Dear Holy Family Catholic School Families and Friends,
Parking Lot Safety — A Gentle but Important Reminder
As our school community grows and our carline routines become familiar, it can be easy to let our guard down — and that is precisely when accidents can happen. We want to take a moment to ask every parent and guardian for your renewed attention and care as you enter and exit our campus each day.
Of particular concern is the area where our Middle School carline and our Primary School pickup overlap. As families transition from one line to the other, there is a natural crossing of traffic that requires everyone to slow down, stay alert, and be patient. Our children — and the families walking alongside them — deserve that attention.
We have also noticed that some parents have been distracted by their cell phones while waiting in the carline. We ask, with love and sincerity, that phones be set aside during these moments. The few minutes it takes to move through carline are a small but meaningful opportunity to model for our children the kind of focused, present care that reflects our community’s values.
Thank you for helping us keep every member of our school family safe. Your cooperation makes an enormous difference.
Go Team! — Celebrating Our Basketball Players & Coaches
What a joy it has been to watch our basketball teams take the court this season! The energy, effort, and heart our students have brought to each game has been truly inspiring. Win or lose, they are playing with passion and growing in ways that extend well beyond the scoreboard — in teamwork, perseverance, and grace under pressure.
A heartfelt thank you to our dedicated coaches, whose time, patience, and encouragement have shaped these young athletes into a team we are all proud of.
And to our wonderful community of families and supporters who have come out to cheer — your presence means the world to our students. There is something deeply beautiful about a gymnasium full of people united in support of one another. Please keep coming! Let’s fill those bleachers and make some noise.
Mother-Son Dance — This Saturday!
A wonderful evening is just around the corner! We are so excited to remind you that our beloved Mother-Son Dance is taking place this Saturday. This cherished tradition is one of the highlights of our school year — a special night for mothers and their sons to celebrate their bond, make memories, and enjoy an evening of joy together in the heart of our school community.
Whether it is your first Mother-Son Dance or your fifth, we hope the evening is everything you have been looking forward to. Dress up, dance, laugh, and cherish every moment.
We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our Parents in Education (PIE) group and all of the dedicated volunteers who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring this fabulous event to life. The planning, decorating, coordinating, and care that goes into an evening like this does not happen by magic — it happens because of the generous hearts of the men and women in this community who give their time so freely for the sake of our children. Thank you, PIE, and thank you to every volunteer. You are a gift to this school.
We look forward to seeing all those beautiful smiles on the dance floor this Saturday. Enjoy every moment!
A Meditation for the Third Week of Lent
As we journey together through this holy season of Lent, I wanted to share a reflection that stopped me in my tracks this week. It comes from Ruth Burrows’ Through Him, With Him, In Him, and it speaks to a sin that is perhaps more common — and more consequential — than we often acknowledge: the sin of judging others.
“Do Not Judge… Let us dwell for a while on that particular sin which Our Lord emphasizes specially — the sin of judging others.
The human heart is God’s secret, we simply cannot know it; yet how readily we make judgements and impute motives. We feel absolutely sure of things, we get upset or feel angry, we fall into lots of other sins because we have allowed ourselves to judge.
No matter how obvious it seems to us, remember we simply cannot know another’s motivations. All we are saying in fact is that if I did such and such it would be for these reasons, therefore these reasons must be hers, too.
The hidden sin of judging, so common, so little regarded, is a tremendous obstacle to God’s love. Because it is secret, because it seems such a natural thing to do, because we feel we see things aright, we have no contrition, our consciences remain untroubled. Whereas a thing of less moral significance which is obvious to ourselves and others can rack us with guilt feelings which we mistake for real sorrow.
Contrition means ‘never again.’ ‘With all my heart I renounce this habit. I will examine myself on it daily…honestly, ruthlessly…’
Plenteous grace with thee is found,
Grace to cleanse from every sin.
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within.
— From “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” v. 4 (Charles Wesley)
— Ruth Burrows, Through Him, With Him, In Him”
May this Lenten season be one of genuine renewal for each of us — in our homes, in our hearts, and in how we see and treat one another. Let us be a community that extends to others the mercy we ourselves hope to receive.
Pax et bonum,
Sue Styren, M.Ed.