August 2024
8.31.2024
August 31, 2024
The 2024-2025 Academic Year is Underway
Sister Immaculate, Sister Paskazia, Sister Mary and Sister Maria (left to right), were among the first to arrive to campus on Tuesday for the first day of school.
Students arrived Tuesday, August 27th welcomed by faculty and staff and reunited with classmates as we kicked off the next year of our Austin Prep journey together. As is the case with every academic year, Austin Prep adopted a theme to help community members advance our mission and live our faith. The theme for the 2024-2025 academic year that we’ll use to advance the mission of Austin Prep is adapted from Hebrews (6: 17-19): Anchored in Christ, We Venture in Hope. The New Testament Book of Hebrews encourages dispirited Christians to journey forward in faith. Through this optimistic theme, we will focus our fellowship, activities, and lessons on advancing veritas, unitas, and caritas.
To view photos from the first day of class, click here, and you can hear from some students about what they are looking forward to here. Finally, you can view a time lapse video of student arrival on the first day by click the video below:
Orientation Program Preceeds Day One of Classes
New Middle School students had the opportunity to meet classmates during Monday's orientation.
Prior to the start of classes, students were on campus for orientation activities. Middle school students were on campus the morning of Monday, August 26th while members of the Class of 2028 and new sophomores and juniors joined them later that day. Click the links to view photos and a video from Middle School Orientation, as well as a photos from the Upper School orientation.
New Faculty Welcomed
New staff, faculty and faculty fellows for the 2024-2025 Academic Year.
Austin Prep welcomed new staff, faculty and faculty fellows on Monday, August 19th and Tuesday, August 20th for two days of orientation. They were joined by the full faculty for the remainder of the week for a week of professional development. We look forward to introducing new faculty members to the school community in the coming weeks.
Picture Day is Wednesday, September 4th
Wednesday's Picture Day is our first opportunity for students to show off their chapel attire.
Picture Day is Wednesday, September 4th. Picture Day is for all staff and students, grades 6-12, and will take place in Richard J. Meelia '67 Hall. Students will be notified via announcements when to proceed to Meelia Hall for their photos. Chapel Dress is required for Picture Day. Mark Lawrence Photographers will once again handle school photos, and photo ordering information can be found here.
Annual Convocation Mass Takes Place Friday, September 6th
A highlight of our annual Convocation Mass is the introduction of the new 6th grade class. This year we welcome the Class of 2031!
Austin Prep's Convocation Liturgy, one of our most cherished annual traditions, marks the official start of the academic year. This year's liturgy, full of pageantry including the annual Parade of Flags, will take place Friday, September 6th at 10:00 a.m. on Fr. Seymour Field. Father Robert Hagan, O.S.A. Augustinian Prior Provincial of Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, which celebrates 150 years this year, will be the principal celebrant and homilist.
If there is inclement weather, we will move the Mass indoors to Richard J. Meelia '67 Hall. All students and staff will be in attendance for the Mass, and Chapel dress is required of all students that day. Parents are welcome to attend. If we have to move the Mass indoors, however, seating will be very limited. Please email Susan Belanger, Assistant Head for Administration, at sbelanger@austinprep.org to rsvp. The mass will be livestreamed, and the link will be available on our website and sent to families the day before the event.
This will be a very memorable occasion for our students and a special day for all those within the Austin Prep community.
Multi-year Campus Modernization Project Continues
Austin Prep took this past summer to replace the windows on the main School building.
When on campus this past week, hopefully students and families noticed that the main building at Austin Prep has a new look. As part of a multi-year classroom modernization and campus upgrade project, Austin Prep took this past summer to replace the School’s windows, most of which are more than 60 years old. To complement the new heating and cooling system we installed last summer, these new windows are “green” and will maximize the energy efficiency of the new HVAC system. The project is considerable and will take two summers to complete. A bit smaller in scope, Austin Prep also refurbished the lavatories and boys and girls locker rooms in Richard J. Meelia ’67 Hall.
Summers stay busy at Austin Prep. In 2022, critical components of the campus electrical grid which included new transformers and generators were replaced. Also that summer, Austin Prep built a new STEM lab with an Anatomage Table and refurbished the Chapel of St. Augustine.
Austin Prep Celebrates Feast Days
Our patron, St. Augustine.
The start of the academic year coincides with feast days for prominent figures in Austin Prep's heritage.
Tuesday, August 27th was the feast day of St. Monica, whose prayers and sacrifice influenced the life of her son and our patron, St. Augustine. St. Monica, pray for us. Wednesday, August 28th marked the feast day of St. Augustine. The patron of Austin Prep, St. Augustine is one of the most consequential and well-known saints in the history of the Church, and his teachings help sustain our journey in pursuit of Truth.
St. Augustine and St. Monica, as we embark on the journey of another academic year, pray for us.
New Carpool Service for Austin Prep Families
Austin Prep is now offering families a secure, carpooling solution that will save time and reduce traffic! Austin Prep has partnered with GoKid - an app that will allow parents to find each other on a map, start chats, set up and manage car pools.
All families should have received an invitation email directly from GoKid. If you have not and would like to join, please reach out to Lisa Simmons, Director of Admissions at lisa.simmons@austinprep.org.
You can learn more about GoKid here.
Burnham '26 Aces Golf Team Tryout
Jack Burnham '26
If tryouts for athletic teams are meant to bring out the best in student-athletes, then Jack Burnham '26 answered the call on the first day of tryouts for the Austin Prep Golf Team, sinking a hole-in-one on the 14th hole at the team's home course of Hillview Golf Course in North Reading. You can learn more about the feat here, and listen to Jack's interview about the shot on WBZ News Radio.
Stay Connected with us on Social Media
New to Austin Prep, or not yet following us on social media? Be sure to keep up to date with all the current events at Austin Prep this by following us on our official social media accounts below:
Enjoy One Last Summer Weekend!
As a reminder, Austin Prep will be closed Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day. When students return on Tuesday, September 3rd, it will be Day 4 in the rotation. Extend summer one last weekend and enjoy the holiday! As an additional reminder, campus opens in the morning at 7:00 a.m. Please arrive early and follow the traffic instruction from our Campus Safety Officers to avoid delays.