A New Year

By Jodi Halligan

There is something special about the beginning of a new school year. Freshly sharpened pencils, classrooms ready to welcome students, new shoes that somehow seem destined to get dirty by the end of the first week, and backpacks filled with supplies—and perhaps a few butterflies, too.

For our students, there will be new teachers, new friendships, new challenges, and new discoveries. For our teachers and staff, there are new faces to learn, new opportunities to inspire, and another year to make a difference in the lives of children. And for our families, another school year marks one more chapter in watching their children grow.
But as a Catholic school, a new beginning means something even more.

God is continually at work in our lives, inviting us to grow—not only in what we know, but in who we are becoming. Every new beginning gives us an opportunity to listen a little more closely, love a little more generously, serve a little more willingly, and trust God a little more deeply.

This year at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, our theme is Rebuild My Church: Growing Disciples, Inspiring Leaders. It is a reminder that education at SFA is about much more than academics. We are helping young people discover their gifts, grow in their relationship with Christ, and learn how those gifts can be used in service to others.

A new school year can be a new beginning for all of us. What might God be asking you to grow in this year? Is there a relationship that needs more attention? A gift you haven't been using? Someone who needs your encouragement? An opportunity to serve that you've been meaning to take?

Our students will spend this year learning that growth doesn't happen all at once. It happens one lesson, one mistake, one question, one act of courage, and one small step at a time.

As our hallways fill again with the voices and laughter of students, we ask our entire St. Francis parish family to pray for our students, teachers, staff, and families. Pray that our classrooms will be places of curiosity and joy, our hallways places of kindness and belonging, and our school a place where Christ is encountered each day.