Peace be with you! I would just like to give you a few brief updates:

1. A few parents have asked why we did not pray for the victims in Connecticut today over the PA. My reason for not mentioning the victims specifically is that I made a decision to leave sharing facts of the tragedy with our students to their parents (where it rightfully belongs). I do not know to what extent each family has chosen to share the facts with the children, especially in the younger grades. Thus, I have not mentioned the tragedy over the PA. We prayed today simply for “all who are suffering” with no further explanation. I firmly believe our prayers are just as effective this way, while at the same time protecting the sensitivity of our younger students.
2. I have also received some questions about how to respond to the questions of “why this happened” from children. Our Superintendent, Mrs. JoAnn Tier, shared these resources with the principals:

Prayer and Leader sessions from the NFCYM

Understanding School Violence Fact Sheet

8 tips for talking to Children

Quite honestly, I know that many parents are struggling to give answers to their children because they themselves cannot wrap their mind around why such an act would occur.

As we move closer to Christmas, let us continue to pray for the strength to be the best parents that we can be. Please rest assured that when working to create a safe environment I make no distinction between my own son and the other 564 students of St. Gregory the Great Academy; every boy and girl in our Academy is precious to me.