August 31, 2009
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