Dear St. Mary Families,
One of the most important convictions at the heart of Catholic education is simple: your child is more than a student.
Each child entrusted to us is made in the image and likeness of God, possessing a dignity that can never be reduced to grades, scores, talents, or accomplishments. The Bishop’s recent statement reminds us that authentic education must attend to the whole person—body, mind, heart, will, and soul—and ultimately help young people grow in wisdom, virtue, and communion with God and others.
At St. Mary, we certainly want our students to grow academically. But we also want them to learn to think clearly, love what is good, recognize beauty, persevere through difficulty, live generously with others, and understand that their lives have meaning and purpose.
So as we begin this year together, we are asking more than, “What will our children learn?”
We are asking, “Who are they becoming?”
That question lies at the heart of our work together.
This Friday, as we welcome grandparents to St. Mary for Mass and our Grandparents Luncheon, we are reminded that this formation never happens in isolation. Parents, grandparents, teachers, clergy, and the wider Catholic community each help children receive something they did not create for themselves—a faith, a story, a family, and a way of seeing the world.
We are grateful for the grandparents who help our students know where they come from and, through their love and witness, help point them toward who God is calling them to become.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE JOURNEY — SEEK TRUTH:
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Jesus reminds us that truth and freedom belong together. Our children live in a world that often presents freedom as simply being able to choose whatever we want. Christ offers something deeper: we become truly free when we learn to recognize what is true and choose what is good.
This is why we invite our students to wonder, ask questions, read carefully, discuss great ideas, and seek understanding. We are not simply giving them information. We are forming them to recognize truth and ultimately to encounter Christ, who is Truth Himself.
Seek Truth. Choose Goodness. Reflect Beauty.
In Christ,
Eric Pfeifer
Principal