January 4, 2010

Dear Parents and Guardians,

            Let us build a world of peace!  Those were the words chosen to guide us throughout this school year. What a wonderful challenge for us as we begin this new calendar year!

            I am proud to announce to you that our school has been awarded a $25,000 grant through the Gulf Coast Community Foundation/Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund. The grant money will be used to “provide an adequate, safe and handicap accessible play area primarily for the preschool and kindergarten students of Nativity BVM School.” We are so grateful to the grant committee for this award and appreciate their recognition of the worthiness of this proposal. I would also like you to know that the “push” behind this grant came from Mrs. Emily Cloud, a former student of Nativity School and a parent of a preschooler and Mr. Sam Burke, also a former student in our school. Emily worked tirelessly to develop a plan and then to network with Sam to find funding for the proposal. The grant period begins now in January and we will be looking for input from the teachers/staff, students and families as we develop this new play area.
           
            As many of you have heard, Father Tony Arguelles, Rector of the Cathedral, will be leaving us for a new assignment in Pascagoula. (In the Catholic tradition, the Bishop of the Diocese is the pastor of the cathedral and a rector is named as administrative leader of the parish.) Father Tony has been an outstanding spiritual leader of our parish and of our school and has been there for us through times of celebration and times of great challenge. We will miss him and wish him well as he moves east! You are all invited to a special prayer service of thanksgiving on Friday, January 8th at 11:00 a.m.  You are also invited to attend the 11:00 Mass on Sunday, January 10th at the Cathedral. This will be followed by a parish potluck and farewell. Fr. John McGrath has been named as the new rector of Nativity Cathedral and will assume that role the weekend of January 16/17th.

            In late January (January 26th) we will have the opportunity to host an onsite visit of the Department of Education of the State of Mississippi.  This onsite visit serves as the accrediting vehicle for the nonpublic schools in our state. The evaluators will spend one day (or more) in our school touring the school facilities, reviewing school records, visiting classrooms and examining documents. Their role is to determine whether or not our school and its programs are in line with the requirements of the State Department of Education’s guidelines and policies. We appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this visit.

It is with sadness that I announce to you that Mrs. Loretta Bond (Coach) has resigned, for personal reasons, from her position as Physical Education teacher here at Nativity BVM School.  For twenty eight years, Coach has been the architect and driving force of our PE program. Our program (and our school) has received recognition repeatedly through the Presidential Physical Fitness program; the Diocesan Track Meet; Jump Rope for Heart; Punt, Pass and Kick program; Project Fit Program and other programs. Students under her guidance have developed skills and talents and have also formed good, healthy habits for a lifetime. She and her family members have been a vital part of school activities and events over these years. To say that she will be greatly missed is truly an understatement. We pray that she will be blessed in the days and months ahead.

In looking at the weather forecast for this week, it seems as if we are in for some very cold morning temperatures and daytime temperatures that are not much higher. We will adjust our dress code to allow children to wear jeans or sweatpants on these very cold days. Uniform shirts/sweatshirts  should be worn as usual.

As we complete this first half of the school year, we are reminded of the many blessings and challenges that we have experienced since the first day of school. May we continue to hold one another in prayer and may we continue to work together for the good of the children.  May God be with you and bless you throughout this new year.

/s Sister Mary Jo