Letter to Salpointe Families from Kay Sullivan - February 2022

Dear Salpointe family,

It’s another great day to be a Lancer! We continue to live the sacred mission that is the essence of Salpointe: we are a Catholic, Carmelite school focusing on the virtues of prayer, service and community. We work with parents to prepare our students 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 mission is our promise to every Lancer. 

Welcome to the class of 2026! Salpointe has accepted over 400 applicants and we look forward to a strong class size of 330-350. These energetic students will join Salpointe from over 80 middle schools and bring with them academic promise, diverse interests and strong faith. Total enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is projected to be 1260.

Last week during National Catholic Schools Week we proudly honored 76 Lancers selected by our faculty and staff as models of courage, leadership, compassion, gratitude or simple kindness. Click here for a list of these highly respected Lancers. 

We held our monthly school-wide Mass on Friday focusing on “Faith, Excellence and Service,” the theme of national Catholic Schools Week 2022. Fr. Emanuel (Manu) Franco Gomez,O.Carm., celebrated the Mass for sophomores, juniors and seniors and Fr. Paul Henson, O.Carm., celebrated Mass with freshmen. Fr. Manu reminded us that Jesus asks us all to love and serve our neighbor, the person sitting beside us. When we all do that, love truly reaches everyone.  Click here for photos.

Salpointe’s principal search is underway. We are grateful to both Keith Gibalski and Mike Urbanksi for their willingness to assume the role of interim principal over these challenging couple of years. Both Keith and Mike embrace the Catholic essence of our school and they are both champions of the Carmelite values that we cherish.

We are energized by the school year’s high level of excitement and accomplishment generated by classroom learning, athletics, fine and performing arts, retreats and so many other unique-to-Salpointe activities. This past fall was marked with grand “happenings” in many diverse areas: drama presentations of ”Disaster” and “The Man Who Came to Dinner” in the Corcoran Theater; College Planning and Get out of Town workshops; Back to School Night; Parent Teacher conferences; twelve Homecoming celebrations from 1970 to 2010 and 1971 to 2011; Lancer Men’s Mass and Breakfast, Sports Teams Leadership Conferences; Community of Concern seminars; faculty/staff professional development;  Autumn Serenade; Dance Showcase; Stevens Gallery art shows; Adopt-A-Family; freshman retreat; and Kairos 278, 279, 280, 281 to name a few. 

Under the guidance of Athletic Director Phil Gruensfelder and Assistant AD Danny Preble, our fall sport athletes racked up high honors and made us proud. Congratulations to the following teams:
Football: Region Champions, 5A Conference State Runner Up
Boys Cross Country: Region Champions, State Champions
Girls Cross Country: Region Champions, State Runner Up
Girls Golf: State Runner Up
Boys Golf: 8th at State
Dance/Pom: 1st place State qualifier
Boys Swim: 18th at State
Girls Swim: 3rd at State
Girls Volleyball: State Semifinalist
 
Winter sports as of February 7:
Boys Basketball ranked 1st in the 4A
Girls Basketball ranked 3rd in the 4A
Boys Soccer ranked 4th in the 4A
Girls Soccer ranked 9th in the 4A
Wrestling competes at sectionals on 2/12 and State on 2/17
 
Greg Hansen, sports columnist for the Arizona Daily Star named the Top 100 Sports Figures of 2020, including 17 Lancer alumni and coaches. (See article below.) 
Congratulations to Athletic Director Phil Gruensfelder for being saluted at the MLK Basketball Classic at McKale Center on January 17 as a leader and educator who honors the dignity of all persons in the spirit of Martin Luther King. (See article below.)  

We are proud of our fall Lancer athletes and coaches and we wish every success to our winter and spring sports teams. Click here to learn more about athletics!

Salpointe’s leadership will participate in the national Carmelite Secondary Schools Commission this month with presidents, principals and advancement directors from the U.S. Carmelite schools: Crespi Carmelite in Encino, CA, Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, IL, Mt. Carmel in Chicago, IL, Carmel Catholic in Mundelein, IL and DeSales High School in Louisville, KY. Very Rev. Carl Markelz, O.Carm., Provincial of our Carmelite Order, will be present as we engage in leadership, team building and school culture workshops. 

Serving Southern Arizona’s diverse population is 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 and designating Salpointe. If you are a principal in a C or S corporation, you can direct a portion of your corporate tax liability to help our many 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 in the lives of our Lancers! Click here to learn more.

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