Back to School Letter - August 2017

Dear Parents of Our Lady of Lourdes,

     I always loved the first days of school.  The possibilities seemed endless - for new friends, new teachers, new ideas.  My pencils were sharpened, and tucked neatly into my new pencil case, and packets of crisp clean loose leaf paper filled my binder.  I, like most children, entered the school year wondering. I wondered what might happen that first day.  I wondered who would sit next to me, and I wondered if my teacher would notice that I was there.  I wondered if I would be the teacher’s pet (Although that was a virtual impossibility with my penchant for talking about anything but the lessons being taught.)  That optimism is a quality we see in your children every day.  They wonder.  They are curious.  They have questions, one after another after another.  They realize that the world is packed full of mysteries to be solved, discoveries to be made.  Space Stations float in space, caterpillars turn into butterflies, and new friends love just the same things they do.  The world is full of possibilities! There are so many stories to hear, so many lessons to learn, so many friends to have fun with.  Who could not be excited about the new school year?
      Our middle school students work hard to pretend it’s all such a struggle, but they love the new responsibilities and opportunities they have to lead and to learn.  Our preschoolers may not be sure they want to leave their moms in the mornings, but once they settle in, they don’t want to be anywhere else.  The teachers recognize the challenges they face and the gifts that await them.  There is nothing like being right there when a child reads her first book, or writes his name for the first time.  When we read a well-constructed paragraph or work alongside a child who solves a seemingly impossible math problem, we realize how lucky we are to be doing what we do.  Your children make what we do matter.  We get to be a part of the process of guiding them to be the young people that God intended them to be - each one unique and special - each one God’s favorite child.
     Preparations for the new school year are well underway here in the building, among the teachers and within our Home and School Board, the CYO and our School Advisory Board.  Construction on our new classroom and meeting room behind the gym is progressing well.  Two more bathrooms are being updated, the middle school science lab has new built-in storage, and we have a whole new batch of Chromebooks on hand.  We have reinstated our School Advisory Board.  The Board will advise us in the areas of marketing, finances, facilities and Catholic identity, and will meet every six to eight weeks during the school year.  If you are interested in serving on this Board, please contact me.  The Home and School Board, and our new Fundraising Committee have already begun to plan activities and family events for the year and CYO sign-ups for Fall sports are open.

This year we welcome the new teachers and staff that God has sent our way, and I know you will make them feel welcome.

• Mr. Matthew Forbes will teach grade level middle school math.
  
• Ms. Shannon Mester will teach art.
  
• Mother Therese McNamara will teach music.
  
• Ms. Meghan Uebel will teach middle school religion and enrichment.
  
• Mrs. Deirdre Walsh will teach PreK.
  
• Ms. Cindy Turcios will teach Little Group.
  
• Madeleine Walter will be a PreK teaching assistant.
  

Some staff and faculty members are accepting new assignments this year.

• Mrs. Stallsmith and Mrs. Crane will now split the middle school literature classes.
  
• Mr. Long will teach middle school social studies.
  
• Mrs. Cooley will teach fifth grade.
  
• Mrs. Imwalle will be a teaching assistant.
  
• Mrs. Launi will be working in the library with Ms. Moore in addition to her work with some of our primary grade classrooms.
  
• Ms. Palacios will co-teach first grade with Ms. Norton.
  
• Mrs. Wasp and Mrs. Richardson will be returning from maternity leave.
  
• Ms. Brighid McGann will continue as a Resource Consultant with the Catholic Schools Office, and will be with us three days a week.
  
• Ms. Winters and Mr. Long are trading offices.
  
• Ms. Winters and Ms. Moore will be managing our data, enrollment, and admissions, and Mrs. Kiyonaga will be with us full-time.
  

      We have the right people in the right positions to create a wonderful school, and we will be ready to go on September 5th.  I encourage you to come into the gym in the mornings if you can - there is no better way to start your day than our morning assembly.  I also urge you to get involved in the Lourdes community by volunteering, and attending events.  This is a very special group of people we have here at Lourdes, and your life will be enriched as you come to know more of them.

     I hope you enjoy the waning days of summer, and that you make some time to wonder with your children.

God bless.
Patricia McGann
Principal

“...Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?”  Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery