A Letter from President Kay Sullivan

Dear Salpointe Community,

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! At the start of school in a normal year, our Lancer students are so excited to see their old friends and get to know new classmates; they look forward to lunch periods and passing periods to socialize; they are developing a healthy academic routine; they are auditioning for the upcoming theatrical production or trying out for fall sports. In normal times, our loyal parents, past parents and Lancer fans are making plans to be on campus for Friday night lights or to meet the teachers at Back to School Night. In normal times, our treasured alums are enthusiastically anticipating reconnecting with each other during Homecoming Weekend class reunions. And, in normal times, our dedicated faculty and staff are wowed with the energy bubbling across the campus as 1270 Lancers joyfully engage in the next steps of their high school careers. 

But this is not a normal time. Salpointe Lancers have been on the receiving end of digital educational content delivery since March, despite extraordinary efforts to teach by our teachers and to learn by our students. Our welcoming and effective learning spaces are empty. We miss our students and we can’t wait to have them safely back on campus!  

The good news is that our Tucson community is making progress in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Salpointe had indicated that when Pima County’s established “disease data benchmarks” move to the yellow zone, indicating progress in reducing viral transmission, Salpointe will move to a hybrid, on-campus model of education. At this time, Salpointe is targeting September 21 for a move to the on-campus hybrid model. This target date assumes that conditions continue to improve and do not get worse. 

Hybrid means that half of the student body will participate in a modified block schedule for On-Campus instruction on Monday and Tuesday while the other half will be in synchronous digital mode. The second half of the student body will be On-Campus on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday all students will learn remotely yet synchronously while the campus is thoroughly disinfected. This hybrid model will require the implementation of health and safety protocols on campus: wearing masks, checking temperatures, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently and sanitizing the campus. Before initiating the hybrid model, Salpointe will hold “back to school” in-person orientation sessions for each of the four classes. For those students or their families who have health vulnerabilities, At-Home synchronous learning will continue to be available Monday through Friday. 

My gratitude is forever to so many of you who supported our $10M Aspire: Arts Academics Athletics campaign over the past two years. We are wrapping up both the fundraising and the construction and we plan to dedicate the transformational Stearns Center for the Arts later in the year when we can host a real party! Your loyal and generous support matters here!

I want to reaffirm Salpointe’s commitment to the tenets of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si,  which means “Be Praised.” Our overarching theme again this year will be “Time for Action: Care for our Common Home.” We will examine how our lifestyle, our culture and our personal decision-making impact not only our Earthly home, but all of the precious life forms it sustains. I invite families to help set this tone by being models of caring and respect. As in all learning, our Lancers will look to us adults to determine how they should incorporate Laudato Si into their lives. 

Unfortunately, Salpointe has had to postpone many of our signature events typically held in the fall. We plan to hold a virtual Back to School Night for parents to meet the teachers on Monday, September 14 and we are planning a virtual Open House for prospective students in early October followed by an in-person event tentatively scheduled for Sunday, November 8. Lancer Men’s Mass and Breakfast will be held in January and Homecoming Class Reunions will double up in the fall of 2021 as we celebrate both the 2020 and 2021 reunion classes. 

We at Salpointe pray for you and we appreciate your prayers for our community and our world. Take care and be safe until we can be together again!

Gratefully,

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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