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On behalf of the school commission, we would like to publicly acknowledge and thank Sandi Patel for her 7 years of dedication and hard work as a spiritual and academic leader of our school at St. Pius X. We are also pleased to welcome Dr. Ted Caron as our new principal for the '06-'07 academic year. In the coming months, we will be working closely with Dr. Caron to help facilitate a smooth transition and plan ways in which he can get to know everyone in the community before the start of the next school year. I believe Dr. Caron's enthusiasm for Catholic education will be infectious to our entire parish, and I would like to quote the comments from one of my fellow selection committee members, who aptly stated: ". . . I feel he is a person his elders will admire, his peers will embrace, and those younger than him will seek to mentor." Several school commission representatives, both past and present, had extensive involvement in the selection process of our new principal. This is but one of the many roles the school commission fulfills for the parish community. As chair of the school commission, I serve as the representative to pastoral council, and participate in all business of the parish as a whole. The school commission is one of several commissions that are part of pastoral council. This "over-lapping" participation is important because the school is simply one ministry out of many important ministries that are deserving of our valuable resources of time, talent and treasure. Keeping the "big picture" in mind, of the importance of all of our parish needs and ministries, is important to the overall health and survival of our parish. The function of the school commission is to work in a consultative relationship with the pastor and principal concerning planning, monitoring, communicating and policy making at St. Pius X School. Parents of school children typically fill the at-large positions on the commission, by participating in a discernment process that is held at the end of May of each year. The commission also consists of a representative from the parish finance committee, the PTO (formerly HSO), our principal, chair of the school improvement team and our pastor. This past school year, we participated in a joint "goal setting" evening with the school improvement team, to establish short-term goals. We identified three particular goals to work on which included: 1) Evaluating the merits of achieving blue ribbon status, 2) Identifying and prioritizing specific needs of the school physical plant, and 3) Retaining and increasing enrollment. After research and discussion into blue ribbon status - which is a U.S. Department of Education recognition of excellence in schools - we have recommended that the school dedicate necessary resources to submit to the arduous application process. If awarded blue ribbon status, we believe this would be a celebration of our academic excellence and assist us in providing quality Catholic education for future generations. In support for the kick-off of the parish capital campaign, we identified areas of priority in the school that could use improvement, and have fully participated in the initial space planning phase of the campaign. Our vision is that the parish campus be improved through efficiency and design, to facilitate a better learning environment for our students, and serve as a shared resource for our entire parish community. With grateful input and volunteer work from many individuals, we have seen the creation of a brochure to assist in the marketing of our school. A marketing committee has been established and has provided an endless stream of creative ideas for retaining and increasing enrollment. We also enjoyed a very successful open house earlier this year, with the assistance of many generous volunteers. In short, things look promising for future generations at St. Pius X. If anyone is interested in joining the school commission, we will be conducting an evening of discernment on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room. Other important dates to remember include June 1, 2006, the last day of school, in which a reception will be held for the school children to express appreciation for Sandi Patel's efforts and continued years of service at St. Pius X. Further, on June 3, 2006, following the 5:00 p.m. mass, there will be a parish-wide reception for Sandi Patel. Look for further announcements concerning these two important dates. We sincerely encourage a strong showing of support for Sandi, from the entire parish, for her many years of sacrifice and commitment to our SPX community. Mike
Huntine
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