Many Hands, Lighter Load

Welcome back to all of the OLG teachers and staff. I am quite sure that most of them will be in for a bit of a shock, since classrooms that they left completely empty in June are now remodeled and clean — but their teaching materials are a bit of a mess. While we all knew to expect this, it is nonetheless unsettling.

Thank you, move-back-in crew

I would be remiss if I did not begin this week’s entry by shouting out a huge THANK YOU to School Board member Javier Alejos for efficiently organizing the “move back in day” last Saturday. It was wonderful to see such a wide assortment of “veteran dads” and “new dads,” along with some alums (thanks, grandnephews) and current students, all working hard to completely empty the container and return everything to the classrooms. It’s a HUGE first step.

However, it does not stop there. The teachers and staff now face the daunting task of putting their classrooms back together and getting materials ready to welcome YOUR children next Thursday, August 13. I am writing to ask that you reach out to your child’s teacher and ask if he or she needs some help. I am quite sure that they will answer in the affirmative.

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If I learned one thing this past weekend, it’s that many hands really do lighten the load.

I am confident that with YOUR help, our teachers will be ready to go by the time school begins. Having said that, please be patient with all of us while the construction dust settles 🙂

Getting to know St. Francis

Shifting now a bit, I want to remind us all that we are a school administered by a Franciscan pastor, and that means something quite specific. For the next few weeks, I intend to include a bit about Francis as well as Franciscan spirituality. Not only is it the charism that shapes our school, but it is also the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death — and as such, there are special graces available to those of us who ask for his intercession.

I would like to begin by inviting you to get to know St. Francis himself. There are many great biographies on the market. Our own Academic Decathlon students were tasked with reading St Francis of Assisi: Passion, Poverty, and the Man who Transformed the Church by Bret Thoman, OFS. It is a very thorough treatment of the subject, but it is also very accessible to the average reader (that would be me), so I strongly recommend it.

A couple of years back, the faculty took some time to learn about the “giants of the Church,” and of course St. Francis was one of the protagonists. I purchased Bishop Robert Barron’s series on the saints and I include the link here in case you want to watch and learn more about our patron.

Mark your calendars

It is going to be a GREAT year!