St. Ann January Update

Lots going on at St. Ann, and if we are going to continue improving our school, there is no slowing down. So, here are a few of the activities and improvements taking place.

Enrollment: Early Bird registration is from February 1st-16th. You can log-in to your FACTS Family Portal to access your re-enrollment packets. And, if you refer another family and they enroll, there will be a discount on your tuition. Please read Monday Mail for more information regarding enrollment and referring families. Contact Sara Westrich at sara.westrich@sascolts.org or (901) 386-3328 for more information. For our Hispanic families, Mrs. Westrich is fluent in Spanish.

WiFi: After several years in use, the WiFi system final gave out, which means we had to replace our WiFi system. Since our firewall is Meraki, we purchased a Cisco Meraki WiFi system. We purchased it on Wednesday and it arrived on Thursday. Our IT director, Mike Green, installed it that same day and our WiFi is up-and-running. The new Cisco Meraki system should take us to 2030 before having to be replaced.

A special thank you to the P.K. Seidman Foundation for funding the purchase of the new WiFi system. The cost of replacing the WiFi system was over $19K. 

Bandwidth: Since St. Ann is 1-to-1 with tablet technology, we have been working for several months now to increase the current bandwidth from 100 Mbps (Megabits per second) to 250 Mbps. This is taking so long because AT&T is not being very helpful. They have sent us three servers so far that don't work. The first one was dead on arrival and the other two were misconfigured. My guess is that they are so big that one school is not important to them. Unfortunately, because of E-Rate (government funding for connectivity), we have no choice but to go with AT&T.

Catholic Schools Week (CSW): This year's CSW will take place January 31st through February 6th. The theme is "Faith. Excellence. Service." It goes along well with the St. Ann mission statement. Angela de Jong has created the schedule of activities for the week and will share it at our staff meeting this week. Later this week, we will publish the schedule on our website and social media.

COVID-19 Vaccination: Our faculty and staff have signed up for the COVID-19 vaccination. We were hoping to receive it this past week, but Shelby County is already experiencing a shortage on vaccines. We are hoping it happens this week. We are getting closer and closer to putting an end to this pandemic. 

COVID-19 Transmission: I cannot stress this enough, our parents are the key to keeping COVID-19 out of St. Ann. And, our parents have been AWESOME! The communication between our parents and the school office has been fantastic. Parents aren't taking any chances. A headache, runny nose, stomach, low-grade fever, or just not feeling good and our parents have been keeping their child(ren) home. Even if there is someone at home not feeling well, parents are keeping their child(ren) home. Thank you parents! Because of you and the great work by the faculty, staff, and volunteers, we have created a safe and COVID-free environment for our students.

Fundraising: Hopefully, you know by now, one of my main goals is to keep St. Ann affordable and not raise tuition unless absolutely necessary. Angela de Jong and I are constantly in advancement mode in fundraising for the school so that we don't have to raise tuition. The more support we receive, the more funds we have available to help families afford St. Ann.

On this fundraising note, we have received yet another $10,000 matching challenge. If we raise $10,000, it will be matched. So, as part of Catholic Schools Week we plan to kick-off yet another St. Ann challenge. So, please be ready to help us meet our match.

If you haven't heard, we surpassed our fundraising goal in the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. I said in a previous blog that I hope to proclaim Nike, Nike for a successful 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. So, here it is. Nike, Nike! Thank you to everyone who donated, spread the word, and prayed a decade of the Rosary. Click here to read that blog.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

Nike, Nike!

Pheidippides Arrives in Athens

When Pheidippides raced back to Athens and died from exhaustion right after proclaiming "Nike, Nike," for the Greek victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, he unknowingly became immortal. It is not likely that any of us will become immortal or die from exhaustion, even though we might from all the extra work we are having to do during this pandemic.

Through the support of many wonderful and generous people, we have just about met our goal of raising $10,000 to help offset unexpected COVID-19 expenses. We are currently at $9,260 with over 150 donations. I know we will reach and surpass our goal, and probably sooner than later. Once we reach our goal, we will continue the challenge until December 31st as planned.

While reaching our goal, I am hoping we increase the number of donors to 200. It appears that 80 of the donors so far are first time donors to St. Ann. That is a great sign when adding so many new donors. It is important to have more and more alumni participate in any fundraising effort as well.

Many of our alumni and friends who have contributed have also stepped up with offers to help spread the word about the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. We do need everyone to ask 10 friends to contribute to the challenge. We also need our alumni to spread the word with their St. Ann classmates.

Statue of Pheidippides

Yes, I know people are tired of challenges, campaigns, fundraising, and giving. Hey, that’s the nature of all non-profits. If we don’t ask, we don’t receive. If we don't receive, we don't exist. And, I’m not asking for myself. I’m asking for every student, future student, family, and staff member at St. Ann.

At St. Ann, we have to constantly ask for help so we can provide our students and teachers with what they need and also in order to keep tuition as low as possible. Keeping tuition low is a HUGE passion of mine. Catholic education needs to be affordable to all. This is one of the many things I learned from the teachings of St. John Baptist de La Salle: "direct service to the poor." That means keeping tuition as low as possible.

St. Ann is not an elite school for elite students. It is a wonderful, inclusive Catholic school with incredible teachers for fantastic students.

To those of you who have contributed: Thanks.

To those who spread the word on our behalf: Blessings.

To those who pray for us: Amen!

At the end of the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge, like Pheidippides, we hope to proclaim “Nike, Nike”!

God bless you and Merry Christmas,

Didier Aur, Principal - St. Ann Catholic School

P.S. According to Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory.

10 x 10 Colts Challenge

I finally figured out 2020! It has taken since March for this epiphany to take place, but it finally has. 2020 is just another level of Jumanji. Unfortunately, we have to get through this level to move forward in the game. I just hope the next level is much easier than this one. Between the Coronavirus and the elections (don't know which is worse), "We the People" are the ones who have to endure this level. We can endure this level. The thing is, we are going to have to do this together and be patient because we are still in the beginning stages of whatever level of Jumanji we are in.

Here is an interesting fact: "We the People" is the opening phrase of the Preamble of the US Constitution as well as the Constitution of India.  Thank you Sheldon Cooper.

What does this have to do with the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge? Actually, a lot. First, let me explain the 10 x 10 challenge and then give the whys.

We are calling all members of the St. Ann Family (parishioners, alumni, faculty and staff, parents, grandparents, and friends) to join together and participate in our first ever 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. Here's the way this challenge works. We are asking our St. Ann Families to donate $10 and pray a decade of the Rosary for St. Ann. Then, we also ask that you forward an email to 10 friends asking them to support St. Ann by donating $10.

The challenge will begin on November 9th and run until December 31st. We have created a page on our website specifically for the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge, which will be made available starting on November 9th.

Tomorrow's Monday Mail will give you more information on the challenge, and we will continue to send out information, including a sample email you can send to 10 friends, in the hopes of building enthusiasm behind the challenge.

Donor Board

Now the whys: The challenge is to help with unforeseen costs in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as hiring online teachers and extra substitute teachers, purchasing tools for meeting safety requirements and cleaning supplies, and lowering the number of students in each classroom.

These COVID-19 expenses were not budgeted because we had no idea how to budget for education through a pandemic. If we have another pandemic in the near future, we will be better able to develop a more accurate budget.

The hiring of online teachers and extra substitution teachers will add an extra $25,000 to our salary expense line from August to December. If this continues through the end of May, we will add another $25,000 in salaries on top of that.

Supplies to keep everyone as safe as we possibly can steadily increases on a weekly basis. The State of Tennessee and a grant from the Buckman Foundation have been a tremendous help to the school with safety gear and hand sanitizers. The rest, we have to purchase or build ourselves.

Limiting the number of students in each classroom hurts in oh so many ways. Because of this, we have limited our enrollment. This in turn, lowers the amount of tuition revenue. Ouch! Instead of having up to 25 students in those classrooms, we basically have 20 students. We have closed enrollment to PK4, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade. That means we have a waiting list for those grades, which in turn means we are turning families away from receiving a Catholic education. If we turn a family away because of space, those families will find other schools and not St. Ann.

And, don't forget the amount of financial assistance we have given to support families experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19. The financial assistance amount jumped from $77,000 last year to $133,000 this year. That a $56,000 difference we have to make-up for in our budget.

These are the whys of the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. For these reasons, we would greatly appreciate your support. Please consider becoming a part of the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge and help us get to the next level of Jumanji.

God bless you, 

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

2019-20 Annual Fund Drive

The 2019-20 Annual Fund Drive has begun!

In my July 9th blog entitled St. Ann Alumni Matching Challenge (https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2019/07/st-ann-alumni-matching-challenge.html), I wrote about our annual fund drive goal for this year being $130,000. I called this our BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and this is definitely one BHAG.

Just a reminder, a BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point for effort. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal.

I don't know this for a fact, but I bet St. Ann has never set an annual fund goal anywhere near this amount. This amount even eclipses last year's total giving of just over $120,000. $67,000 of that total was through in-kind giving, which doesn't count towards the annual drive. Annual giving funds are unrestricted funds that help pay the school's annual operating cost. The more financial gifts we receive, the less we charge for tuition.

In my last blog, The Fall Fest and the School (https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2019/10/fall-fest-and-school.html), I explained the revenue from the Fall Fest is the biggest fundraising event for the school. This year, we need the annual fund drive to surpass the Fall Fest revenue by 2 1/2 times.

If we accomplish this BHAG of raising $130,000 in our annual fund drive, we will be able to meet another BHAG of going three years in a row without a tuition increase.

What is so important about the annual fund drive? Giving to the annual fund drive goes to assist every student in our school by keeping tuition as low as possible. If we want to stay true to our Catholic mission of providing education to all, we need to be affordable to all and not just the families who can financially afford a Catholic education.

My pledge is we will continue to do our best to make St. Ann the best school possible while remaining true to our school's mission statement: Our mission is to provide a Catholic education through faith, service and love.

We started mailing out the fund drive brochures and envelopes this past week. We ask that you take some time to read the brochure. We also hope and pray you will consider St. Ann Catholic School as part of your annual giving plan. Help St. Ann reach our BHAG.

$130,000 is one BHAG. For St. Ann and our students, please help us achieve this goal.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

Click here to read previous blog.

What Makes St. Ann a Catholic School is...

St. Ann Students at
Madonna Learning Center

Even though this is only my second year at St. Ann, this is my twenty-eighth year working is Catholic Schools (and my thirty-first in education). I have to admit that I need to sometimes step back and remind myself that St. Ann is a Catholic School first and foremost. Even though I never forget that it is a Catholic School, I sometimes have to remind myself what being a Catholic School means, and it is not just having Catholic in the school's name.

So, I thought this would be a great topic for this week's blog: What Makes St. Ann a Catholic School... 

Colts Running Club at
Autism Awareness Run

The most important thing we do during the week is to attend Mass every Thursday with Fr. Ernie. During the school Mass, 5th-8th graders sing in school choir, serve as Altar Servers, and students in grades 1-8 serve as lectors. The students also run the AV equipment for our school Mass. Mass with Fr. Ernie also becomes a Catholic question and answer session. This has become a neat part of our Mass.

Prayer is an important part of being a Catholic School. We pray the Rosary together on the first Friday of every month. We begin the school day praying the WIT Prayer followed by the Act of Contrition. We end every day praying the Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina). We also pray before lunch.

Colts Running Club at
FedEx Family House Run

We also recite the school mission statement after the prayers and Pledge of Allegiance. "Our mission is to provide a Catholic education through faith, service, and love." The staff rewrote this mission statement last year and reviewed it again this year to make it reflect what we do every day.

Our 7th and 8th graders partner with Ave Maria Home to do service projects to help the residents and improve the grounds. This is part of the service work our 7th and 8th graders need for confirmation. Even if the students aren't going through confirmation, they are still required to perform these service hours.

During the school year, the 2nd graders prepare for first reconciliation and first communion.

Cop Stop

The 8th graders study Theology of the Body in the spring. They have also started a new program called Angel Wings. The 8th graders do this every Friday morning. The students write letters and prayers for teachers they appreciate. On Friday morning, they put on their angel wings and go read their prayers for the teachers. It is nice having students praying for the teachers.

St. Faustina Youth Society volunteers at Room in the Inn to feed the homeless, Madonna Learning Center, Shepherd's Haven, Ave Maria, and St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. They have fed first responders in our community, participated in Cop Stop through the Bartlett Police Department, and taken food to the Bartlett Fire Station on Alturia. The students of St. Faustina also pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet once a month.

Collecting Food for SVdP

Volleyball teams supported Dorothy Day House a couple of weeks ago by raising money and collecting needed items.

Every Catholic teacher became certified Eucharistic ministers under the guidance of Jerri Hess.

Colts Running Club participated in charity runs for Autism Awareness and FedEx Family House.

Journalism Club raises money for St. Jude in the fall and Catholic Charities in the spring. They also organized a book drive also for Catholic Charities and diaper drive for Birthright.

Reading Adventures with PDO

The school hosts Trivia Night every spring for the St. Connie Scholarship Fund to help families with tuition assistance.

8th graders team up with Kindergarten students in our school's Big Brother, Big Sister mentoring program.

The 3rd graders partner with students at Parents' Day Out in Reading Adventure with Ms. Cindy's students.

Praying the Divine Chaplet

The Beta Club members prepare Christmas boxes for children in poorer areas. Their boxes went to Ecuador and Peru last year through Samaritans Purse.

Don't forget all our students have religion class, daily. They are taught the importance of prayer. They learn about God's love for them. And, they are active in helping those in need.

Yes, there is more to being a Catholic School. This is just a start. No, we aren't a perfect Catholic School. No, we will never be a perfect Catholic School. Yes, we will continue to strive to improve in our Catholicity. Yes, we will continue to be a Catholic School first and an educational institution second.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Donor Luncheon

Thank You Donors!

St. Ann family and friends are very supportive and are an extremely necessary part of our school. Because of the generosity of those who support St. Ann Catholic School, we have been able to hold steady on tuition from last year. We hope to hold steady again for next year. We won't know if this is possible until March of 2020 when we put the budget together. If we can follow the plan we put in place for each department to not go over-budget, we will probably be able to hold where we are on tuition. To me, Catholic education needs to be affordable and available to all who want to be a part of St. Ann.

St. Ann Donor Luncheon

The cost of operating a school goes up every year. So, how can we expect to hold steady on tuition? The answer to that question is that our donors make this possible. Simple. No secret formula. No magic spells. No complicated master plan. Our donors provide the school with gifts to make financial aid possible in order to help families needing tuition assistance. Our donors fulfill teacher wish lists to better help educate our students. Our donors pay for school improvements, renovations, and updates. Our donors purchase classroom furniture. Our donors enable us to improve school security. Our donors help us keep current on technology... You get the picture.

St. Ann Donor Luncheon

Because of what all our donors do for St. Ann, we are able to hold tuition steady. Donors pay for all non-budgeted items the school needs. If we add those items to the budget, the per pupil cost would increase. The per pupil increase would reflect on the tuition. The lower the per pupil cost, the lower the tuition.

We just need to continue to work hard to improve our school (Good things come to those who work hard and never quit.), stay true to our mission statement (Our mission is to provide a Catholic education through faith, service, and love.), stick to our philosophy of transparency (the reason this blog exists), include our families in day-to-day operations, continuously develop an already incredible faculty and staff, and do all this while keeping Christ and our students first.

This past Thursday, St. Ann hosted a donor luncheon. We wanted to bring our donors together to

St. Ann Donor Luncheon

simply say "Thank You" because without you, not sure St. Ann would still be here. Thank you for your faith, service, and love.

Sixty of our donors where able to break away from their busy lives to come tour St. Ann, have lunch together, and allow us the privilege of appreciating their commitment to St. Ann. It was a great day for school. For some of our donors, they had not been in the school building in decades. For others, this was their first time to visit the school.

Thank you parents, grandparents, alumni, parishioners, and friends of St. Ann Catholic School for your support. Thank you for helping to improve the lives of our students. Thank you for helping to keep our tuition affordable. Thank you for helping our teachers educate our students. Thank you for valuing a Catholic education. And, thank you for your love.

If you would like to support the students at St. Ann Catholic Schools, here are some ways you too can help.

Annual Giving

Sister Connie Passing on the Faith Scholarship

Alumni: Click Here to share your information with the school

Wish List Part 1

Wish List Part 2

If you have questions on how you can support St. Ann Catholic School, please contact Angela de Jong at angela.dejong@sascolts.org. Mrs. de Jong is our development director.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

2019-20 St. Ann Wish List

We have a number of very generous supporters who asked me to post a school wish list for non-budgeted items the students and teachers need. Below is a wish list the teachers have started sending my way. There will be more items to come and some items have already been gifted to us, so I have taken them off the wish list.

If you would like to contribute to one or more of the wish list items, please CLICK HERE to access our giving page. In the comment section, please designate the wish list item you would like to help purchase.

For the computer lab near the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade classrooms- Califone International CII3068AV10L Switchable Headphones Classpack of 10.  Each set of 10 is $93.13.  We need two sets for a total of $186.26. To be used for IXL and ReadWorks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013TQ7E50/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

For our growing school band: Used musical instruments in good condition.  If you have a used band instrument you no longer use, we are in need of instruments because the school band is growing, improving, and competing.

Patrick’s Press Quiz Pro Deluxe buzzer system for Knowledge Bowl competition.  The cost of the system plus shipping is $525.  $510 has been donated so for towards the purchase of the buzzer system. We are on $15 away from being able to make this purchase for the Knowledge Bowl team.  http://www.patrickspress.com/buzzers1.htm

BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. are educational websites with over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K-12, together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music.  The cost for an annual subscription for the whole school is $2,550. An annual subscription for an individual teacher is $230 for BrainPop and $175 for BrainPop Jr.  https://www.brainpop.com

Starfall was created to teach children to read.  It includes language arts and mathematics for PK-3rd grade.  Starfall’s emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity has proven effective in teaching emergent readers.  Starfall activities are research-based and align with individual and common core state standards in English language arts and mathematics.  The cost for a school membership is $270.  The PK teachers have added Starfall to the school’s wish list.  

www.starfall.com

Jupiter JTU700 Tuba is the band director's dream. This 3/4 size tuba includes a detachable lead pipe, valve body and bell for easy cleaning and repair, plus durable construction that is perfect for the classroom. The tighter wrap and compact size will not overly tax younger players, while still offering an ample dynamic range and rich, sweet tone. The 378 tuba features stainless steel piston valves for easy action, plus a size, which makes the sound easy to control for beginning tuba player. The Jupiter JTU700 is a full-sounding 3/4 tuba any band director will enjoy hearing hold down the low end.  The cost for this tuba is $3,389.

If you have any questions regarding the wish list, please feel free to contact me at didier.aur@sascolts.org. Thank you.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Introducing Some New Colts

Leslie Harden (L) &
Melanie Wall (R)

With the coming of a new school year, there also come changes to the school staff. We made several changes and added some new positions.

The first addition is we added Leslie Harden as our new assistant principal/counselor/8th grade religion teacher. Leslie comes to us from St. Joseph Catholic School. She served as principal at St. Joseph. Leslie also served as principal at Little Flower. We have been co-principals for the Jubilee Schools and friends for a number of years. She will bring with her a wealth of Catholic School experience. St. Ann will continue to improve and grow with Leslie Harden working with the teachers and students.

As St. Ann continues to grow, we are adding new classes. We will have two PK4 classes. Lori Morgan will continue as one of the PK4 teachers. Deborah Harty will be the other PK4 teacher.

Layla Post will serve as the PK4 aid.  Mrs. Post actually spent the later part of the 2018-19 school year at St. Ann.  When Mrs. Harty needed an aid because of an injury she sustained at work, Mrs. Post served as her aid.  The teachers thought so highly of her they asked that we hire her to replace Wanda Sexton in the PK classroom.  Mrs. Post is a St. Ann, St, Benedict, and Colorado State University alum.  She earned a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies with a focus on Child Development.  She plans to continue her studies at either the U. of Memphis or CBU.

With Amanda Bannister returning to the PK3 classroom, Selina Trouy has returned to the position of office manager.  As we say in the office, Mrs. Trouy is once again the face of St. Ann.

Jennifer Burnett will replace Selina Trouy as our new finance manager. Mrs. Burnett grew up a member of St. Ann Parish.  She is a graduate of Bartlett and U. of Memphis where she earned a B.S. in Education.  She comes to us after spending the past thirteen years at Varsity Spirit. Mrs. Burnett is not only a St. Ann employee, she is also a St. Ann parent. Being able to have her children with her at St. Ann is priceless. For six years, I had my children with me at Helias Catholic High School, Those were the best six years of my professional career because I had the opportunity to share every school day with my children.

With Deborah Harty moving to PK4, Melanie Wall will serve as our new 1st grade teacher. Ms. Wall comes highly recommended to us by the great folks at the Jubilee Schools. She comes to us by way of St. John Catholic School.  She is a lifelong Memphian having graduated from St. Mary's, Briarcrest, and U. of Memphis with a Bachelor's degree in English and Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Wall has spent a lot of her summer at St. Ann getting ready for the new school year. Her classroom is ready to go.

In my next blog, I will introduce Tina Ostrowski, Judy Thomas, and Lola Scarlett.

Don't forget our $10K Challenge Match.  We are quickly approaching $7K in the St. Ann portion of the match led by the Class of '86. We would love to see other St. Ann classes help us meet the $10K match. All funds from the challenge match are earmarked for financial assistance.
https://stannbartlett.weshareonline.org/St.AnnAlumniMatchingChallenge

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

St. Ann Alumni Matching Challenge

A number of years ago, I was introduced to Dallas businessman Mike Devereaux. Even though Mike is not Catholic, he loves the role that Catholic education has played in his, his wife's, and children's lives. Mike is a product of Catholic Schools in Cincinnati (Our Lady of the Rosary and Roger Bacon High School). His wife is a graduate of Bishop Byrne here in Memphis. His sons graduated from Jesuit Dallas.

Mike has been a supporter of Catholic education in Memphis for many years. In our conversation, Mike has decided to continue to support by challenging St. Ann Catholic School.

Mike and Carol Devereaux have a $10,000 challenge match earmarked for tuition assistance for St. Ann. We are required to raise $10,000 to receive the match. This $20,000 will help provide families with much needed financial aid.

It is important for the future of St. Ann to have more alumni involvement and support. We are turning to our alumni to help meet this challenge match. We need your support to help our students become St. Ann alumni just like you.

Our goal is to not only match the Devereaux donation but to match it several times over because we are currently giving over $100,000 in tuition assistance for the 2019-20 school year to help our families. And, our fundraising goal for the new school year is $130,000 in tuition assistance. That's a tall order but we believe we can reach this goal. $130,000 is our BHAG (Big Harry Audacious Goal)! In order to achieve big results, we need to set big harry audacious goals.

Do you have to be an alumni to give? NO! We want and need our alumni to give and that is the main target audience but not the only target audience. We need support from everyone.

Financial assistance at St. Ann is not merit based (scholastic or athletic).  All financial assistance is awarded on the basis of need.  The average families receiving aid is headed by a single parent with two children in school and have a yearly income of approximately $35,000.

Please consider supporting St. Ann in order to help more families with tuition assistance. We cannot underestimate the importance of a Catholic education for all children.

And, let’s not leave money on the table.

Please contact me at didier.aur@sascolts.org for more information.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

Annual Giving

Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference. And, the best way to make a difference in the life of a child is through education. Education is the best way to help reduce poverty. Education expands economic development. Education will help boost individual income. Education increases our chances of living a healthy lifestyle. Education promotes gender equality. Education promotes peace. Education helps to eliminate crime. Education promotes the development of life skills. Education leads to a lifetime of learning. Education bolsters abstract thinking. Education is one of the most important investments we can make in our children and their future.

Investing in quality education brings the highest returns from individuals, societies and countries. Children who have access to quality educational programs do better in primary school and will have better education outcomes later. It is vital that we invest more in our children's education.

At St. Ann, it is vital that all of us invest more in early childhood, elementary, and middle school education. Providing families a quality education is the reason the St. Ann Annual Giving drive is so important to the future of our children. Our mission statement tells our story. "Our mission is to provide a Catholic education through faith, service, and love." If we want to continue to fulfill our mission, annual giving has to be successful.

We have many families who are able to pay full tuition, but not as many as you would think. We have many who struggle, stretch their budget, and sacrifice to be able to give their children a Catholic education. And, we have many who no matter how much they stretch their budget, cannot afford to pay full tuition. That's why we do everything in our power not to increase tuition. That is why we are leading the charge to find a way to make Catholic education affordable to all. And, that is why the annual giving campaign is important to St. Ann.

Here is a break down for overall giving to St. Ann for last year and this year. Last year's goal was a very modest goal of $30,000. Knowing that we need to work hard to keep tuition steady, we set a very high goal for St. Ann in overall giving for this year. We are nearing our goal but are behind in St. Ann families participating as well as in alumni giving. As I've mentioned before, without alumni support, private schools will not survive. We will not survive because tuition will have to increase to the point that only a handful of families will be able to afford to pay.

You will also notice on our giving spreadsheet that in-kind donations are over half of the giving. The in-kind donations come from supporters to pay for school improvements and enhancements. The in-kind donations go to support a particular ask such as speakers, chess boards, tripods, security cameras..... We have asked and you have responded in kindness. Thank you.

The donation spreadsheet does not cover Vision money, Home & School fundraisers, and Fall Fest.

Click on the Picture to Donate

We are still in need of a few more donations to help with the purchase of the knowledge bowl team buzzer system. Contact our school office if you are willing and able to help with this purchase. If we do not budget for an item, we may not purchase it. It can only be purchased through in-kind donations. After working in non-profit for thirty years, I have learned to be very frugal with other people's money.

Some of the donations are earmarked for specific items or even departments such as band or physical education. We honor the donor's designation of gifts. If the donor does not designated the recipient of a gift, we earmark that towards annual giving. That's our favorite donation because we use those donations to help us balance the budget. Just like any business, we have to balance our budget.

A friend of mine in Dallas taught me a lot about fundraising and business. He would tell me that as a non-profit, every time I send out any type of communiqué, an ask should be included. Without raising funds, non-profits would not exist. Much like a for-profit business, if you don't make the sale, you'll soon be closing your doors.

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Support St. Ann

With that being said, here's my ask for this week's blog. If you have not participated in our annual fund drive, please consider a gift of $100 to St. Ann Catholic School. Without support from our families, friends, and community, the affordability of an education at St. Ann will continue to exclude families wanting a Catholic education for their children. Being a Catholic School, we need to be inclusive and not exclusive.

I do want to clarify a misconception about scholarships. Please think of scholarships as financial assistance. We do not give scholarships in the form of merit (scholastic or athletic). All scholarships are awarded on the basis of need. The average family receiving aid this year is headed by a single parent with two children in school, and have a yearly income of approximately $35,000. In the past, scholarships were awarded for other reasons. We want to be accountable and transparent to our donors who give to help families in need. If we award financial aid to families who can afford to send their children to St. Ann, we would be doing an injustice to the donors' wishes.

Student Update:

Dominic Podesta has been training with Bartlett ATA since he was five years old, starting in the the Tiger program. At the age of seven, he aged out of that class and had to test for his next belt. Normally, you get either an orange or yellow belt and then go into the lower rank class. He tested out of the lower rank class and earned his camo belt, which only two other children had  earned in the last twelve years. For the past two years, Dominic has been in the higher rank class earning his belts. He started competing in tournaments for one and a half years. This year, he finished the tournament season earning 1st and 3rd places at nationals in Orlando, five state titles, and will be going to districts in Atlanta to compete in eight events. He also recently earned his 1st black belt!

Cassie Harmon has had a big year as a dancer. On April 6th, she competed at Revolution Talent Competition West Memphis Regionals to qualify for Nationals. Her seven groups did very well with several high awards and top 5 ranking. Cassie's solo took home 3rd place overall in intermediate junior soloist age 9-11, 1st place in contemporary category intermediate age 10, and a platinum score award winner. On the weekend of the 27th, Cassie represented Dance Dynamics Memphis. Seven of her eight dances earned platinum scores and placed in the top five rankings in their individual overall line ups, multiple category winners, and a special outstanding choreography award. She won several first place honors for her age group in junior soloist and contemporary category. She place first out of thirty-one entries in her solo division. Next up for Cassie are two shows at her end of the year recital for Dance Dynamics Memphis taking place at Briarcrest High School on Saturday, June 8th, at 1 and 6 pm. The performance is free and all are welcomed to attend. She finishes the 2019 competitive season at Revolution Talent Competition Nationals in Pensacola, FL, June 24th-28th, Good luck Cassie and keep us updated on your progress.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends.

St. Ann Trivia Night Sponsors

This week's blog is dedicated to my friends who step up to help the students no matter at what school I'm working. Whenever there's a fundraising event, these folks aways step up to help make the event a success. The fundraising event I'm referring to this time is the St. Ann Trivia Night benefiting The Sr. Connie Passing on the Faith Scholarship.

Sr. Connie Tarallo

The purpose of this scholarship is to reward students who are formed and grow in the Catholic faith at St. Ann. The scholarship serves to help those families in financial need as they strive to give their children a Catholic eduction. Our hope is to grow the Sr. Connie Scholarship to where it becomes an endowed scholarship benefiting many families every year.

These fine folks sponsor trivia night by donating gift certificates from their businesses so that we don't use any of the proceeds from trivia night to pay for prizes. Instead, all proceeds go to help our families with tuition assistance from the Sr. Connie Scholarship.

Michael Garibaldi

I want to thank a former student of mine, Fletcher Elkington, who was able to secure gift certificates for trivia night from the Memphis Zoo, Zaka Bowl, and Tamp & Tap. Fletcher did the same thing for the Jubilee Schools and Blue Streak whenever I asked him for help.

My son, Jonathan Aur, is also there to help whenever there is a fundraising event. He was able to get us gift certificates from Sweet Lala's Bakery and Salsa Cocina Mexicana.

DJ and Jamie Naylor
at Celtic Crossing

Anna Slattery contacted her friends, the Garibaldis, and they donated gift certificates to Garibaldi's Pizza. All the Garibaldis are always generous when it comes to helping the children. They know the importance of Catholic education to families and our community.

D.J. and Jamie Naylor, owners of Celtic Crossing, have donated year-in and year-out to so many different non-profit organizations throughout the Memphis area. The Jubilee Schools have been recipients of their philanthropic work for years. We thank them for supporting the Sr. Connie Scholarship.

Ryan Trimm at Sweet Grass

Another former student of mine, Ryan Trimm, is a restauranteur and chef at Sweet Grass and Next Door in Cooper/Young. One of his newest ventures is Sunrise located on Jefferson just west of the medical district. Another of his new ventures is 117 Prime located downtown on Union. Ryan donated gift certificates from Sweet Grass and Sunrise to our event. Thanks Ryan!

Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman

The final gift certificate thank you goes out to St. Ann alum, Andrew Ticer. Along with restaurant partner, Michael Hudman (another former student of mine from CBHS), he donated gift certificates to Hog and Hominy for each member of the winning team. That's the kind of alumni support we need! Thank you Billy Gage for contacting Andrew and making the ask.

For volunteering and making trivia night possible, thank you to:

• Michael Han for serving as our trivia night emcee and writing all of the trivia questions.
• Jane Gillespie, Ashley Gillespie, and Ryan Cooper for being the official trivia scorers.
• Dawn Lewis for driving around town picking up the gift certificates.
• Linda Garvey Meisler for donating many of the door prizes.
• Barbara Norman for donating bottles of wine for door prizes.
• Ellie McGhee and Matthew Brooks for helping to run the auction.
• St. Ann staff members Debra Harty, Kristen Sellers, Tricia Cooper, and LaDonna Metaxas for supporting trivia night.
• Fr. Ernie for participating in and supporting Trivia Night.

Sr. Connie and the Mosteller Family

This event would not have been possible if it weren't for the dedication, passion, and hard work of one person: Annmarie Ghio. She is the one who brought everyone together and made this evening happen. She even donated many of the door prizes. She put a lot of time into making trivia night a success, and it showed. Because of her work, more families will be helped through the Sr. Connie Scholarship.

Winning Trivia Team

This year's trivia night was a sell-out with twenty teams participating. Next year, we move to the gym, set a goal of forty teams competing, have a bigger silent auction, and help even more St. Ann families with tuition assistance.

When you're going on your "Friday Night Date Night," and you get into that "Where do you want to go eat?" discussion, please consider supporting these wonderful folks who support St. Ann. Their restaurants are fantastic, locally owned, and well worth it. Let's support those who support us.

Support St. Ann

If your business would like to support next years' trivia night, please let me know. Every gift we receive helps keep expenses down with more donations going to the Sr. Connie Scholarship.

To all those who participated in St. Ann Trivia Night, thank you. Hope to see you at this event next year.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School