Principal’s Message 10/27/19

This week’s Principal’s Message is a bit of a continuation of last week’s message.  I promise it will be the last about my trip to the University of Notre Dame.  I could write many more about this trip, but I have to move on eventually!  So, here goes another Fighting Irish tale and why I believe it to be relevant to Saint Mary School.

There once was a priest who served as the President of the University of Notre Dame from 1952-1987.  His name was Father Theodore Hesburgh and he oversaw the tremendous growth that Notre Dame saw during his tenure.  From the university becoming a first-rate research university, to the accepting of female students in 1972, “Father Ted” was a pioneer in terms of his vision of what a Catholic university should be.  His axiom was, “Mediocrity is not how we honor Our Lady”.  I would like that to be true of our school here at Saint Mary.  We do use the phrase “Passionately Catholic” when promoting our school! 

Father Hesburgh was considered a “Godfather of the Civil Rights Act”, working with national leaders such as President Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King to push through the final legislation that became a landmark step in the movement toward equality for all Americans.  Father Hesburgh’s vision included making Notre Dame a place where the students pursue global social justice, commit to human rights for all, and have opportunities to think/act globally through the Institute for International Peace Studies and the Center for Civil & Human Rights which he founded.  These are some of the objectives of all Catholic schools, from preschool to 12 ^th grade. 
I know these are attributes of Saint Mary School.  In fact, we are starting an Emerging Global Leaders Institute this fall here at SMS where 7 ^th and 8 ^th grade students will be able to connect with others around the world to discuss problems and work together to propose possible solutions.  It’s this empowering of our youth that will help develop effective leaders in the future.  And hopefully, as Father Hesburgh has written, our graduates will eventually realize, “what is so important about the impact of this place on your life.  You don’t see it until you leave.  If you’re here for a number of years, you will get it.  When you graduate, you become one of those people who make a difference in other people’s lives”.  After all, that is what we’re called to do in the Beatitudes!   
    
Please continue to pray for our school, its staff, students and families, and our clergy as we strive to provide an education that is unapologetically Catholic, family centered, caring to others and respectful to all. Please check our website, Facebook page and the Church bulletin for updates and upcoming events that you can enjoy with us.
 
God bless,
Craig Palmer