius X High School hosted its annual car show. In attendance were over 80 Cars, Trucks, Jeeps, and one Motorcycle. Awards were given out for Best Overall, Best Engine, Best Paint, Most Likely to Get a Ticket as well as classes for Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Custom, and Kid’s Choice. The Alumni Association raised $1,300 towards their Alumni Scholarship Award. A special thank you to Julie (Cautrell '01) and Michael McRae '01, Steve and Maureen Menendez and all alumni who volunteered to help make this a successful event.
Join us Saturday October 9th for St. Pius X High School Homecoming Car Cruise. More details to follow in the September newsletter.
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Best Engine & Kid’s Choice Award: Phil Clifton 1956 Chevy Bel Air - The Grinch |
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Best in Show & Best Truck: Ed & Christie Yoder 1947 Ford COE (Cab Over Engine) Wrecker - Happy Hooker Wrecker |
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Best Paint: Jeff Shanks 1966 Black Cadillac (car not pictured) |
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Most Likely to Get a Ticket: Dennis Roark 1985 Black Nissan 300zx (too fast to be pictured). |
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Class of 1971 50th Class Reunion
St. Pius X High School Campus
September 25th, 2021
5pm Mass
6pm-10pm Reunion
Bill Ray
gwm610@att.net
(618)593-5046
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Class of 1976 45th Class Reunion
Wild Sun Winery, Hillsboro MO
October 8th, 2021
6pm to 9pm
Brian Westrich
brian_westrich@att.net
(314)591-1552
Susie (Moore) Thompson
susie0758@att.net / (636)543-1113
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Alumni Association June Board Meeting Minutes |
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You can visit St. Pius X High School’s website for all things Alumni, including June's meeting minutes. |
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The Ambassadors Committee has confirmed 12 Class Representatives. The represented classes are 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1989, 1995, 1998, 2000, and 2001. The role of the Class Representative is to be the liaison between your class and St. Pius X High School.
If you would be interested in becoming a Class Representative or the Alumni Association, please contact Peggy Flanagan '91, Alumni Ambassador Committee Co-Chair, celtfam6@sbcglobal.net, (314) or Andrew Held '92, Alumni Association Ambassador Committee Co-Chair, andyjenheld@gmail.com, (314) 435-2024.
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We want to hear from you!
Email alumni@stpius.com or use the following link
to share all of your fun and exciting news.
Maybe you'll be the next Featured Alumni!
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Join our St. Pius X Alumni Facebook Group
for up-to-date information!
Search "St. Pius X Alumni" on Facebook and request to join.
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St. Pius X High School I 1030 St. Pius Drive I Festus, MO 63028
Phone: (636) 931-PIUS I Fax: (636) 931-3519
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