Instead of writing a traditional welcome letter, I’d like to answer the question I hear most often from prospective students and their families:
What sets Valley Catholic apart? In the classroom
Teachers at Valley Catholic have the freedom to teach what they most know and enjoy. They create their classes. “Standardization” is not a popular word here. Teachers must have talent and initiative. Students enjoy custom-made classes, just as they would at a fine college. In sports, fine arts, & other activities
One of Valley Catholic’s goals is “Excellence in Everything; Opportunity for Everyone.” Valley puts many of the top athletic teams in Oregon on the field and floor and showcases outstanding fine arts groups on stage. And no one is ever cut. Leaving people out isn’t Valley Catholic’s idea of excellence. Nor is average performance. A word about size
All schools want to take students seriously as people, thinkers, athletes, and artists, and to give everyone opportunity and encouragement. But this ideal is impossible in large schools. In many of the most popular activities, there aren’t enough opportunities to go around and people are left out.
1
Valley Catholic High School
But that ideal is possible in a school of 400. At Valley Catholic, every student has reason to be excited every morning. They value their years here for the rest of their lives. Giving opportunities is the job of education. The best schools give the most opportunities. Valley Catholic’s not the kind of school in which fourfifths of the students watch the other one-fifth living full lives. Personal. Hopeful. Joyful.
The tragedy of our time is the destruction of youth. Parents dream of the great lives their children will lead. Students’ dreams are often even nobler. But dreamed-of lives disappear into a mass culture appealing only to our grosser natures, one whose advertising is impossible for young people to see through if they have not been given intelligent, humane and satisfying beliefs, values, and tastes. Valley Catholic is a world of happy faith and lightheartedness. Academic subjects provide a lifetime of pleasure and become the foundation of a hopeful philosophy for life.
I don’t mean great schools don’t equip their students for the 9-to-5 world. I believe just the contrary. A humane education best equips students for both their personal and professional lives. Valley Catholic is not only personal; it’s also hopeful, faithful, and joyful. We are able to laugh because we believe in the laughter at the heart of things. We believe that life is ultimately a divine comedy, not an absurd irony. Everything we do – in class and out – is based on this belief. So if you want to be known, challenged, given a chance – and if you want to come every morning to a place based on hope, faith, and happiness – consider Valley Catholic.
Principal Valley Catholic School