Letter from the Pastor
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January 25, 2026
Today begins the National Catholic Schools Week. Every year the last week of January celebrates Catholic education in the United States. This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” Each day of the week celebrates the school community: students, family, faculty and staff. It is a week of fun activities and community building; it celebrates faith and love.
Our school was founded in 1953, and for 73 years St. Margaret’s School has been educating the children of Pearl River and beyond. We have a wonderful tradition of excellence in education, but more importantly than reading writing and arithmetic, is the purpose of every Catholic school: to teach Jesus Christ and the Catholic Faith. Helping the children and their families to be holy people.
When a child is baptized parents, supported by godparents, make promises to help their child grow in the Faith. The Church always taught that parents are the first teachers of their children in all things. The family home becomes the first Catholic school and a domestic Church. Without the parents’ direct and active involvement in their child’s Catholic faith formation faith won’t develop and grow. Faith must be practiced.
We should all thank God for Catholic schools. We also need to thank God for our religious education program, the volunteer catechists and helpers, the children and administration. The goal of both is to help children become good Catholics, with knowledge of their faith, to be people of prayer, and to experience our Lord intimately through the sacraments. Learning to treat one another with Christian charity, and respect as a fellow member of God’s family.
Remember the adage: children live what they learn.
Catholic Schools Week annually provides all Catholics — whether they have children in Catholic schools or not — with the chance to think about how the faith is taught and witnessed and the value that Catholic schools offer to children, to parents, to families, to the Church and to society.
Is that value worth the sacrifice it takes for parents and families to provide Catholic school education to their children when public school education is readily available without any extra cost required? The research has been done and a majority of graduates of Catholic schools at the primary and secondary levels have demonstrated greater success across the board in a variety of measures than their public school counterparts.
Having worked in Catholic education for many years I can say without hesitation, Catholic education is definitely worth it! Sadly, we live at a time when many Catholic schools throughout the country are closing because of declining enrollments, financial strain, the inability of the Church to provide subsidies to Catholic schools, and sadly the growing secularization among Catholics.
The key to the future of primary and secondary Catholic schools lies in the hands of Catholic parents and families who value Catholic education for their children. It comes down to a decision. Catholic schools do the job and do it well because the whole child is educated, mind, body and soul.
I know families would want their child to attend Catholic schools but can’t afford it or they need special services that only a public school can offer. So, it is important that a healthy and strong society have good public schools. Parents of public school children should work together to make sure their children are being taught properly.
Congratulations to our incredible Principal, Mrs. Maldonado, our dedicated faculty and staff, and our parents who make our school so special, but most importantly, our students. Have a well-deserved celebration, with grateful hearts and souls.