Dear Families:
It was wonderful to see so many of you at our Back-to-School Night on Thursday evening. You have such busy lives just trying to keep up with your own schedules, let alone your children’s; it can all be so overwhelming. We appreciate your efforts to stay involved. The level of support is evident and it makes our job so much easier. Thank you for making it a priority to join us!
Last Thursday, Parish Administrator, Mr. Rich Santi and I attended an Archdiocesan Safety Training for Schools and Parishes. The nationally recognized speaker was excellent and shared safety ideas for school buildings and churches as well as best practices to help prevent unwanted intruders, bomb threats and active shooter incidences. Many resources were shared from the US Dept. of Homeland Security and the US Dept. of Education.
Every year we review our safety procedures and practice fire, earthquake and lockdown drills. The additional information and resources will be beneficial in improving what is already in place to assure we are doing as much as possible to keep our students safe.
Tomorrow afternoon I will be headed to Seabeck, WA to join all of the Archdiocesan Principals from grade schools to high schools for our annual “Christ in the Classroom” retreat. This year, Dr. Gwen Adams from the Augustine Institute in Colorado will be presenting “Liturgical Education” and how we help ourselves and our students to enter into full communion with Christ through participation in the sacraments.
As October quickly approaches, we start gearing up for a month full of fun activities. Save the date for our Feast of St. Francis celebration of the Blessing of the Animals on Friday, October 4th at 8:30am in Banchero Hall. Pets of all shapes and sizes are welcome to join in this special blessing from Fr. Colin. For those pets that find it difficult to handle the chaos, or coming to school is just too difficult, your child is welcome to bring a photo of the pet or a favorite stuffed animal, and rest assured, they will receive the same blessing. You are free to park on the lot that morning and bring your pet directly into the gym. Following the blessing, all pets need to return safely to the quiet of their home.
Have a great week!
