It was wonderful to meet so many SMSA parents at Back to School Night (BTSN) last week! Thanks for your positive engagement and support of our faculty and your children. Education embraces feedback as a critical element of growth. As such, parent feedback about your experience with BTSN, or your ideas for how to improve the evening, is most valued.
As I shared during BTSN, we are consciously focused on living-out the “ABC’s” of Catholic education at SMSA. It is a message and expectation that all key stakeholders – parents, students and faculty – have heard this fall, and continues to be reinforced each day. In Catholic schools, we must strive to build a “shining city on a hill” – the City of God as described in the New Testament. In our case at SMSA, we aim to be “a shining school on the ledge” – a learning community that is faithful to the Gospel and whose daily culture gives light to the community we serve. The SMSA experience must be one that fosters meaningful, life-giving relationships and inspires gratitude, reflection and acts of kindness. Affirming one another, Believing in one another and Caring for one another – living our ABC’s – will help us achieve our goal!
I have the good fortune to observe the ABC’s each day at SMSA. Most recently, these principles were evidenced at the Freshman Retreat Day. Faculty and senior student leaders ministered to all of our freshman at Camp Vista in Campbellsport. Freshman were given excellent examples of how Ledgers affirm, believe in one another, and care for people. Our teachers and seniors provided role modeling, and then gave freshman the chance to show how they could also affirm one another and build positive relationships. It was beautiful to be a part of it. Parents, you should be so proud!