Celebrating 20 Years of God's Grace!
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ANNUAL REPORT EDITION THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE XAVIER FOUNDATION CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE! DONOR-FUNDED PROGRAMS MAKING AN IMPACT AT XAVIER ALUMNI NEWS & MORE 2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT XAVIER SAINTS: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE! XAVIER FOUNDATION | FALL 2018 COMMON THREAD | 2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT 1 A SEASON OF GIVING THANKS FOR OUR GIFTS! We are pleased to present to Both the Foundation and High School enjoyed another suc- you the Xavier Foundation’s cessful year thanks to the efforts of so many. We thank our 2018 Annual Report. Our 20th pastors and our parishes for their commitment to Catholic year brought many changes, education. We thank our Foundation and School Board both in the Foundation and the members who help set the direction for us. We thank our High School. These changes faculty and staff for their tireless work to “develop the total involved new personnel in the person in a Catholic environment.” We thank the families of Foundation, Director Mary Har- our “Saints” for their belief in the mission and the support ken completing her first year they offer. We thank our wonderful volunteers who assist us and Elizabeth Wright beginning through our Foundation (Parish Appeal, Business Appeal, her work as Donor Relations Alumni Appeal, Dancing With the Saints), our Booster Club, and Appeal Coordinator. Also, Xavier Parents for Xcellence and the many, many team and Xavier High School moved to activity parent rep programs. And we thank our wonder- a President-Principal model of fully generous benefactors who support us financially so that governance, one that the majority of Catholic High Schools in we can continue to offer a quality Catholic education to our the U.S. utilize. I feel blessed to serve as Xavier’s first presi- young people. dent and equally blessed that Angela Olson was selected to serve as Xavier’s third principal. May God bless all of you! Tom Keating Xavier High School President As a parent of four gradu- Tom Keating at the helm as our first President and Angela ates and outgoing Founda- Olson as our new Principal. Tom’s role is to steer the ship to tion Board Chairperson, it ensure the long-term financial viability of Xavier and ensure has been a true blessing to our core, Catholic mission is embedded into each and every watch Xavier grow over the fabric of the school. Angela’s role is to lead a talented, faith last 20 years. Back in the filled staff to deliver a rigorous academic curriculum and offer 1980’s, seeds were planted to a broad set of extracurricular activities to develop the total merge Regis and LaSalle into person in a Catholic environment. Two clear roles with specific one unified, strong Catholic objectives to help keep Xavier strong for the next generations. high school for the Cedar Rapids community. Financial As a Catholic school, Xavier has the unique luxury of instilling and spiritual commitment all school programs and activities with the teachings of Jesus from the community along Christ and his love for us. His love shines through in the many with courage and effort from graduates from our 20 year history as they become hardwork- a group of forward-thinking individuals helped bridge the ing community and parish members/leaders. His love also two high schools into one unified entity called Xavier High shines through in the many donors and friends who have so School. Since that time, Xavier has graduated thousands of generously given to Xavier over the past 20 years. We are young adults and established itself as one of the premier high truly blessed to have a wonderful Christ-centered school with schools in the state and the Midwest. so many generous and caring supporters. This last year, the Foundation and the School Board took On behalf of the Xavier Foundation, thank you from the another big step for Xavier in transitioning to a President- bottom of our hearts. Principal model of governance. With 60-70% of Catholic high schools nationwide using this model, we embarked on Yours in Christ, researching and evaluating the pros and cons. One of the key advantages in moving to this model was allowing for much Ellen Bouchard closer alignment between the Foundation and Xavier High Foundation Board Chair School. In the end, both boards felt this new governance structure would be best for tackling enrollment issues, diver- sifying the revenue base and positioning Xavier High School for the long-term. We are thrilled to be moving forward with 2 XAVIER SAINTS: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE! XAVIER FOUNDATION | FALL 2018 COMMON THREAD | 2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT 2018 DONOR APPRECIATION RECEPTION On August 7, the Xavier Foundation hosted its 27th annual Donor Appreciation Reception with the theme of “Celebrat- ing 20 Years of God’s Grace.” We welcomed members of the Foundation’s various giving societies: Heritage Society, Endowed Scholarship Circle, Archbishop’s Circle, Corner- stone Society, and School Tuition Organization donors. Guests were treated to a reception and program in the Regis-LaSalle Theatre. A special “thank you” to Archbishop Jackels for joining us for this very special event. Archbishop Jackels offered a prayer and remarks about the beautiful work of our Catholic schools in forming our young people. Xavier Foundation Board Chair, David Schimberg (R91), opened the program by offering a message of sincere gratitude for supporters, noting that their support is important not only for current students, but also for the many future Saints who hope to one day walk Xavier’s halls. Xavier High School President, Tom Keating, offered his thanks, noting that making the dream that is our school become a reality (and keeping the dream alive) is possible through the support of our gener- ous donors. The evening closed with a powerful address from Xavier faculty member, Jaclyn Richmond, who chron- icled the impact of the Xavier community on her family, mentioning that Xavier’s existence far exceeds its monetary value when it’s filled with students ... and each dollar gener- ously donated to Xavier is worth more than its value when it’s washed over those students in the form of an excellent Catholic education. Thank you to all who attended this event. We offer special thanks to Xavier art teacher, Jess Budde, who painted a por- trait (start to finish - pictured left) of St. Francis Xavier during the event; recent XHS graduate, Tristen Perreault (X18), who served as our guest piano player; and XHS principal/resi- dent artisan cake baker, Angela Olson, who made a special cake and crafted over 200 cupcakes for the event. We have been truly blessed with God’s grace over the past 20 years. We are ever grateful for the continued generosity of all who believe in our mission. XAVIER SAINTS: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE! XAVIER FOUNDATION | FALL 2018 COMMON THREAD | 2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT 3 WHAT’S NEW AT XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL THE NEXT 20 YEARS… KEEPING TRADITION ALIVE; ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD The 2018-2019 school year represents an opportunity to look The school also works to cultivate the gifts and talents of its back at how far Xavier has come since opening its doors to students so they may take those gifts and serve as the light students in 1998, but it also marks the beginning of a new of Christ for others. Xavier not only challenges its students chapter as we look forward to our next 20 years. As the to become better versions of themselves, but also seeks to world around us continues to change more rapidly with each continually improve as a school to better serve its students passing day, the need for excellent Catholic education can- and ensure the long-term viability of a first-class Catholic not be understated. Xavier remains committed to its mission education option for all in our community. This commitment of developing the total person in a Catholic environment. ‘ to improvement has yielded several significant changes this school year: 1. PRESIDENT-PRINCIPAL MODEL The President-Principal Model, a model adopted by many Catholic high schools across the country, was instituted this past July at Xavier. Longtime principal, Tom Keating, assumed the mantle of our school’s president following a search by a joint executive committee of Xavier High School and Xavier Foundation board members. In this model, the president serves as the executive officer of the Xavier High School Board of Education and Xavier Foundation Board. The president will have the ability to fully address the wide variety of areas essential to Xavier’s long term success. These areas include lead- ing our Catholic mission, student success, visioning, long-range planning, financial management, public relations and marketing, and development. A search to fill the vacated principal position yielded the hiring of Xavier associate principal, Angela Olson, to serve as the school’s third principal and first female princi- pal in Xavier’s 20-year history. Congratulations Tom Tom Keating Angela Olson and Angela! President Principal Xavier High School Xavier High School 4 XAVIER SAINTS: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE! XAVIER FOUNDATION | FALL 2018 COMMON THREAD | 2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT 2. BLOCK SCHEDULING 3. XCEED CONFERENCE Up until this school year, Xavier operated on a daily XCEED (Xavier Catholic Extraordinary Encounter Day) eight-period modular schedule whereby students is a new school-wide conference for Grades 9-12. would attend eight classes throughout the course of a The conference, held on September 26, provided all normal school day. After much research by administra- Xavier students the opportunity to hear from keynote tors, faculty members, and students, a decision was speaker, Matt Fradd (above left), attend breakout made to adopt block scheduling with the 2018-2019 “impact” sessions and end the day celebrating mass school year.