December 2015 | Volume 18 | Number 3The official monthly newsletter of Xavier High School

InsI

de Principal‘s Corner: 2 | Dates to Remember & Business Office Update: 3 |

Blue Zones School: 4 | Cataldo New Baseball Coach: 5 | Students Earn MS Office Certification: 6 | College Prep Update: 7 | New Look for LMC: 9 | December Gallery: 10 | Health Update: 11 | Students/Faculty of the Month: 13

“Dancing with the SaintS!”

PrinciPal‘s corner:

XavIer Launches new FundrasIer: “dancIng wIth the saInts!”

XhS now a Blue ZoneS School!

catalDo nameD new BaSeBall coach

Dancing With the saints!

We are excited to share with you Xavier High School’s new fundraising event, “Dancing With The Saints!” This evening of food, fellowship and entertainment promises to be a night to remember! Our star-studded cast of Xavier community “star” dancers will team with local coaches (pictured to the right) to compete for your votes before and during the event. Fol-lowing the competition, the dance floor will be open for all of our guests to dance to the music of a DJ! We hope you and your friends will join us for this exciting night!

A huge thank you to our outstanding committee: Heidi Brown, Karen Woods, Jerry Brown, Mary Pat Schulte, Di Richardson, Jody Pellerin and Nick Ireland!!!

Tom Keating, Principal

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Dancing with the SaintS!SaturDay, January 16, 2016

ceDar rapiDS marriott (1200 collinS rD. ne)6 p.m. - Cocktail Reception | 7 p.m. - Dinner | 7:30 p.m. - Dessert Tickets

VOTE TODAY!THESE XAVIER COMMUNITY

“STARS” WILL TEAM WITH DANCE COACHES TO COMPETE FOR YOUR VOTE. VOTE TODAY AT

XAVIERSAINTS.ORG/DWTS

JOIN US IN JANUARY!

TICKETS FOR THE “DANCING WITH THE SAINTS” LIVE EVENT ARE NOW ON SALE AT

XAVIERSAINTS.ORG/DWTS.

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE STAR-COACH COUPLE AND PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE LIVE EVENT AT

XAVIERSAINTS.ORG/DWTSPROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT WILL HELP PURCHASE TWO

NEW VANS FOR THE XHS ACTIVITIES PROGRAM

Tom KeatingXavier Principal

Dates to note & Business office reminDers

January 4 - Classes resume and second semester begins

January 6 - Christmas Season Mass; XCEL Hour

January 7 - Girls Retreat (Jr/Sr)

January 8 - Girls Retreat (Fr/So)

January 16 - “Dancing With The Saints!”

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Business office reminDer

tuItIon Payment date remInder

November 10 - Second quarter tuition due

January 11 - Second semester & third quarter tuition due

March 10 - Fourth quarter tuition due

We thank the majority of families who fulfill their financial obligation promptly. Unfortunately, some of our families do not make their payments in a timely manner. If at any time your circumstances change and will not allow you to complete your ob-ligation as indicated on your tuition contract, please contact Shea Francis at 739-7307.

sto goal met

Thank you to the many who have given the gift of Catholic education by contributing to the Our Faith,

Our Children, Our Future STO and named Xavier High School as your school of choice!

last-minute reminDer: school cents continue to save those

receiPts through DecemBer 31st!

You can continue to help earn points for Xavier for cash through School Cents by simply shopping at Lindale Mall

and its surrounding patrons and turn in your receipts dated through December 31st to the redemption box at Lindale

Mall (near the center court fountain).

If you’d rather keep your receipts, just have them stamped for Xavier at the Guest Services in the center court lower level or the school cents kiosk after office hours. Lindale Mall is offer-ing $25,000 prize money to area schools through the School Cents program. This program is sponsored by Lindale Mall.

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Xavier noW a “Blue Zones school”Xavier High School has been designated as a Blue Zones School® by Blue Zones Project® Cedar Rapids. Designation as a Blue Zones School is achieved by optimizing nutrition programs, changing the build-ing environment, and creating health and well-being improvement programming. All of the actions are de-signed for long-term, positive impact on the health and well-being of Xavier High School students and staff.

Cedar Rapids is one of 15 Blue Zones Project dem-onstration sites in Iowa. Cedar Rapids and the other demonstration communities are receiving assistance from experts to develop and implement a Blueprint for making permanent environmental, social and policy changes that transition people into healthier behaviors that can lead to longer, happier lives.

Xavier earned its designation by incorporating a series of health-related policy improvements includ-ing the following initiatives:

• Establish a health and wellness council that meets regularly at Xavier.• Enforce a tobacco free campus.• Redesign the lunchroom to encourage students to choose healthier foods.• Discontinue using food as rewards.• Prohibit unhealthy food and beverage (e.g., sodas, sweets, etc.) advertisements on school grounds.• Update cafeteria equipment to support provision of healthier foods.• Require that students are physically active during the majority of time in physical education class.• Incorporate lifestyle focused activities into your physical education curriculum.• Require 225 minutes per week of physical activity for all students.• Prohibit consumption of food and beverages, other than water, in classrooms and hallways.• Create and implement a Farm-to-School program.• Plant and maintain a school garden.• Install a salad or fruit and vegetable bar in the cafeteria

Xavier is the third high school in the state of Iowa to be designated as a Blue Zones School, joining Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Marion.

“Xavier is truly excited to be named a Blue Zones School!” says Xavier High School principal, Tom Keat-ing. “We are proud of the efforts of Mrs. Kris Naeve and our student leaders which led to this wonderful designation. Through their work, Xavier has focused on becoming a truly healthy school environment!”

“Xavier being designated as a Blue Zones School shows our students and their families that Xavier is dedicated to the overall health and well-being of its students,” says Xavier High School nurse & XHS Blue Zones project coordinator, Kris Naeve. “Actions des-ignated by Xavier will provide lasting benefits to our students’ physical & emotional health and social rela-tionships, helping students to live longer, but also help to make the healthier choice the easier choice.”

The Blue Zones Project is based on Blue Zones prin-ciples developed by Dan Buettner and is the center-piece of the Healthiest State Initiative to make Iowa the healthiest state by 2016 as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®, the first-ever daily as-sessment of U.S. residents’ health and well-being. Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live longer, better lives by taking a systematic, envi-ronmental approach to well-being, which focuses on optimizing policy, social networks and the built envi-ronments where people spend their time. In Iowa, Blue Zones Project is funded by Wellmark® Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® and administered by Healthways.

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<<< Xavier students work in the school garden. Items from the garden are used in the farm-to-school program set forth in the XHS Blue Zones School initiative.

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Earlier this month, Xavier welcomed Bob Cataldo as its new varsity baseball coach. Cataldo has served as a volunteer assistant in the past for the Xavier varsity baseball program and has additional experience coach-ing for the baseball and football programs at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines in the 90′s. Bob also brings experience as a Division I athlete to the table, having participated in football and baseball at the University of Notre Dame from 1988-1991, where he earned his degree in Economics in 1992.

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve as Head Baseball Coach at Xavier High School, and am excited to begin my duties and build relationships with our outstanding student-athletes and their families,” said Cataldo. “I sincerely thank Coach Dave Schemmel and Coach Jim Arp for their years of leadership in cre-ating a baseball program with high expectations and a rich tradition. I look forward to continuing that success and building upon the foundation they created.”

Cataldo will be only the second varsity baseball head coach in Xavier’s history, taking over for Dave Schem-mel who stepped down this past August. Since Xavier opened in 1998, its baseball program has amassed a record of 431-234 and advanced to three straight Class 3A state championship games in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (winning the state championship in 2006).

“We are excited to welcome Coach Cataldo to our baseball program,” said Xavier High School principal, Tom Keating. “His energy, passion and commitment to Catholic education are qualities that will serve him well as he leads our program. The experience he brings as a Division I athlete and a coach in a very successful pro-gram will allow him to challenge our student-athletes to perform at a very high level and to represent Xavier in a first-class manner.”

Currently serving as the senior portfolio manager at United Fire Group, Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Cataldo also is heavily involved as a volunteer, including serving as the president of the Xavier Booster Club. Bob is a 1988 graduate of Dowling Catholic High School. After graduating from Notre Dame, he earned his M.B.A. from Drake University in 1998.

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catalDo is Xavier’s neW BaseBall coach

“His energy, passion and commitment

to Catholic education are qualities

that will serve him well as he leads

our program.”

-Tom Keating

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Xhs stuDents certifieD in microsoft office aPPlications

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Congratulations to XHS students who are now certi-fied in Microsoft Office Word and Excel 2013 pro-grams! Out of the 38 students who took both of these certification exams, 100% of them are now certified. Way to go Saints! Also, thank you to XHS faculty member, Mr. Tim O’Brien for shepherding this project and affording a great opportunity to our students!

top photo

Left to Right (Front Row):Liz Hessman, Annie Sigmon, Matthew Been, Connor Stevenson, Justin Schneider, Jacob Winger,Kyle Meaney, Tina Wu, Ashley Lang, and Sarah SchirmLeft to Right (Back Row):Austin Albritton, Sam Meyers, Ian Walther, John Rocca, Jake Guckenberger, Corey Vester, Devin Lansing, Kathleen Parrish, and Mr. Tim O’Brien.

Bottom photo Left to Right (Front Row):Kristin Collins, Josie Fuhrman, Katie Tallett, Anthony Karl, Noah Terfler, Ty Corrigan, Carter Kramer, Molly Keyes, Sarah Stanc-zyk, Ethan Lowder, Kiana Stanek, and Olivia Lampe.Left to Right (Back Row):Mr. Tim O’Brien, Luke Duball, Brad Karpick, Nolan Dostal, Thomas Drish, Calvin Ford,Tanner Wright, and Roman Schmit.

Not pictured, Ryan Mitchell.

Xhs stuDents eXcel at math comPetition

The Xavier Math team of Chen Yi (Poppy) Wang, John Pape and Lauren Korbel com-peted in the second Great Plains Math League com-petition of the season last month at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. All three walked away with top 3 finishes! Korbel was 1st in both the Target and Sprint rounds for 9th Grade; her scores qualified for state competition. Wang came in 2nd in Sprint for 11th Grade. Pape finished 3rd in Target for 10th Grade; this was Pape’s first competition.

college PreP check-in

college aPPlications: check scholarshiPs: in Progress

With the bulk of college applications submitted, now is the time for our seniors to turn their attention to scholarships. Word on the street is that there is a lot of scholarship money to be had out there but the question is how to find it? Here are my recommendations on how to navigate the process.

the college The first place to look for college scholarships is from the college itself. Many times, when a student applies to a col-lege they are automatically considered for any merit-based scholarships based on their GPA and ACT. Don’t stop there! The college’s financial aid office and specific departments may also offer scholarships for students. Some have one scholarship application that can be applied to many scholar-ships while others ask the student to fill out individual forms. A quick search on the college’s website or a call to the ad-mission counselor will set you off on the right foot.

the community We are going to make this easy for you...Log in to Family Connection and review the “Scholarship List” located on the “Colleges” tab. This list, updated weekly, is the hub for lo-cal and regional scholarships. You can sort by due date and amount and there is typically a PDF of the application form or the website listed.

national SearcheSA more competitive pool, national scholarships are harder to earn but do tend to be the ones left unfulfilled. Family Con-nection has a great search option for this called “Scholarship Match”. My recommendation is to research the parameters of the scholarship to ensure you qualify and keep in mind that for every six scholarships a student applies for they may earn one of them.

I also encourage students to explore scholarship opportuni-ties once they are in college. There are typically departmen-tal scholarships as well as financial assistance available to students once they are enrolled and these scholarships tend to be less competitive.

Submitted by Cara Joens Admissions & College Coordinator

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results of the 7th annual Battle of 42nD street BlooD Drive

Thank you to all who took time out of your very hectic holiday schedules to make time to do-nate blood for the 7th-annual Battle of 42nd St. Blood Drive! We truly appreciate all who do-nated and helped with the blood drive. We may not have won this year’s battle of total units of blood donated, but we had a larger percentage of students who donated. Beyond the competition, Kennedy and Xavier accomplished something greater together by collecting 85 units of blood which will help 255 people in need of blood in the area. That is the true spirit of giving…giving of yourself and we thank you!

saints learn coDe; Program roBots

Earlier this month, Saints participated in the global “Hour Of Code” movement, which introduces millions of students to at least one hour of computer programming. In addition to doing various online coding tutorials, Grant Wood AEA’s Jonathan Wylie & Jason Marshall stopped by to help Saints program the robots, Sphero, Dot and Dash.

<<< “BunDleD Bottoms”XHS Key Club students spent some time after school in December making and cutting patterns out of collected t-shirts. The patterns will later be assembled into cloth diapers and shipped to children in Haiti via the Many Hands For Haiti (MH4H)’s “Bundled Bottoms” program. A big thank you to XHS junior & Key Club officer, Liz Hessman, for leading this great service project!′

Best Wishes, mrs. Davis!Congratulations to Xavier librarian Mrs. Dee Davis on her retirement at the end of this semester! We thank Dee for her 40 years of service to education with nearly 30 of those years spent in Catholic schools. On behalf of the thousands of students Mrs. Davis has impacted from her post in the LMCs at Regis and Xavier High Schools, we wish her all the best as she moves on to the next chapter in her life!

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coming soon:neW look for the lmc

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Here is a look at the “re-imagined” Xavier LMC, which will feature a collaborative learning space, areas for quiet study, a new Technology Enabled Activity Learning (TEAL) Lab and a video broadcast studio among other enhanced amenities. The new LMC is made possible by the generous gift Xavier received from donors Mike and Jo Cambridge this past summer.

Initial preparation work has already begun and reconstruction of the current LMC space is scheduled to begin over Christmas break. XHS faculty member, Tracy Marshall, will be taking over LMC operations in the 2nd Semester following the retirement of Mrs. Dee Davis.

The new LMC will feature many amenities to serve students.

Overhead view of reconstructed LMC space

Technology Enabled Activity Learning (TEAL) Lab

Collaborative Learning Room

Quiet Study Area

DecemBer 2015 gallery10

The Xavier Girls’ Basketball team is all in as they showcase their “one word.”

Former faculty and staff were able to join us for our annual Christmas luncheon last week at Xavier.

Xavier Wrestling’s Jeff Vipond earns career victory #100 at the Independence Tournament earlier this month.

Saints gather to load vehicles with gifts for the Tanager Place Angel Tree Project.

Xavier music students perform at “Christmas with Xavier!”

Many gather at a candlelight prayer service around the Angel of Hope statue on Dec. 6th.

Thank you to our XPX moms for the outstanding Christmas luncheon & great gifts for our faculty & staff!

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colD & flu season reminDers

Just a few reminders to parents during this cold and flu season…..As you know, influenza can spread easily from person to person. We continue to take precautions at Xavier to reduce the spread on influenza and other viruses among our students and staff.

Here are a few things you can do at home to help us reduce the spread of influenza and other viruses…

REMIND your children to wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer

REMIND your children to not share items such as drinks, cell phones, and food TEACH your children cough etiquette—cough into tissue or elbow RECOGNIZE signs and symptoms of the flu. Typically, fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, cough, sore throat, headache, body aches, and fatigue. Seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY with any breathing concerns. KEEP sick kids home until fever free without medications for 24 hours ENCOURAGE your kids to take care of themselves by get-ting plenty of rest, eating nutritious meals, and staying physi-cally active to keep their immune system strong.

Remember the 3 C’s: Cover your cough, Clean your hands, Contain germs For more information about the flu, please visit www.flu.gov.

Also, just a reminder that we report absences daily to Linn County Public Health and appreciate your diligence in calling in specific symptoms when you report your child sick to help better track illnesses in our community

Submitted by Kris Naeve School Nurse

annual Xavier BanD garage sale anD Bake sale funDraiser

Saturday, April 23, 2016 - 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. - In The Commons

Donations of small household items, toys, games books, and clothing are to be delivered to the school on Friday, April 22, 2016 between 3 & 6 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale will assist the Xavier Band Department in purchasing new equipment.For further information contact Carol Vester at cavester@mchsi.com or (319) 329-4566.

Welcome Booster cluB memBers!Please welcome our newest members to the Xavier Booster Club:

Brian & Teri Donnelly

It is still not too late to become a member. To join complete the form on the following page or visit the Booster Club section on XavierSaints.org.

Join the 2015-2016 Xavier Booster Club The Xavier Booster Club is a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting Xavier academics, athletics and fine arts. We helpfacilitate, promote, and provide funding for all school related activities. We provide hundreds of volunteer hours and thousands of dollars a year to enhance the high standards and success of Xavier High School and its students.

The Booster Club assists in many volunteer capacities to support the Xavier students and staff. During the 2014-2015 school year the Xavier Booster Club had allocated in excess of $80,000 to various programs, including: Band, Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Choir, Cross Country, Drama, Football, Golf, Mission Trip, Poms, Post Prom, Show Choir, Soccer, Softball, Speech, Student Activity Clubs, Swim Team, Tennis, Track, Trapshooting, Uniform Fund, Volleyball, Wellness/Fitness Center, Wrestling, and X-Country.

The Booster Club has committed approximately $90,000 for the 2015-2016 school year. This ambitious donation cannot be achieved without your active participation! We encourage you to join the Booster Club and become involved in its many activities. For further information on the Xavier Booster Club you can visit our website at: www.xaviersaints.org.

Please get involved in your school through the Booster Club!ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES: $50.00How do I join the Xavier Booster Club?

Complete the attached membership form. Enclose a separate check for $50.00 (annual membership dues), payable to “Xavier Booster Club”. AND Mail to Xavier Booster Club Membership at Xavier High School: (6300 42nd Street N.E., Cedar Rapids, IA, 52411).

(RETURN BOTTOM PORTION WITH MEMBERSHIP DUES.)

2015-2016 Xavier Booster Club Membership FormName___________________________________________________________________________Phone___________________ (Please print your name the way you would like it to appear in the Navigator and the Activities Program.)

E-mail Address___________________________________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________ City________________State______Zip__________

Xavier Student(s) __________________________________________________ Yr(s) of Graduation ____________________

Parent volunteers are needed to continue the strong support shown to Xavier activities.Please consider this, and indicate below your volunteer interests:

BOOSTER CLUB OFFICER: _____ President _____Vice President _____Treasurer _____Secretary

CONCESSIONS COORDINATOR: _____ (Circle which season – Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer)

WORKING AT THE CONCESSIONS: ___ Fall Season ___ Winter Season ___ Spring Season ___ Summer Season _____ Fine Arts Representative _____Golf Outing Coordinator _____Membership Coordinator _____ Programs Coordinator _____Volunteer Coordinator _____ X-Games Coordinator

I AM A PARENT OF A STUDENT WHO IS INVOLVED IN: Athletics Fine Arts Both the above

INCLUDE WITH THIS FORM YOUR CHECK FOR $50.00 PAYABLE TO XAVIER BOOSTER CLUB.FORWARD IT TO XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL ATTENTION XAVIER BOOSTER CLUB MEMBERSHIP AT:

OFFICE USE ONLY Date Rec’d __________________Cash ________ Check # _______

Booster cluB

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Xavier High School • 6300 42nd Street NE • Cedar Rapids, IA 52411 • (319) 294-6635 • www.xaviersaints.org

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