October 2011
Message from the Headmaster Dear Xavier Parents and Guardians,
As I am sure you know, we had a rough start of the school year as we mourned the death of Coach Bill Costa, a member of our JV football staff and our strength and conditioning coach. Coach Costa was also the father of current Xavier faculty member Mr. James Costa, who teaches history and is our freshman football coach. I want to thank all of you for the support, care, notes and emails as our school community went through this difficult time. One of the wonderful things about Xavier is the community that we build here every day, and in a time of loss and sorrow each of us was given the opportunity to see firsthand the love and support for each other that Christ calls us to give so freely. As we move forward from this tragedy, I ask that you continue to pray for the repose of Coach Costa’s soul and for his family. I also ask that you pay particular attention to your son. It is often difficult for teenagers to deal with death and loss, particularly for younger students who may not have experienced this kind of loss before. Our guidance department stands ready to assist you in helping your son get through this difficult time in his life. With the school year in full-swing, your son is bound to become very busy as he juggles school work with athletics and extra-curricular activities. Some of our students seem to be so rushed in the morning that they neglect to eat a good breakfast. This often manifests itself here at school. It is, unfortunately, not uncommon for students to become ill or faint because they have not eaten properly in the morning or because they have neglected to hydrate themselves. I urge each of you to make sure that your son eats something before school each morning (even if it is just a banana, a granola bar or something similar) and drinks enough water. Our cafeteria is open each morning at 6:45 serving breakfast. If your son cannot eat before he leaves for school he is welcome to have breakfast here. With this edition of the school newsletter, you have received your son’s first progress report. This report is meant to give you a basic indication of your son’s academic performance thus far. Please review this report with him and help him to set goals for the remainder of the academic year. If your son is not off to a strong start and is struggling in any of his classes, please contact his teachers, as needed, or his guidance counselor. Each can help clarify any question you might have regarding this progress report and give you an indication as to what your son can do to improve his performance. If there is something that you think would be helpful for us at school to know about your son, please contact his counselor, Mr. Luciano Lovallo (Dean of Academics) or me. In an effort to better serve our parents, we have created a parent handbook. This book contains answers to many frequently asked questions and is a great resource. If you did not pick one up at Back to School Night and would like a copy, please contact my office at ext. 1500. ******************************************** A few calendar items of note: On October 12, 2011, the sophomores and juniors will take the PSAT exam. Please impress upon your son, as we do here, the importance of this exam and the seriousness with which he should approach it. The PSAT results will become part of his Xavier transcript and it is the exam used to determine eligibility for a National Merit Scholarship. While the sophomores and juniors take the PSAT exam, the freshmen will attend the Freshman Retreat on October 12, 2011. The first overnight Sophomore Montserrat Retreat will leave on October 17, 2011. This is an overnight retreat that each sophomore will attend at some point during the school year with his homeroom and homeroom teacher. Retreat days for sophomores and freshmen are important for forming close ties with classmates and give students the opportunity to grow in their own personal faith. These retreats are curricular and are a mandatory part of your son’s Xavier education.