Principal’s Letter

Wow! I can hardly believe I am writing my final NewsViews for the year. Though this is the last NewsViews for 24-25, we will be sending out important communications during the summer, so be sure to read them when they arrive in your inbox. The Back to School page will be updated throughout the summer, so check it periodically.

As I reflect back on this year, my inaugural year as principal, I am humbled by all of the support, kindness, and grace I received from my team and this community. It is an honor and a privilege to get to lead this school, and I look forward to where our community is headed in the coming years together.

This week, we sent a group of three 8th-grade students, along with their teacher Mr. Bretz, to Maryland to compete in Nationals for the National History Day competition. I watched as these students met day after day, putting hours into writing, re-writing, and perfecting their script and their performance. This hard work paid off, and we couldn’t be more proud: Lizah M., Mila W. and Noelle K. placed in the top 10, competing against 96 other groups in their category. Way to go!

Congratulations are also in order for our track team! Our 4th-8th grade athletes brought home the CYO AAA Championship with a sweep, winning the overall title and the overall girls and overall boys championships! A huge thank you to our dedicated coaches and incredible parent volunteers who made this season such a success. We are so proud of our student-athletes!

Today’s kindergarten graduation was a joyful moment for our rising students. Thank you teachers and parents. I also had the pleasure of attending the PreSchool Portfolio Share and end of year celebration at Greenwood Park today. What a party! It made me even more excited for the roll-out of our expanded, full-day, preschool program starting this fall. We have completed the hiring of our core teachers and assistants. Ms. Monica has been hired as our Director of Preschool. She will guide all operations and lead current teachers, Ali Baber, Vanessa Castillo, and new hires, Kari Larson, and our own Kathryn Chandler. The 4 lead teachers will be joined by a qualified support staff, including some names you might recognize from our community. Teacher assistants in the Preschool will include Seyeon Lee, Emily Wiederspan, Christina Ellis, and Alicia Kimsey, who previously was employed in XDC.

We invite you to join us tomorrow as we end our year with an all-school Mass beginning at 9am, followed by a 10:30am dismissal. This is a Dress Uniform day for students, and XDC is not in session.

The school office will be open next week from 9-1pm next minus Thursday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth. The office will officially be closed June 23-August 15 for the summer. If you need assistance during this time, email Jonna Skokan, Director of Admissions & Development, jskokan@st-johnschool.org, Andrea Marquez, Business Manager, amarquez@st-johnschool.org or Di Tran, Administrative Assistant, dtran@st-johnschool.org. 

I end this year with such a sense of pride: pride in our teachers, staff, students and our community. Time and time again, we have embodied what it means to be a faith-filled, academic, welcoming community that is committed to caring for others and working towards the common good. Have a wonderful summer, and remember, you are ALL God’s masterpiece; go and do the good works God has called you to do.

Principal Mansfield