Principal's Message
We begin the 2011-2012 school year without Marcus Harvell who served Bishop Montgomery as security guard for 16 years. As you know, Marcus passed away on June 22nd of this year. We miss his bigger-than-life presence on campus every day and I know that our faculty, staff, and students will find his absence painful. He brought his care and concern for the members of our school community to work with him daily, and it is that which we will miss—along with his smile and his wave and his enthusiastic greeting. I am certain, though, that Marcus continues to watch over us—but from a better place. We will celebrate Marcus at our first school Mass, our yearbook will be dedicated to him, and the first issue of Veritas, our school magazine, will focus on him. We have also established a scholarship fund in Marcus’ name. He would be particularly proud of that. Marcus walked me to my car after school almost every day for fourteen years. I will miss him too.
Many people have worked this summer to prepare for the coming school year. Ms. Vigon-Morffi, our Vice-Principal, Mr. Steve Miller, our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Dunn, our Director of Curriculum and Admissions deserve particular thanks for completing the seemingly endless tasks that are necessary to prepare for the school year. We are blessed to have these talented administrators serving Bishop Montgomery.
The members of the Administrative Team for the 2011-2012 school year are:
- Mrs. Yvette Vigon-Morffi, Vice-Principal
- Mr. Steve Miller, Assistant Principal
- Ms. Casey Dunn, Director of Curriculum and Admissions
- Mr. Lee Flores, Dean of Men
- Ms. Alexa Dunn, Dean of Women
- Mrs. Dorothy Morski, Campus Minister
- Mrs. Milana McDermott, Dean of Student Life
- Mr. Kareem Mutrie and Mr. Ed Hodgkiss, Athletic Directors
- Mr. Doug Mitchell, Head Counselor
The amazing work that these individuals do during the school year will continue to create an educational environment in which student and teachers alike can do their best work.
There are a few calendar dates that I would ask you to note well:
- Labor Day Holiday
- September 6th, 7:45 a.m. Faculty Meeting, 8:45 a.m. start for Students
- September 16th, 7:00 p.m. Football Game in honor of Athletic Hall of Fame
- September 19th, 6:30 p.m. Back to School Night
- September 21st, 8:00 a.m. Welcome Mass
- September 30th, First Grading Period Ends
- October 3rd, Grades due
I encourage you to attend Back to School Night as it will give you an opportunity to meet your student's teachers as you follow his/her academic schedule. The teachers will share information with you regarding the content and requirements for their courses. Obviously, this is important as are all of the tools that we use for communication: The Parent-Student Handbook, the monthly Parent Newsletters which include updated monthly calendars, our school website where you can communicate with teachers via email as well as access student grades. We also communicate with global telephone calls when appropriate, information on our school marquee, and school mailings. We count on your attention to these messages which will help you stay current with the progress and activities of your student's high school life.
I hope that summer has afforded you time to spend with your family and that you have been able to rest before you are faced with the inevitable challenges of a new school year. I know that we will have many moments to rejoice in our students’ accomplishments!
I will close this first letter of the 2011-2012 with a meditation from the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. that I think is particularly fitting for all of us as we begin the year.
Patient Trust
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet, it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without due haste.
Don’t try to force them,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
And accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet, it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without due haste.
Don’t try to force them,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
And accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.
Know that, as always, you are in my prayers. I know the challenges of being a parent—and practicing patient trust. I know the challenge of that constant dance of holding on and letting go that can be such a source of anxiety but also a source of such great joy. Again, I pray for you daily. I ask that you pray for me.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Distaso-Libbon
Rosemary Distaso-Libbon
