Dear Parents and Teachers,
Tomorrow, we move into May, a month we devote to honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus. As we remember this woman of awesome strength, let’s ask her to intercede for all of us. We are also reminded of those wonderful May traditions, like preparing for the Rosary, preschoolers placing flowers on the statue of Mary, and the First Eucharist Celebration. We are all saddened by the inability to celebrate these traditions in person. I especially feel for our eighth graders, the Class of 2020, who are thinking about all the cherished events that lead up to their graduation. These are challenging times. In response, first, we give thanks for our health, we thank you for your support and patience, and then we put on our thinking caps and plan how we can honor some of our wonderful traditions in these COVID-19 conditions. On May 8, we will have a virtual Crowning of Mary celebration, we will have a virtual field day on National Field day during next week’s Spirit Week, and plans for new and creative ways to celebrate our graduates are in process and will be announced soon.
In the meantime, join us for Spirit Week, beginning May 4. Each day will have a different focus. On Thursday, May 7, we will celebrate all educators: the teachers and you, our extended faculty. That evening, at 7pm, the Parent Association will host a digital Town Hall, during which we will answer questions that you send us beforehand.
We here at school add a prayer of gratitude and acknowledgment to all of you who are also trying to balance your work from home and your children’s needs. I congratulate the faculty here at St. John and the faculty in your homes. I try to get into as many ‘meetings’ and lessons as I can during the week, and I see evidence of learning throughout our community. I hear about student presentations and book talks; I see students showing their math and phonics lessons; I see photos of their art and photos of them praying. Thank you, parents, for supporting the learners at home.
Thank you, too, for your commitment to our school mission of acting for the common good. Your outpouring of support – over $2200 donated – to Broadview-Thomson K-8 food program is astounding. These funds will assure that BTK-8 will be able to purchase food for students and families until the end of the school year.
We appreciated the pictures of your children at Mass last week. We delighted in knowing so many families joined us in prayer. Come back again tomorrow; Mass will be live-streamed at 3pm on the St. John Parish Facebook page. It will be a peaceful closure to the work week!
Stay safe,
Bernadette O’Leary
