2007 State of the School Address

A Message from Principal Christa Hanson

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to the new school year of 2007-08. May this handbook/calendar be a building block and not a stumbling block. We hope that these guidelines will be a source of information and clarity, answering your questions and keeping you informed.

This school year's theme is “Building a Community of Faith.” As a Catholic school we are called to be people of faith, building up the community of God. St. Mary School is an excellent school for learning academics, values, and the faith. Let us build this school year on God.

God is love.

Love is giving.

Giving is holiness.

Holiness is kindness.

Kindness is gentleness.

Gentleness is strength.

Strength is faith.

Faith is assurance.

Assurance is hope.

Hope is Divine.

Divine is God.

I think the theme of “building” is so appropriate for a school. For indeed we are building a foundation in academics and in faith for our students. If they have a solid base on which to grow, they will become the best students and the best faith-filled persons they can be.

There is a story related to the Old Testament tradition concerning the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt . Picture the scene of the Israelite nation led by Moses, fleeing from slavery and bondage. Their Exodus is stopped on the shores of the Red Sea and the people are glancing back over their shoulders. God has promised them liberation and freedom. They know that and they believe it, but now they are standing on the shore of the sea and Pharaoh's army is in hot pursuit.

Moses raises his arms and voice in prayer for God to lead his people to safety. He gestures with his staff over the water, but nothing happens. Indeed, nothing happens until the first person actually steps into the water and shows, through that simple act, that he has faith in God's promise of salvation. When that first step of courage is taken, the sea parts, and the people cross over into freedom and liberation.

Will you make that courageous step to help build a strong community of faith here at St. Mary's? Will you show by example your faith and your commitment to the Catholic identity of the school? Will you share your faith with your family and your friends? Will you celebrate that faith in liturgy and prayer?

Together, let us move forward this year with a strong and active faith.

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK

Dear Parents,

Welcome back from vacation. 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