During Holy Week, we commemorate Christ’s Passion, beginning with His entrance to Jerusalem, which we now call Palm Sunday. We recall the betrayal of Jesus, the Last Supper and His death. On Good Friday, April 7, we will pray the Stations of the Cross at 11am. Dismissal is at noon, and in accordance with the solemnity of this week, we will continue the tradition of leaving the school in silence.
Thank you for praying, fasting from bad habits and supporting CRS Rice Bowl and neighbors in need during Lent. We have another opportunity to reach out to those on the margins. The Missionary Discipleship elective students are gathering individually wrapped/non-perishable snacks (such as granola bars, juice boxes, crackers, fruit rolls etc.) and will create snack bags for teenagers who face food and housing insecurity. Students will be collecting these items tomorrow, Friday morning at the flag pole. Thank you for supporting our students’ efforts to serve our community!
School safety, again, is on everyone’s mind following the tragic events in Nashville earlier this week. If you find yourself in need of materials to help your child process scary events, I would direct you to resources found on the Common Sense Media and Child Mind Institute websites. I want to reassure you we have active threat protocols in our school safety manual, and these are frequently reviewed with staff. Faculty, staff and students practice disaster, fire and secure perimeter drills with regularity. The school has grown our video and security monitoring around campus. All entry doors are kept locked. Perimeter checks by staff are frequently performed before, during and after the conclusion of the school/XDC day. A final round of observation is completed late each evening.
I must also take this opportunity to share with you a security breach that occurred over the weekend. Saturday, early evening, a maintenance employee encountered an individual in the second-floor hallway of the school. When confronted, the woman identified herself as a school parent and exited the premises. It was later learned this individual removed school items, including Rice Bowl money, from a classroom. Further investigation and review of video footage determined this individual entered the building through a door that had been propped open Saturday evening during routine classroom cleaning. A police report was filed and staff are reviewing the incident. I remind all volunteers to please check in at the main office with Mrs. Q. and get a Visitor badge before entering any of our campus buildings. And if you see a door propped open on campus, please kindly close the door.
Yours in Christ,
Bernadette O’Leary
