First, and most importantly, I just want to wish everyone in our community and beyond, a joyful and happy All Saints Day. As Catholics, we recognize today as a solemnity, which means that it is considered one of the most important feasts of the liturgical calendar. It's also a holy day of obligation. I remember as a student at All Saints School, here in northeast Portland, we misunderstood, though joyfully, that it was "our day," by way of the name of the day. Fortunately my understanding has changed in the last 30 years, but I'd like to believe that All Saints Day still is our feast day, but that it belongs to all of the saints, and thus to all of us. It is for St. Therese, and St. Martin de Porres, and St. Joseph, St. Catherine, and all the thousands of other saints and martyrs. Saints are our best examples of how to live and serve God, so it is reason to celebrate, whether you feel a connection to one saint or another. May we all follow the examples of the saints before us, as we strive to be more like them.
We finished up conferences today and there was positive feedback from teachers, parents and even a few students. Middle school students worked on their own reflections and were integral in the process of debriefing parents on strengths and weaknesses, victories and struggles so far in trimester 1. Parent feedback was positive on the format, and I speak for many of our teachers, and as a parent, in acknowledging the value in students doing their own reflections.
Less joyous than celebration of our saints, and perhaps less informative than parent teacher conferences, I want to touch on the elephant (or donkey) in the room, which is national politics and the upcoming elections. This conversation began in August when Father Gabriele and I attended a meeting with Archbishop Sample and the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, for principals and pastors.
In alliance and guided by local Catholic leadership, Father Gabriele and I would like to offer this slide deck for your reference. Truth be told, national politics has not been a topic of discussion on our campus. Father Gabriele and I have had meetings with teachers and staff, and so far, no news is good news. We can tend to forget how much is already on the plates of young people. By and large, they just want to get to school on time, have a good day with their friends, turn in their homework, and make it to sports practice or other extracurriculars, in hopes of some free time. Growing up is hard, and when the only constant is change, we want to support our students and ensure that they feel safe and cared for at school.
It is in that spirit of concern for our students that we decided that in this election cycle, we need not open the proverbial can of worms that is politics, and present it to St. Therese students. Most of us adults would prefer to avoid the topic altogether at Thanksgiving dinner. In the same vein don't want to invite the divisive, vitriolic rhetoric onto our campus and expect young people to make sense of it. Catholic high schools have to make different decisions as they have students who are of voting age, and close to it, but for our students from 4 to 14, we'd just assume keep them focused on the things we want them to participate in, not to borrow anxiety about a civic process in which they cannot yet engage.
Thank you for understanding that our intentions are to maintain an atmosphere of of respect, love and inclusivity in our school. We do not wish to censor our students. We do want to teach our students to be critical thinkers, who understand the challenges that face our nation and our world. We will continue to do so, but with prudence and intention in selecting those discussion points.
Regarding the presidential election, in very simple terms, "we're just not going there." However, we remain committed to our students' well-being and we will always listen to them. Things may come up next week with our older students because of their awareness of the looming election and results, discussions at home, etc., and I wanted you to have our playbook, just in case.
As always reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.
In Christ the Teacher,
Principal Schoning
