THE MIGHTY PEN 1
Autumn Greetings:
Welcome to this edition of the Mighty Pen, I hope this letter finds you and your family enjoying the beauty associated with this time of the year. We
are wonderfully blessed to live in an area of the country that allows us to enjoy the splendor of God’s creation with each distinct season. While each
of us may have a season of the year that we hold as our favorite, I believe we would all agree that the Autumn season provides us with the tremendous
opportunity to view God as a wonderful artist. The colors available on God’s palette really capture the majesty of his creation.
The start of this school year has blessed us with additional opportunities to witness the presence of God’s grace. Our school community settled in to
the start of our new year with remarkable ease. I was quite impressed with the manner in which our veterans and newcomers embraced the start of
a new academic journey. And then without warning our community was hit with heart-wrenching news. On September 15th veteran teacher Bob
Lennon died when he was struck by an automobile while bicycling.
As a school family we knew that Mr. Lennon’s loss would have a profound impact on us; however, what we may not have fully grasped in the
immediate aftermath of his death was how his daily lessons would provide us with the strength to move forward. It can be stated that the true
measure of a successful teacher is that he/she instills life-lessons that will equip others with the ability to handle all challenges that life may offer. I
think we can all agree that the Saint Francis DeSales High School community was blessed to have such a teacher in Mr. Bob Lennon.
I am quite certain that the powerful lessons garnered through our loss will empower us to meet the challenges and opportunities that we will face
as we continue on our journey; furthermore, that the sense of faith and family that have prevailed in these initial weeks will enable us to meet with
success in all that we endeavor to do.
It seems entirely appropriate to me that our school theme for this year is “Saint Francis DeSales High School:A community embracing opportunities.”
On behalf of the students, faculty, staff, and administration I wish to extend an invitation to each of you to join us as we work each day to embrace
the opportunities that God has placed in front of us. I am extremely confident that if we work together we will continue to make our school, our
community, and our world a better place.
With this ambitious goal in mind, I humbly request your continued love and support for the faculty and administration of Saint Francis DeSales High
School. In order to deliver a quality Catholic education to our students we need everyone in our community to share their God-given talents and
gifts. I encourage you to review the “Annual Report” that is a part of this publication so that you can see how your gifts of time, talent and treasure
have enabled us to provide a holistic educational experience for our students. Please join me in offering a prayer of thanksgiving for those who have
been so generous to our school.At a time when schools are experiencing significant cuts in funding, it is mission-affirming that we can continue to
count on the tremendous support of our benefactors.
For those of you who may be interested in helping us deliver on our school’s mission but have not discovered the best route to do so, I would
encourage you to review the plans associated with our Road to 2020 project in this issue of the Mighty Pen. In addition, please review our
comprehensive strategic plan that is located on the school’s website. I am sure after reviewing the details
connected to these plans you will share in my excitement for the future of this impactful place.
While we are well into the 2013-14 school year, I would be remiss if I did not express my sincere
appreciation to each member of our community who worked so diligently to make last year such a
success. I would especially like to offer my gratitude to the class of 2013 who enthusiastically accepted
the challenge to leave our school an even better place than they
found it. In addition, I wish to thank retiring teachers Mrs. Mary
Porretta (Theology), Ms. KathyWiemels (Family and Consumer
Science), and Mrs. Judy Ross (Art) for enriching the lives of young
people through their love of Christ and commitment to teach as
Jesus did.
In closing, as we continue on the journey associated with this year
please know that I look forward to working with each of you as
we embrace the wonderful opportunities that await us. May the
remainder of your Autumn be blessed with majestic days spent
with loved ones.
Peace and God’s Blessings,
Daniel J. Garrick
The divine goodness has not called you to
the state in which you find yourself without
strengthening you for all of this.
~St. Francis de Sales
Letter from the Principal
