A Message from President Kay Sullivan

President's Message 2019-2020

Dear Salpointe Lancers,

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year. I invite each of you to walk with us as we continue to embrace the cross-generational, sacred mission that is the essence of Salpointe. This mission matters. It is our promise to you. Let me review the key elements of this mission, this promise: We are a Catholic, Carmelite school focusing on the virtues of prayer, service and community. We work with you to prepare your student for college and career, for this life as well as for eternal life. We serve Tucson’s economically, academically and culturally diverse population. We offer a holistic education that fosters faith, encourages the pursuit of excellence, develops servant leaders, affirms the dignity of every individual, and promotes global social justice. This is our mission; this is our promise to you and to each and every Lancer.

Founded in 1950, Salpointe has been educating future leaders for almost 70 years. The school is one of 40 Carmelite schools worldwide. Salpointe is blessed to have the support of the Carmelite Order and the guidance of our highly engaged Board of Directors. We are proud of our over 17,000 alumni. The class of 2020 will be our 68th graduating class and we look forward to an outstanding year with their strong leadership.

Our faculty and staff are 140 strong and I salute each and every one of them. We know that the most rewarding, most powerful aspects of a Salpointe education happen in the classroom … and on the field or court or stage under the guidance of our teachers and coaches. I salute our faculty and staff; for most of them, working at Salpointe is not a job, it is their life, their mission and their ministry.

It’s a great time to be a Lancer! Our school community is simply loving our facilities and the corresponding opportunities for signature programs, such as STEM and Humanities and our 20 AP course offerings. We extend gratitude to our donors who transformed this campus into a collegiate level facility. 

I’d like to share with you some very exciting news about Salpointe’s immediate future. Last fall, we launched a capital campaign called “Aspire: Arts Academics Athletics,” because our standards are high, but our aspirations are higher. We aspire to round out the student holistic experience by creating the transformative, synergistic Stearns Center for the Arts, with new learning spaces for Drama, Band, Choir, Dance, 2D and 3D Art as well as a theatre lobby/art gallery, heart of the art atrium, dressing rooms, green room, shop and costume room. 

This summer, as part of the Aspire campaign, we made significant progress in upgrading the academic arena with state of the art Promethean smart boards installed in every classroom; the complete renovation of six 400 wing classrooms, and the expansion of the STEM workshop. 
In the athletic arena, we completely renovated the strength and conditioning center (including student restrooms) and the wrestling facility, we air conditioned the Kalil Family Gym and renovated the concessions area, and last fall we added lights on the softball, baseball and track fields. All of these improvements directly impact the student learning experience here at Salpointe.

This $10 million capital campaign will complete the comprehensive campus renovation that was started in 2011 with the Building Leaders and Legacy campaign and will prepare Salpointe to retain its position as the premier secondary school in Tucson for the next generations.  Our future holds nothing but promise as we complete “Aspire” during the course of this school year. We have donor commitments of $7.4 M to date. I look forward to sharing the vision with you and asking for your support!

I mentioned diversity as part of Salpointe’s mission. About half of our Lancer families qualify for financial aid. Without the Arizona tax credit, many of these students could not attend Salpointe. Please participate in the individual tax credit by directing a portion of your state tax liability to CTSO. If you are a principal in a C or S corporation, you can direct a portion of your corporate tax liability to help our families who live at 185% or less than the federal poverty level. Give me a call if you would like to learn more. To those of you who are already participating in the individual or corporate tax credit, thank you. You are making an unparalleled positive difference here in the lives of our Lancers!

We encourage you to work with us on the successful development of your child by keeping us informed regarding family issues, health issues or financial issues that may impact your student’s well-being. Call your counselor in the Student Services department or Sr. Helen when unexpected complications arise. We truly want to support you and your family as much as possible. 

I want to mention another very serious priority of the school: safety. School leadership takes a proactive role in assuring the safety of every student on our campus. Our Incidence Response Team meets regularly and works closely with both Tucson Police Department and Tucson Fire Department to ensure preparedness in the event of an unexpected incident. All parents and guardians are already signed up for Parent Square,  the sole means by which Salpointe will communicate with you in the event of an emergency. Give these messages your full attention. You do not need to register for this service, but please keep us updated with your correct contact information, especially email addresses and cell phone numbers. You can do this easily by logging in to My Pointe. Finally, if you “see something, say something.” You are among our greatest resources in keeping our community safe. If you become aware of a potential threat or concern, please call me (520-547-5878) or Sr. Helen (520-547-5905) or the Tip line at 520-485-8477 (text or voice).

Each year, overarching themes emerge here at Salpointe to guide our actions. This year, our theme is from Laudato Si: “Time for Action: Care for our common home.” We will focus on how our lifestyle, our culture and our personal decision-making impacts our Earthly home … and affects all the precious life forms, including humans, it sustains.

Finally, the Salpointe experience is not just for students! We invite our treasured alums, as well as past and current families, to join us in cheering on and encouraging our Lancers at athletic, artistic, social and spiritual events. Lancers love nothing more than to have you support them in their passions!

I look forward to seeing you here on campus throughout the year.

Sincerely,

Kay Sullivan
President
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Salpointe Catholic High School

1545 E. Copper St.,
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 327-6581
Attendance: (520) 327-1990
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