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From the President William Fitzgerald, M.Div., Ph.D.
The Fifth ‘C’ On the eve of our 50th anniversary, we are exploring the traditions and mission that sustain St. Joseph High School, and exploring ways in which the past will lead us forward. Throughout this edition of the Communiqué you will see our commitment to readying our students for a more global and more public world. We are committed to educating creative, self-directed, passion driven learners. Yet, that is not entirely our mission. What makes St. Joe’s unique in the college preparatory marketplace is our faith commitment. Our faith does not encourage a retreat from the world. The Catholic Church has always sought to communicate the faith in ways most understandable to the contemporary age. We believe faith will increasingly become the language of the world, especially as cultures and ethnicities blend, and as global markets and national boundaries blur. The Church is always international: spiritually, intellectually, and pragmatically. Catholic Charities is often the most effective means of disaster relief, better at marshalling the resources where they reside and at side stepping the bureaucracies that often hamstring delivery where help is most needed. Spiritually, the Church is the agent who painstaking works through political and personal ambiguities to articulate a reliable social ethic and define the moral imperatives of our generation. While today’s progressive curriculum builds talent in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity, St. Joe’s adds a fifth “C” to the 21st Century skill set. We believe the Catholic Christian will make all the difference in the global community. It is a world where change is expanding exponentially. It is a world desperate for definition and direction, a world in need of leaders who will, as Pope Benedict XVI exhorts, lead others to truth in love, to foster what he calls, “intellectual charity.” In Ex Corde Eccleseia, Pope John Paul II exhorts Catholic students to be open to all truth and to serve the entire human family. We do expect our graduates to lead well the world coming at them. It is why we place faith at the heart of our school, and then teach the head and the hands to follow the heart.
From the Office of College And Guidance Counseling Sue Siano, Director
The College and Guidance Counseling Department welcomes you to an exciting new year at St. Joseph High School. The emphasis on College in our title best describes the balance of our program. While we continue to be responsive to students’ academic, social, and personal needs, we are also dedicated to helping our students prepare for selective college admission with a thorough program spanning their four years here. We will update you throughout the school year on our workshops and events for each grade level as they occur. Our counselors, Jack Nogueira, Lisa Lewis, Megan Baird, and Suzanne Siano look forward to working with you and your children. The first important event on the calendar was our annual college fair. We invited all of our families to attend on Thursday, October 14, 2010 from 7 to 8.30pm in the St. Joseph gymnasium. Over 150 colleges, universities, technical schools, and armed services sent representatives. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to gather information and begin the college selection process. We anticipate a busy, fulfilling year as we strive to improve the College and Guidance Counseling program for our students. As always, we welcome your calls, visits, and suggestions. Best wishes to you all for a successful year!
mission driven 6 communiqué 2010
pictured above: Oscar Assie & Greg Langston