Dear Royals Family,
We have reached the end of July and we are eager to get back to the business of partnering with parents in this ministry of Catholic education. I am pleased to report that even through all of the challenges of the past several months that MCP is welcoming a freshman class that is on pace to be even larger than last year’s. Clearly, the story of the transformative power of Catholic, secondary education at MCP has spread and I would encourage our entire community to continue spreading that “Good News” about the commitment, professionalism, care, and accountability that our school has delivered to students.
Today marks two weeks from the official first day of the Academic Year. MCP's New Student Orientation will be on Friday, August 14 when freshmen and transfer students begin their MCP careers with a day full of connection and training. The schedule for this day is still being finalized but new students can look for those details in a message next week. Freshmen and transfer students should plan for events to occupy all morning and part of the early afternoon on that day.
Classes for all students will begin on Monday, August 17 with all students logging in to their A Period Class at 8:30 am. We learned a great deal from both our academic successes and challenges this past spring and for this fall we have shifted to a more synchronous, Distance Learning model. This will better structure a student’s day and keep them more connected to teachers and classmates, but it will still allow for both teacher and student flexibility. The first few days of school will focus on making sure all students are connecting with the technology and are comfortable with their course schedule. We do understand the potentially unsettling nature of starting the year under our Distance Learning protocol and we are approaching this rather unprecedented start with appropriate care.
I know that many students probably have questions and I would like to invite any interested students to participate in a Town Hall style Zoom session this coming Tuesday, August 4th at 4 pm. I will be available to answer student questions and offer support (and hopefully assurances), as well as hear directly from students to identify their needs, concerns, or ideas about a successful school year. The log-in instructions for this session will go out to all students on Tuesday through their MCP accounts.
Also next week, a second installment of our parent Town Hall Zoom sessions will take place on Thursday, August 6th at 5:30 pm. This upcoming session will provide further updates on school programming and will include a panel of teachers representing the Academic Departments at MCP who will speak about the incredible preparations that have been made over the past several months getting ready to deliver an exceptional, Catholic, college preparatory education to our students. Like the very successful Parent Zoom session we hosted two weeks ago, this session will be recorded and posted on our website, but we would welcome a full audience for those who are available. Look for the Zoom invite next week.
The start of school is now within reach and we are ready. I pray that all of us will receive in abundance, the Grace, wisdom, collegiality, grit, and spirit of collaboration that will be necessary for us to thrive through these challenges. Thank you again for all that you do in support of our school. I hope your children are excited both to take on this challenge and to engage in MCP’s unique culture of care and accountability. They, too, have a role to play in their “becoming women and men for others” and we are so excited to get back to forming these young "women and men of scholarship, inspiration, and leadership, in service to deeper life with God and deeper life with one another." There will be an after to this crisis, and WeWill arrive there as a community.
Yours in Christ,
Mike Susank
Principal