CATHOLICS COME HOME
The Catholics Come Home evangelization initiative invites all of us, especially our brothers and sisters who have drifted, to reconsider the faith and to deepen the faith. Allow your understanding of Christ, of the scriptures, of personal prayer, of an active sacramental life, plenty of room for growth and depth this coming year. The Church calls each year a year of grace!
To Our Parishioners and Benefactors,
My name is Marlene De Santis and I am the proud principal of St. Rene Goupil School. I have had that great position for 8 years. Throughout those years I have been blessed with the privilege of working side-by-side with so many of you. Our school children pray for you every morning during our daily prayers. We start our petitions by praying for our parishioners and benefactors because we understand that we are part of a great family.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you on behalf of St. Rene Goupil School students, parents, faculty and staff for 50 wonderful years of commitment to Catholic School Education. The theme for the 2010 Catholic Schools Week is Dividends for life. These dividends which are: morals, faith, knowledge, and discipline are learned on a daily basis in a Catholic School. You may be sitting in church today, because of the dividends you received when you were a student in a Catholic School. Hopefully our students will be sitting in your seats in the years to come.
The school is an integral part of the St. Rene Parish family. We could not exist without your spiritual and financial support and we are extremely grateful for each of you. Fr. Tom has been able to bless us with a subsidy from the parish for the last 8 years because he had the funds to do so. Those funds are no longer there.
I know each and every one of you has been touched financially by the economic crisis that we have been experiencing. Families who could not afford to pay tuition because of the financial crisis were forced to leave us. Many of them in tears. Unfortunately, of all the students who left, only one went to another Catholic school. Several more are struggling to make their payments this school year.
The achievements of our graduates are testament to the dedication of their parents and to our school faculty and staff. However, the legacy of SRG is built on the foundation of your support. One of your parishioners, Kamal Kazan, tells me that we graduate more De La Salle valedictorians from St. Rene than any other school that feeds into De LaSalle High School!
Catholic Education is a way of life for children. Dividends for a life of Faith, Hope and Love are an investment in their life as a Catholic. As parents and grandparents we want to see our children receive the same education that we received. However, with the decrease in religious vocations, Catholic School education is more costly.
Next week there will be a 2nd collection for the annual school fund appeal.
The monies collected will go into our scholarship fund which has been completely depleted. Please be as generous as you can so that we can carry on the tradition of St. Rene for the next fifty years! Again, my sincere thanks for taking a vested interest in the future our greatest resource – our Children. God bless and keep you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Marlene De Santis, Principal
