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A
Message from
Principal
Christa Hanson |
Dear
Parents,
Thank you for choosing St. Mary School for your children. We appreciate
the trust you put in us for the education of all our students. We
begin our 137th year in operation. We have grown and changed much
since those early days in the 1870’s. However, we know that
we want to continue to change in order to meet the needs of the
students of 2008-09.
Please be assured that we will provide you the best quality Catholic
education possible. We eagerly look forward to a great year together.
Our school theme is “I am with you always.” The ending
of Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus told the people, “And
surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”
What great hope we have because of knowing that Jesus is always
with us…in good times and in bad times, in health and in sickness,
in prosperity and in poverty, in clarity and in obscurity, in joy
and in sorrow. Jesus is with us.
Max Lucado has written a powerful letter from God/Jesus based on
this idea that Jesus is always with us. Please take the time to
read it and let its message take hold.
A
LETTER FROM JESUS by Max Lucado
Dear Child of Mine,
Are you thirsty? Come and drink. I am one who comforts you.
I delight in you and claim you as my own. I will never fail
you or forsake you.
I know your transgressions and your mighty sins, yet my
grace is sufficient for you. Your sins have been washed
away. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set
you free.
You are worried and troubled about many things; trust me
with all your heart. I know how to rescue godly people from
their trials. My Spirit helps you in your distress. Let
me strengthen you with my glorious power. Never give up.
I will help you. I will uphold you.
Trust in me always. I am the eternal Rock, your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your soul. When you go through deep waters
and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through
rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk
through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
So, don’t worry. I never tire or sleep. I stand beside
you. I will go ahead of you, directing your steps and delighting
in every detail of your life. I will guide you along the
best pathway for your life.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
I surround you with a shield of love.
I will make you fruitful in the land of suffering, trading
beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for despair.
If I am for you, who can ever be against you?
I throw my arms around you, lavish attention on you, and
guard you as the apple of my eye. I rejoice over you with
great gladness. My thoughts of you cannot be counted; they
outnumber the grains of sand. Nothing can ever separate
you from my love. Death can’t, and life can’t,
Your fears for today, your worries about tomorrow, and even
the powers of hell can’t keep my love away.
I call you my friend. You are valuable to me.
Remember, I am at hand. Come to me when you are weary and
carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. I delight
in you, and I can be trusted to keep my promises.
Love,
Jesus |
With Jesus on our side, how can we NOT have a good year? May we
have more blessings than burdens. May we trust and believe in the
goodness of God and of each other. May this be a year of grace for
all of us.
Sincerely,
Christa
Hanson, Principal
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From
the Pastor's Desk
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Dear
Parents,
I hope that you bring back to the school a renewed sense of energy
for the coming scholastic year and a willingness to be involved
in all the School and Parish programs with enthusiasm and dedication.
As always, my first concern for and prayer for the coming year is
centered on the fact that we are a Catholic school. The hard work
and the effort that are put into the school by the Principal, the
teachers, and the total administration are, above all, to foster
the gift of the Catholic faith in the lives of your children and
yourselves. We are not a private school; we are not a school catering
to the wealthy or to the privileged; we are a Catholic school, trying
to share faith in Christ as the central value and goal for human
living.
Our basic expectations of every family are that you come to Mass
on every Sunday, that you try to instill a sense of the Catholic
faith in your children and that you inspire them in that Faith by
your own personal commitment to Christ Jesus and to the Church—this
is why we have a Catholic school in the Parish. We hope that this
is the basic reason that you are sending your children to St. Mary
School.
Our primary religious commitment also enhances the other goals of
the Parish school: moral awareness, academic excellence, a sense
of community with those who are less fortunate, and a well-integrated
and joyful personality on the part of the student. There is a great
quote from St. Ireneus that says: “The glory of God is a human
being fully alive.”
We understand, further, that you as parents are the “main
teachers of your children” in the ways of faith, justice,
and goodness. If you aren’t growing spiritually and personally
as your children are here at school, we will be able to accomplish
little through all our efforts. So we hope and pray that you vitally
become a part of the Parish and the school community.
We have many other ministries in the Parish, along with the Catholic
School. We have Religious Education programs for the public school
children; we have adult Catholic education and spiritual programs;
we have a strong commitment to serving the needy through St. Joseph
Family Center; we have liturgical ministries and we have financial
ministries in the Parish along with many social programs. Hopefully,
as parents of our Catholic School children, you will find a place
to use your gifts for building up the Body of Christ, the whole
Church, and in particular, our Parish.
I ask you to reflect on your own priorities, your own faith, and
your own religious practice and to determine whether you are holding
up this part of your calling for your children.
God bless,
Fr.
Dan Derry, Pastor
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