Notes from the Principal's Desk: September 5, 2017

Welcome to the start of the 2017-2018 school year at The School of the Cathedral! This year, I will share my Principal communications on Tuesdays, separately from the weekly bulletin, which comes out on Wednesdays. This weekly Notes from the Principal's Desk will focus on what we are doing inside the school and classrooms.  I hope to share some educational best practices and philosophies, as well as how we strive to push student achievement to new heights every week.

We would like to welcome, in a special way, our new families who have joined us this year, especially those families from St. Thomas Aquinas School.  We are grateful to all of our parents who have chosen Cathedral as the institution to help educate and raise their children.  We accept this responsibility with the fidelity and seriousness that it deserves.  Cathedral offers the best features of a traditional Catholic school education, such as faith formation and tradition, while at the same time delivering an innovative education by developing students' 21st-century learning skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving.

I would like to share with everyone my three core beliefs as an educator:

1. Every student can learn. 
   
2. Teachers are more important than any textbook, curriculum, or set of standards in impacting student learning.  
   
3. Teacher professional development is critical in helping students succeed.  

It is because of the students that each one of us is here, and our goal is to always focus on what is best for the students.  

We are excited to share the news of an expansion of an initiative from last year, as well as a new initiative launching this year.  First, this year we have several more faculty members adopting flexible seating classrooms.  Flexible seating classrooms allow every area in a classroom to become a learning space, giving students choice and providing opportunities for students to work collaboratively, communicate and be creative.

Another initiative launching this year is the development of our makerspace. The idea of the maker movement evolved from software and hardware hackers, as well as hobbyist who like to build things.  This DIY movement allows students to have group discussions, collaborate, experiment, and get involved in peer-to-peer learning.  The makerspace will involve Lego robotics, 3D printing, coding, and the learning garden.  Students will help design and build the makerspace the first trimester, and students will dive into the environment beginning the second trimester.

Finally, we are eager to announce that we will begin streaming the school's morning and afternoon announcements beginning next week.  If you go to YouTube and search SCMOQTV you will be able to see the same announcements that the students will see every day.  This was only made possible with a grant from Cathedral's parent association, CASPA.  We are so grateful for CASPA's help and generosity.

We pray that you have a great rest of the week and wonderful school year.

God Bless,

Michael Wright