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Bishop Kevin Vann Celebrates Ash Wednesday with SMCHS
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Santa Margarita ushered in the Lenten season with an all-school Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange. This is the second consecutive year the Bishop has presided over the school's Ash Wednesday Mass. Vann was joined by SMCHS chaplain Father Randy Sampinto, as well as Rev. Craig Butters and Deacon Carl Swanson of San Francisco Solano Parish.
During his homily, Vann emphasized Lent as a season of renewal.
"Sometimes we get fogged up by our troubles," he said. "Lent comes to us to help us see. It's light that comes into our lives to help us see and live differently. This path doesn't end on Easter, but will hopefully change us for the rest of our lives."
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day liturgical season which precedes Holy Week and Easter Sunday. The term, Lent, comes from an Old English word for "spring" and Christians see these days as a time for a change of heart, personal repentance and an openness to the grace of a fresh beginning.
Thank you again to Bishop Vann for coming out to celebrate this important day!
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SMCHS Faculty and Staff Fight to End Hunger
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While the students of Santa Margarita Catholic High School had the day off, more than 150 members of the faculty and staff participated in a service retreat on Wednesday, Feb. 5, with a focus on fighting to end hunger.
Christian service is an integral part of a Santa Margarita education, with all students required to do service before graduation. While members of Santa Margarita's faculty and staff perform service throughout the year, this was the school's third official all-school faculty and staff service day.
"Pope Francis has encouraged people everywhere and from all spiritual traditions, to be aware of issues of suffering, especially like hunger, and to do something about it, locally and internationally," said Peg Dzida, Director of Campus Ministry. "So, education like these retreat days are important to both galvanize us to action and to focus that action effectively."
The day began in the school's banquet room with morning mass and was followed by a presentation on the topic of hunger. The speakers included Paul Leon, founder and director of Illumination Foundation, who discussed homelessness and food scarcity in Orange County; Maria Dzida, founder and director of Loaves and Fishes, a homeless shelter in Santa Ana; and Deacon Guillermo Torres, director of Hispanic Ministries for the Diocese of Orange and Catholic Relief Services.
To read the entire story, Click Here
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SMCHS Celebrates Catholic Schools Week
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SMCHS recently celebrated Catholic Schools Week, a week where we celebrate the gift of Catholic education. Through Catholic education we are brought together in a communion of faith, we expand our understanding in many subjects, and we are encouraged to go forth in service. As a part of Catholic Schools Week, SMCHS collected new and gently used blankets for Catholic Charities of Orange County from Jan. 27-31. During Catholic Schools Week, Santa Margarita also celebrated the St. Thomas Aquinas Mass where we were fortunate to welcome numerous local priests and youth ministers. The local parish visitors spent time enjoying lunch in the Strader Grotto with our students following mass. Thank you to all those who attended!
Click here to view more photos.
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Dr. Mary Beth Dougherty Recognized for Dedicated Service to the Eagle Family
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While Valentasia is a time for the Santa Margarita community to come together to support its students, this year longtime staff member Dr. Mary Beth Dougherty was also honored at the annual benefit gala for her dedicated service to Santa Margarita Catholic High school from the very beginning. Earlier this year, Dougherty, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction, announced that she will be retiring after the 2013-2014 school year. As one of the first employees to be hired at Santa Margarita, Mary Beth is a staple in Eagle history. Fellow Assistant Principal, Tom Smith, recognized his colleague on stage during the reception.
"When Mary Beth began her SM career, Santa Margarita was nothing but a principal, Mary Beth and a plot of land," said Smith. "She literally helped build our Eagle community from the ground up."
Along with Tom Smith, Mary Beth is one of only five staff members who have worked at Santa Margarita since the beginning. Closing in on now 27 years, she committed herself to developing an exceptional academic program for every type of learner, as well as helping to mold the teachers who lead these learners.
"Rather than just building a home, she's built a future for thousands of students; a future that will stand the test of time," said Smith.
Dougherty thanked the Eagle families in attendance at Valentasia for choosing Santa Margarita.
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Meet the Faces of Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Santa Margarita provides a wealth of opportunities and, most importantly, the chance to make high school your own. No matter the individual journey, all roads lead back to a community of faith proud to call themselves Eagles. This week meet Austin Drysch, Class of 2014
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2014 SMCHS Eagles Arts Magazine
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The Eagle Arts Magazine is published by The Arts Alliance, a parent-led organization dedicated to supporting the Visual and Performing Arts programs at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Students contributed to the publication's design.
To view the 2014 Eagle Arts Magazine
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Eagle Fund | Be the Difference
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Today, you can "Be the Difference" by supporting the Eagle Fund, our annual giving program. Tuition alone does not cover the cost of educating a Santa Margarita student. The Eagle fund helps to bridge the financial gap allowing Santa Margarita to be an exceptional place for learning and personal growth. We want to continue to provide our students with the best opportunities and continue to see them soar in all areas. Give Today and help us reach our goals--we can achieve our aspirations with your support. Thank You to those who have made a gift this year in supporting the Eagle Fund.
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Performing & Visual Arts presents HeART & Song
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SMCHS performing and visual artists will gather to present beautiful art and music in the magnificent setting of the Segerstrom Concert Hall and lobby on March 20th. The program will include a guest appearance from Broadway leading lady Eden Espinosa best known for her performance as Elphaba in "Wicked." The concert will showcase a wide variety of musical ensembles including the award-winning choral program, under the direction of Francisco Calvo, the South Orange County Honor Choir featuring singers from many different parishes and schools, and the highly respected SMCHS Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Michael Whang.
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On Thursday, January 9, SMCHS held its fifth annual Alumni Career Day. Eighteen alumni returned to the SMCHS campus to educate and inspire the Class of 2015.
Students started the morning in a one-hour session listening to an alumni speaker who worked in a career they expressed interest in. Following the session, the entire junior class headed to the Moiso Pavilion for the keynote speaker.
This year's keynote speaker was Sarah Walker Ollenburger '96, who shared her experiences in working as a hiring manager. Ollenburger enlightened students on how social media can both negatively and positively affect their professional career and why it's important to always present yourself in a positive light.
Following Sarah's speech, students were given the opportunity to explore the alumni career day college fair. Students spoke with alumni one-on-one to get any of their questions answered, as well as talked with college representatives that were in attendance.
The grads in attendance worked in medicine, law, entertainment, sales, marketing, fire safety, fashion, teaching, engineering, video production, financial investing and physical therapy.
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This winter season proved to be one of the most memorable weekends in Santa Margarita's history, where we played witness to the school's 48th, 49th, 50th, and 51st CIF team titles. Prior to the weekend, Nathan Fier and Jeff Holsinger added two CIF Individual titles in wrestling etching their names in school history as the 58th and 59th individual/relay CIF Champions. Both girls and boys basketball continue their quest for state championships, with both teams headed to the state regional semifinals. Girls basketball plays Lakeside High School on Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at Lakeside while boys basketball plays Cathedral High School at Cathedral on Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. Go Eagles!
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 Santa Margarita Catholic High School is pleased to announce the hiring of Rick Curtis as the Head Varsity Football Coach and member of the faculty. Curtis will be entering his 37th year as a high school football coach, most recently guiding Northwood High School for the past 13 years. Prior to his tenure as Northwood's Head Football Coach and Athletic Director, Curtis coached at Servite, University, Laguna Hills, Irvine, and now enters his first year at Santa Margarita. While at Irvine, Curtis served as the Athletic Director for 10 years, was the defensive coordinator for three consecutive CIF Championship teams in 1991, 1992, and 1993, and coached basketball, track, softball and golf. Coach Curtis has 29 years of experience as a business education and physical education teacher and is an adjunct professor at Concordia University in the Masters in Athletic Administration and Coaching Program.
After 14 years at Irvine High School, Curtis opened Northwood High School as its athletic director and head football coach in 1999. Coach Curtis received the NFL's Coach of the Week award in October of 2000 and was a recipient of the CIF Southern Section's Pursuing Victory with Honor in 2001. Curtis and his football coaching staff were named to coach in the 2004 South Orange County All-Star game and he led his team to a 22 - 8 victory in the annual Orange County Classic. In addition to his teaching and coaching, Curtis has also served as an advisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the past five years.
"Coach Curtis is one of the finest veteran coaches and he is a tremendous all-around person," Athletic Director Rich Schaaf said. "Our school and football program are fortunate to have a man of his caliber lead our student-athletes and continue to build upon the Eagle Tradition. I'm real excited for the team and the school to call Coach Curtis our head football coach."
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 Matt Reis '93 goalkeeper for the New England Revolution ends his career on a great note and named MLS Humanitarian of the Year.
Long time professional soccer goalkeeper Matt Reis '93 is retiring from the game he loves. Reis has been in the MLS for 16 seasons now and will retire owning every record in the New England club for goal tending. He joined the Revolution in a full time position as a starter in 2004. This season after returning from injury, Reis help lead the New England Revolution to the playoffs. Unfortunately, Reis suffered a torn left quadricep in the final match of the season and his team lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Reis started his professional career with the LA Galaxy and played for five seasons before his 11 seasons with the Revolution. He was named to the Major League Soccer all-star team four times and appeared in 293 games with a 110-98-79 record.
Earlier this year MLS soccer named Reis Humanitarian of the Year for his efforts at the Boston Marathon held in April 2013. Reis was at the Boston Marathon cheering on his wife when two bombs exploded along the route. After the first bomb went off, Reis rushed toward his father-in-law and began to administer aid to John Odom who was laying injured. Reis used his clothing to stop the bleeding and give aid to Odom and was instrumental in saving his life. Odom has since made a miraculous recovery and has been aided by fundraising efforts that Reis helped lead.
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On Friday, March 8, Santa Margarita Catholic High School welcomed more than 500 special needs athletes to the campus of SMCHS to compete in the 7th Annual Special Olympics, Track and Field. These special needs athletes came from several different southern California school districts including Brea, Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Capistrano Valley with competitors ranging in age from elementary school to adult transitional schools.
Sophomore students were there to greet each and every athlete, as well as serve as ambassadors throughout the day. Students escorted their athlete to the various events and were there to coach and support.
Athletes competed in the 25 meter dash, the 50 meter dash, and the softball toss. Along with the games, athletes made arts and crafts, had their faces painted, and even had a dance off at the end of the day.
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Congratulations to junior Daniel Semeniuta of Coto de Caza for scoring a perfect 36 on his ACT. With a national sample size of over 5 million ACT scores, the average student scores a 20.4 in English, 21.0 in mathematics, 21.2 in reading, 20.8 in science, and 21.0 composite for an average score of 20.88 according to the national distribution of cumulative percent's for ACT scores from the graduating classes of 2011, 2012, and 2013. These norms are the source of national norms, for multiple-choice tests, printed on ACT score reports during the2013-2014 testing year. Sample size: 5,088,372.
In the classroom, Semeniuta is a 4.85 student and has played soccer and is currently a member of the boys Track & field team.
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Santa Margarita Catholic High School freshman Kate Thomas of Mission Viejo was presented a check and a certificate by VFW Post 6024 of Mission Viejo Trustee, Dick Vaughn, for her first place VFW Patriotic Audio Essay. Thomas is now in the running for the State of California award and if she wins that she moves on to national competition and a chance at a $30,000 scholarship.
The VFW Patriotic Audio Essay Competition is an original 3-5 minute essay on a CD or in writing a broadcast script for this year's theme, "Why I'm Optimistic About our Nation's Future." Each year, more than 50,000 high school students compete for more than $2.3 million in scholarships and incentives. Prizes and scholarships are awarded at the local, district, state and national level. Department (State) winners receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., March 1-5, 2014, to tour the city, meet our nation's leaders, be honored by the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary and receive their portion of $152,000 in national awards, the top scholarship being $30,000.
The VFW, or the Veterans of Foreign Wars for short, was founded in 1899 as the American Veterans of Foreign Service. The VFW continues to be a voice for returning and currently deployed service members and their families. The 2.4 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries are located in 8,500 VFW posts around the world. The VFW is dedicated to supporting those who sacrifice so much for this country-veterans, service members in the US Armed Forces, and their families.
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 Richard Heim was one of the construction masterminds behind some of the biggest projects on the SMCHS campus over the years and was recently honored for his service to the school. Heim, President of Clark Construction, was one of the driving forces behind the school's aquatics facility, Eagle Athletic Center, locker room renovation, Academic Services Center, science facilities and the recent eco-friendly upgrades to the school's heating and cooling system. Heim provides executive management for Clark Constructions regional offices in California, including Costa Mesa, San Diego, and San Francisco. He is responsible for the region's day-to-day operations which accounts for over $1 billion of construction projects throughout the state. Heim began his career with Clark in 1988 and has over 40 years of construction experience.
Clark Construction is American owned and operated since 1906 and is one of the nation's most established firms with projects such as the Tom Bradley International Terminal Renovation Apron and Concourse demolition, Stanford Hospital, Los Angeles U.S. courthouse, National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C., and much more.
In 2012, Heim was named one of the Boy Scouts of America's "Men of Character" for his work in the community, including his support of the American Heart Association, Orange County Heartwalk, Sisters of Saint Joseph's Taller San Jose which is an organization that focuses on 'at-risk' youth, as well as his lifelong commitment and support of Catholic education.
In addition to his construction work around campus and southern California, Heim and his family have long been associated with Santa Margarita Catholic High School; their five children all graduated from SMCHS, Amanda ('94), Elizabeth ('96), Mary ('99), Mark ('02) and Aubrey ('06). He and his wife, Jaimee, were involved as drama boosters, served as Kairos retreat coordinators, and chaired the Parent Teacher Guild for a number of years. Heim was the President of the Consultative School Board, the Facilities Committee Chair and Santa Margarita's nomination for Catholic Man of the Year as promoted by St. Joseph's Radio. When asked about the Heim family's contributions to the school, SMCHS Vice President Lu Dominguez summed it up concisely.
"I can't think of anything they haven't done for us. They are truly a remarkably supportive couple."
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SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) endeavors to bring the person and teachings of Jesus Christ to this time and place under the direction of the Bishop of Orange and in accordance with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. We strive to emulate the accepting and nurturing way that He taught: to have faith in the Father, to demonstrate a loving, mutual respect for all, to seek opportunities to serve, and to be open to the thoughts and ideas of each individual. We are dedicated to working in union with families to provide a premier, holistic education encompassing the student's religious, moral, intellectual, physical, and personal development within the framework of an effective college preparatory education.
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