BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M., SHARES HIS BACK-TO-SCHOOL MESSAGE for the 2022-2023 school year.
Home is the first and primary school. Parents are the first and primary teachers. By the time children enter the doors of a school, substantial education and formation has already taken place. Children bring with them to school all that they have learned in the family home: language and basic vocabulary, behaviors and social skills, attitudes and values.
The role of the school is to build upon, complement and enhance, develop and nurture what has already been learned at home, especially from parents, in a child’s first few years of life. Parents trust schools to continue the process of educating their children, teaching about and introducing them to the wider world. “Trust” is the word that describes the relationship between parents and the schools they choose for their children.
In those homes and families where the Catholic faith is present and active, trusting children to a Catholic school education and environment not only seems reasonable but preferable for them. While public schools are readily available everywhere and generally do a good job, the opportunity for children to attend a Catholic school requires parents to trust and choose a “different” educational experience for them – one that includes and fosters their growth in the Catholic faith of their Baptism; one that helps form and shape their developing world view, through a curriculum appropriate to their age and consistent with their Catholic faith; one that that teaches the difference between right and wrong and supports healthy interactions with peers; one that provides opportunities for prayer and the Sacraments and nurtures their relationship with God. Read the full message HERE.DR. VINCENT DE PAUL SCHMIDT, SUPERINTENDENT, SHARES HIS BACK-TO-SCHOOL MESSAGE for the 2022-2023 school year
At long last, we are poised to start a normal Catholic school year after two full years of unprecedented upheaval. But we have made good use of that time, and I am happy to say that our “new normal” finds us on an even stronger footing than what was seen prior to 2020.
Our schools have grown more in the last two years than perhaps in any recorded period in our 140 years of service to the children of the Diocese of Trenton. Pre-pandemic, of course, our schools didn’t look like our schools circa 1881, but in 2022 they have grown substantially compared to just a few years before.
As an example, school safety, in all its forms, continues to be a top priority. Our Catholic school environments are now even more secure, more conscious of threats to student health, and concerns can be communicated quickly and concisely. Continue reading HERE.THROUGHOUT HER TWO DECADE-LONG CAREER IN EDUCATION, Bonnie Milecki has gained wide recognition as a visionary leader for her innovative and effective leadership work with students, faculty and administration.
Her career has run the gamut of Catholic, public and independent schools in elementary, middle, high school and college classrooms as both a teacher and administrator. Through it, she’s developed a track record for creating programs and successful initiatives that focus on building a strong sense of community. Read more HERE.