CElEbRAtiNG LEGAciES - St. Pius X Catholic High School

A Letter from
Principal Spellman
Dear Alumni of St. Pius X,
I recently received an e-mail from junior Catherine Rigdon describing her experience as a student ambassador
during the reunion for the first graduating class of St. Pius X, the Class of 1959. I was so moved that
I felt compelled to share her message with our faculty and staff, and I have asked that it be shared with
you in this publication. Her message, which can be found on the next page, was simple and profound. In
short, Catherine stated how thankful she is for our founders (teachers, alumni, parents and friends) and
the legacy they began for our current student community 50 years ago.
Catherine’s words, coupled with the passing of beloved former football coach George Maloof, have given
me much to think about—particularly with respect to our mission. The mission of our school states:
St. Pius X, an archdiocesan high school, provides a college preparatory education for the formation of
the mind, body, and spirit of each student in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church. Our
task is to discern our effectiveness in living our school’s mission by measuring our continued progress
in each of these areas: mind, body and soul. Each year I look at our successes from the previous year to
determine our school community’s development. Usually it involves a lot of statistics and the tedious
sorting of data. However, with Catherine’s words on my mind and memories from the months following
Coach Maloof’s passing, I would like to focus more closely on the people behind our accomplishments
rather than the numbers.
As we all know, the funeral Mass for George B. Maloof was held here at St. Pius X in the stadium named after him. During preparations
to honor this St. Pius X legend, I was privileged to learn even more about George Maloof. He personified our mission in so many ways.
Beyond coaching, he cared about the development (academic and spiritual) of each student in his life.
“Do the best you can with the abilities God has given to you.” This was Coach Maloof’s motto, and we can all learn from it. When we
view his motto in combination with our mission, we begin to see what is so special about our school community. At St. Pius X, it is the
merging of all these elements (mind, body and spirit) that make a student whole. Our life is a gift from our Lord, and what we do with
our abilities—our gift for academics, sports, the arts, our compassion and our love—is how we glorify the Lord and enrich our souls.
As I said before, I measure our school’s success by how we live our mission. If I ever need confirmation that we are doing God’s will at
St. Pius X, then I need only think of Catherine’s words. Hearing from one of our own students who is living this mission right now, and
receiving her recognition and appreciation of our predecessors, tells me that we are headed in the right direction. It affirms our community’s
responsibility to carry on the tradition of excellence and leave an even stronger legacy for those who will follow in our footsteps.
I want to thank each of you for the many blessings you continue to bestow on our community. I ask for your continued support of our
efforts to bring about the successful completion of the 2009-2010 Annual Fund Campaign. With your generosity, we will attain our
goals. Please know how much I appreciate your support as we lay the foundation for the next fifty years of Catholic education in Atlanta.
I pray for the perseverance of our community as we continue to forge ahead with our mission and all of our endeavors.
Warmest regards,
Steve Spellman