From the Desk of Father Raaser There is always a sense of hope in new beginnings, a season of unknown potential awaits on the first day of school. This past Thursday was the 70th opening day of St. Margaret’s School. What was started in 1953 with Sr. Marie Gabriel, O.P., Principal, and seven other Sisters from Blauvelt has grown into a wonderful Catholic school, in which we can all be proud. Even though the school is no longer a parish school, it still has the feeling and spirit of belonging to us all. This year our enrollment is approximately 260 students with a waiting list! Many parents throughout Rockland County seek entrance into our school. It is a wonderful tribute to our Principal, Mrs. Maldonado, the dedicated faculty, staff and families.
This coming November to celebrate the 70th Anniversary, the Parents Association is organizing a parish celebration and a reunion of all 70 classes. Stay tuned for more information. Are there any graduates from the first graduation Class of ‘57? We would love to hear from you.
No matter how many years it has been since one graduated; the sights, sounds and smells of newness on opening day remains the same. The fresh smell of paint and floor wax, teachers fixing up their classrooms with new and inviting artwork, the students with new clean uniforms and polished shoes - all ready to take on the work of a new grade brings excitement and hope. In spite of all the differences in education today, some things stay the same.
We are blessed to have a Catholic elementary school in Pearl River. Catholic education is vital not only to our Church, but to our world. In Catholic school we can teach to the whole child, the human person: body, mind, and soul. We are free to teach the truth of Jesus Christ. We are allowed to teach values that endure. We all need to support our Catholic schools. At one time, every parish had their own elementary school, now we have only 3 Catholic elementary schools in Rockland County and our high school, Albertus Magnus. Education has always been one of the great missions of the Church. As St. Anselm taught: Faith seeks to be understood.
It is a real tragedy, that Catholic schools are not free. I realize tuition is too high for some families. I also know that many families make the decision to sacrifice much so that their children can get a Catholic education.
For Catholic families in public schools, it can be a scary scene. One of the “benefits” from zoom learning was that for the first time, parents found out what their child was being taught, or not taught and what is forming their child as a person.
We know all too well how the public school scene has, in recent years, become an intense battleground of bitter fighting. Fringe racial theories, anti-patriotism and sexual ideologies contrary to God’s law and nature have been forced upon our children. Parents have been told to mind their business when it comes to education, leave it to the ‘experts.’ Parents are made to think, they have no recourse and to blindly accept what it being taught without accountability.
The Church has always taught that parents have “the first responsibility for the education of their children” (No. 2223). Parents have the right to both teach their children the morals imparted by the Church and “to choose a school for them, which corresponds to their own convictions” (No. 2229).
We ask the Holy Spirit to come and guide all our students, their faculty, staff and administrators. May this year be a year of grace, a year of new beginnings, a year of getting to know, to love and to serve God all the more.
THANK YOU! Thank you for your generosity to the people of Hawaii. A check in the amount of $5,114 was sent to Bishop Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu.