April 2024
Principal's Newsletter
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CHRISTIAN SERVICE HOUR DEADLINE: The final deadline for students to turn in all Christian Service Hours is Monday, April 15. Students will not be allowed to take any semester exams until service hours are completed and turned in. Please encourage your students to complete their hours now to avoid the frustration of last minute obstacles. Nursing homes and other nearby service sites are often put in a position of having to say no to the influx of last minute requests for service opportunities. We must all remember that serving in these organizations is a privilege and not a right, and these organizations exist to meet the needs of their clients, not to help our students meet their service requirements. Challenges almost always center on those students who attempt to complete a large number of hours in a short amount of time. On the other hand, St. Michael students regularly do amazing work in organizations across the city, and we hear many comments about the good work they do. A special thanks to parents for all you do to support our mission to form our young people as committed disciples of Christ.
SENIOR SOCIAL JUSTICE PRESENTATIONS: Seniors will begin presenting their Social Justice Presentations on Monday, April 15 during Theology classes. Parents are invited to attend their child’s presentation and will receive an email from their students with details. We are proud of their hard work and dedication.
CHRISTIAN SERVICE MASS: Our Christian Service Mass will be held Friday, April 19 in the St. Sebastian Multipurpose Building at 8:50 AM. Following Mass, students who have gone above and beyond their required service work for this school year will be receive Christian Service Awards. In addition, a male and a female senior will receive the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Service Award for consistently putting charity into action during their time at St. Michael. Parents are invited and must check in at the school office prior to the Mass start time. Students must wear their dress uniform.
SENIOR/MOTHER MASS: As our seniors move towards graduation, they will celebrate the first of several milestone events with our annual Senior/Mother Mass on Friday, May 3 in the Main Gymnasium. All students must wear their dress uniform, and mothers will gather with their senior(s) in the Cafeteria at 8:30 AM for procession. This all school Mass will be followed by a special brunch celebration for seniors and their mothers in the Gym. After the brunch, seniors will be dismissed for the day.
MOTHER/SON BRUNCH: St. Michael Mothers and Sons are invited to attend a special brunch on Saturday, May 11 beginning at 10:00 AM in the St. Sebastian Multipurpose Building. The morning will include a delicious brunch, prayer, and reflection on mother and son relationships. Grandmothers are also welcome. The cost is $20 per person. You may reserve your spot at
https://forms.diamondmindinc.com/smhsbr/mothersonbrunch
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Solar Eclipse Viewing on April 8
On Monday, April 8, weather permitting, St. Michael faculty and staff will view the solar eclipse under the guidelines suggested by NASA. We are taking every precaution to ensure that our students are safe and that their eyesight is protected. After being educated through their science classes on eye safety during the solar eclipse, the students will be required to use good judgement and look down at the ground when walking outside and during dismissal.
April 8, the day we return from Easter break will be Hat Day. Students are encouraged to wear hats all day on that Monday as a reminder not to look up at the sun. They will be instructed to look at the ground as they travel from class to class. We will not allow students outside for classes, lunch, or practice during the eclipse from 11 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. Since looking at the sun through windows may be an issue, we will have all blinds closed during this time. Sunglasses will not prevent damage to the eye.
Sometime near 1:45 PM students under the supervision of their teachers will be invited to go outside to view the eclipse through approved solar viewing glasses. We have purchased glasses for everyone and have checked to make sure that they are legitimate, approved solar glasses. They will receive instructions on how to properly put on and take off the glasses. We will view the eclipse through solar glasses for about 5 seconds and will be outside less than 5 minutes before returning inside.
It is understandable if you are concerned about your student participating. We will allow students to wait in the Commons during the viewing time if parents do not want their child participating or if students choose not to participate. Parents must email Ms. Tracy at tperrien@smhsbr.org or send a hand written note to the office before noon on April 8 to let us know that their child will not be a part of the viewing. The parent will be responsible for communicating his/her wishes to the student.
We look forward to experiencing this once in a lifetime event with our students in a safe and responsible manner.
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SENIOR EXAM SCHEDULE:
Monday, May 6 1st Hour—7:10-8:50 AM
2nd Hour—9:05-10:35 AM
Tuesday, May 7 7th Hour—7:10-8:50 AM
4th Hour—9:05-10:35 AM
Wednesday, May 8 3rd Hour—7:10-8:50 AM
5th Hour—9:05-10:35 AM
Thursday, May 9 8th Hour—7:10-8:50 AM
6th Hour—9:05-10:35 AM
*Seniors MUST return their laptop computers immediately following their last exam.
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AP EXAM SCHEDULE:
Monday, May 6 AP Chemistry, 12:00 PM
Wednesday, May 8 AP English IV (Literature and Comp.), 8:00 AM
Friday, May 10 AP U.S. History, 8:00 AM
AP European History, 8:00 AM
Monday, May 13 AP Calculus A/B, 8:00 AM
Tuesday, May 14 AP English III (Language and Comp.), 8:00 AM
*Students must be in their school uniform to take an AP exam. Students will go to all other classes before and after exams.
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FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE:
Monday, May 20 1st hour—7:10 AM-9:10 AM
7th hour—9:25 AM-11:25 AM
Tuesday, May 21 3rd hour—7:10 AM-9:10 AM
6th hour—9:25 AM-11:25 AM
Wednesday, May 22 8th hour—7:10 AM-9:10 AM
5th hour—9:25 AM-11:25 AM
Thursday, May 23 2nd hour—7:10 AM-9:10 AM
4th hour—9:25 AM-11:25 AM
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PRESENTATION OF THE SENIOR CLASS OF 2025: The Presentation of the SMHS Class of 2025 will be held Friday, May 10 in the St. Sebastian Multipurpose Building at 6:30 PM. In addition, all juniors must attend a mandatory practice on Thursday, May 9 from 2:35-3:45 PM. Students must be excused by Mr. Kegan Keller if they are unable to attend either event.
REGISTRATION FOR 2024-2025: The deadline for re-registration has passed. If you have not received an email from noreply@factsmgt.com, please contact Mrs. Susan Thibodeaux at sthibodeaux@smhsbr.org in order to secure a place for your student at St. Michael High School for the 2024-2025 school year.
REQUESTS FOR SCHEDULE CHANGES (2024-2025 School Year): In February students participated in the course selection process and entered their course requests through PlusPortals. These requests, both in written and electronic formats, are considered a commitment on the part of the students to attend the classes they have asked St. Michael to provide. Students are expected to remain in their chosen classes for the entire 2024-2025 school year or in the case of one semester classes, until the end of the semester. By signing the St. Michael High School Course Selection Sheet, parents/guardians are confirming their approval of the student's course selection and understand that these course selections are final except under the most critical circumstances. If a schedule change must be considered and is deemed unavoidable (i.e. error in the schedule; failure to meet requirements for graduation, TOPS, the Board of Regents, college admissions, etc.; or the student no longer meets the requirements for the course in which he/she enrolled for the 2024-2025 school year), the parents/guardians must provide school counselors with a written request for the schedule change. The letter must include the following information: the title of the course which is proposed to be dropped from the student's schedule, the title of the course to be added to the student's schedule, the rationale/reason for the request, the parent's/guardian's signature and date, as well as the student's signature and date. No course schedule changes will be considered until May 1 unless there is a discrepancy as determined by the counselor. At that time, students may meet with school counselors if they still have concerns regarding their 2024-2025 class schedules. Any requests for schedule changes must be placed in writing by the parent/guardian and submitted to the appropriate grade level counselor during the period of May 1-May 24. All schedule change fees will be waived during this period. After May 24, all written requests for schedule changes must be accompanied by a check for $25.00 made payable to St. Michael the Archangel High School.
The names and assigned grade levels of school counselors are as follows:
Freshman Class Counselor - Mrs. Taylor Flowers
Sophomore Class Counselor - Ms. Chelsea Brown
Junior Class Counselor - Mrs. Alise Ashford
Senior Class Counselor and College Advisor - Mrs. Rachel Cart
ACT & SAT DATES: The next ACT dates are Saturday, April 13; Saturday, June 8 and Saturday, July 7. Please visit www.act.org to register. The next SAT dates are Saturday, May 4 and Saturday, June 1. Please visit www.collegeboard.org/sat to register.
LAST ACT DATE FOR SENIORS TO QUALIFY FOR FULL TOPS: The last ACT date to qualify for all 8 semesters of TOPS for current seniors is April 13. Students may qualify on a test taken after the ACT national test date in April, but prior to August 1, by using May, June, and/or July test scores, including scores from a special ACT or SAT, but your period of eligibility for the award will be reduced by one semester or two quarters. You may qualify for a higher award using a score achieved after the national ACT test date in April and before July 1. Please refer to www.osfa.la.gov for a full understanding of TOPS eligibility requirements.
REQUEST FOR COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE LETTERS FROM SENIORS: In order to assist in college preparation and planning, it is critical that seniors and their parents provide Mrs. Rachel Cart with copies of all letters of acceptance and any scholarship and financial aid awards from colleges and universities, whether or not the senior will eventually attend that particular school. Please send copies of these documents via email to rcart@smhsbr.org, or by fax, or in person. The names of the colleges and universities to which the senior has been accepted will be published in the Graduation Program, while a list of the scholarships which were offered to the student will appear in the Baccalaureate Mass & Senior Honors Convocation Program. The only way we may publish this information is if parents and students share this information with us. Please provide Mrs. Cart with copies of acceptance and scholarship letters as soon as they are received. Have your student check with Mrs. Cart for accuracy.
COMPLETING REGISTRATION/ACCEPTING SCHOLARSHIPS AT LSU: In order to complete registration at LSU, students must log into their myLSU account and accept all desired financial aid awards or scholarships. According to LSU’s website, students must accept all scholarships on their myLSU account by May 1. Any scholarship offer not accepted on or before May 1 will be declined. Reinstatements are based on available funding and are not guaranteed. On myLSU, select Financial Services from the left menu, then Financial Aid, then Financial Aid & Scholarships. For more information regarding LSU Financial Aid and Scholarships, please go to www.lsu.edu/financialaid. Students will then pay their fee bill by the beginning of August on their myLSU account to complete registration.
REMINDER TO FILE THE FAFSA: Seniors and senior parents, please remember to complete the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, in order to receive any financial assistance and/or to apply for TOPS and other scholarships per the instructions of colleges and universities. Your FAFSA must be filed by June 30 in order to receive TOPS.
Visit https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa to get started or to finish your application. If you need assistance completing the FAFSA, please call the FAFSA Helpline at 1-800-433-3243.
If you wish to fill out the application for the TOPS scholarship only, you may do so on the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, LOSFA, website at https://mylosfa.la.gov/applications/award-system/. By filling out the LOSFA application only, and not the FAFSA, your student will not qualify for loans, grants, or work study. In addition, LOSFA requires an official ACT score be sent to them by June to qualify for the TOPS Scholarship.
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SENIOR EVENTS:
Wednesday, April 3 Due date for all financial accounts to be paid in full
Monday, April 8 Prom Guest Contracts are due
Monday, April 15 Due date for Service Hours
Friday, April 19 Senior Dinner is at 6:00 PM
Monday, May 1 Library books are due; all overdue charges must be paid
Thursday, May 2 Senior Crawfish Boil (during lunch)
Friday, May 3 Senior Mass with Mothers (arrive 8:30 AM in Cafeteria) Followed by Brunch for Seniors and Mothers
DATE/LOCATION CHANGE:
Monday, May 13 Baccalaureate Mass/Honors Convocation Practice
9:30 AM St. George Catholic Church
Wednesday, May 15 Baccalaureate Mass/Honors Convocation
6:30 PM St. George Catholic Church
Friday, May 17 Graduation Practice
9:00 AM Raising Cane’s River Center
Friday, May 17 Commencement Exercises
3:00 PM Raising Cane’s River Center
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The Student Council made 20 Easter Baskets for the elderly and donated them to
St. John the Evangelist to assist with their outreach program.
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CAREER DAY will be held Wednesday, April 10 starting at 8:00 AM. We look forward to this annual event to collaborate with our alumni, parents, and other community stakeholders.
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WARRIOR OLYMPICS: Warrior Olympic shirts may be worn on Warrior Olympics Day, Friday, April 12.
KISS A SENIOR GOODBYE GRAMS: Each year the Student Council sells Senior Grams to students and parents for 25 cents each. A gram is a small note card to write a congratulatory message to a senior. Along with the gram, the senior will receive a chocolate Hershey’s Kiss, hence the name Kiss a Senior Goodbye. If you would like to send a message, pick up a gram in the office from April 15 through April 19. All grams will be issued to the seniors during their last week of school. If you can’t make it to school, email Mrs. Moseley at jmoseley@smhsbr.org and she will send home a manila envelope with your student so they will not know what is inside.
STUDENT COUNCIL SPEECHES: Students running for Executive Student Council for the 2024-2025 school year will give their speeches on Monday, April 15. Elections will be held on Thursday, April 18.
LETTERMEN JACKET PURCHASES: Balfour will be on campus Tuesday, April 16 during at all lunches, for all students who recently received a letter from a sport. If you would like to order a letterman jacket or just an additional item for your jacket, please stop by their table during lunch.
CLASS CUP WINNER CELEBRATION/SPRING PEP RALLY: The winning class of the Class Cup Competition will celebrate with food and activities on Friday, April 26. Our final Pep Rally of the 2023-2024 school year will be Friday, April 26, honoring our Spring Sports Teams.
JUNIOR-SENIOR PROM: The Junior Class will sponsor the Junior-Senior Prom on Saturday, April 27 from 8:00-11:00 PM at Stage 1. Tickets are not sold for Prom; juniors and seniors registered by March 27 through a special link that was emailed to each student and parent. Any student bringing a guest from another school must complete a Guest Contract, which is due Tuesday, April 9. The last day to purchase prom t-shirts is Wednesday, April 10 at noon. Information regarding proper dress may be found in the Student Handbook. Information concerning dates/guests may be found in the Student Handbook, as well on the student’s Moodle page. For questions regarding Prom, please email Mrs. Reagan Skidmore at rskidmore@smhsbr.org
INCOMING ATHLETES: There will be a meeting for all incoming athletes on Sunday, April 28 at 5:00 PM in the school gymnasium. This meeting is for any parents/students who want more information on athletics for the 2024-2025 school year. All sports will be represented at the meeting to give out any necessary information and answer any questions.
SENIOR ATHLETE BBQ: The Senior Athlete BBQ will be held Sunday, April 28 at 3:00 PM in the Cafeteria.
SPRING FINE ARTS EVENINGS: We will hold two evenings featuring Spring Fine Arts in the St. Sebastian Multipurpose Building. On Tuesday, April 30 the Warrior Band Concert will be held and Student Artwork will be on display. On Wednesday, May 1 the Fashion Show will take place and Student Artwork will continue to be on display. Please join us for these fun filled evenings showcasing our talented students.
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2024 – 2025 Uniforms
Uniforms:
School and P.E. uniforms may be purchased at the following locations:
- Inka’s Uniforms: 11626 Sherwood Forest Ct / 800.780.8751
- School Time Uniforms: 7745 Jefferson Hwy / 225.926.5371
- Young Fashions: 11111 Coursey Blvd / 225.766.1010
Uniform Sweatshirts: Purchased in April 2024
Uniform Sweatshirts are offered in red and black and are the ONLY outer garment that may be worn over the student’s uniform during the school day. Parents will receive an email with the details of how to place these orders. The uniform sweatshirts are $25.00 each. We encourage families to purchase in April. After the month of April, only limited quantities of sweatshirts will be available to purchase in the front office, and those will not be available until August.
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A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL:
As the church’s season of Lent comes to a close, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many of our seniors along with our campus ministers worked diligently to prepare the Holy Thursday Presentation of the Passion for our student body. The poignant portrayal of Jesus’s last days before his death set the tone for our awaiting the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. I hope everyone enjoys their break, as we enter the liturgical season of Easter.
When we return on Monday, April 8, we will be celebrating God’s wonder in the solar eclipse. That Monday will be HAT DAY, when students and teachers will be wearing their favorite hats to remind us all to avoid looking directly at the sun. During 8th hour, students will go outside for a very brief period of time to view the eclipse through approved safety glasses. If parents do not want their child viewing the eclipse outside, they should email Ms. Tracy (tperrien@smhsbr.org) before noon on Monday, April 8.
After the Easter break, there will be only a few weeks of school left. All of us have lots of work to do to finish the year successfully. Parents and students are reminded the teachers are available to help students if they are struggling. Counselors are available to work with students to be sure that they have a plan to successfully complete the year. Students are reminded to do their best work, as their work now is a foundation for all future learning. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher or his/her grade level counselor. We are partners with our parents as we work to help our students be the young men and young women God calls them to be.
The deadline for service hours is April 15. It is affirming to know that each year so many of our students go above and beyond the required number of hours. They seem to find joy in the service of others, even in their day-to-day life at school. It is our hope that families will feel called to do service together. Brothers and sisters, moms and dads serving alongside our students show that we are all called to service. Summer is a good time to consider what service the family could do together.
The Warrior Stadium build is going great, even with all the rain delays. This addition to our campus, along with parking and the ring road around school, will benefit all of our students and the community. The Advancement Office will be contacting you soon to be a part of our campus growth. You will be asked to financially contribute what you can and to continue to pray for the success of St. Michael High School. We count on your continued support.
God Bless,
Ellen B. Lee, Principal
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Advancement News &
Important Events
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Warrior Stadium Updates:
In recent weeks, the old practice field has been stripped to prepare for our new synthetic turf surface. In addition, concrete demolition has begun to make way for the new stadium complex (home bleachers, press box, concession stand, etc.).
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We invite you to join us in advancing our mission by considering a personal and meaningful gift to the Fund for St. Michael. Your tax-deductible donation will allow us to invest in teacher pay, provide qualified families with tuition assistance, strengthen faith formation, and support our extracurricular activities and programs. In essence, your gift to this fund improves the overall student experience. Click here to learn more about our fund and how you can make a gift donation today.
The Fund for St. Michael - St. Michael the Archangel High School (smhsbr.org)
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ST. MICHAEL HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
Parents can follow St. Michael Home and School Association on Facebook.
Our Facebook group is where you can find the latest opportunities to volunteer and information needed to keep up to date.
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Our final Warrior Club Membership Meeting for this school year will be held on Monday, April 15 at 6:00 PM in the Film Room located inside the St. Michael Field House. This is a great opportunity to meet other parents, discuss ideas, share what is going on with your student’s sport, and hear what we have been up to. All are welcome; however, if you are a Warrior Club Member you will have the opportunity to earn $100 for your athletic or spirit program by attending the meeting.
Are you being called to serve more at St. Michael High School? Opportunities for you to demonstrate your support for our students and get more involved are available for the 2024-25 school year. The following Board Member Positions will be open: President and Secretary. We will also need a Chair for the Football Program Fundraiser. Our meeting on April 15 will be an ideal time for you to obtain additional information. However, you may always contact us at warriorclub@smhs.org for details.
Congratulations Warriors!!! Many of our Winter Sports Programs made it to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs or beyond. The Boys Powerlifting Team is your Division II State Champion. Recently, many of our athletes signed their intent to play at the college level. We continue to support those playing Spring Sports and we wish you the best of luck.
St. Michael the Archangel, Defend Us in Battle
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