From a Terrific Start to a Great Year

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                 It is a delight to be the new middle school principal at St. Mary’s International School.  It has been a terrific beginning of the school year but it is my hope and my intent to make sure that this will be a great year where your son will flourish in the classroom and with the many extracurricular programs offered at the school.  As a teacher, counselor, administrator and college professor for the past 35 years, it is my intent to make this year the best one of all for me and also to make it a great, not just good, year for your son.

                  So how do I intend to help make it a great year for all of us but especially for our students?  First, it’s the people and not the programs that are most important for moving from a “terrific start” to a “great year.”  St. Mary’s Middle School is fortunate to have many excellent teachers who are also willing to work together to get better and to work toward understanding and embracing the many challenges of a rapidly changing world.  Any program is only as good as the teacher in front of the classroom and that teacher’s desire to meet the needs of each individual student.  I am committed to supporting and challenging all of our teachers so that we all move together toward a great year.

                  Secondly, parental support and involvement with their son’s lives and interest in the learning that is going on at school is incredibly important as we move together toward a great year.  Focusing on the learning that is going on, not necessarily on their grades, is incredibly important for helping your son have a great year.  Good parent support is about listening carefully to your son, about asking good questions regarding life and learning at school, about getting to know their friends and their families, and about developing a passion for learning in your own lives.  Developing a habit of talking with and listening to your son on a daily basis, ideally at the dinner table each evening, will help all of us move together toward a great year.

                  Finally, moving from a “terrific start” to a “great year” is about developing a culture and community based on respect, on responsibility, on healthy relationships, and on developing an attitude of responsiveness to specific needs of individuals.   St. Mary’s International School has developed a core set of values (compassion, honesty, respect, fairness, responsibility) that will guide the work we do as a school community this year.  It is my hope that you will embrace these values within your families, too, as we move together toward a great year.

                  “Together Along the Way”, the overall theme at St. Mary’s for the year, suggests that we need to work together as we move toward a great year for all of us.  This will require frequent and open communication based on a shared sense of values.  Thank-you for your warm welcome to the St. Mary’s International School Community and you can be sure that I am committed to serving you and your sons to the best of my abilities.  Please be in touch as the need arises or as you find evidence that you would like to share that we are all on target for a great year.