Holy Family School Weekly Letter April 24th, 2009

April 24, 2009
Dear Parents,

For the past 14 years, Father Cunningham has not only been the spiritual leader at Holy Family School, but he has been the driving force behind keeping our doors open and providing many parents with the opportunity of sending their children to a Catholic school in Chenango County. Although I was only able to work ten months with Father, he taught me an important lesson that I will never forget; to always look at the positive in everything. So, in following his advice, I can gladly state that I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Father for the past 10 months.

I don’t need to restate the many issues that were present back on July 1st. Through all of the issues, Father Cunningham was always positive about everything. Over the summer enrollment dropped drastically, parental confidence in our academic program plummeted, and financial issues were ever-present. It was at this point Father Cunningham became my mentor and confidant. He always supported my decisions and always said that God would provide me with the answers. When my mother passed away, it was Father who consoled me with tears in my eyes.

Now life presents us with what appears to be another obstacle or setback. But that’s not how Father would view this. He would smile and say that God will provide us with the answers. If we have learned anything from Father, it is we need to view it in this vein. Perhaps Father’s work at Holy Family is complete and it’s time for him to help another community. Now it’s time to turn to prayer for Father’s health and his successful transition to another community with his boys. God will provide him with the answers.

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· Box Tops: We just received another check in the amount of $290.55 for our Box Tops. The final competition ends on May 1st. The staff is still in the lead, but I have a feeling that several classes are “holding back” until the last day. Time will tell!
· Open House: Thanks to Mrs. Law and her kindergarteners for the lovely opening prayer and song and the PTO for the refreshments. It was a great evening, providing parents with an opportunity to meet their child’s teacher for next year, as well as view samples of their child’s work from this spring.
· New Staff: The following teachers have been hired for the 2009/10 school year:
Sarah Mahan Art
Suzanne Scafidi Early Childhood
Lisa Halsteter 1st Grade
· Playground: We’re almost ready to begin the ground-breaking for the new playground/picnic area for our 3-6 year old students.
· Smartboards: Within the next few weeks, we will be installing new Smartboards in our kindergarten and 2nd grade rooms. A Smartboard in the 1st grade classroom will be installed at the end of the school year. All staff will begin receiving training in the use of Smartboards at the end of June. We will finish this training the first week of September.
· Gym Painting: Thanks to the Camp Pharsalia work crew, our gym and stage have now received a fresh coat of paint. None of this would have been possible without all the planning, time, and organization that Pete Asma put into this project.
· Early Childhood Program: Word of mouth is usually the best type of advertisement. Beginning in September, we will have a year round Early Childhood Program for 3 year old children who are potty trained. Our certified teacher, Suzanne Scafidi, is a graduate of Holy Family School. There will be a Sunrise and Sunset component to this program, staffed by Suzanne and Cassie Buckley. If you or any of your friends are looking for a safe, affordable, educational program for 3 year olds, please stop by and get the information.
· Vocations: Father Joe O’Connor will be speaking to all our students on religious vocations on Monday, May 4th beginning at 8:30 and ending shortly after 11:00am.