Category : February 2025

Excited to share that enrollment links for the 2025-2026 school year have been sent out to everyone. See yesterday's parent email, and please reach out with questions.

Tuition assistance applications are due next Friday, February 28. Applications received after that date will be allocated aid as available. Find the application at www.mytads.com; 2023 tax returns may be used, but 2024 W-2s and current paystubs must be submitted. Contact Kris Sauer if you have questions or need assistance with enrollment or tuition assistance.

We enjoyed a cold-shortened but busy week. Students in Knowledge Bowl competed in sections Thursday, with the 4-member Bethlehem Academy Red team placing 2nd and advancing to regional competition for the first time ever! Congratulations to Elsie Arnold, Zach McCabe, Luke McCrea, and Monica Wilder as they move on in competition. The girls basketball season ended last night with a tough section loss at Fillmore Central, but ended the season with the best record since 2012-2013. Finally, good luck to our boys co-op swimmers as they compete in sections this coming week.

Some scheduling notes:

• The Winter Band Concert has been moved to Tuesday, March 4 at 6pm. Please adjust your calendars for this new date. 
• Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March 6 from 4-6pm. Our focus this semester is to honor teacher requests for parent/teachers meetings. High school conferences will be opened up to all high school parents next week; middle school parents should reach out to teachers directly to arrange a meeting if they have not already been contacted. Please watch your email for more information. 

UPCOMING EVENTS: Click HERE for a copy of the 2024-2025 BA School Calenda

• February 28: 10:30am Mass @ BA; TADS financial aid applications due (www.mytads.com)
• March 3: History Day regional competition, 4-6pm, Mankato
• March 4: 7th grade retreat; Knowledge Bowle Regional Meet, 9am in Rochester; Winter Band Concert, 6pm
• March 5: 8:30am Ash Wednesday Mass @ DMCC - Lenten Season begins
• March 6: P/T Conferences, 4-6pm; Post-Prom DNO @ Godfather's
• March 7: Third quarter ends; DMCS Meat Raffle Fundraiser, 6pm
• March 13: SADD St. Patrick's Day $ Dress Down
• March 14: 10:30 am Mass @ BA
• March 17-21: Spring Break, No School

Finally, we said farewell today to part-time choir teacher and BA alumni, Mary Clare Melero. We are so grateful for her time with us and wish her nothing but prayers and blessings as she moves forward with her pregnancy! For the remainder of the year, we are adjusting the middle school schedule so that Mr. Lorence can take on Mr. Melero's choir class. Choir students will continue alternating choir with music appreciation as they have all year. 

Prayers for healing, health, and happiness for our Bethlehem Academy Cardinal family!

With gratitude, 
Kris Sauer, Ed Friesen, 
Interim Co-Heads of School

BABS 2025, April 12: Get your tickets now for Blossom & Bloom, the BABS 2025 Gala at https://one.bidpal.net/babs2025/welcome - you won't want to miss this great night celebrating our students and staff! Parent volunteers also needed. Click HERE for the link to sign up to help at BABS 2025.

Come and join us March 6th for some Godfather’s pizza and help us raise money for post-prom.  Thank you for your support!

The post-prom committee is selling Cry Baby Craig's hot sauce to help raise money for a safe and fun post-prom event. Spice up your meals with some Cry Baby Craig's hot sauce, made right here in Faribault. If you would like to purchase a bottle, please contact Nettie Battles (lbattles24@gmail.com), Chris Bothun, or you can purchase it in the BA office.  Thank you for your support!

School Store now open! Purchase BA gear at the concessions stand during home basketball games or order online HERE for front office pickup.

• Senior Open Campus begins March 28, Fridays only through April 25th. Daily open campus begins Monday, April 28. More details to follow. 
• College Scholarship Info: More local college scholarship information has been added to the BA website! Click HERE for details. 
• Senior Week: Detailed information to be provided late March, but major events for senior week include:
  • Wednesday, May 21, 1pm Mary Ceremony in the BA gym. Baccalaureate Mass at Divine Mercy Catholic Church, 7:30pm. All are welcome to both events.
  • Friday, May 23, 9am Awards Ceremony in the BA gym, all are welcome. Grades 6-11 dismissed around 11am; Senior Faculty/Staff Brunch, 11:15am, seniors only @ BA (senior moms typically plan to go out to lunch together); Commencement, 7:30pm - all are welcome, unlimited unreserved seating. Fr. Kevin Kenney will be our 2025 Commencement speaker. 

Online BA School Calendar:
https://gopherconference.org/public/genie/7/school/7/

Online Faribault Falcons Calendar:
https://big9conference.org/public/genie/4/school/7/

Happy Valentine's Day! We hope you find yourself blessed by God's love today.

Reminder that there is NO SCHOOL Monday, February 17 as we observe President's Day.

It was a great week at BA - our 6th and 7th graders went on a field trip to the MN History Center, with lots of hands-on activities including exploring a sod house, experiencing a simulation of the 1965 Fridley tornado, and participating in a mission aboard a C-47 transport plane on D-Day. Our 8th graders spent yesterday in retreat where they were invited into a deeper relationship with God and challenged to listen and recognize God's voice in their lives. So many students went to confession that retreat leaders were afraid they would run out of time! So proud of our students for being open to God's word and of our HS student leaders who helped with this amazing retreat. High school students participated in History Day, with 18 making it to the regional competition in Mankato. Finally, we celebrated our senior boys and girls basketball players and their parents at home games this past week. God is good!

As we plan for next year, there are many other wonderful things in the works. We are talking to some excellent candidates for our Head of School, head football, and choir positions and are adding college class options to our curriculum all while growing popular co-curricular programs like Campus Ministry, FFA, and Knowledge Bowl. Exciting things are happening as well with our staff. As you may know, Ed Friesen successfully completed his master’s in educational leadership last fall. Michael Bengen will complete a masters in PE and health in May and Grant Yackly will earn his master’s in educational leadership and technology integration this summer. Katy Ashley is halfway through a master’s program and Brent Zabel, Kallie Battles, and Tom Nardi are all starting master’s programs this spring and summer. At completion, nearly 80% of BA's teaching staff will have earned a master’s in their field of education. We are so grateful for their dedication to professional development and their commitment to guiding your sons and daughters to achieve personal, spiritual, and academic excellence!

Reminder to families seeking tuition assistance that the deadline to apply is two weeks from today, Friday, February 28. Applications received after that date will be allocated aid as available. Find the application at www.mytads.com; 2023 tax returns may be used, but 2024 W-2s and current paystubs must be submitted. Contact Kris Sauer if you have questions or need assistance.

The week ahead: 

UPCOMING EVENTS: Click HERE for a copy of the 2024-2025 BA School Calenda

• February 26: 6^th grade Youth Frontiers retreat
• February 28: 10:30am Mass @ BA; TADS financial aid applications due (www.mytads.com)
• March 3: History Day regional competition; Winter Band Concert, 6pm
• March 4: 7th grade retreat
• March 5: 8:30am Ash Wednesday Mass @ DMCC - Lenten Season begins
• March 6: P/T Conferences, 4-6pm; Post-Prom DNO @ Godfather's
• March 7: Third quarter ends; DMCS Meat Raffle Fundraiser
• March 13: SADD St. Patrick's Day $ Dress Down
• March 14: 10:30 am Mass @ BA
• March 17-21: Spring Break, No School

Prayers for healing, health, and happiness for our Bethlehem Academy Cardinal family!

With gratitude, 
Kris Sauer, Ed Friesen, 
Interim Co-Heads of School

Get your tickets now for Blossom & Bloom, the BABS 2025 Gala at https://one.bidpal.net/babs2025/welcome - you won't want to miss this great night celebrating our students and staff!

School Store now open! Purchase BA gear at the concessions stand during home basketball games or order online HERE for front office pickup.

COMMUNITY INFORMATION
 

Calendars:

Online BA School Calendar:
https://gopherconference.org/public/genie/7/school/7/

Online Faribault Falcons Calendar:
https://big9conference.org/public/genie/4/school/7/

We hope you are enjoying this long weekend with your sons and daughters! Faculty spend today in professional development on topics ranging from AI in the classroom to curriculum development, with several staff members participating in a Chamber-sponsored business mixer to explore school-community partnerships and opportunities. 

Looking ahead, we are starting to frame up the school calendar for next year. Unfortunately, Faribault Public Schools has not finalized their 25-26 calendar and we are also waiting to hear from the Archdiocese regarding staff participation expectations for next year's NCEA (Nat'l Catholic Education Association) Conference that will be held April 7-9, 2026, in Minneapolis. Know that we are eager to finalize this and will get that to you as soon as possible.

Enrollment and class registration for 2025-2026 will be opening soon. Families seeking tuition assistance are reminded that the deadline to apply is February 28. Applications received after that date will be allocated aid as available. Find the application at www.mytads.com; 2023 tax returns may be used, but 2024 W-2s and current paystubs must be submitted. Contact Kris Sauer if you have questions or need assistance.

Parent service hours opportunities: parent volunteers are needed to help on the 160th Anniversary Celebration (August 2) and the Cardinal Golf Classic (August 1) committees. Both events are this summer, but planning is starting now. Helping means you can earn parent hours for this year through May and an early start on hours for next year for time June to August. Log into POINT (https://pointapp.org/sign-in/) to sign up and contact Kris with questions. Another option: we've set up an Amazon store for BABS wish list items. Find the list to donate an item HERE - one parent hour earned for every $25 spent (self-report via POINT). 

Service hour reminders: if you sign up to volunteer through POINT, there is no need to self-report your hours as the system automatically counts then for you. Student hours should not be logged under parent accounts; their hours are separate and must be turned in to their Theology teachers. Parents who volunteer for co-op sports teams may self-report a maximum of 5 parent volunteer hours/season. Volunteering for DMCS/DMCC-only events (SpiritFest, Spooktacular, etc.) may self-report a maximum of 5 parent hours for each event. We are grateful for your partnership, and your gifts of time and treasure. Please reach out to Kris with questions. 

Finally, excited to share that last weekend's winter open house was the most successful in recent years, and fundraising to date for the annual fund is above average for this time of year. Please share the good new of BA within your family and friend networks and help us grow enrollment for next year! 

The week ahead: 

UPCOMING EVENTS: Click HERE for a copy of the 2024-2025 BA School Calendar

• February 13: Prom $ dress down, 1pm WIN schedule for History Day; grade 6-7 field trip; grade 8 retreat
• February 14: 10:30am Mass at BA
• February 17: NO SCHOOL, President's Day
• February 20: FFA blue & gold $ dress down day
• February 21: 8:30am Mass at DMCC
• February 26: 6^th grade Youth Frontiers retreat
• February 28: 10:30am Mass @ BA; TADS financial aid applications due (www.mytads.com)

Prayers for those in our community who are sick or undergoing surgeries, and for healing, health, and happiness for our Bethlehem Academy Cardinal family!

With gratitude, 
Kris Sauer, Ed Friesen, 
Interim Co-Heads of School

BABS - our biggest event of the year - is just around the corner. Get your tickets now at https://one.bidpal.net/babs2025/welcome

School Store now open! Purchase BA gear at the concessions stand during home basketball games or order online HERE for front office pickup.

Online BA School Calendar:
https://gopherconference.org/public/genie/7/school/7/

Online Faribault Falcons Calendar:
https://big9conference.org/public/genie/4/school/7/