Letter to Salpointe Families from Kay Sullivan - May 20, 2022

Dear Salpointe Community,

Thank you for your patience and support during this 2021-2022 school year. Salpointe Catholic is delighted that “we are back” after a challenging past two years.  We thank Mr. Mike Urbanski for his leadership as interim principal during the spring semester and we look forward to welcoming Mrs. Ardemis Martin as our principal in 2022-2023. Onward, Lancers!

I often say that things don’t “just happen” at Salpointe Catholic.  Outcomes are carefully orchestrated. Our faculty, staff and coaches make all the difference and we honor their hard work, dedication and commitment to every Lancer. I gratefully acknowledge their service and laud their commitment to our students. 

I’d like to share a few overarching thoughts as we reflect on the May 14 graduation of the Class of 2022.  These Lancers joined Salpointe four very short years ago as uncertain, wide-eyed children. They leave as young adults of character and confidence.  They are resilient, proud, respectful, accountable, hopeful … and prepared.  They have brought high honor to themselves and to Salpointe and I’d like to share their remarkable accomplishments in this final Weekly Peek.

The members of this class were accepted to 187 colleges and universities across America. In addition to Arizona’s fine state universities, members of this class were offered acceptance to prestigious universities such as George Washington University, University of Southern California, Villanova, Purdue, Northeastern, University of Notre Dame, New York University and United States Air Force Academy. The members of this class earned over $19M in merit academic scholarships. Forty-three students are Salpointe Scholars with grade point averages of 4.0 or higher.  Three Lancers will enter college as National Merit Commended Scholars and two as National Hispanic Scholars. Ten Lancers will serve in the United States military.

And I’d like to share more about our school’s wide accomplishments this year.

In Athletics, the Lancers earned eight state championships (dance, men’s cross country, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, beach volleyball, women’s track and field and softball), five state runner up titles (men’s cross country, men’s basketball, women’s golf, baseball and football) and 11 region titles. Students took full advantage of the Stevens Strength and Conditioning Center and on our fully lighted football, baseball, softball and track fields. All 26 Lancer teams earned the AIA Team Scholar Athlete award for having team GPAs of 3.5 or higher. Thirty five students, over 10% of the graduating class, will participate in athletics at the collegiate level. 

In Performing Arts, Lancer Thespians produced three amazing full-scale productions and two one-act plays: Disaster the Musical, The Man who Came to Dinner, Little Shop of Horrors, Governing Alice and Rockin’ Cinderella.  We initiated the first all-high school production for Literacy Connects, Stories that Soar High, in the fully renovated Helena Corcoran Theater. Eighteen Lancers received Superior rankings at the Southern Arizona Acting Festival and qualified for the International Thespian Competition.  For the 23rd consecutive year Troupe 5370 was awarded the Gold Honor Troupe by the International Thespian Society.

In Instrumental Music, the theme this year was “Reaching for Excellence” and our ensembles did exactly that in the beautifully designed Pocono Music Studio. In addition to entertaining at football games and campus activities, the Lancer Marching Band successfully participated in regional and statewide competition and returned to the long standing tradition of marching in the Tucson Rodeo Parade. Salpointe's Maroon and Gold Lancer Jazz Band participated in the NAU Jazz Festival, earning two individual soloist awards and an Excellent rating. The Spring Fine Arts Festival, featuring all Lancer musical ensembles and the Concert Choir, was a manifestation of the synergistic and collaborative vision of Stearns Center for the Arts. 

The Lancer Concert Choir developed their talents in the Foundation Choir Studio; they performed three varied programs with music in seven languages and with musical eras ranging from the 16th to the 21st centuries. Three students competed at the District Solo and Ensemble competition, earning two Excellent and one Superior rating. 

In Dance, students were able to move and thrive in the Ginny L. Clements Dance Studio, enjoying the barres, ten-foot tall mirrors and state-of-the-art floating floor.  Dancers performed under the lights in the Corcoran Theater to full houses at both the fall and spring showcases 
 
In Visual Arts, our 2D and 3D art students enjoyed in-studio learning in the Czarina and Humberto S. Lopez Visual Arts Center. In 2D art, confidence and creativity flourished with the full array of technical processes and in 3D art, students sculpted with clay and completed their creations by glazing and firing in our new kilns. Several visual arts students exhibited at the University of Arizona Art Invitational as well as the Pima County Library High School Juried Art Show. Additionally, Salpointe proudly presented four shows exhibiting student and community art in the stunning Stevens Gallery.
 
In Humanities, students were not only exceptional thinkers and learners, but their ability to make connections among literature, theology, art and philosophy within the context of both national and global communities was both impressive and inspiring. AP Literature students dove deeply into the complexities inherent in the human condition: the flaws, the beauty, the triumphs and the pitfalls of humanity. They discussed their own roles as change makers. Striving for sophistication, this year’s Humanities students exceeded the expectations set by the program since 1978.
 
Salpointe is proud to be the home to the nationally accredited Cracchiolo Family Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics program. STEM students were awarded first place in engineering innovation in Racing the Sun. Programming students earned 53 microcredentials in cyber security, data science and artificial intelligence. For the first time, Advanced Engineering Students took the industry standard Solidworks Certification Test, providing students the opportunity to work as CAD/CAM designers.  Engineering students literally flew to new heights, building drones and passing the FAA's recreational drone pilot test.  Senior engineering students earned college credit by participating in the U of A's “Solar Oven Throwdown.”  Recently, STEM students showed innovation and problem solving in “Saving the Wild, Wild West,” during the annual STEM Showcase. We are also pleased that, over the past six years, in our Engineering Fundamentals, Robotics, and Programming electives, the number of female students has more than tripled!

Salpointe’s Campus Ministry Department provided the capstone Kairos retreat to almost 200 seniors. The department welcomed student participation in both YouCarm, part of the International Carmelite youth group, and in the liturgy team, which worked to make our all-school masses inspirational experiences for our community.

Our accomplishments have been many and I congratulate Lancer students, teachers, staff and coaches for making it happen! Each is a valued member of our community, a community that has cherished Catholic, Carmelite values for over 70 years. When we say we honor the Carmelite charisms of prayer, service and community; when we champion the Lancer values of respect, responsibility, accountability, honesty, integrity, mercy, faith, good citizenship and kindness; and when we embrace Catholic Social Teaching, we mean it. The goal is for Lancers to incorporate these values and principles into their very existence for a lifetime.

As we move to summer vacation, we encourage Lancers to make good decisions. Remember that God is with you in all things. Rely on Him. 

Enjoy a safe and healthy break! 

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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