2013 2014 annual report

2772 Sterling Avenue San Bernardino, CA Tel 909.886.4659 Fax 909.886-7717 www.aquinashs.net

AQUINAS HIGH SCHOOL

Annual Report

2013-2014

Table of Contents

Aquinas High School Annual Report 2014

Administration

Most Reverend Bishop Gerald R. Barnes,

of the Diocese of San Bernardino

Patricia Vesely, Superintendent

Dr. Jim Brennan, President

Mr. Chris Barrows, Principal

Mr. Ron Simmons, Assistant Principal

Discipline and Student Services

Mrs. Janna Burton, Assistant Principal

Academics

Mr. Chris Ybarra, Athletic Director

Mrs. Brandi Williford, Director of Events

and Public Relations

Mr. Ray Reyes, Director Student Activities

Ms. Gina Horton, Chair, Campus Ministry

Team

President’s Message 3

Student Activities 4-5

Academics 6-7

Class of 2014 Graduation and College Acceptances

8-10

Campus Ministry and Community Service 11

Athletics 12

Campus Improvements 13

Class Reunions 14

Alumni Association 15

Fundraiser Events 16-17

Financial Report 18-19

2013-2014 Donors 20

“We form through education,

young men and women as leaders

in the Light and the Truth of the

Gospel.”

President’s Message

Page 3 Aquinas High School Annual Report 2014

Parents, Alumni, and Friends, School year 2013-2014 was another great year for Aquinas. We were voted the best pri-vate school in the county for the third year in a row. Our enrollment rose to over 400 stu-dents for the first time in many years. Our sports programs remained a very a popular and successful part of student life here at Aquinas. Spiritual formation continued to be an important part of the student experience. We have reorganized the vicariates (small faith sharing groups). They are being held more often and provide a unique opportunity for students to share life experiences in light of their faith. Class retreats are well received and culminate in an overnight senior retreat, the Kairos retreat.

Academics, as always, have been important. They continue to evolve as students and teachers learn more about their iPad each day and its potential for learning. One indicator of student academic success has been college acceptances. This year 99% of our graduates applied to college and were accepted. One chose to enter the Marines. The acceptances were impressive. We have students accepted at William & Mary and Cornell on the east coast and the usual west coast admissions of UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, and many others. The new colleges to appear this year were Midwest institutions including Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana and Purdue. Even the South with Alabama and Baylor recogniz-ing the abilities of Aquinas students. All quite impressive! In these hard economic times, Aquinas has been fortunate to not only keep its doors open but to reach out and help those students who desire a Catholic secondary education, but cannot afford it. About 50% of our student body had verified financial need and were granted assistance. Not only was there a greater need for financial aid, but also the full tuition rate did not cover the full cost of an Aquinas education. Simply put, we need the support of Aquinas alumni, parents and friends to continue to be able to provide the Aquinas experience for our students. Through our annual appeal and other drives we hope to keep Aquinas viable and vital for the teens of our area. Please consider participation in our requests and step forward to support the students of Aqui-nas. They depend on you. Your contribution is immensely important. Thank you for con-sidering Aquinas. We will pray for you. My prayers and best wishes, Dr. Jim Brennan President

President’s Council 2013-2014

Mike Riddell, Chairperson

Bishop Rutilio del Riego Auxiliary Bishop Diocese of San Bernardino

Natalie Baca- Ramos, Joe Baca Foundation John Belton, Attorney Dan Carlone, President DC Construction Terri Carlos, Development Director, CSUSB Jack Carlson, Physician David Cohn, Judge Barbara Duro, Parent Susan Enkosky, CEO Sky Productions Walt Goggin, Retired San Bernardino Police Casey Kasprzyk, Director The Bold and the Beautiful Bill Lemann, Attorney Tommy Ramos, Parent Ron Rezek, CEO Rezek Industries Sandy Sandoval, Owner JZ Party Charm Michael Scafiddi, Attorney Michal Smith, Chief San Manuel Fire Department Chuck Street, President Alumni Association Jeffrey Wiens, Owner Wiens Family Cellars Austin Conley, Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools Brandi Williford, Director Special Events Chris Barrows, Principal Aquinas High School Dr. Jim Brennan, President Aquinas High School


The 2013-2014 was another busy and successful school year for the Associated Student Body. There were several events through-out the year to promote student leadership. The first event was the Student Leadership Workshop which was held at Sacred Heart Academy Rancho on June 17th-June 21st. Stu-dent Leaders paired up with ASB leaders of Notre Dame to work with partner school students to develop leadership skills and taught new ideas to take back to their schools. On August 8th, ASB members participated in an annual event by promoting Aquinas High School and face painted over 500 children in the city of Rialto during their annual "National Night Out". ASB Leaders and student volunteers planned and participated in freshmen orientation on the opening day of school. Freshmen were taught how high school schedules work, high school organizational skills, and gen-eral high school issues. Over 100 students were involved in the freshmen orientation. During the fall, ASB students were active with several events. ASB along with cheer put together the school’s first rally where they planned various games and cheers to set the tone of the school year. Games were put in place for each class to participate in. The first dance of the year took place in the quad. With the quad decorated as a Hawaii theme students had the opportunity to socialize and enjoy some good Hawaiian BBQ . There were 215 students participating in the school dance. On September 13th, Freshmen elections took place in the school gym. There were sixteen candidates run-ning for four ASB positions. The election process ran smooth with each candidate making some surprising and entertaining speeches. Each year ASB students plan for the visitation of fellow partner schools during Making Most of High School Week. During the week of September 17th, ASB welcomed students from St. George, OLA, Holy Rosary, St. Adelaides, Sacred Heart Rancho and Redlands, and St. Catherines of Sienna. Students planned daily events such as games/ice breakers, classroom visitations and experiments, athletics and additional information of the school. Over 250 students visited the school throughout the week. One of the most exciting weeks of the school year for ASB, was Homecoming Week. The week kicked off with students voting for the homecoming court. After the court was selected, the student body then began voting for the King and Queen. On the Friday of the Homecoming game, ASB helped to organize a homecoming rally

with the game that evening. Also during the rally, Trey Whiting ‘00 spoke to the student body about the struggles of the people in Ethio-pia to obtain water that is not dirty or contaminated and encouraged the students to join the effort brought forth by Imperial Dental and Charity Water to raise $10,000 to build a well in Ethiopia so that a village would be able to have a clean water source. Through the ef-forts of the students, they were able to raise $1500 towards that goal. On Saturday October 5th, over 235 students participated in the

Associated Student Body (ASB): Student Activities

Student Activities, continued


school’s annual homecoming dance. The dance took place at Pharoah’s Adventure park in Redlands, CA. The dance was from 7:00pm-11:00pm. The theme of the dance was “Throughout the Decades” and the students were entertained with a wonderful meal and danced the night away.

ASB leaders continued the spirit of giving by visiting Mary’s Mercy Center in San Bernardino. They brought donated items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, and additional items. Students also served food and beverages throughout the day. ASB students continued their communication with the partner schools by visiting them throughout the month of November and December and encouraging eighth graders to continue Catholic School education.

Once again, ASB worked with the student body to collect food items for the students at Fairfax Elementary by collecting over 4000 non perishable items. Fairfax students were given bags for the Christmas break to help them have food on their tables. On December 15th, ASB visited Loma Linda Community Chil-dren’s Hospital to bring pajamas and children’s books that had been collected for children staying in the hospital.

The annual Sadie Hawkins dance took place in the gym on

March 31st. With over 130 students participating in the

dance, students dressed as matching partners and danced

the night away. The dance took place from 7:00pm-

11:00pm. Students were given food and drinks throughout

the night.

ASB students took on another cause and worked with the

student body to collect food and grocery store gift cards

for pre selected grandparents raising their grandchildren who were struggling financially. The generosity of

the Aquinas community knows no bounds and once again they were successful in gathering several food

items and gift cards for those families with an identified need.

The annual school Prom took place at the beautiful Edwards Mansion

in the city of Redlands. The theme of the prom was “Great Gatsby”.

Students were pampered with an elegant dinner and dessert. Stu-

dents danced the night away till midnight. Senior students were

given a gift and wonderful memories.

We are very proud of our student community and especially grateful

to our ASB leaders who work tirelessly throughout the year to put on

successful student activities and events. They are true leaders.

Academics We are proud to announce the following students for the 2013-14 school year were named AP Scholars (scored 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams): Raymond Abrina, Brian Bu, Kevin Ceballos, Tyler Dawson, Kristin Didier, Kayla Martinez, Sarah McElligott, Emma Rumpf-Snavely, Chloe Smith and Tina Vuong. AP Scholar with Honors (average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of the AP Exams): Zhen (Carl) Chen, Victoria Obonyano, Casimira Rodriguez and Donald Weiss. AP Scholar with Distinction (score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or

more of these exams): William Kumler. Great job Falcons!!! The Journalism students continue to produce the school’s eight page newspaper ‘The Falconer’. ‘The Falconer’ is distributed monthly to the Aquinas student body and is also displayed in color on the Aqui-nas website. During the 2013-2014 school year the staff met their goal of publishing ten issues to the student body. This was three more than the previous year. All staff members are taught proper Journalistic writing, interview-ing, and editing skills. All of the materials used to teach the students come from the web and the iBook store. The students develop their own creative article ideas and photograph events to enhance the look of the newspaper. In addition to graphically designing, creating, and editing the newspa-per, the students also develop ‘The Falcon Way’. ‘The Falcon Way’ is a four-color glossy seasonal newspaper that the students create for the Aquinas partner schools. The goal of ‘The Falcon Way’ is to inform middle school students at partner schools of Aquinas events, pro-grams, and opportunities on the campus. The students in the class also continue to assist with miscellaneous design projects throughout the school year for campus events. All of these projects are created

with Adobe In Design and are exported to a PDF so all are able to view the students’ phenomenal writing, designing, and editing skills. This class takes place in a workshop type setting. It prepares students to work in a professional newsroom. The Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper prepares and runs the class meetings frequently. Students obtain real world experience and do very well when given a large amount of responsibility. During the 2013-2014 calendar year, the Instrumental Music and Choir classes saw substantial growth in both membership and musicality. The period 1 instrumental music students studied a rigorous Drum Line curriculum that had them performing proper drum techniques, warm-ups, drum grooves and cadences. The Drum Line performed at every varsity football home game, during the "Make The Most of High School" re-cruitment events, the Fall Fine Arts show case and at the winter round table meeting in December. During the spring the students enjoyed learning about the instruments of the orchestra and the composition proc-ess. The students composed 5 different projects using both Garageband for iPad and the Notatemenow apps. Choir this year was comprised of 8 talented student performers. The choir performed the national anthem before every varsity football home game. They participated in the Barnes and Nobles Fundraiser and the Winter Round Table Meeting by giving a concert of Christmas and holiday music. They also travelled out to



St. Catherine of Alexandria School in Riverside in late September to perform a concert at the SCA Fall Festival. Many of the choir students participated in the spring musical, at Awards Night, and throughout the year during school liturgy celebrations. This year the Digital Media class blended some of the visual graphic needs of the school with teachable moments for the students. Students in the class worked on various publications for the school including all the sports programs, a presentation that was used during the Distin-guished alumni scholarship dinner, the banner that is displayed in the main office, and items on the website and social media sites for the school. In addition, the students worked throughout the school year from con-cept to creation of a storybook for partner school kindergarten classes. Once the book was created and pub-lished students, along with the Falcon mascot, visited the partner school kindergarten classes and read the finished product. This year the Visual Arts classes took part in three art shows and had students enter in various art competi-tions. The first was the Aquinas Winter Art Production, and in the spring they took part in Congressman Miller’s annual art show. The end of the year event was having their work displayed at the Aquinas Awards Evening. Several students won recognition for their art during the school year: Cara Ballejos and Flora Tseng received recognition for their work in the Congressman Miller Show and Cara Ballejos also won top honors for the Diocesan Art Contest. In the spring semester the “Art Walk” Field trip took place when the students got to experience both the professional art world and visit art museums in the Downtown Los An-geles area. This year the Drama classes performed "A Charlie Brown Christmas" during the Christmas Fine Arts Show-case, while the music and choir classes performed some of the greatest Christmas hits. Contemporary Film and Digital Cinema displayed several films on "What Christmas Means". The Drama classes also produced "The Nifty Fifties" for the Spring Musical, while Contemporary Film and Digital Cinema produced modern day interpretations of the "Stations of the Cross" which were shown in collaboration with Campus Ministry during the Lenten Service Living Stations. Visual Communications created several short TV Shows featuring news and interviews from our campus. Aquinas held its 8th Annual College Fair in September. 28 Colleges/Universities were represented. It was well attended. Then in October the Counselors presented a College Information Evening to the parents/guardians of juniors and seniors in the Library. Many parents/guardians were there to have their questions answered.

Class of 2014 Graduation

Aquinas High School Annual Report 2014 Page 8

International Student Program

The seniors were awarded $2,716,300 in scholarships and that does not include all of the scholarships awarded. That is an average of $32,336 per student. Those scholarships would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our teachers!!

61 of 84 will be attending a four year college/university…73%

Of the 61, 6 will be attending a UC (10%)

Of the 61, 13 will be attending a CSU (21%)

5 will be attending Catholic Colleges (USD, Man-hattan, USF, Seattle Univ, & Marymount California Univ)

16 will be attending Christian Colleges

26 will be attending college out of state

3 will be playing a sport in college

19 of 84 will be attending a two year college…23%

1 will be entering the military (United States Ma-rine Corps)

78% took the SAT

2 are completing independent studies to fulfill graduation requirements.

Aquinas continues to develop its International Student Program. During the 2013-2014 school year, the

population of this program grew to 40 students. This is a dramatic rise from the one student that we had five

years ago. Although the majority of the students are from China, we have had students from Taiwan and

Mexico this year and from France and Spain a couple of years ago.

This is a very popular program which brings a bit of a world view to our school and classrooms. The interna-

tional students bring with them a sense of adventure that is infectious. Our students welcome them in a very

warm and kind manner. These students, like the ones from the local area ,are very serious about their stud-

ies. They want to learn and have the opportunity of a good college education.

Students tend to seek out students of similar backgrounds and interest. These international students are no

different. However, they are becoming more acclimated to our school and beginning to reach out and become

involved in sports and other student activities offered by Aquinas.

Although we have seen this dramatic growth in the last few years, we don’t

foresee similar growth as we move forward. In order to maintain the cul-

ture of Aquinas we will keep the international population around 10% of

the total population. We are grateful to have these students as part of our

community.

Class of 2014 College Acceptances and Scholarships


Anthony Acosta Grand Canyon University

Kenneth Adkins California State University, San Bernardino

Marika Aglipay California State University, San Bernardino; Univer-

sity of California, Riverside

Phillip Aguilar Crafton Hills College

Demi Ambriz California State University, San Bernardino

Benjamin Aragon United States Marine Corps

Kennedy Arizaga Marymount Manhattan College + $6000 annual

Recognition Award ; Manhattan College; Whittier College; Univer-

sity of La Verne; St. Joseph’s College (NY) + annual $8500 Scholastic

Achievement Award; LIU Brooklyn; Hofstra University + annual

$7500 University Dean’s Scholarship; California State University, Los

Angeles; Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts (NY)

Laarni Arquillano California State University, San Bernardino;

Azusa Pacific University

Montanique Barrera California State University, Channel Islands;

California College of the Arts + $50,000 Creative Achievement

Award; San Francisco Art Institute + annual $6,000 Creative Lead-

ers Scholarship

Chelsie Blacksher San Bernardino Valley College

Savannah Brown California State University, Stanislaus; Northern

Arizona University

Brian Bu Trinity University (TX) + $18,000 International Stu-

dent Scholarship

Annette Carlos Johnson & Wales University + $9000 annual JWU

Campus Award; California State University, San Bernardino

Zhen (Carl) Chen Drexel University; Purdue University

Tianyan (Doris) Chu Cascadia Community College, Seattle

Daniel Collins Crafton Hills College

Kassidy Collins Gonzaga University + annual 13,000 Dean’s Scholar-

ship; St. John’s University + annual $18,000 Academic Achievement

Scholarship; University of San Francisco + annual $13,000 Provost’s

Merit Scholarship; Azusa Pacific University + annual $15,000 Dean’s

Scholarship; University of Denver + annual $16,000 University

Scholarship; University of California, Davis; California State Uni-

versity, San Bernardino; George Mason University (VA); Regis Uni-

versity (CO) + annual $19,000 Regis College Catholic Award Scholar-

ship

Tristan Cortez University of Dubuque + annual $36,000 Dean’s

Merit Scholarship

Tyler Dawson Northern Arizona University

Ye (James) Defan Indiana University

Michael DeLeon Bluefield College (WV)

Kristin Didier California State University, Long Beach; California

State University, San Marcos; California State University, San

Diego; University of California, Riverside; California Lutheran Uni-

versity

Jia (Richard) Du University of Iowa

Michael Durning Arizona State University

Margella Elad University of California, Los Angeles; University of

Southern California; Cornell University; University of San Diego +

annual $10,000 USD Presidential Scholarship; University of Califor-

nia, San Diego; University of California, Santa Barbara; Boston Uni-

versity; University of California, Berkeley

Isaiah Flores Chaffey College

Casey Goggin University of Alabama; University of Dallas + annual

$17,000 Provost’s Scholarship; Calvin College (MI) + annual $8,500

Faculty Honors Scholarship/Coram Deo Award; Saginaw Valley State

University MI) + annual $8,300 Saginaw Valley Red & White Award;

Baylor University + annual $8,500 Provost’s Gold Scholarship

Leea Gonzales La Sierra University; California State University,

San Bernardino

Raul Gudino California State University, San Bernardino

Nayeli Hernandez California State University, San Bernardino

Kuan-Yu (Sandy) Hsu Parsons The New School For Design

Lanxi (Doreeny) Huany Michigan State University

Carlos Huerta University of La Verne + annual $7,000 La Verne

Award; The King’s College (NY) + annual $12,300 King’s Presidential

Scholarship; Chaminade University (HI) + annual $4,500 Leadership

Award; California State University, San Bernardino

Ezra Isaac Grand Canyon University; San Bernardino Valley Col-

lege

Haoran (Shawn) Jiang University of San Francisco; San Francisco

State University

Ranfeng Jiang Portland State University; Seattle University

Francesca Kehl Loyola Marymount University + annual $25,800 LMU

Arrupe Scholarships; California State University, San Bernardino +

annual $6,250 Academic Excellence Scholarship; Saint Michael’s

College + annual $21,000 Book Award Scholarship/Edmundite

Catholic High School Scholarships; St. John’s University + annual

$33,020 Scholastic Excellence Scholarship; University of San Diego +

annual $29,550 Alcala Award; New York University; University of

California, Los Angeles; University of California, Santa Barbara +

annual $1385 UCSB New Freshman Scholarship; University of Cali-

fornia, Irvine; University of California, San Diego;

Alexi Krygier California Baptist University; California State Uni-

versity, San Bernardino

continued on next page


William Kumler University of California, Berkeley; University of

California, Santa Barbara; William & Mary; Pacific University

Meghann Long University of San Diego + $33,300 annual USD

Presidential Scholarship; Gonzaga University + annual $23,690

Dean’s Scholarship; University of Portland + annual $30,620 Presi-

dential Scholarship; Loyola Marymount University + annual $16,700

LMU Scholarship; Whittier College + annual $32,610 J. G. Whittier

Scholarship; Southern Oregon University + annual $10,000 WUE

Scholarship

Timothy Lukich University of California, Riverside + $5,000 annual

Chancellor’s Scholarship; California State Polytechnic University,

Pomona; University of California, Irvine; California State Univer-

sity, Chico Honors Program; University of California, Santa Cruz

Gabriella Madrid Chaffey College

Samuel Marrinan San Bernardino Valley College

Emma McCabe University of Redlands + annual $10,800 Univer-

sity Theatre Award

Sarah McElligott University of California, Riverside + annual

$2,000 Academic Scholarship

Kristen Menez California State University, Dominguez Hills

Adrian Molina San Bernardino Valley College

Eric Munoz Beloit College (WI)

Sean Murphy Arizona State University; California State University,

San Bernardino

Esteban Naranjo San Bernardino Valley College

Yoselin Navarro Grand Canyon University

Victoria Obonyano Eugene Lang New School For Liberal Arts

Yasmen Oudeh Platte College

Abelardo Padilla Chaffey College

Gabrielle Palazuelos Oregon State University + annual $4,000

Provost Scholarship; University of Arizona + annual $6,000 Arizona

Excellence Award; Menlo College + annual $19,000 President’s

Scholarship; Virginia Commonwealth University; California State

University, Fullerton; Fashion Institute of Technology (NY)

Adam Ramos California State University, San Bernardino

Richard Rico Crafton Hills College

Jose Rios Humboldt State University; California State University,

San Bernardino; California State University, San Francisco

Sabrina Roberts Grand Canyon University + annual $6,750 GCU

Faculty Scholarship; California State University, San Bernardino;

California Baptist University; La Sierra University

Samantha Romero California State University, San Bernardino

Teresa Roquet University of La Verne + annual $20,100 ULV

Founders Scholarship; California Lutheran University + annual

$15,000 Pederson Scholarship; Azusa Pacific University; California

State University, San Marcos; University of California, Riverside

Bianca Sanchez Orange Coast College

Brittany Sanderson California State University, San Marcos

Matthew Santos Chaffey College

William Seltz Campbellsville University (KY); Bluefield College

(WV)

Michaela Sharp Marymount California University

Jessica Slepski La Sierra University; Azusa Pacific University; Cali-

fornia State University, San Bernardino; Northern Arizona Univer-

sity; Grand Canyon University; California Baptist University

Cody Spoon

Tristin Stark Stephens College (MO); California State University, San

Bernardino; California Baptist University; The College of Idaho +

annual $7,000 William Judson Boone Scholarship

Morgan Tseng University of Colorado, Boulder

Sean Uminski Crafton Hills College

Christian Vallejo University of California, Merced; St. John’s Univer-

sity + annual $15,000 Academic Excellence Scholarship; University

of La Verne + annual $6,000 ULV Founders Scholarship; Penn State

University

Briana Vega California State University, San Bernardino

Alexis Venner California Baptist University

Danny Webster California Baptist University

Donald Weiss Colorado School of Mines + $12,000 annual CSM Merit

Scholarship; California State University, San Diego; University of

California, Riverside + annual $5,000 Chancellor’s Scholarship;

California State University, San Bernardino; California State Univer-

sity, Los Angeles Honors College + annual $6,500 President’s Schol-

arship; California State University, Long Beach; California State Poly-

technic University, Pomona Kellogg Honors College Program; Uni-

versity of California, Irvine; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

(IN)

Ventura Wilson San Bernardino Valley College

Eric Zamora Crafton Hills College

Yan Yu (Aaron) Zhao University of Arizona; University of Oregon;

University of Iowa + $2000 annual scholarship; Temple University;

Indiana University Kelly School of Business + annual $2,000

Global Engagement Scholarship; Michigan State University +

$5000 Presidential Study Abroad Scholarship; Penn State University,

Harrisburg; University of Connecticut ; University of California, Ir-

vine

**Bold faced college denotes where student will be attending

Class of 2014 College Acceptances and Scholarships, continued from page 13

As a ministry of the Catholic Church, Aquinas High School continually seeks new ways to enhance the spiritual life of our community. The vicariate program has continued to see success as they meet to discuss topics that are based upon teen issues, faith, and formation. This past year we held our second annual vicariate games as culmination of a yearlong competition between the vicariates. Students showed enthusiasm toward the competition and we saw an increase in the amount of participation in both vicariate activities and service opportunities throughout

the year.

The most exciting change during the 2013-14 school year was the development of the first Campus Ministry Team, which was comprised of about ten students and led by two faculty. These students committed to be-ing permanent members of this team for the year and met weekly. This team was designed to function much like the Associated Student Body, but with the sole purpose of planning, pre-paring, and leading various religious activities. These included planning the vicariates, planning and leading class retreats, organizing and hosting the Holy Wars rally and all Catholic Schools Week events, and much more. The team that is in place for next year has grown to 16 and is looking forward to planning additional service and worship opportunities for their student body.

Campus Ministry

“All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has it’s origin in the Spirit”

St. Thomas Aquinas


Students who attend Aquinas High School for 4 years are required to perform 100 hours of Community Service as a requirement for graduation (25 hours each year). Dur-ing the 2013-14 school year Campus Ministry updated the requirements for service hours. 75 of the 100 hours must be Christian hours; the remaining 25 may be volunteer hours. Christian hours consist of activities that are aligned with either the Works of Mercy or Social Justice themes. Additionally, two quarter projects per year based on service hours were added to the Ethics department curriculum. We are proud of the fact that our students on average exceed what is required. The entire student body and staff participate in a school-wide annual community service day. On this day, academic classes are suspended so that our students may go out into their local communities to perform a variety of service tasks.

When Aquinas students are volunteering to feed the homeless, working in a nursing home, or mentoring children at youth activities and sports they understand that they are answering the call of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. For the last 2000 years, Christian’s have imitated Jesus’ love and care for the poor, the outcast, the suffering, and the least ones in society through community service. The opportunity to do good for others, espe-cially those who cannot repay us, helps us to deepen our own spiritual lives, and to live out the Good News of Christ more deeply and authentically in our lives. When we per-form community service, we give witness to the world. Those who see Christians caring for the needy have always said about us, “See how they love…” Indeed, the love of God must shine through our actions or else we are not living up to our great calling to spread the Gospel, the Good News, to all people and especially to the Poor.

Community Service

Kairos Retreat


The 2013-2014 school year was once again very successful for

Aquinas athletics. Aquinas currently participates in 17 sports.

Football, Girls Volleyball, Cross Country, Cheerleading and Girls

Tennis in the Fall. Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Soccer,

and Wrestling in the Winter. In the spring, Aquinas offers, Boys

Baseball, Girls Softball, Track and Field, Swimming, Golf, and Boys

Tennis. This year brought with it many playoff teams, as well as a

few league champions.

The fall season started off the year with a bang! The usually strong

sports teams continued their tradition getting us off on the right

foot. The girls volleyball team won the Ambassador League championship for the second year in a row with a

perfect season and made a deep run in the CIF playoffs. They went all

the way to the semifinals! The girls tennis team also continued their

streak of consecutive playoff appearances, with two members win-

ning individual championships. The cross country team worked very

hard and barely missed making the playoffs. Congratulations to all

teams for their hard work!

The winter season was next, and

continued the success of teams

making the playoffs. The girls

basketball team had a standout year, ending the season as undefeated

league champions, once again qualifying for playoffs making it to the

semifinal round, and for the first time in Aquinas sports history compet-

ing in state playoffs. Coach Ron Simmons was honored as he was named

Ambassador league coach of the year. The girls soccer team had a season

that saw them return to the CIF playoffs and coach Amanda Egan, was

also named Coach of the Year. The wrestling team sent four individuals to

CIF. Well done to all our

winter teams.

The final season of the

school year finished off another fantastic sports year. The girls

softball team returned to playoffs, making it to the quarter-final

round. The boys baseball team had a good season making it to

the playoffs. The track team

sent many individuals to CIF.

The golf, boys tennis, and swim

teams all had good seasons as

well. Good job to all teams in spring.

Special thanks those individuals who continually help out and support the

Aquinas athletic program throughout the year. It is one of the big reasons

why are our teams are consistently at the top of the league standings.

Athletics

Campus Improvements

The summer of 2013 saw the completion of some significant projects on

the Aquinas campus. These projects were aimed at having an immedi-

ate and direct impact on the entire Aquinas community.

The improvements began with a brand new rubberized track. The

track project has been in progress for several years. Through the gener-

osity of The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians we were able to com-

plete this much needed improvement to the Aquinas campus. The track

provides a state-of-the-art running surface located within our own

Reisch Stadium. The new track was dedicated as San Manuel Track

during a home football game on

October 25, 2013. Because of this

major improvement, Aquinas was

able to hold its first league track

meet on the campus in over five

years.

The 2013-2014 school year also saw the implementation of a

school-wide Apple iPad program. What Aquinas was able to ac-

complish was to give every student their own iPad; in doing this,

all educational material the students would need for their classes

and homework became digital. This affords the students the abil-

ity to carry all of their textbooks and any resources they would need in the palm of their hand.

The implementation of this program followed on the heels of a campus-

wide infrastructure upgrade to all of the school’s wireless capabilities.

These upgrades allow for nearly thousands of wireless devices to be con-

nected to the internet simultaneously without sacrificing wireless quality,

speed, or more importantly, safety.

The students iPads and infrastructure upgrades, in conjunction with the

capabilities of wireless connections to classroom projectors, creates a

state-of-the-art, interactive and engaging

learning environment for our students. These upgrades have made Aquinas

one of the leaders in 21st century education. The technologies and skills that

our students are utilizing today will enable Aquinas to continue to produce the

leaders of tomorrow.


Class Reunions 2013-2014 10th,20th,30th, 40th,50th


The 2013-2014 brought with it several class reunions and the opportunity for old classmates to come to re-

unite and reminisce of their days at Aquinas High School.

The reunions kicked off in July with the class of 1973, celebrating their

40th reunion. They also opened up their

reunion to the classes from 74, 75, and

76. The classes of 1973-76 gathered at

the lovely home of John and Jeannette

Steinmann for an evening of dancing,

good food and friendship.

August brought with it the class of 2003’s 10th reunion. After almost a year of

planning, the class celebrated the reunion in style, making it a weekend event,

complete with a round of golf. Classmates gathered at the Arrowhead Country

Club and caught up with old friends and former teachers.

October was a busy month for reunions with both the

class of 1993 and 1963 celebrating their respective reunions.

On October 5th, the class of 1993 celebrated their 20th reunion. The group hosted

their reunion on campus at the Rezek Student Center.

Classmates gathered and spent the evening enjoying good

food and music.

The reunions concluded with the 50th reunion of the

class of 1963. On October 12th, classmates gathered at

the home of Dan Gomez, to celebrate their 50th reunion.

The evening was filled with memories, laughs and stories. Also, the reunion brought

with it a challenge to each and every classmate to, as a class, give back to their alma

mater and raise money for a scholarship sponsored

by the class of 1963. Through monthly donations,

the class of 1963 has raised $20,300.

The class of 1983 had originally planned

their reunion during this fiscal year but for

scheduling reasons it was moved to Septem-

ber of 2014.

The office of Alumni Relations assists class officers in reunion planning and

Aquinas campus facilities are available to host a reunion. We look forward to

reunions in the 2014-2015 year.

Alumni Association Events


2013 was another busy year for alumni association events. The events kicked off with the Alumni Zone at the

2013 Homecoming game. Alumni from all over returned to their Alma Mater to cheer on the Falcon Football

team. Once again all the delicious food was provided by Mitlas Café. A tent was set up on the upper field

where alumni could gather and catch up with one another , enjoy good

food and the football game.

In November, Alumni basketball players returned to play a game against

the Boys and Girls Varsity teams. The

women’s alumni were coached by Sarah

Colella ‘00 and Lacey Tello ‘01. It was a

close game with the girls varsity basketball

team ultimately defeating the alumni team.

The men’s alumni team was coached by

Mike Riddell ‘69 and was a showcase of

dunking by several alumni. The men’s alumni team defeated the boys varsity.

Ray Reyes ‘91, provided tacos for all players.

The Alumni Association hosted a very special fundraising event at the Red-

lands Barnes and Noble. On December 8th, alumni, current students and

community members supported a bookfair sponsored by

the Alumni Association. The event raised nearly $1, 000 for

the association and in true Aquinas tradition, giving back

was a central theme of the evening. Several participants se-

lected books from the giving tree which allowed partici-

pants to purchase a book for a child of a certain age group which was taken to Loma Linda

Children’s Hospital and given to the children who were staying there during Christmas. Also

present was Santa Claus, who sounded very much like our own alumni association president,

Chuck Street ’69. who read stories to children in attendance. There were also performances by our choir.

In January, alumni gathered for the annual St. Thomas Aquinas Mass. This Mass is held in honor of the feast

day of the school’s patron saint, St. Thomas Aquinas. Following the afternoon Mass, guests were invited to

the Rezek Student Center, to share in wine and a light meal. This is a very special

day in which alumni gather together in a spiritual way.

May 17th was the annual Alumni Day and Baseball

game. Despite the heat, alumni and their families came

out to enjoy a friendly game of baseball against the

school’s varsity baseball team. The alumni reclaimed

the victory after losing to the varsity last year. A special thank you to the San Ber-

nardino Firefighters Union who came out and brought their giant BBQ for the

event.

Throughout the year Alumni Association Meetings were held on

the last Wednesday of each month. They were regularly attended

by a core group of about 10 individuals. These meetings served as

planning sessions for the Alumni Events.

Casino Night 2013 “Wild Wild West” was held on November 9,

2013. Once again Sandy Sandoval owner and creative director of

JZ Party Charm filled the Aquinas gym with magic and trans-

formed it into the wild west. Jim Enkosky’s team from Sky Pro-

ductions spotlighted every corner of the room. More than 250

people enjoyed the western theme, which included a jail for peo-

ple to arrest other guests and

proved to be quite successful, raising nearly $1,000. Val Carlone owner of

VC Personal Chef filled the tent with delectable hor’dorves and fun des-

serts. Our silent auction had over 40 items. The live Auction featured a 5

night 6 day trip to Hawaii, VIP Tickets to see a Lakers Game, and many,

many more. Over all “Wild Wild West” raised $31,541.00. We are look-

ing forward to Casino Night 2014 on November 8, 2014 where we will go

back to 1955 to shake rattle and roll to a 50’s themed casino night.

Monte Carlo Night 2013


Aquinas held the 4th annual NATR on January 25, 2014 in the Aquinas

gym. It was like walking into the Kentucky Derby. Sandy Sandoval of JZ

Party Charm and Jim & Sue Enkosky of Sky productions once again

transformed the gym. Val Carlone of VC Personal Chef served a south-

ern style BBQ with ice cream sundaes to top the meal. This year also featured the first annual Kentucky

Derby Hat parade. All the proceeds of this event are designated to help all of our sports teams. Each sport

helped in bringing in silent auction items, live auction items as well as sponsor-

ing horses. Thank you to each and every one who helped make our 4th annual

NATR such a huge success. We raised $19,933 for all our Falcons !

Night at the Races (NATR) 2014

Fundraiser Events

A big Thank you to our vendors

who make every event special,

Sandy Sandoval of JZ Party

Charms, Jim and Sue Enkosky of

Sky Productions, and Val Car-

lone of VC Personal Chef


Aquinas held the 22nd Annual Golf tournament on May 10, 2014 at the Arrowhead Country Club. One Hun-

dred golfers enjoyed a beautiful spring day out on the course. There were many prizes won from putting

contest, closest to the pin, and longest drive . After a beautiful day on the course our golfers made their way

into the club house for a lovely dinner as well as raffle and auction items. Proceeds from the Golf Tourna-

ment goes to advancing technology for students. Our 22nd Annual golf tournament raised $6,606.47.

Each year our Gala becomes more enchanting and each and every

guest is utterly amazed they are in the gym, of course, this is once

again due to Sandy Sandoval and Jim & Sue Enkosky. JZ Party Charm

and Sky productions have been two of our largest donors and sup-

porters for years, there truly are not enough words to thank them.

The Annual Scholarship Gala supports tuition assistance for stu-

dents. We have been blessed

with several of our Aquinas families and friends making these students’

dream of an Aquinas education come true. Another very important part

of this evening is to honor distinguished Alumni and dedicated volun-

teers. This year’s Alumni recipients were, Richard Weening ‘63, Dr. John

Steinmann ‘78, May Johnson ‘88, Ricson Dakanay ‘03, Megan Scafiddi ‘03,

and Ron Rezek ‘77. Thank you all, this year our event raised $61,114.39

Scholarship Gala 2014

Aquinas Golf Classic 2014

Aquinas High School has successfully completed another fiscal year. Once again it was challenging because of the local economy. However, our enrollment of 420 students was a recent high point for Aquinas. This in-cluded 40 International Students. Supporting this enrollment, Aquinas gave out over $500,000 in financial aid to our qualified local students. This represented approximately 50% of our student population. Parents worked diligently to keep up with their financial commitments to the school. This obviously is vastly important for us to remain financially solvent. This includes parent volunteer efforts and their participation in the Scrip Program. Aquinas is an investment for parents who send their student to us. We are appreciative of the sacrifices that parents make to provide this education for their student. Once again, we were privileged to have been named Best Private School in the county for the third year in a row. We are proud of this recognition. Along with our accreditation this provides some external support for the quality of work at Aquinas. Third source funding is extremely important for school finances. We were fortunate to be the recipient of some grant funding. San Manuel, the Shea Foundation and the Hannon Foundation provided needed support for Aquinas. As our work with alumni and other benefactors continues we are grateful for their support. The class of 1963 as a group has made outstanding contributions to their alma mater. This work is extremely im-portant as we attempt to meet financial aid for qualified students. Aquinas is moving forward. Your support is important and appreciated. Keeping Aquinas running in the black necessitates the continued support of alumni friends and benefactors in order to help us to reach out to those students who might not otherwise have access to a Catholic education. Please know that we keep the mission statement, to form through education these students to be leaders in the light and the truth of the gospel, as our guiding light in all we do.

Financial Report 2013-14 Fiscal Year


Proposals to foundations are activities that we are constantly pursuing. We are fortunate to receive some funded proposals that helped proceed with improvement projects on campus that we might not have been able to do otherwise. San Manuel provided a significant grant to enable us to install a new all-weather track. This was a huge sup-port for the improvement of that facility. We are most grateful to San Manuel for their generosity. In addition the Shea Foundation and the Hannon Foundation, once again provided support through their donations to financial assistance for students. Enko Systems also provided further assistance for our technology on cam-pus. In addition to these funded grant proposals we are most grateful that alumni are stepping forward in sup-port of their alma mater. As a class, the class of 1963 has been a significant leader in their donations. We are most appreciative for all the support we have received this past year.

Grant Funding

Page 19

2013-2014 Revenue

Aquinas High School Annual Report 2014

2013-2014 Expenses

Aquinas High School June 30, 2014

Financial Report

Income

1 Instructional $2,862,914 Expenses

2 Special Funding $187,688 1 Instructional $1,987,627

3 General Income $125,028 2 Administrative Costs $398,475

4 Student Services $353,445 3 Operating Expenses $958,095

5 Fundraising $271,074 4 Student Services $414,546

5 Fundraising $73,865

Total $3,800,149 Total $3,832,608

Instructional, $2,862,914

Special Funding, $187,688

General Income, $125,028

Student Services, $353,445

Fundraising, $271,074

Donors 2013-2014


Many thanks to all our supporters. We also receive in-kind gifts that we value greatly.

$100,000 to $200,000 San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

$50,000 to $99,999 Enko Systems Sky Productions

$10,000 to $49,999 Anonymous Donor Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Gilluly J. F. Shea Foundation and Family Trust JZ Party Charm Mr. John Smith William H. Hannon Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rodriguez

$5,000 to $9,999 Dr. and Mrs. John Carlson Dr. and Mrs. John Steinmann Mrs. and Mrs. Vincent Duro Mr. and Mrs. Frank Quevedo Mr. and Mrs. Armando Ramos Mr. Richard Riddell Mr. and Mrs. Mike Scafiddi Mr. and Mrs. John Ware Mr. Richard Weening Mr. and Mrs. Larry Williford

$1,000 to $4,999 Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Benkoski Mr. and Mrs. Dan Carlone Mr. Ricson Dakanay Ms. Dorene Dominguez Edison International Mr. and Mrs. Jim Enkosky Mrs. Patricia Fischer Ms. Catherine Fischer Mr. and Mrs. Walt Goggin Ms. Monica Guzman Hafif Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Troy Kirtley Mr. and Mrs. Dennis LaTourette Mr. Bill Lemann Mr. Howard Littlefield Mr. Robert Maciel Mr. John D. Mielke Modern Woodmen Financial Fr. William Mooney Renovis Surgical Technologies Mr. Ron Rezek Mr. Michael Riddell Major David Rumpf Walmart Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Stirewalt

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Wiens Mr. and Mrs. Dale Worthington

$250 to $999 Dr. and Mrs. Richard Aguilar Mr. Alan Aragon Mr. Steve Arizaga Jr. Mr. Robert Bachman Mr. and Mrs. Chris Barrows Mr. Richard Beardslee Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bennett Mr. and Mrs. Dale Bethel Mr. Edward Bonadiman Mr. Dan Boyle Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bravo Dr. and Mrs. Jim Brennan Mr. and Mrs. Mike Brusig Mr. David Burback Mr. and Mrs. William Canavan CDA Court Good Shepherd #1930 Ms. Stephanie Cluff Mr. and Mrs. David Colella Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cruikshank Mr. and Mrs. Felix D'Amico Mr. and Mrs. Dean Didier Mr. and Mrs. Dave Dillon Mr. Thomas Dominick Mr. and Mrs. Frank Duran Mr. and Mrs. Jim Enriquez Mrs. Ramona Flores Mr. John Fouch Mr. Robert Gericke Mr. Jeffrey Gonzales Mr. John Hartford Mr. Nicholas Herlick Mr. Michael Hertel Mr. and Mrs. Scott Izen Knights of Columbus Council 4488 Ms. Alaina Mathews Mr. and Mrs. John McElligott Mr. Brandon Mulcahy Mrs. Mary Pace Ms. Laural Paul Mr. Angel Perez Sr. Ms. Corrine Porter Rapa Management Consultants Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Rodriguez Mr. Patrick Ruvolo Mr. and Mrs. Donald Sapronetti Mr. and Mrs. William Seltz II Sempra Energy Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. James Seter Mr. David Stubben Mr. Steve Szymczak Target Corporation Mr. and Mrs. David Taylor TK Construction Mr. and Mrs. Danny Webster Mr. and Mrs. Jim Wetzel Mr. and Mrs. Mike Whiting Mr. and Mrs. David Widdicombe Mrs. Joan Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Chris Ybarra Mr. Art Zanini

Up to $249 Mr. Roland Acosta Mr. Ray Aldama Mr. Rich Allo Mr. and Mrs. Eric Almaraz Anonymous Donor Ms. Eva Arizaga Mr. and Mrs. John Belton Ms. Maria Burkitt Mr. and Mrs. Troy Burton Mr. Adrian Candelario Mrs. Nancy Carlone Mr. and Mrs. Jorge Carlos CDA Court Immaculate Conception #1454 Century 21 Showcase Mr. Charles Cervantes Mr. David Chavez Jr. Ms. Anita Comeau Mr. Mark Diamond Dr. Byron Diehl Mrs. Adriana Duran Miss Sierra Duro Mr. Thomas Eichenberg Mr. C. Steven Figueroa Mr. and Mrs. Edward Finneran Mr. Edward Garcia Mr. William Gill Mr. and Mrs. Roland Gurule Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gutierrez Mr. Patrick Hennessey Mr. Manuel Hernandez Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hernandez Ms. Roxanne Holmes Ms. Gina Horton Ms. Heather Hutchinson Mr. and Mrs. Rocio Islas Joseph E. Bonadiman & Associates, Inc Mr. Nick Karavedas

Mr. Jonathan Keck Mr. and Mrs. Mark Koltes Mr. and Mrs. Mark Kumler Mr. George Leso Ms. Denise Levine Mr. Manuel Llopart Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Lopez Mr. Arthur Luna Mr. and Mrs. Robert Markley Mr. Mark Martinez Ms. Marjorie McCabe Mr. and Mrs. Robert Miranda Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Moncada Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Moyce Mr. Randolph Munoz Mr. and Mrs. Charles Munoz Mr. and Mrs. Juan Ocampo Sr Mrs. Patricia O'Malley Mr. Jose Ortiz Mr. Jerry Paresa Mr. and Mrs. Theresa Pesta Mr. Carl Petite Ms. Michelle Philo Mr. Joseph Porto Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Preston Mr. Marty Reed Mr. Robert Reeve Mrs. Patricia Reisch Mr. Raymond Reyes Mr. Daniel Rice Mr. and Mrs. Mark Robert Mr. and Mrs. Mike Roquet Mr. Patrick Salazar Mr. Brian Saunders Mr. Bob Schumacher Ms. Bridget Schumacher-Adams Mr. Ron Simmons Mr. Thomas Steinmann Mr. Gregory Torres United Way Mrs. Terrea Van Beuge Mr. Alfred Vasquez Ms. Sandra Watkins Ms. Coleen Weeks Mr. Dennis Wilson Mr. David Wiss

2013 2014 annual report

Documents

aquinas education

aquinas experience

abilities of aquinas

school year

support of aquinas alumni

student life

student experience

director student activities