St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School -

With the end of the school year, we are saying goodbye to nine of our teachers. Whether they are moving closer to home, pursuing new opportunities, or retiring, we wish them all the best. We are incredibly grateful for the impact they have had on our students and the larger St. Michael community. Their presence will be missed, but we're sure they have bright futures ahead of them! Thank you to Mrs. Ambrose, Ms. Arroyo, Mrs. Dempsey, Mrs. Draper, Mrs. Ecklebe, Mr. Fitzsimmons, Mrs. McCoy, Mr. Pitts, and Ms. Schloss!

Let's go Guardians! Our Track and Field team ran and jumped their way to some impressive finishes in the State Meet last week. We couldn't be more proud of how each athlete performed and their dedication, drive, and teamwork clearly payed off. Guard Up! All state: 2nd place - Girls 4x4 relay (All school record) Ava Pate, Aleena Jansen, Morgan Hilbrich, & Ximena Romo 4th place - Girls 4x2 relay (All school record) Ava Pate, Aleena Jansen, Morgan Hilbrich, & Ximena Romo 4th place - 300m Hurdles (All school record) Morgan Hilbrich 4th place - 1600m race Bella Rosenberg 7th place - Boys 4x8 relay David Rogge, Oliver Hotop, Graham Hotop, & Colten Boulware 8th place - Long Jump Boys - Beau Marchesi Girls - Morgan Hilbrich State Qualifiers: 9th place - Boys 4x2 Isaiah Jackson, Max Thomas, Beau Marchesi, & Reece Fredrickson 9th place - Pole Vault Wyatt Herrman 9th place 3200m Bella Rosenberg 13th place - 1600m Colten Boulware

Good luck to Guardian Golfers Brady Ziegenhorn, Bennett Barnthouse, and Nick DeVoss, who will be playing in the State Tournament in Joplin today and tomorrow! It's been a great season, and we're sure you'll give it your all. Let's go Guardians!

On the last day of class, Pio community played a round of blind karaoke! Each house took turns trying to sing a song without knowing the title or the lyrics ahead of time. At the end of the day, it didn't matter if you knew all the lyrics, as long as you were singing with your friends and looking forward to being done with finals next week!

Congratulations to our Track and Field Sectional Qualifiers! They gave it their all at districts, and we can't wait to cheer them on this weekend! 4x2: Ava, Leena, Morgan, Ximena 4x1: Clara, Leena, Ava, Ximena 4x4: Ava, Leena, Morgan, Ximena 4x8: David, Oliver, Graham, Colten 4x2: Isaiah J, Max T, Beau, Reece 4x1: Isaiah J, Max T, Beau, Reece 4x4: Kevin, Reece, Beau, Tate 300H Andre Young Morgan Hilbrich 800 David Rogge 1600 Colten Boulware Bella Rosenburg 3200 Bella Rosenburg Long Jump Beau Marchesi Morgan Hilbrich Pole Vault Wyatt Herrman Discus Cole Zeiler William McKnight Shotput Cole Zeiler

Today, we celebrated our freshmen, sophomores, and juniors at the Underclass Awards Ceremony. Following the last All-School Mass of the year, the students and their families gathered as those who received an Academic Letter were announced. Next, department heads handed out awards for those who showed investment and excellence in their classes. The final school awards given were the Charism Awards. These awards are presented to students who embody the charisms of our mission to Know Truth, Love God, and Serve Others. Finally, scholarship winners were announced. These students submitted applications and wrote essays to be considered for these awards. Lueckenhoff Memorial Scholarship: Sebastian Alexis Valadez-Espejel Knights of Columbus: 1st Place: Zuri Radford 2nd Place: Amelia Seelbrede & Connor Johansen 3rd Place: Rachel Abadie & Ava Ventimiglia Ancient Order of Hibernians: Andrew Ravasini, Evan Suddarth, Sophia Ahern, Laura Ahern Congratulations Guardians!

Come meet our new Theatre Director, MaryAnn Rosinski, this Monday, May 19, at 6:00 p.m. on the learning stairs. MaryAnn will share about herself, her vision for the Theatre program, and give some details on summer theatre camp. We hope to see you there as we begin the next act of St. Michael Theatre!

Congratulations, class of 2025! Last night we celebrated the high school careers of our senior class. President Nulton shared some words of wisdom, and valedictorian Rose Reddig gave a speech encouraging her classmates as they move forward from SMA. Good luck graduates! While you will be missed, we know you'll do great things and make us all proud!

Habemus Papam! After white smoke was seen this morning, the student body gathered to await the announcement of the new Pope. The building was buzzing with anticipation until we were introduced to our first American Pope, Pope Leo XIV! KMBC 9 News was present to capture the students' reactions to the new Pope and you'll be able to see SMA in their coverage of the event. Join us in praying for our new Holy Father! What a joyous day!

Last night, we celebrated the senior class at Baccalaureate Mass, taking time to reminisce on their time at SMA, looking forward to their bright futures, and praising God for the gift that they are to their families and community. Salutatorian Ben Salanski gave a speech to his class, scholarships were awarded, and Principal Kroening gave some encouraging words. Now the class of '25 looks forward to graduation tonight as they head out from SMA ready to take on the world!

Two Guardian golfers earned all-conference honors yesterday at the Crossroads Conference Championship! Brady Ziegenhorn earned first team all-conference honors with a score of 73 (tied for 3rd), and Bode Davis earned second team all-conference with a score of 79 (placed 8th). Way to go Guardians! Good luck at districts tomorrow!

This morning, the class of '25 celebrated the end of finals with senior breakfast in the gym. With their school work finished, they took the time to look back on their time at St. Michael and look forward to the future. Connor McNamee gave a speech before the seniors ran through a graduation rehearsal. Hard to believe it's only 2 days away!

Interested in high school robotics? Middle-schoolers are invited to a Robotics open house at Icon Machine Tool, 2315 NE Independence Ave. Lee's Summit, MO 64064 on May 14 from 4 pm - 8 pm. The night will include refreshments and hands-on stations where you can learn to solder, drive the robot, use CAD programs, and more.

Yesterday, the Guardians of Life took a trip to Jefferson City to participate in the Midwest March for Life. These students are committed to protecting the lives of the unborn and they marched alongside people from all over the country to advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable. We're so proud of you Guardians!

Yesterday, seven of our seniors signed letters of intent to play college sports. We've loved seeing them compete as Guardians and can't wait to watch their collegiate careers! The seniors who signed were: Nick DeVoss - Central Iowa (soccer/golf) Piper Hughes - Pitt State (soccer) Izzie Miller - Northwest Missouri State (Soccer) Mark Wiemann - Iowa Western (Baseball) Sophia Infranca - Graceland University (Softball) Leo Miller - William Jewell (Swim) Kayley Cohen - Rockhurst University (Dance) Congratulations Guardians!

Seniors got to show off their new school pride today! Each senior wore a shirt from the college they'll be attending in the fall. Hard to believe their last day of classes is tomorrow!

Congratulations to Claire Landa, who was recognized at the Missouri STEM Signing Day on Friday! Missouri STEM Signing Day celebrates Missouri high school seniors as they make their commitments to study a STEM field. Claire will be attending Missouri University of Science and Technology in the fall and studying engineering. We look forward to your bright future!

We're excited to announce that we have hired Emily Valverde as our Director of Faith and Mission! As Director of Faith and Mission, Mrs. Valverde will oversee all aspects of our Catholic identity to ensure every decision we make is advancing the Catholic mission of our school. She will oversee student and faculty faith formation and promote discipleship and evangelization inside and outside the classroom. She will also lead our Community System to ensure every student is home at SMA, and develop more opportunities for parent and family involvement in the school. Mrs. Valverde graduated from Franciscan University in Steubenville with a Master's in Educational Administration - Curriculum and Professional Development. She has experience leading and forming students through her work at the University of Kansas’ St. Lawrence Catholic Student Center and as a missionary and speaker at The Culture Project, delivering numerous talks to students nationwide on a variety of topics including human dignity, virtue, and the Theology of the Body. Mrs. Valverde is excited to start in this role on June 1, and we hope you'll join us in welcoming her to the St. Michael family!

After the passing of Pope Francis yesterday, our chaplain, Fr. Sappington, had the opportunity to reminisce on the time he met the Pope with KCTV5. Father gifted Pope Francis a Patrick Mahomes jersey following the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory and recalls that Pope Francis spoke about the importance of team sports in forming community-minded priests. Please join us in continuing to pray for the repose of the Pope's soul and for the Church in this time of transition. https://www.kctv5.com/video/2025/04/22/hes-brought-me-closer-catholic-church-church-leaders-mourn-pope-francis/

We're excited to announce that we have hired MaryAnn Rosinski as our next Theatre Director! MaryAnn is deeply passionate about the arts and believes that good storytelling always reveals the heart of God. She began her professional theatre career in New York City in 2016, which led her on many adventures, including performing on cruise lines and working for touring productions. You can see her this June in Starlight's production of School of Rock the Musical! She also spent many years ministering to high school students through Life Teen—her happy place! MaryAnn devotes her time to her wonderful husband, her wedding photography business, and this season of “putting down roots,” which has been the most fulfilling of her life thus far. MaryAnn is excited to get started with Summer Theatre Camp! Running from June 23 - 26, this camp is a great opportunity for kids in grades 2 - 12 to practice their craft. More info and registration links can be found at smacatholic.org/camps