In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, Holy Cross Catholic School Principal Robin Jo Jensen addressed the parish family at all Masses. Below is the text of her presentation. Good Morning!
Thank you Father Tom, for allowing me the privilege of addressing our Parish Family, as we begin our celebration of Catholic Schools Week 2009. As you can probably notice, I am battling a case of laryngitis, so I apologize in advance for my dreadful voice!
For those of you that do not know me, I am Robin Jo Jensen, the Principal of our Parish School, Holy Cross Catholic School. I have truly been blessed to have been called by God to serve in my educational ministry here at Holy Cross for the past 13 years. My husband Jeff and I have been members of Holy Cross Parish for 18 years. Both of our children, Ashley and Marty, are graduates of Holy Cross Catholic School, so I know first hand the benefits of the Catholic education received at Holy Cross.
Our Parish school began “teaching as Jesus did” in 1868; this year we mark 141 years of Catholic education at Holy Cross! It is an awesome opportunity to reflect on the multitude of children that have received a Catholic education because of the love, support and generosity of Holy Cross Parish members, just like you. Our Parish family should take a great deal of pride in the longevity of our Parish school and the high quality Catholic education that these children have received, thanks to the generosity of our Parish families, for the past 141 years. The Parish support of our school continues to be vital, especially as we find our nation in the midst of economic difficulties. Your continued monetary support through sacrificial giving to Holy Cross Parish makes continuing Catholic education here at Holy Cross possible.
The primary goal of the Holy Cross Catholic School Community is to announce the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to educate the WHOLE child, Spiritually, Intellectually, Physically, Socially and Emotionally. The Spiritual education of our children is the focus of everything that we do. Simply stated, the CATHOLIC education of our students is the reason our school exists. Our faculty and staff continue to work tirelessly to instill the virtues and values of our Catholic faith into all disciplines of the curriculum. Our school has been a leader in the “Faith Integration Education” initiative within the Diocese. We continue our Catholic Virtue and Value Program, which focuses this year on “The Beatitudes”.
Holy Cross Catholic School continues to oppose the National trend of declining enrollment in Catholic schools, as we continue to thrive and grow! Last year, our enrollment was 165 students. This year we have 189 students. Our Early Childhood Four year old program and our Kindergarten class are both currently at capacity. We anticipate being at or near capacity in these two grades and in our sixth grade for next year, as well. We continue to see significant growth and retention in the middle school. This is due to the strides we have taken to strengthen that program with quality middle school teachers, improved curriculum, athletics, and extra-curricular activities. I am thrilled to share with you that we are projecting over 200 students at Holy Cross Catholic School for the 2009-2010 school year!
We are so thankful for the two new classrooms that were added to our school this past summer! There is no possible way that we could continue to grow our school without those new rooms! I cannot express in words the deep gratitude to all those who made the addition possible. So many of our Parish members, through their donations of time, talent and treasure, made these beautiful new rooms possible. What is most pleasing is that the success of the addition project wasn’t the work of a few, but the work of many; it wasn’t the work of the “school” but of the “Parish”. Keep in mind that the new rooms serve the needs of our Parish Faith Formation program, which also continues to thrive and grow, under the direction of our wonderful Religious Education Coordinator Marti Burkard and all of the great catechists who donate their time and talent to that program.
Embracing the mission of Holy Cross Parish, our school community teaches and models social justice by “serving the needs of those for whom the world makes no room”. The theme of Catholic School’s week this year is “Celebrate Service”. In today’s Gospel message, Jesus invites us all to repent and believe in the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that God loves and forgives us, no exceptions. It is often the personal experience of God’s mercy that makes a person into a truly great servant. Our Catholic school provides a daily experience of the Gospel message of love and forgiveness. It creates a learning community where each student is taught that he or she is created in God’s image and is a beloved child of God. We expect our students to put their faith into action by serving others, especially those who are in need. Our school really does “Celebrate Service” by reaching out to those in need with a different service project each month, which assists people and organizations locally, nationally and globally. Our beatitude study for the month of January focuses on the fifth Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain Mercy”. Service to others is one way to be merciful. Those who are merciful are indeed those people who love all others. Service to others demonstrates love and mercy. One of our 8th grade students, Mackenzie Hansen, recently reflected on one of our school service projects. She stated: “My class made and distributed blankets at St. John’s Homeless Shelter. This experience opened my eyes to what we talk about at school, modeling what Jesus taught us to do. Our project is one of the many miracles that can happen when we recognize the needs of others.”
Teaching our students to recognize the needs of others and to address those needs truly shows mercy. I am very proud and grateful for the efforts of so many, students, parents, faculty and staff, who work very hard to share their love and mercy with others, through the many acts of Service that our school does.
We have outstanding students at Holy Cross Catholic School and I am extremely proud of each and every one of them. Our students are CHALLENGED ACADEMICALLY and EXCELL ACADEMICALLY, at all grade levels. Our standardized test scores reflect this. Our school continues to score in the top 15% of schools, nationally. All grades that participated in the standardized assessments, scored at least one to two years ahead of their current grade level. Did you know that Catholic high schools graduate 99% of students; and that 97% of those students go on to college or technical school? Each year, Catholic schools save taxpayers $20 billion dollars; the amount it would cost to move the 2.3 million students from Catholic schools into the public school sector.
Our students’ academic success is the direct result of our outstanding Faculty and Staff. I am truly blessed to work with this outstanding TEAM of educators who have dedicated their lives to the mission of Catholic education. These people truly are ministers, teaching the Catholic faith. We are grateful to them as they continue to serve selflessly, making great personal and financial sacrifices to serve in the ministry of Catholic education. If there are any Faculty or Staff members here, would you please stand? NAME THEM! Thank you for your service and ministry to Holy Cross Catholic School!
As you know Holy Cross Catholic School is now a part of the Catholic Education Alliance of the Bay Area a/k/a “CSEABA”. This new Catholic Schools “System” is made of 23 parishes in the Green Bay area and 10 schools. We are asking for your help, as members of Holy Cross Parish, with the renaming and logo selection for the Catholic school system. As you leave mass today, you will see a display of the finalist entries provided by our parish and school members throughout the system. Four of the finalist logos were designed by students at HCCS and one of the finalist names was submitted by one of our Faculty members. Please find the ballots at the ends of each pew; please take a moment at the end of the mass to stop and look at the logos and names and place your vote! Complete ballots may be put in the basket under the display. Please vote for ONE logo and ONE name. Thank you for your vote!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fr. Tom, Deacon Dick, Deacon Jim, Lori, our Parish Trustees, and our Parish leadership committees, Pastoral Council, Finance Council, and the Board of Christian Education, for their ongoing support and commitment to the success of Holy Cross Catholic School. Although having a Parish school is a wonderful part of our Parish community, it also makes the job of these Parish leaders and committees more challenging. I thank Fr. Tom and our Parish leaders and committees for continuing to find ways to support and celebrate our wonderful school.
I would like to thank the families of the students of our school for the choice you have made to provide a Catholic Education for your children. This is not an easy choice, given the financial demands of society today. I know first hand that some families make significant sacrifices in order to pay the tuition necessary for their children to attend our school. The sacrifices that you parents are making today to provide for your child’s Catholic education will result not only in the successful future of your child, but the successful future of our Catholic faith, as well.
In addition, I could not speak about our school with out thanking the parents of our school children for the hours and hours and hours of volunteer work that they do, to help our school. From fundraisers, dances, field trips, school functions, athletics and activities to lunch duties, these parent and family member volunteers play a vital role in the day to day operation and success of our school. Our school simply would not, and could not, function, without all of the volunteer efforts of our parents and parish members. We do not have the luxury of a support staff and student services personnel. We rely solely on volunteers for the many aspects of the day to day operation of our school.
Finally, most importantly, and frankly the main reason that I asked Father Tom for the opportunity to address the members of our parish this weekend, is that I would like to thank YOU. YOU, each of our Faithful Parish Members, sitting in these pews, for your support of our school, through your annual Sacrificial Giving and your generous donations of time, talent and treasure. Thank you for your ongoing support of Catholic Education, and for your willingness to continue to support our Parish School for the last 141 years. With God’s generous blessing, may we continue to educate children at Holy Cross Catholic School for many, years to come.
I invite you all to come and see what is happening at your Parish School. Please join us for our Annual Open House (tomorrow morning/this morning) to kick off Catholic School’s Week, from 9AM-Noon. We will be accepting new student registrations and showcasing our beautiful school. If you haven’t seen the new classrooms, this is a great opportunity to do so! Come over and enjoy some coffee and cookies and gather with other members of our Parish community. I strongly encourage you to come over and meet the faculty and staff and to see what YOUR Catholic School is all about!
Also, our new Parish Pictorial Directories have arrived and they will be available for you to pick up in the Gym, during the Open House! Everyone is welcome and I would really love for you to visit!
Please know that the Holy Cross Catholic School Students, their families, and the Faculty and Staff will be praying for you and giving thanks for you, our wonderful Parish members, for your ongoing support of Catholic Education.
Thank you for listening to this terribly squeaky voice, and may God bless you!
About Holy Cross Catholic School
Located on the growing northeast side of Green Bay at the historic crossroads of Church and Bay Settlement Roads, Holy Cross Catholic School is the point at which faith, community and education converge. The school educates children within the Catholic faith and provides them with opportunities to develop the values, attitudes and skills that will enable them to become vital members of the community. Holy Cross Catholic School has been in existence for 141 years and has an enrollment of 189 students in grades EC3 to 8th grade. For more information, please visit the school's website: www.holycrossfamily.org/.
Monday, February 23
