A Message From Tom Lengel

Dear Friends and Supporters,

At the school’s opening assembly in September, I spoke to our students about friendship, personal growth, and community. I explained that those words were chosen several years ago by our students to describe and illustrate three of the seven Holy Child Goals that are shared by all nine Holy Child schools in the United States. And those words, along with student-designed symbols, (see below) are displayed in our cafeteria and in the gallery of the Fitzgerald Performing Arts and Athletics Center as visual reminders of our Holy Child mission and philosophy.

In the articles and pictures throughout this edition of Cachet, you will learn more about the many ways we operationalize and live out those words and our Goals. For example, we intentionally build community between our older and younger students with our Buddy Program, where the older students serve as mentors and role models for their younger schoolmates.

Friendship is a defining characteristic of our school community — and always has been. It manifests itself in the relationships that form almost immediately in Early Childhood or among teammates on the field or court. Friendship also manifests itself in the connections that are often reflected in the wedding announcements found in our Class Notes, where several members of our graduates’ wedding parties are typically friends they made at Holy Child.

Fostering, aiding, and facilitating the personal growth of each child is what all schools should do and what we do very intentionally and successfully. Our no-cut policy in Middle School sports allows each and every student to belong and contribute to a team, and to grow from that experience. Watching our eighth graders in the Christmas pageant and tableaux, seeing them perform as the leads in the Spring Play, and reflecting on how they have grown in confidence and ability during their time at Holy Child are the most obvious examples of the tremendous and transformative personal growth that our children experience here. And make no mistake — that growth occurs only when children feel safe to take chances; whether that is leading their grade’s performance of “The Little Red Hen” play, joining a musical ensemble for the first time, participating in a Middle School elective outside of their comfort zone, or running for student council president and giving a speech in front of all Grades 4-8, our children know that they will be supported by their friends and teachers no matter the outcome, leading them to grow in confidence.

Sincerely,

Thomas G. Lengel P’12 Head of School