Top Honors Bestowed at Commencement 2013 - Cascia Hall ...

Cascia Community,
As we reflect upon the many events
of the 2012/13 school year we
see many accomplishments,
which you will
see throughout this
newsletter, and many
challenges. Our senior
leaders began the year
creating a theme “The
One”. The theme not
only represented our
attempt to instill our
core value Unitas, it
also created a daily
reminder of service to others.
On behalf of the faculty and staff we
would like to commend our seniors
for their leadership and their ability to
focus on others rather than just themselves.
Examples of student leadership
ranged from the opening week allschool
picnic, suggested and planned
entirely by our student leaders, to
building a house for a deserving family
through the Habitat for Humanity
project. However, our senior leadership
was none more evident than how
our senior class and entire student
body relied on each other to supply
comfort and hope in the tragic loss
of senior classmate Ted Woolman.
Often our students teach us more than
we could ever teach them. Their demonstration
of caring about their fallen
classmate, Ted, his family and the
impact it may have had on their current
classmates was a true reflection of
their theme “The One”. It was a lesson
we learned from this senior class
that will help us in other challenges
ahead. Forbes magazine founder B.C.
Forbes said, “History has demon-
2 CASCIA HALL NEWSLETTER
strated that the most notable winners
usually encountered heart breaking
obstacles before they triumphed.
They won because they refused to
become discouraged by their defeats.”
The Class of 2013 is a perfect example
of possessing this triumphant spirit.
Nationally, during this school year
our country endured the senseless
shootings at Sandy Hook that created
a feeling of vulnerability for many of
our schools. In our Cascia community
we lost one of our heroes this school
year with the passing of Augustinian
Fr. Ted Tack. Our community also
endured the much too early loss of
two graduates from the Class of 2010,
John Baluh and Rachel Swetnam.
Yet despite our challenges, we know
all is well because of our faith. Below
you see a great illustration of this
hope. Clay Algeo ’07 captured
this picture May 19th just outside
Edmond. Though dark clouds and a
tornado may be on the horizon, the
cross in the foreground reminds us
Who we are to rely on no matter what
the challenge.
My prayer for the Class of 2013 is
first, a prayer of gratitude for your
leadership and secondly, a hope for
each of you to rely on your faith as you
face the obstacles and challenges that
life brings.
God’s Peace,
Roger Carter
Headmaster
V This photo, taken recently in Edmond, shows a cross in the foreground with a tornado touching
down in the horizon. See Headmaster’s article for more information.
Congratulations
Class of 2013
In the class of 99 students,
40 were named Oklahoma
Academic Scholars; 13 were
National Merit Finalists,
3 were Commended, and
1 was named a National
Achievement Finalist; 1 senior
earned a perfect score on the
ACT; 70% are members of the
National Honor Society; 100%
will attend college in the fall.
In the last four years,
Commando teams have
earned 9 State Championships,
11 State Runner-up titles,
and 3 Academic State
Championships; 12 senior athletes
earned All State Honors,
and 9 will play sports at the
college level.
Over four years, class members
performed more than 10,000
community service hours.
Members of the Class of 2013
were offered $11 million in
merit-based scholarships to
attend college.