Hope In the Midst of Calamity

January 20, 2005

Dear Parents and Friends,

I hope you and your families enjoyed your holiday vacation and are feeling rested and ready for the start of 2005. Christmas has always been a time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for, and on the hope for the future that we may have as individuals, families, and communities. I had planned on writing a letter describing the wonderful progress of Princeton Academy, and the goals we had for the remainder of the school year, but decided to put that letter on hold, for now. The terrible tragedy of the tsunami in the Bay of Bengal certainly reinforced in me all that we have to be thankful for, but it also reminded me of the importance of developing a sense of hope for ourselves and for the world. A hope that recognizes that life can be hard, unjust, and calamitous, but still motivates us to find meaning, live well, and do good in the midst of those realities.

We have much for which we are thankful. We have a growing school on a beautiful campus. We are building a new gymnasium, followed by a library, chapel and renovated classrooms. We have wonderful teachers and staff members that continually review and strengthen their teaching skills and the curriculum they teach. We have students with supportive families ready and eager to engage in their learning. All this has resulted in alumni who are doing well at a variety of college preparatory schools throughout the US.

However, with so much focus on growth, academic quality, and high school placement as benchmarks of the success of a new school, I could not help but wonder if we were truly successful in the most important part of the mission of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart: to develop young men of understanding and compassion with the courage to act. My question was answered as our students returned to school. Our Middle School Student Council met on Tuesday and decided that funds raised at all of their events for the remainder of the year would go to the tsunami relief fund. Our Community Service Committee has been meeting to identify ways in which we can raise additional funds for relief and how we can ensure that the funds are disbursed appropriately. Individual faculty, staff members, parents, and students asked how they could help organize a school wide effort. In addition to relief for the victims of the tsunami, a student has given me a proposal to develop a care package drive for our soldiers serving in Iraq.

It is heartwarming to see our students returning from a holiday, too often associated with the question "What did you get?," with the statement, "I believe we can do this to help." I thank you for sharing your sons and working with us as we guide them in becoming "young men with active and creative minds, a sense of understanding and compassion for others, and the courage to act on their beliefs." We are truly blessed, for they are our hope as well as the hope of the world.

Sincerely,

Olen Kalkus
Headmaster