AN E-NEWSLETTER FOR BORGIA ALUMS
WHAT A YEAR FOR FINE ARTS AT BORGIA!
Art
This year's Distinguished Artist awards went to:
  • Seniors: Noah Ennis and Kaitlyn Raab
  • Juniors: Nick Weber and Kara Voss
  • Sophomores: Grant Eckert and Hollie Apprill
  • Freshmen: Sarah Mayer and Patrick McKinnis

This year Noah Ennis '19 and Kaitlyn Raab '19 both won separate art contests. Kaitlyn Raab's t-shirt design was chosen for the Melanoma Miles for Mike 5K 2019. Noah Ennis won with his submission to the 2018 MetroScapes art contest that featured 8 total winners to have their work displayed around bus stations at St. Louis Metro stations.
Band
The marching season competitions were highly successful this year earning our band the following:

Washington Competition
  • Parade - 4th place overall in division
  • Field Show - 5th place overall in division
McKendree University Small Band Marching Band Championship
  • Field Show - Missouri Band Grand Champion, 1st place in division, Outstanding Music Performance in division, Outstanding Color Guard in division.
Ste. Genevieve Marching Band Festival
  • Field Show - 4th place in division

In this year's District competition, our band competed and earned the following:

I Rating
  • Concert Band
  • Samuel Holtmeyer - Snare Solo
  • Abbey Gildehaus - Flute Solo
  • Emma Whetton - Flute Solo
  • Sarah Matt - Flute Solo
  • Evelyn Ince - Alto Sax Solo
  • Sarah Enkvetchakul - French Horn Solo
  • Marie Dietrich - Vocal Solo

II Rating
  • Concert Choir
  • Saxophone Quartet
  • Percussion Trio
  • Percussion Quartet
  • Percussion Octet
  • FluteTrio
  • Drew Barringhaus - Timpani Solo
  • Tegan Gillen - Mallet Solo
  • Ethan Etter - Bari Sax Solo
  • Adam Snider - Trumpet Solo
  • Isabella Overman - Vocal Solo
  • Lucy Banion - Tenor Sax Solo

The State competition recognized the following:

Gold
  • Samuel Holtmeyer - Snare Solo
  • Evelyn Ince - Saxophone Solo

Silver
  • Abbey Gildehaus - Flute Solo
  • Sara Matt - Flute Solo
  • Emma Whetton - Flute Solo

Bronze
  • Maria Dietrich - Vocal Solo
  • Sarah Enkvetchakul - French Horn Solo
Chorus
In the fall, Jacob Donnelly '19 auditioned for and earned himself a spot in the All-District Choir. Isabella Overman received a II on her solo at the District contest. Receiving a I rating on her solo at Districts, Maria Dietrich also earned a bronze for the same pieces at the State competition. Maria also won the National School Choral Award.
Speech
This year's Speech Team placed 2nd in the Christian Interscholastic Speech League.
Theater
The Pavilion (Borgia On Stage Society's One Act Play) competed in MSHSAA's District 6 one-act play competition and secured 1st Place. In addition, Isabella Overman '21 and Veronica Weiskopf '21 received a superior rating at the Missouri Thespian Conference in the Duet Musical Individual Event.
Video Productions
The Excellence in Video Production is given to the student that excels in both the creative and technical side of video production. This year the recipient is Lucy McKinnis '19.

In addition, Zach Frey '21 was chosen as the local winner by the National Elks Association for his video on drug awareness. This award included a $300 contribution to the our Video and Television Production Club and will now move on to compete at the national level.
Winter Guard
The Winterguard placed 2nd at the Francis Howell North competition which was history making because that was the highest the SFB guard has ever placed in recent history . They also received 4th at State Championships!

ADVANCEMENT NEWS
AS TIME COUNTS DOWN, CAN WE COUNT ON YOU?
keys_clock.jpg
Our fiscal year ends on June 30, 2019, and we want to count you among our supporters this year!

Please consider a gift to the Borgia Annual Fund today. Make your gift at www.borgia.com.

This fund provides donors with the most direct and significant way to impact present and future generations of Borgia leaders. 

Thank you!
YOUR GIFT, IN SUPPORT OF OUR MISSION, HELPS US PROVIDE A SUPERIOR EDUCATION TO OUR STUDENTS.
CAR RAFFLE WINNER
The winner of the 2019 Car Raffle is Lisa Holzem, with the winning ticket sold by her daughter, Brooke Holzem '19. This year's car was a 2011 BMW 1 Series Convertible. Congratulations, Lisa!
APRIL MEGA RAFFLE WINNERS
Each year St. Francis Borgia Regional High School gives away $25,000 in prizes through our annual Borgia Mega Raffle. There are two $1,000 drawings each month, and an additional $1,000 drawing on October 10 to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis Borgia. In addition, the student who sells the winning ticket receives free lunches for one week.

April's Winners
April 1 - Jan Brokaw (sold by Ainsley Virtudazo '20)
April 15 - Lesa Leopold (sold by Daniel Leopold '19)
MEET THE NEW STUDENT ADVANCEMENT CORP
Recently, the SFBRHS Advancement Office invited a group of students to serve as part of a newly established Student Advancement Corp. Working with this committee will allow us to collaborate with our students in our fundraising efforts. Our goal, in addition to seeking input and direction on the future of fundraising at Borgia, is to rely on the committee to serve as a liaison between the Advancement Office and our student body.

At our inaugural meeting on May 1, the main objectives of this committee were explained as working together to accomplish two main goals:

  1. Advancing the school's mission by creating unique and innovative fundraising strategies that engage donors AND students.
  2. Assist in educating our school on the "why" and communicating effectively and creatively the importance of their participation (time, talent, and treasure).

The members of the Advancement Corp for the 2019-2020 school year are as follows:

Class of 2020
  • Hailey Granich
  • Grayson Helm
  • Brooke Lange
  • Grant Meyer
  • Lydia Zeltmann

Class of 2021
  • Elizabeth Bleckman
  • Morgan Hammer
  • Hannah Faust
  • Jacob Lierman
  • Grace Rickman

Class of 2022
  • Gabbie Helm
  • Kaitlyn Patke
  • Garren Parks
  • Maura Struckhoff

We look forward to working with this group in accomplishing great things at our school.
REV KEV CORNER
Where is the “good” in goodbye?

One of the greatest Catholic movies of all time, in my humble opinion, is the film Dead Man Walking . In it, a condemned murderer enters into a strange and life-giving relationship with a Catholic religious sister, Sr. Helen, who becomes his spiritual advisor in the last few weeks of his life. When I was teaching, I showed the ending of the film to my Sophomores because it is a powerful depiction of the value of confessing the truth of our lives. Matthew, the condemned man, has a difficult time owning up to his crimes. He is an emotionally stunted, painfully immature human being, deep in the denial of his deeds.

This emotional handicap becomes vividly evident in the scene when he calls his family for the last time. It is a mere half an hour before his execution. And, yet, he cannot say “goodbye” to his mother and brothers. He tells Sr. Helen that he just told them he would try to call right before he leaves if they let him. “I don’t like to say ‘goodbye.’” 

Goodbye. Is there a more difficult word in all of the English language? I remember when I was a child and we would go to our cousins’ for Christmas or Easter or some other holiday. My dad would tell us that it was time to go, and we would linger and linger and linger and linger. We wanted to stretch out the leaving as long as possible. This month our school said goodbye to our Senior Class. Over the past few days, we have been remembering their achievements and celebrating their successes. They will be deeply missed. I always find it difficult to let go because, at least a few of them, were very vital and important in my life. This year it’s even worse. I am saying Goodbye to Borgia after making it my home and family for thirty years. (More on that next month.)

Make no mistake about it, there is no more difficult thing to do or say in our lives than Goodbye. It is an eternal and primordial struggle that we have been dealing with from time immemorial. As someone once said: I’m torn between what was and what could be.

And, yet, saying Goodbye is so important. It is a sign of maturity, of growth, and of progress. If I never left the places I once was, I would have never been here. It also helps us to remember those things that we treasure the most. Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to. There is no doubt about it, as painful, as excruciating, as agonizing as it may be, saying Goodbye is an essential part of our lives.

That is what we celebrate with the solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord. It sounds strange, but we gather today with the Apostles, gazing up into the heavens seeking our Lord, our Lord who has transcended all time and space. He leaves so that the Spirit of God may come and transform our lives. We look up to heaven when we should be looking inside our own hearts. 

It is a cruel and crucial reality of love that any relationship demands both presence and absence. Quoting one of my favorite authors, Ron Rolheiser : Inside intimacy, presence and absence play on each other in such a way that, on a given day and in a given season of a relationship, it is hard to tell which provides the deeper connection. Sometimes when we are physically present to each other we cannot give each other what we need to and we must go away, at least for a time, in order for that to happen. Sometimes only our absence can deepen and cleanse our presence. Sometimes it is better that we go away, for a day or for a season. That is part of the mystery, the theology, and the psychology of the Ascension.

If we don’t graduate our Seniors, even though we like them, they will never grow as complete individuals. If we don’t let our children go and live on their own, they will never know what it means to be a family. Trying to hold on with all of our might is not only dangerous and pathetic, it is also impossible. 

And, yet, in absence, we find something more powerful, more compelling, more vigorous than we can ever imagine. Even though I miss my parents desperately and I mourn them every day, I am closer to them now that I could have ever been while they were alive.

Such is the power of the Holy Spirit. This is what we celebrate in this season. All because we are able to say the most painful, difficult, grim word of all: Goodbye.
JOE JASPER
2019 WINNER OF THE ARCHBISHOP JOHN L. MAY SERVICE AWARD
Senior Joe Jasper was selected as SFB's recipient of the Archbishop John L. May Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership and community service of students in Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Joe's deep commitment to serving, with over 1,000 service hours, makes him a standout candidate for this prestigious award.

Joe was recognized on April 17, 2019 at a ceremony held at the Cardinal Regali Center in Shrewsberry. Congratulations to Joe and his parents, Mardie and Mark Jasper.
BORGIA GRADUATES 21 BRIGHT FLIGHT SCHOLARS
St. Francis Borgia Regional High School is graduating 21 recipients of the Missouri Bright Flight Scholarship program. The department of Elementary and Secondary Education offers the Bright Flight Scholarship, which is renewable for 5 years, to any graduating senior who scores in the 97th percentile on the ACT/SAT. This $3000 scholarship is to encourage Missouri’s strongest academic students to further their post-secondary education in the state of Missouri. 

The SFBRHS students receiving Bright Flight are, front row from left, Emily Rembusch (St. Gertrude), Jackson Piontek (Our Lady of Lourdes), Kate Wunderlich (Our Lady of Lourdes), Ana Rembecki (Immaculate Conception), Madelyn Bogler (Immaculate Conception), Louie Eckelkamp (St. Francis Borgia), and Matthew McGowan (St. Francis Borgia). Second row, Tegan Gillen (Lebanon Middle School), Addison Wiskur (Union Middle School), Diana Pfeiffer (Sullivan Middle School), Daniel Leopold (St. Ignatius of Loyola), Allena Radford (Washington Middle School), Zach Dickinson (St. Francis Borgia), and Jeffery VanDeven (Holy Infant). Back row, Nate Rickman (Washington Middle School), Abby Mueller (Our Lady of Lourdes), Brendan Pagan (Washington Middle School), Jacob Gleize (Holy Rosary), Evie Ince (Immanuel Lutheran), Shane Becker (St. Gertrude), and Louis Rossi, Jr. (Immaculate Conception).  
ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL ESSAY WINNERS
Each year, juniors in every Catholic high school throughout St. Louis are invited to write an essay on the Annual Catholic Appeal and stewardship. The students describe how they learn from those who have made sacrifices for them and other people in their lives who inspire them to give back.

The winners from SFBRHS are Brandon Stahlman ($1,000 scholarship), Hannah Herbst ($750 scholarship), and John Hill ($500 scholarship).

This year Borgia received $130,000 from the Annual Catholic Appeal. These funds are used for general operating expenses in keeping our tuition as low as possible. The generosity of this gift affects every student at Borgia.
MATTHEW SINNOTT HONORED BY THE STL NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION
Matthew pictured above with Coach Dale Gildehaus
Matthew pictured with his parents Jeanna (Eckelkamp) '87 and Michael Sinnott and his sister Elizabeth Sinnott '22.
On Sunday, May 5, the STL National Football Foundation Tom Lombardo Chapter hosted its 27th Annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet where Matthew Sinnott, senior, was bestowed two prominent awards. For his football performance, academic achievement, and school leadership, Matthew was voted as a top scholar-athlete in the area and will receive a $1,500 scholarship toward Villanova University where he will attend in the fall. He also was awarded the Big Red Award for being one of St. Louis' Top 25.

Matthew has become part of an elite group of Borgia Football Alums to win this prestigious award.

2018 - Jared Mullen
2016 - Bret Snider
2015 - Drake Raftery
2008 - Jeff Klott
2008 - Teddy Watkins
1998 - Adam Meyer
1996 - John Bahr
1994 Nathan Phillip
CLASS OF 1969
50 Year Class Reunion
September 21, 2019
SFBRHS - Lochirco Family Pavilion
Contact Dale Gildehaus with questions or for additional information
CLASS of 1979
40 Year Class Reunion
September 21, 2019
Hummingbird Club
Contact Joe Holtmeier with questions or for additional information
Class of 1984
35 Year Class Reunion
June 29, 2019
Hummingbird Club
Contact Sara Marquart with questions or for additional information
THE CLASS OF 1988 CELEBRATES 30 + 1 YEARS
On March 16, the SFBRHS Class of 1988 celebrated their 31st Class Reunion at Marquart's Landing. It looks like everyone had a great time.

Congratulations to the Class of 1988!
OUR ALUMNI ARE DOING AMAZING THINGS
FRANCESCA SCHMITT '15 HEADS TO GERMANY ON A FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP
Francesca Schmitt '15 has been awarded a highly competitive Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Germany next year. In addition to teaching as an assistant for the 2019-2020 academic year, Francesca is also hoping to attend graduate school in Germany in the future.

The Fulbright Scholarship Program was founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Each  scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate study and is one of the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange programs in the world that grants support for graduate study and research in 140 countries.

Congratulations, Francesca!
CHRISTOPHER J. OLDENBERG '95 IS AUTHOR OF NEW BOOK
SFBRHS graduate, Christopher J. Oldenburg '95, has written a new book entitled, The Rhetoric of Pope Francis - Critical Mercy and Conversion for the Twenty-First Century .

In the book, Chris provides extensive insight into Pope Francis through a close, in-depth rhetorical analysis of his visual, spatial, tactile, written, and oral discourse.

Christopher J. Oldenburg is associate professor of rhetoric in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Illinois College.
BROTHER DAVID (TRACY) WILDING '93 APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF THE PRINTERY HOUSE AT CONCEPTION ABBEY
Br. David Wilding, OSB, has been recently appointed as the directory of the Printery House at Conception Abbey. The Printery House is one of the primary ministries of the monks of Conception Abbey which publishes Christian greeting cards, stationery, prayer cards, icons, and other items related to our faith.

As Director of The Printery House, Wilding will oversee all areas of the business, including sales and marketing, product development, personnel, and finance. 
Br. David stands next to the current card display at The Printery House.
2019-2020 Endowment Distribution
In 1989, with a strong vision for the future, St. Francis Borgia Regional High School established an operational endowment fund to secure the future of our high school.

Gifts to the endowment are pooled into a common fund and invested perpetually. The capital is never used. Only the annual income generated by these funds is used. Thus, gifts will support the school for many years to come.

Gifts to the endowment are immediately invested into a special and separate account managed professionally by the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The performance of the Fund is monitored and evaluated regularly by the endowment board.

The income generated annually from the fund is used to enhance quality and to ensure that our technology, curriculum, facilities, and a wide range of other areas remain strong.

Today, the Borgia Endowment Fund has over $3.6 million and has distributed over $2.7 million back to the school.

For next school year, the endowment fund will distribute $130,000 toward technology upgrades, campus enhancements, professional development, and tuition assistance.
Sports Schedule
 Click on the logo to the right to view all upcoming sports schedules. If you would like notifications on games, please click on the logo at the right and sign up under "notify me." You will receive game time changes, cancellations, and game reminders if you are signed up .
Alumni Prayers
In thanksgiving for the sacrifices and contributions offered by those before us on our behalf, we at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School offer our afternoon prayer for different members of our alumni each day.
Recently married? New baby or job?
Let us know what's going on in your life so we can share
it with your classmates in this newsletter!
Send information and photos to donna.grahl@borgia.com.
St. Francis Borgia Regional High School 

1000 Borgia Drive, Washington, MO 63090
P: 636-239-7871 
F: 636-239-1198