From the Principal’s Desk 2.6

From the Principal’s Desk 2.6

Dear Friends,

Last week I spoke about character being the truest indicator of eventual success.  You may have heard the term ‘teaching the whole person’.  This sums up succinctly the manner in which Catholic Schools educate.   We, as humans, exist as both soul and body, and we recognize the reality that when we die, our spirit continues.  While here on earth we interact with our soul through the medium of our bodies.  Therefore when I exercise and train my body I care for my soul,  when I study my academic subjects, I care for my soul and when I pray I care for my soul.  There is no discontinuity between them, we cannot do anything to our body that does not affect the soul, and when our soul is burdened by sin and evil, our body will carry the signs of that burden. 

In this world of ours we find much attention being paid to our physical bodies, and much of that is good, yet to the care of our souls, we see very little.  As Christians, let us not forget that when we care for our souls, we care for ourselves.  When we teach our children to pray, about the love of God, about who they are as God’s children, we care for their souls even more than when we train them physically and mentally.  Let us not forget that to train our minds allows us to better understand God’s word for us and his wisdom and makes following God’s will easier.

So at Holy Family we strive to produce young men and women who are academically the best prepared in the West and who care for their souls, like saints.

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

303-410-1411

From the Principal's Desk 2.5

From the Principal’s Desk 2.5

Dear Friends,

The most important indicator of eventual success for a child is not intellect, good looks, athletic ability or health.  The single most important indicator of eventual success is character.  A person with strong character, who does the right thing because it is the right thing, who tells the truth because it is the truth, who only hands in their own work, because it is theirs, who treats members of the opposite sex properly because it is the right thing to do; these persons go onto to be truly successful.  In this I mean they go on to be great fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, priest and nuns, brothers and sisters and they go on to become great employees and employers, scholars and most important of all, go on to be saints.  When they die their life will be regarded as a blessing.

When we see our children it is important to appreciate the many good things they do, the sports, the grades, but it is critical to encourage strong character, that will make the difference.

A big thank you to all who have been helping at all the sporting events we have had this fall.  Our teams are doing great and the coaches, parents and volunteers (often the same people) have been working hard to make it possible.  Personally is nice to be able to brag about what a great school family we have here.  You are the best!

Pax,

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

Offense, Forgiveness and Self Control

From the Principal’s Desk 2.4

Have you ever been offended?  Ever been royally mistreated and found your sense of righteous indignation rise up like a volcano?  The sense of justice mixed with revenge, can be a powerful emotion.  Like all things however it needs to be controlled.  There are times when we must, in the cause of what is right, stand our ground; conversely there are times when we, in the cause of what is right, must allow the injustice, and like our Savior, humbly bear the indignity.   In any case we must exercise self-control.   This particular virtue often times saves our lives and the lack of it often endangers our lives.  Coming home last weekend I watched a motorcyclist nearly be hit by a car, and then watched the motorcyclist antagonize the driver of the car for the next 15 miles creating a hazard for the biker and everyone else.  The biker was aggrieved but lacking self-control created a hazard for everyone else. 

As parents we can model the correct way to react to injury and insult and the way we react will teach our own children.  A case in point, several years ago I was a farmer and I was struggling to unstick a spring, the spring came loose with an enormous amount of energy, most of which hit my knuckle.  In the split second we have between your body being injured and our reaction I looked at the 5 or 6 little kids, my neighbors children and my own, who had come to watch me work and maybe get a ride on the hay wagon and realized that should I say something inopportune it would be repeated endlessly in the neighborhood, so I kept my mouth shut.  It was hard but worth it.  

Finally, the Homecoming dance is coming up and we have a few guidelines for the clothes.  The idea behind the guidelines is to allow everyone who comes to the dance to have a good time and not be distracted.  I have asked that all the boys show up with shirt and tie and appropriate footwear, and for the young ladies to wear dresses that rise no higher than 4 inches from the top of the knee and fit  appropriately and modestly across the top.  These dances are meant to be higher class than others and we want to dress and act accordingly.   Should someone inadvertently  come to the dance in a manner not in keeping with these requests, I will ask them to wait in the office and contact their parents.   Should you have any questions about this or anything else please feel free to contact me.

Character Counts

From the Principal’s Desk 2.5

Dear Friends,

The most important indicator of eventual success for a child is not intellect, good looks, athletic ability or health.  The single most important indicator of eventual success is character.  A person with strong character, who does the right thing because it is the right thing, who tells the truth because it is the truth, who only hands in their own work, because it is theirs, who treats members of the opposite sex properly because it is the right thing to do; these persons go onto to be truly successful.  In this I mean they go on to be great fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, priest and nuns, brothers and sisters and they go on to become great employees and employers, scholars and most important of all, go on to be saints.  When they die their life will be regarded as a blessing.

When we see our children it is important to appreciate the many good things they do, the sports, the grades, but it is critical to encourage strong character, that will make the difference.

Forgiveness and Freedom

From the Principal’s Desk 2.3

Dear Parents and Friends,

Forgiveness is a challenge in this world and the events of 9/11 tend to bring this issue clearly into focus.  When someone hurts you there is often nothing you can do about it, but until you forgive you are stilled trapped in that pain.  This is of course the lesson drawn from the Our Father, where we were exhorted to forgive…to be forgiven. 

Because they are larger grievances some things are harder to forgive than others; forgive them we must if we wish to be free.   That is the great challenge and promise of Christianity.  So when our students come home with a complaint, the first thing we need to do is encourage them to forgive the offending party, then we need to address the problem.  This is the path to life that our Master taught us.   

And for the souls of all who perished on 9/11 and in the subsequent wars that flowed from that day, may perpetual light shine upon them, and may they, and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

How Packing for School and Preparing for Final Judgement are related

From the Principal’s Desk 2.2

The second full week of school has begun and your students are warming to the new normal routine of rising early, getting ready, (this varies greatly by gender and age) packing their bag and getting into the car.  We know that the easiest way for this to happen is if the bags are packed the night before, which implies homework and assignments are also done.  For the student who shovels down their breakfast,  while hastily finishing last night’s assignment,  or fishing papers out of their bags for us to sign, or (personal favorite) the youngster who suddenly remembers they need X amount of dollars for some important cause,  for these perhaps the normal routine of life will be of the most benefit.  When one finally learns that it is better NOT to wait until the last minute, suddenly life becomes so much more peaceful and productive. Learning this skill may be the most long lasting lesson of school.

We all know that someday we will be called before the throne of God.  There we shall be called to give an account of what we have done in our lives.  If we live in such a way that we are prepared then when the time comes we won’t have to rush around trying to do the things we should have already done but we can peacefully walk into that throne room of grace.   

So tonight as you are urging your child to be prepared for tomorrow, maybe you should remind them that it is not only for school we are getting ready for.

What makes a Catholic School different?

One very good way of describing what makes a Catholic school different than all other types of schools is to remember that Catholic schools are founded to spread the Gospel through the medium of education.  If a Catholic school does not spread the Gospel than it fails in its mission and those who work in it will have to answer to God.  If the school does not educate students superbly then the school brings scandal to the church.  So Catholic schools must have both exceptional academics and superb catechises.