Star of the Sea School

September 19, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

At Back To School Night I mentioned that one of our goals for this year is to increase the size of our donation to the San Francisco Food Bank. I hope the following story helps you to share my feelings about the need for that project.

Thanks,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

Four-Foot Forks

One night a man had a dream that he had died and gone to heaven. Or at least he thought so. After all, there he was standing with Saint Peter who was leading him down a long hallway. Peter opened the large doors into an elegant dining hall. The man couldn’t believe his eyes! He stood just inside a beautiful room that was ornately decorated and the table itself resembled nothing he had ever seen in his life. There were delicious hors d’ oeuvres, platters full of luscious vegetables, a wide variety of meats cooked to perfection, and desserts to die for! The man knew he must be in heaven, for only God could create such a banquet!

Peter gently pulled the man aside and said, “You need to see this.” The man watched as the large doors opened again and this time a crowd of people headed for the dining hall. But something was wrong! They walked in silence, with their heads down. The man couldn’t comprehend this. How could anyone approach such a delicious meal so somberly?

Again, Peter gently told him, “Watch this.” The crowd took their seats, the maitre de rang the dinner bell and each person seated at the table picked up a fork. That was the problem! Each fork was four feet long. Try as they might, not one person could manipulate the fork to pick up even a single delicious morsel and guide it to his own mouth!

The man realized he was not in heaven at all. Indeed, he was a dinner guest in hell!

Peter gently took the man by his elbow and guided him out of the dining room, across the hall, and into another dining room equally as beautiful as the first, with a meal just as delicious waiting to be devoured. Again, Peter whispered, “Watch.”

The man’s eyes immediately went to the table where he saw that these forks were also four feet long. His heart sank as he heard another crowd of people heading toward the door. But something was different. He heard conversation and laughter coming from the people. They walked briskly into the dining hall and took their seats. The man realized that they did not know that their banquet would be ruined by the unmanageable four foot forks. This seemed too cruel and the man turned his head away to avoid seeing their hopes dashed.

Once again, Peter whispered, “Watch.” The maitre de rang the dinner bell and each one picked up a four foot fork and ……….. fed the one seated across from him.

The moral of the story is that heaven and hell may not be geographical locations so much as states of mind, and it may be time to feed our sisters and brothers.

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September 12, 2011

Dear Parents,

One of the great joys of my life has been growing up in a relatively sheltered environment. As demanding as Catholic school curriculum may be, there has always been a sense of sheltering the students from some of the harsher realities of the world. That doesn’t mean we were kept ignorant of social justice issues. To the contrary, we were well informed of the problems in our world and our responsibility to address them. But there was always a sense of nurturing. I truly believe that my colleagues continue this trend with our own students today.

Reading the Chronicle yesterday and watching the news this last week has reminded all of us of the flaws in this world. It’s ironic that one of God’s great gifts to us, free will, can produce some of the most horrible suffering this world ever sees. But free will is a gift, and it is up to each of us to use that gift wisely.

I do not see the world in black and white. There are innumerable shades of gray in the events of every day. But some days simply come down to right and wrong. Ten years ago, a lot went wrong. It is here that I choose how to exercise my free will. Rather than dwell on the cruelty, violence and injustice we all saw on September 11, 2001, I choose to remember the good done that day.

Firefighters, police officers, E.M.T. s and other first responders saw evil, and instead of running from it, heroically ran full speed into the conflagration. They put the safety of others ahead of their own. Perhaps only those who were saved that day truly appreciate the courage of those men and women. But each one of us can recognize the spirit of love in their risking all to save others. I’d like to think that each of those heroes was a Catholic school graduate, but that’s not accurate. I’d like to write that they showed good Christian values, but I have no doubt that there were good men and women of all faiths who responded that day. Regardless of their religious affiliation, or where they were on their personal faith journey that day, they all acted out of love for their sisters and brothers. What a beautiful story that is to remember and share.

Be at peace this week. Hug the kids an extra time or two. Remind yourself that God created you (and all of us) out of love. Do your best to share that love with everyone you meet.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

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September 5, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you enjoyed the Labor Day Holiday! The Catholic Church has a long history of supporting working men and women and you have all certainly earned a day off from your labor to spend time with family and friends.

This Thursday, at Back To School Night, I will share my belief that the value of a community can be judged by how a community lives its values. You all know that I profess that our academic and extracurricular success is built on the foundation of a loving, supportive community and that we should all be proud of the community spirit we have at Star. Our Christmas tradition of “adopting” less fortunate families and buying them gifts is another way we live out our call to love each other. Every spring, the Leukemia / Lymphoma Society helps us kick off the Pennies For Patients Campaign.

This year we are adding a new program to help us help the larger community. On Saturday, October 22 we will be taking part in the 14^th Annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. You can join us by going on line to

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/StaroftheSea

and click “Join Our Team”. Please wear your Star sweatshirt and we can all march together.

My final request is a similar one. Last year the San Francisco Food Bank acknowledged three schools as being the most generous schools in The City. They were Lincoln High School (enrollment 2500), Aptos Middle School (enrollment 1000), and Star of the Sea (enrollment 222). We filled nearly nine barrels with donated food. Our enrollment is up, the number of hungry people in San Francisco is up and federal funding for food banks is down. So our goal for this year is to fill twelve barrels. I plan to ask the parishioners, neighbors and even some local merchants to join us. The barrels are in the lower hallway already, so please donate what you can.

God Bless You,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

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August 29, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

We made it through the first exciting week of the school year and we’re ready to roll! It’s really great to see the kids after a long summer of working in an empty building. So many of them got so much taller! It’s also wonderful to meet so many new students, in Kindergarten as well as transfer students in other grades.

We have one new staff member, Ms. Emily Gann, working as our Kindergarten Aide. Emily is currently a grad student at the University of San Francisco, where she is completing her Master’s Degree courses. She has previous experience as a tutor and teacher’s aide and did a brief internship here at Star. The students will also be seeing Mr. Rob Grant, the Parish Music Director, more often. Mr. Grant will be working with the classes to help prepare student liturgies.

Please remember that next Thursday, September 8, is Back To School Night and all parents must attend. We will start the evening at 7:00 pm sharp in the Church. There will be a few short speeches (Father Brian, Rob Grant, Jay Davidson – our new Parent Club President, and myself), followed by introduction of the Faculty and Staff, and then we move over to school. Each homeroom teacher will make a short presentation about her/his grade level. A second session (the same presentation) will be made because many of you have more than one child here at Star. The evening should come to a close around 8:30.

Again, I can’t tell you how great it is to have all the kids back at school!

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

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August 24, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to school! I hope it has been a very relaxing summer for all of you. Things were quiet around here, but I do have some good news to share:

Summer school was again very successful. Thanks to Mrs. Poon and Mr. Gallagher for being co-principals for that program. A new doorbell / intercom system is being installed at our front door. This will both help security and save Mrs. Slade and me dozens of trips up and down the stairs every day!

Enrollment has increased from 222 last September to 235 this year! This is approximately a 5% increase when the Archdiocesan enrollment numbers were predicted to decrease by approximately 2%. You may remember that a few years ago we worked with a group of marketing grad students from U.S.F. to devise strategies to increase enrollment at Star. We learned a lot and have implemented many of these strategies. The most important thing we can do is talk about our school, and I thank all of you for singing the praises of Star.

The Western Catholic Educational Association and The Western Association of Schools and Colleges have both awarded Star of the Sea School a full six year term of accreditation. This is the longest term possible and is made possible by the great work of our teachers, students and parents. Thank you all.

I look forward to another great year at Star!

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! It has been busy here and summer school just ended. Thanks to Mr. Gallagher and Mrs. Poon for running things so well, and thanks to their faculty and staff for providing such a great experience for the students who attended.

You may be aware that both Mrs. Poon and Mr. Gallagher are in the final stages of earning their Master of Arts degrees in Educational Administration. This is one big reason why they have been the co principals of our Summer School for the last five years. In recognition of their skills (and because it will make Star function more smoothly) I have asked them to accept positions as Vice Principals at Star. They have both graciously accepted the extra responsibilities, so beginning this August Star will have three vice principals:

Maureen Lundy
Executive Vice Principal

Assumes all duties and responsibilities of Principal. Assists Principal in all areas, especially academic planning, federally funded programs, hiring and mentoring.

Theresa Poon
Vice Principal in Charge of Technology

Coordinates acquisition and use of technology with Tech Committee and Faculty.

Works very closely with Computer Teacher to integrate technology into all areas of curriculum. Organizes bi-monthly in-services for our faculty regarding tech use in classrooms. Co-Principals the summer school program.

David Gallagher
Vice Principal in Charge of Activities and Testing

Coordinates ITBS, ACRE, and other testing. Tracks ITBS info for WASC reporting.

Works with faculty, staff, and parents to coordinate and calendar all off campus events and some on campus activities as well. Co-Principals the summer school program.

These changes are exciting and will serve the students well as Star moves forward.

Have a great second half of summer and I look forward to seeing you all, in uniform and ready to go on Wednesday, August 24 at 8:00 AM. Dismissal that day will be at 12:30, and Extended Care will be open.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

June 6, 2011

Dear Fellow Dads,

For nearly twenty years I attended Mass at Good Shepherd Church in Pacifica. Both my kids were Baptized, received First Holy Communion, and were Confirmed there. I coached and was involved in a few other parish activities. In short, I loved the place! Except for one thing. In the Church there were two beautiful life size statues of Jesus and Mary, but the only statue of Saint Joseph was about two feet tall and hidden in the back corner. It made me think that we Dads are perhaps taken for granted at times.

As the years passed, and I grew a bit wiser, it dawned on me that maybe that is the role we Dads should play. We aren’t the shining stars of our families; the kids are! And we might have to admit that Moms usually work harder at family tasks than we do. But Joseph was not an after-thought! He taught Jesus how to play, how to practice His faith, how to be a carpenter, how to act like a man. These are the very traditional roles we Dads assume (as well as telling long tedious stories about when we were kids and jokes that elicit groans rather than laughs). So Happy Fathers’ Day and God Bless All the Dads!

I wish you all (Moms, Dads, Grandparents, and Kids) a wonderful summer.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal (and Dad)

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May 31, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

This year seems to have flown by! So many things were done and so many people worked hard to make this school year very special! I thank you all.

Star’s one hundred first graduating class will be celebrating this coming Friday at 4:30 with a Mass followed by awarding of diplomas and certificates. You are all welcome to join us, but please save the best seats for the graduates and their families. (I especially encourage the current seventh graders to attend so you can get an idea what the ceremony looks like.)

Congratulations to all the 8th graders and God bless you all!

Terrence Hanley
Principal

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May 23, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

A few months ago the students in fifth and eighth grades took the ACRE Test (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education). This is a standardized test that is administered in the vast majority of Catholic schools in the country. Unlike the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the ACRE does not send individual results to each school. Instead, we receive class results only. This is primarily for teachers to figure out what areas need better coverage in the future and what areas are being addressed well.

A quick review shows that our students scored better than the national average in both classes and in light of the fact that our student body is only 38% Catholic, I am very pleased by these scores.

There is a section of the ACRE, which is called the Affective section. This is a series of multiple-choice questions or yes/no questions, which help us to become familiar with the Catholic attitudes and behaviors of our students. This is the section that I (as principal) find most interesting.

A few of the responses follow:

89% of our students see Jesus as a friend and savior.

90% believe that even when they sin, God still loves them.

48% state that being Catholic is important in their life (only 26% of this class is baptized).

100% believe it is not acceptable to try drugs.

90% state that they can talk to their parents about anything.

95% say that people here care about helping others.

100% responded that they were glad to be in this school.

86% state that their teachers have been positive influences on them.

If you remember, our WASC visitors acknowledged our “catholicity” as our greatest strength. And as I will continue to say, “The foundation of Star of the Sea School is the community. We teach Catholic doctrine and more importantly, we try our very best to act like everyone we meet is a child of God.”

Thank you all for nurturing this community. And God bless you.

Terrence Hanley
Principal

May 16, 2011

Dear Parents and Students,

Last week was incredible! The Gala, the Teddy Bear Picnic, Grandparents and Special Friends Day were all very exciting. But my favorite event last week was the Talent Show. As usual, the Student Council ran the show beautifully and the performers were all fantastic. Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Robinson put together a wonderful production. But my favorite part of the day was seeing the number of parents who came to watch the show.

Bear in mind, the Talent Show is a student event; parents are not invited. But every year, a handful show up. Last week more than seventy parents came to watch! I can only begin to tell you how important your attendance is. The kids don’t notice how much tuition you pay (besides they think you’re made of money). They rarely listen when you tell them about the importance of education. But they always watch what you do!

Parents on campus to watch a Talent Show, coach a team, plan an event, help a teacher, whatever … makes it perfectly clear to the kids that you care about them, you care about their education, and you care about Star of the Sea. Thank you for all you do!

God Bless You,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

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