Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to school! I hope you all had great summers. Sandra (my bride) and I honeymooned in northern Canada and even got to dip our toes in the Arctic Ocean.

But for all the fun and adventures summer offered, I cannot tell you how excited I am about being back at school. Our new pastor, Father Brian Costello, is a former teacher who plans to be very present to the school. One of his goals is to bring the school and parish communities closer together and that would be advantageous for all of us.

I’m also really excited about our two new teachers, Mr. Camago and Mr. Chen. After substituting here for a few years while he earned his MA and credential, Mr. Camago has joined our faculty as our third grade teacher. His enthusiasm and love of music will be two great assets for us. Mr. Chen is new to Star but is a veteran computer teacher. His vast technical knowledge and the fact that he is primarily a teacher make it clear that the computer program will be moving quickly this year.

Congratulations to Mr. Gallagher and Mrs. Poon! As the principals of Star of the Sea Summer School, they won an award for the quality of the program they created! Thanks to them and their faculty.

Congratulations to Mrs. Mimi Gines Robinson who was married to a wonderful guy on July 10 and to Mrs. Nichole Flowers Tucker who married another wonderful guy on August 14. (We may get an award for being the most romantic school in the Archdiocese.)

Finally, congratulations to you! At the tender age of 101 years, Star of the Sea School is on the verge of opening a new, state of the art, science lab. God bless the foundations who donated $105,000; the alum who gave us $100,000; and especially you, the families who donated just over $130,000.

We hope to have a grand opening of the Father William Duggan Science Lab on October 9, during the Parish Festival. Phase II of our Million Dollar Capital Campaign is already in progress. Please keep our success in your prayers and never forget that your “word of mouth” is our best public relations tool.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal
Star of the Sea Schools

click here for notes and flyers

Each of these ideals is a distinctive aspect of a Catholic education. However, they are not completely unrelated and disconnected from each other. If one is honorable, he or she must demonstrate discipline and act within the limits of morals. And if they don’t have morals, then how can they possibly be faithful to God? Without discipline, how can they fully extract the knowledge from life experiences and tedious lessons? These ideals and the ones I haven’t mentioned all go hand in hand. They are intertwined and unique in so many ways that simply living your life in the presence of God’s wisdom is the best way to comprehend it all.

Catholic schools understand the importance of these principles throughout one’s lifetime. Learning to be altruistic and disciplined may earn you trustworthy friends or a life-changing career in the future. Many notable heroes, leaders, martyrs, and saints have followed a similar path and, as a result, managed to accomplish many amazing deeds that they are now known for. With such values, they are able to overcome hardships and turn challenges into opportunities.

Sometimes we are so focused on getting things done that we forget what it’s supposed to teach us. But if we take the time to identify and absorb every lesson, make the best out of every pain, and understand what these values are for, we could become so much more. Students with a full Catholic education leave school equipped with “academic excellence”, faith, knowledge, discipline, integrity, and an earnest relationship with God, that gives them a substantial advantage as they progress to their next stage of life.

Dear Parents and Students,

Last week at the Parent Club meeting I reported on the status of our Pledge Program. This fundraising effort has been quite successful over the years and I appreciate your generosity. Since it was started, the Pledge Drive has evolved tremendously. At first (6 or 7 years ago) it was an emergency effort to raise money to help cover payroll. It quickly became a major part of fund raising for the Science Lab and to help with financial aid. The amount raised has also evolved dramatically. This year pledges exceed $40,000! This is wonderful, but only about half our families responded to the Pledge.

I am well aware of the down economy we are struggling through and truly appreciate all those who respond whether they pledge a small, medium, large amount or prayerful support (I suspect the prayerful support is a main reason some big donations come in). I have always spoken of Star’s great strength as our family spirit and this is one area where we really need every family participating.

For those of you who have not yet responded to this year’s Pledge Program, please contact me because your support is very important. As we move forward, I plan to meet with new families when they register and share with them the importance of this program.

In the meantime, please feel free to contact me to tell me of your prayerful support, make a financial donation, or share your thoughts about this concern.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generous support of Star of the Sea School. The Centennial Mass we celebrated this last weekend was wonderful! The Archbishop was very impressed, not only by the number of parents and students who joined us at Mass and the rededication of our school, but by the genuine affection expressed by all present. Having so many alumni return to their old “home away from home” was very encouraging, and the support of our parishioners is truly appreciated.

I also want to offer a special THANK YOU to the many parents, grads, faculty and staff members who worked so hard to make this event so successful. Their hard work, patience and great humor made the extra hours not only productive but very enjoyable. There are still more centennial events (the fashion show, spring gala and alumni reunion weekend come to mind) but for a few weeks we can rest.

It’s also a good time to remember that as we celebrate the first hundred years of Star, we also continue to move forward into our second century.

The little ones in kindergarten have quickly become part of the family. They love their teacher and teacher’s aid (congratulations Mrs. Kinner on your new grandson, Travis Michael Looney).

The eighth graders are actively looking at the next leg of their educational journey. Representatives from Sacred Heart Cathedral, Saint Ignatius, Mercy, Immaculate Conception Academy, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Archbishop Riordan and Stuart Hall are all going to visit Star in the next few weeks. Soon after that, our eighth graders will be setting up “shadow dates” to visit these schools to help decide where they will go to high school.

Iowa test of Basic Skills will be administered to all students in grades two through eight beginning September 21. The point of the ITBS is to assess each student’s skills and needs. This helps teachers to plan curriculum more effectively for the class and individual students. This does not affect report card grades, but is a very useful assessment instrument. Please do not schedule medical or dental appointments during ITBS week.

Open House for perspective kindergartners will be held Wednesday, September 16 at 9:00 a.m. (tell a friend). After introductory remarks by the principal, parents will be given school tours by members of the Class of 2010.

And so we go on, pausing to celebrate 100 years of educational excellence in San Francisco and moving forward into our second century. Expect the usual: children will learn to read, to think, to discern fact from fiction from opinion from untruths, to daydream with the confidence that they can make some dreams come true, to generously donate to those less fortunate, to come to believe that they are loved and thereby called upon to love others.

Thank you all and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back! I hope you are as excited as I am about starting our one hundred first year of “excellence in education”. Star of the Sea School is truly a special place and it is made so by your energy.

So much has been going on here this summer that I hardly know where to start. There has been a major clean up campaign that you will probably notice right away. Benches and poles in the schoolyard have been painted, as have the walls behind the benches. New hoops are up and the tire garden has been reorganized. The auditorium has a fresh coat of paint too.

We start the year with one of our major Centennial celebrations just days away. Please mark your calendar for the 12:15 Mass on September 6. Archbishop George Niederauer will be the main celebrant and he will be joined by: Monsignor Arcamo, our parish priests and many other priests who are Star alums. After Mass the Archbishop will rededicate and bless our school community and we will have a reception for all our families and friends. I hope you all join us. I am asking that all eighth graders help as “guides” that day. My only other request is that the students wear their Star uniforms to the event.

Speaking of our Centennial, have you seen our banners displayed on Geary Boulevard, Stanyan Street, and 19th Avenue? They look great and we are hearing from a lot of graduates and their families who have not contacted us in a long time. If you run into anyone who used to be part of our Star family, please remind them that they are welcome at any of our Centennial celebrations. The Centennial hotline is 221-3399.

In an effort to be more “green”, our weekly envelopes are going to be available online. Please read the note below for more details. And expect more efforts to go green in the near future.

Finally, I want to share some news that I heard at the Archdiocesan Administrators conference. The Department of Catholic Schools has predicted that due to the economic downturn each elementary school should expect to lose about 3% enrollment this year. Star of the Sea is bucking that trend. As of today our enrollment is up just over 9%. You veteran parents know how hard we have all worked to increase enrollment numbers around here. All the Centennial activities, banners, visits to preschools and enrollment fairs have helped. But you also know that the major factor in getting new families to join us is what parents and students say about us. This place is our second family. We work, play and pray together. Make sure you get a new bumper sticker (on the table outside my office). And, to use an old line from a grocery store commercial, “Tell a friend”.

Have a fantastic year!

Terrence Hanley