Principal’s Letter

We certainly lived out our theme last Friday night when over 1,000 of us gathered for the Back-to-School BBQ, sending ripples of joy, laughter, and excitement throughout the neighborhood. Hosting a party of this size, the first week of school, is no small feat – thank you to Chef Stephanie and our Crispin’s Kitchen team for making all of that amazing food; we are so blessed to have been able to sample a bit of the incredible meals you are preparing for our students every day; thank you to our maintenance team for the extra hours you put in helping with set-up and tear-down on Friday, and thank you to the Parent Association and all of our volunteers for helping to make this event such a success.

Tomorrow we are hosting our annual Blessing of the Backpacks food drive, benefiting Broadview Thompson K-8 School and St. Vincent de Paul. Our 6th-grade students will be on hand at morning drop-off, collecting donations along 79^th and on the blacktop as students enter the building. Following drop-off, we invite you to join us at 9am for our first all-school community mass. A reminder: this is a Dress Uniform day for all students (refer to our uniform policy page for any questions).

This year we are implementing a School Families Program: a Family is a group of Preschool through 8th-grade students, led by two to three 8th-graders, and overseen by one faculty member. These Families will meet once a month to complete activities centered around a monthly theme, with the purpose of fostering community across grades, building faith formation, supporting social-emotional learning, providing leadership opportunities for our middle school students and promoting over-all school spirit. Families kick-off tomorrow afternoon, and we are excited to watch the ripples that form from this wonderful, community-building program.

Jog-a-thon is just a week away – keep those donations coming; we have raised over $33,000 and are well on our way to hitting our $100,000 fundraising goal. Remember, the class with the most donations by noon on Wednesday, September 17, gets to choose the coveted Jog-a-thon Theme Song! Thank you for supporting this vital school fundraiser.

Next Wednesday, September 17, is our first official 25-26 School Commission meeting. This year, we welcome two new commission members, Christine Yokel and Ericka Cantave. This advisory board is an essential part of our St. John leadership team.

We all have something the world needs; thank you for the many ways, big and small, you contribute to spreading waves of peace, love and kindness throughout our community.

Principal Mansfield