Fathers' Club

Saint Thomas Academy Chapel

A long standing STA Fathers’ Club tradition is the First Friday Mass.  This 20-25 minute mass followed by coffee & pastries is a great way to start the day and a great faith example to our sons. Fr. Pavlak’s homilies are always thought provoking and memorable.  It is an especially great way for dads’ and sons to start their day together at Mass.

The Fathers’ Club meets regularly to plan events throughout the year, to engage with the school and to build community amongst the dads and guardians of Cadets. We hold quarterly General Assembly meetings where we welcome all fathers to attend to get updates about STA and to hear from speakers both inside and outside the Academy halls.

We also hold monthly planning meetings. Whether you want to get more engaged with the Fathers’ Club or just hear about what is being planned for the year, please consider joining us for these meetings and get to know the guys.

Meeting dates will be updated regularly on the calendar on the Fathers’ Club page, and reminders will be sent in the weekly newsletter from the school.

Fathers' Club valet parking is a long-standing tradition and one of our most volunteered-for events each year. Arriving early for camaraderie and some helpful instructions, we then greet the Cadets and their dates at Flynn Hall entrance before parking their cars. Available roles include: Traffic Directors, Valets, Golf Cart Drivers, and Key Masters. Once the cars are parked, the fathers head down to the FC garage for a well-deserved barbeque cooked up by our famed Grill Masters!

One highly visible role of the Fathers’ Club is the “Spotlight Event”. The Fathers’ Club is now in our tenth year of attempting to master the perfect hamburger on our rolling grill – the Holy Smoker. We cook burgers for families, fans and participants of home games and big events throughout the school year.

Any sport or activity can request a "Spotlight” and with the help of volunteer fathers we will show up with a grill crew to support the Cadets. The goal is to encourage families to come early, eat dinner with friends, and show community spirit!

There are few relationships in young man’s life more sacred than that with his mother.  At St Thomas Academy, we recognize the importance of this bond, and while we value parental influence year-round, we emphasize and celebrate one night in particular for mom.  The Mother Son Dinner Dance is the Father’s Club highlight event of the year, where mothers and sons dress to the 9’s and enjoy an evening of good food, dancing music and most of all, quality time with each other.  

This annual event brings Fathers and Sons together for an evening filled with inspirational speakers, annual awards honoring achievements by Cadets and fathers and a momentary pause in life to bond. It’s a great event that has been part of the Cadet community for decades and is common to have nearly all father/ sons attend.