St Michaels School

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This is my sixth year as principal of St. Michael School. When I was a child I thought grammar school lasted forever. I am sure we all did. I have been blessed to witness the growth of your children. My first kindergarten class is now in 5th grade. I cannot believe it. When you are totally overwhelmed by the never-ending demands of parenting, try to sit down for just a few minutes. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and stare out a window. On a gorgeous autumn day, close your eyes, take a deep breath and reflect on how fast life is going by. When your children start fighting again, or complaining about homework, and you are torpedoed back into reality, acknowledge the fact that these are truly magical years........that are so fleeting. Yesterday we celebrated a beautiful Mass in honor of our patron saint. St. Michael the Archangel was the leader of the legions of angels because his strength, courage, and love of God empowered him to fight the evil which had infiltrated the heavens. We asked our children in every grade level if they each felt that they would have the strength, courage, and love of God to stand up to wrongdoing in our school. The entire student body was asked to take a pledge in which each person would agree to act like a child of God, an instrument of peace, a person of integrity who would treat others as each of them would like to be treated. The pledges were beautiful as were the faces of all our children who recited the pledge. Here is where the challenge comes to the forefront. We know that BULLYING has become the big issue in schools this year. The media is constantly referring to cases in which students were harassed, beaten, followed by groups, pinched, poked and so on...by bullies. The media makes a collective gasp and then promptly lets the world know that administrators did nothing about the bullying. I always just shake my head. Do administrators handle every situation well with regard to bullying? Absolutely not. However you have my word, MY pledge is that this faculty, staff and administration will not tolerate bullying in any form if we are made aware of it. I have never compared Catholic schools to public schools, especially in Chicago. The public school system deals with issues that we do not. They also deal with a much larger clientele. However, when I see that all blame is usually laid on the school system, I have to shake my head. How do schools respond when they are blamed for every social ill? Districts, politicians and administrators usually vote to throw more money at the problem. We should have figured out by now that this doesn't work. I digress to this issue because I am more convinced than ever that the most important component in the world is the family. We are lucky enough to be able to reinforce your values. We cannot, however, create values for any family, nor should we attempt to do so. Every family is sacred in our eyes. The families of Saint Michael School must work with the staff of St. Michael School. We are all a part of the same human family. It breaks my heart when I hear from parents that their child is being bullied.

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