The 2018-2019 school year is now 2/3 complete. I think I say this in every letter, but every time I look at the calendar I am amazed at how fast the year goes. I know I haven’t written to you since before Christmas, but so much has been happening that I’ve been trying to keep it straight. I finally have had a little bit of time to sit and process where we are at in the school year.

When we returned from Christmas break, everything seemed to happen fast. Our girls’ basketball season started off well. Both teams put in great effort and I am very proud at how they represented our school. While we did not win a trophy this year, there was a great deal of growth and I am very excited for their future.

Basketball was not the only exciting thing that happened on our campus during January. Our faculty and staff completed the writing of our self-study in preparation for our accreditation visit. The self-study was sent to the chair of the team who will visit our school. This was a giant task and I would like to thank everyone involved in writing this. Our faculty put in so much work in preparing this document that I truly believe reflects who we are at St. Christopher Catholic School. Thank you to you, our parents, as well, for your work on the surveys, the time you spend volunteering, and especially for your support while we worked, and still continue to work, together for the growth of our school. I also want to make sure that I thank Cathy Thompson, our Superintendent, for her guidance and support through this process.

December and 2018 now comes to a close. As we prepare to depart for Christmas break so we can welcome the birth of Jesus and the New Year, I have begun to reflect on my time here as principal at St. Christopher Catholic School. The truth is, I think when a calendar year is coming to an end we all have a tendency to reflect on our past experiences so we know what the next step is for our future. I find myself reflecting a great deal lately with our impending accreditation visit. The thing I keep realizing is everything we have accomplished over the past two and half years, we have done together, and I thank you for desire to see improvements at St. Chris and for your willingness to take an active part in making those improvements happen.

Gobble! Gobble! It is that Thanksgiving season when we take time to reflect on the blessings that we have in our lives. Our family, friends, and those we encounter on a daily basis and give us an opportunity to show kindness and have that goodness in our lives. For me, I am thankful for my wife and daughter, my family in New York, my home, my friends, and, without question, my St. Christopher Family!

The first trimester has been a bit of a whirl wind. First, I would like to congratulate our Varsity soccer team for their Championship! A great job by Coach Villegas and Coach Barnaby for working with this team over the past three years and building such an amazing program. Our Superintendent, Mrs. Thompson, attended the game and was just so happy for our team and coaches. I am so proud to have our school represented so well.

I would also like to announce a change in our counseling program. In September, I applied to Title I for extra counseling days. In October, the state allowed us to increase our counseling days from one to three with the two extra days to be paid for by Title I funds! What a great blessing for our kids! However, with the increase in days, we also had to have a change in our counselor. I am happy to introduce Mrs. Sarah Pecoraro to our St. Christopher family. Sarah is an alumnus of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop Gorman and UNLV. Welcome Mrs. Pecoraro!

As I mentioned in my last letter, this is a very big year for St. Christopher Catholic School. Our accreditation visit is only four months away at this point, so time is moving quickly. We have been hard at work completing our Self-Study so it can be turned in to the chairperson of our visiting team before we leave for Christmas break. At this time, we are working on the timeline for the completion of our goals and our long range plan. What we have completed at this point has been presented to Mrs. Thompson and the School Advisory Board. I will continue to keep you informed monthly.

Welcome Back! I long to say those words to all of our St. Christopher students and families as soon as the previous school year ends. Every time we say good-bye for the summer, I am ready for the new year to start so we can continue on the road to success. This is going be such an exciting year for us and for our faith community.

Things started off a little rough this year with some last minute resignations, but I am excited because I believe we have a strong staff and I am truly enjoying what I have seen in the classrooms so far. Please join me in welcoming our new teachers for this school year – Ms. Athena Figueroa in third grade, Mr. William McLain in 4th and 5th grade English, Reading and Religion, Mrs. Ana Saenz our aide in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades, and welcome back to Mrs. Mary Gorts, who is teaching Middle School Math and Science and Mr. Jason Casper who is teaching 4th and 5th grade Math, Science, and Social Studies. I would also like to welcome our twenty-two new families to St. Chris. I invite all of you to introduce yourselves, even if they are not a part of your child’s class, and welcome them to our St. Christopher Catholic School family.

Every year the season of fall events throw upon us a curve ball for which we must adjust. It doesn’t just happen, but how we react can change our individual lives.

For many families it means the return to nightly homework, extra school activities, and church function responsibility, job changes and holiday happenings. Even in the best of circumstances, change can be stressful and it often can be scary.

Our mindset is often challenged so by learning to manage the mindset we often make the most of our circumstances, by focusing on a positive outcome.

Fall season includes the October 1st Anniversary of last year’s mass shooting here in Las Vegas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and more.

How we communicate with our kids simply dictates our relationships at home, school, and church and in the community. Whether it is verbally or non-verbally we signal our love, hate, approval, disapproval agreement or disagreement through communication. Most adults don’t realize our body language, eyes, voice and smile or frown clearly communicates just as easily as verbally saying something to someone.

As the school year continues, we are again arriving into the spring season. This is special because every year this is when planting is done, and trees wake up and put out new green growth. This can also be a time for us as a family to become alert to new growth opportunities in our school, community and church.

As we celebrate beginnings and new life in this spring. This is celebrated by the joy of Jesus’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. We know each season is important with different and wonderful things because each is unique to us and displays how God works in our lives all throughout the year.

In February of each year, we engage in the discussion of Love. It’s Spring and St. Valentine’s Day too.

Love is a difficult emotion to describe for some, while others can explain in detail and what it really means and feels like. Love can be magical, in the air, felt in families, between couples and parents who love their children. It’s important to remember every person can show love in a different way. Cultures also see love differently and each has a unique way of displaying it.

As 2017 comes to a close, there are many new doors, opportunities and challenges ahead in the New Year, 2018. Many of us will be renewing our commitments to forge ahead with our daily life as usual, but still others will be shedding unneeded baggage in the form of memories or events and grudges, by beginning a fresh, new, more positive outlook filled with goals and challenges.

Some suggestions from professional experts to assist you along your new beginning toward a goal is to be open to different ideas, accept challenges with the idea of learning something new, and always surround yourself with supporters. Faith, Prayer and meditation prove helpful for some, while others enjoy hobbies, music or exercise.

The wonderful world that God created for us to live in may not seem so wonderful at stressful times in our lives.  Holiday times like Thanksgiving and Christmas quite often involve extra activities at school, parties at home and more family gatherings than normal. This can result in additional stress for families, staff and kids alike.