ST. AUGUSTINE PREPARATORY ACADEMY

Reflecting on a Season of Peace, Hope and Love

To our Aug Prep Family,

I was excited to share about a week ago that I will be remaining at Aug Prep in the CEO role. The amazing children we serve at Aug Prep and our incredible staff played a big role in my decision. Both bring hope and joy to this work daily. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve and work with our students, our families, our staff…and each of you. This work is a journey; we are so thankful for your encouragement, support and partnership.

The holiday season is one that brings mixed emotions for many people – sadness for those who may be battling illness, hardship or have lost loved ones, stress of the expectations and hectic pace of life around us, gratitude for the family and loved ones we are surrounded by, and joy from experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a child.  My hope is that each of you have a moment to stop, reflect and encounter  the peace, hope and love that is at the true heart of Christmas – three things that come through the birth of a child as our Savior more than 2,000 years ago…Jesus.  God’s presence at Aug Prep has been palpable – walking alongside us through the daily joys and challenges, big and small.  While we know it won’t always be easy, we are so excited to see all that God has in store for us in the months and years to come.

See below for more on how our students and staff are enjoying their journey, growing in faith, and serving others in our community and around the world. 

Warmest regards,
Abby Andrietsch

You receive this newsletter because you have supported us in some way. You may have donated your time or resources, believed in us and our mission, or continue to faithfully pray for our students. No matter how you give, we encourage you to share your story. 

Today, Aug Prep is participating in Giving Tuesday which is an international day of giving where people all over the world lead volunteer projects, participate in acts of kindness, or give generously to organizations they believe in and communities they live in. Please consider sharing your #MyGivingStory on Facebook. Your story could help us reach more people who might not know about the impact we are striving to achieve in our city. You also have the option to submit your story and win up to $10,000 for the nonprofit of your choice.

Mission Moment - Growing in Faith

“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 
- Romans 8:38-39

On November 12th and 19th, our 9th grade students attended a day-long spiritual retreat at Lutherdale Retreat Center in Elkhorn, WI. As a school community, we wanted to facilitate an opportunity for our students to deepen their understanding of God, to grow together as a community of faith, and to encounter God’s love in a fresh and new way. This year’s theme was “The Radical Love of God.”

Students Capture an Audience

Nearly 50 elementary and middle school students came together to produce this year’s fall play, “The Phantom Tollbooth, Jr.” Hundreds of audience members supported the students as they portrayed Milo’s adventures in the Kingdom of Wisdom. The students learned that theatre is a safe and creative avenue for them to explore their talents. All the team members (including 12 Aug Prep staff) enjoyed the process immensely, and many children are already asking what show we’re doing next year!

Aug Prep Students Pack 140,000 Meals for Haiti 

Aug Prep service goes beyond our own community, and even our own country! On November 15th, our students, parents and staff came together to help children suffering from malnutrition. We partnered with Kids Around the World's OneMeal Program to pack 140,000 meals that will be sent overseas to serve children in orphanages, schools, homes, churches, and community feeding centers in Haiti. 

Students worked in shifts from 1:30pm-7:00pm. Anaya Falkner, an 8th grade student at Aug Prep who aspires to be a choreographer or author, started packing meals with her advisory at 1:30pm. She even invited her grandfather to volunteer. Anaya was supposed to leave at 5:00pm with her group, but she and her grandfather decided to stay for almost two more hours. Why? She was amazed and inspired to see the community come together to help people who truly needed it. Plus, she said, "Aug Prep had a goal to reach and we wanted to help make it happen."

Aug Prep Gives Back

We believe in giving back to our community! Service teaches our students to recognize their own blessings and to adopt hearts of servant leaders. This fall we conducted the following school-wide service projects:

• Food drive for Hunger Task Force
• Cold weather clothing (hats, gloves, coats, etc.) drive to benefit our families and the community
• Writing Christmas cards, prayers, and letters of encouragement to military service members stationed abroad for the holidays

And it’s not just our students! Our staff raised over $10,000 in our “Aug Prep Gives Back” campaign which benefited United Way and some of our most needy families. 

Want to join us? There is still time to partner with us on a few service projects.  

• Drop off new and gently used winter clothing through December 19th.
• Drop off Christmas cards and notes for the troops (no gifts, just paper items) through  December 6th.
• Adopt an Aug Prep Family for Christmas. The event will be held on Saturday, December 14th and will include Aug Prep families who are nominated by teachers. Families will enjoy breakfast, prayer, support and leave with gifts for the entire family! The event is coordinated by a small outside organization working in the community for 10 years and has helped over 500 families! Aug Prep staff can help by referring a family, sponsoring a family, or donating a gift card. To bless a family this holiday season, please email esmeralda.rocha@augprep.org.

We Exceed Expectations!

Our first state report card was released this month. We’re proud of our 4 star “exceeds expectations” rating. Furthermore, we received an almost perfect score on school growth – a 99.2 out of 100 (compared to a state score of 66.0/100)! This report card is a testament to our mission and values. While we are pausing to celebrate, we are still pushing hard to give all of our students the education they deserve.

Parent Teacher Conferences

First quarter parent teacher conferences were a huge success! We know it’s essential for our families to take an active role in their students’ education, so we value face to face conversations with our families. We’re especially proud of our elementary school, which had over 97% participation!

Please contact Kaitlyn Wollum to get or stay involved with our mission:
414-810-1553 / kwollum@augprep.org