Dear St. Monica Academy Families,

I hope this message finds you all well.

On Sunday, we observed the 4th Sunday of Lent. Essentially, the 4th Sunday is the halfway mark of the Sundays of Lent. This is an important time for us as we reflect on the journey we have embarked upon during this special season of spiritual renewal and preparation. This time in the liturgical year is a way for us to draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The halfway point, which was symbolized by the rose-colored vestments, serves as a moment of encouragement, signaling that Easter, with its promise of resurrection and eternal life, is drawing nearer.  

This is a great time to recommit ourselves to deepening our relationship with God and striving for personal transformation. It is an excellent time to cultivate humility, gratitude, generosity, and empathy while we seek forgiveness for our shortcomings and sin and extend compassion to others.  
At the “half-way” point, I think it is important for all of us, not just our students, to reflect on our progress thus far. I also think it is important for us to continue our resolve to walk the path of faith with courage and perseverance, trusting in the Easter promise that awaits us.

With this said, I think it is important for me to share the verse once again from Scripture I shared with our faculty to open our week. This week I shared with the faculty, Matthew 11:28 which says: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. I think this is fitting for this point of Lent because undertaking renewal and preparing for Easter Sunday, as well as seeking forgiveness for our shortcomings and sin, and extending compassion to others, can truly be hard and at times exhausting. It is important to remember that life with and in Jesus promises us rest.  

It is also important to note that this can be a tough stretch of the school year for our students, teachers, and parents. I consider the time between Presidents’ Day and Easter Break to be considerably rough on all three groups. All groups are tired and “burdened” in their own way. This promise resonates now at this point of the school year more than at any other time of the year. The full portion of the Gospel according to Matthew in Chapter 11 extends to verse 30. It says: come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

So onward we continue. Below are some key points I would like to bring to your attention:

• The 5Essentials Survey closes on March 22nd.  I have been writing about this quite a bit. Quite frankly, we have done incredibly well, though there is still time to participate. As a parent, if you have not completed this yet, you have access to the survey through this link. All surveys completed by parents, students, and faculty and staff are completely anonymous. I look forward to this data. Thanks for your support!
• Boosterthon is coming! Our St. Monica Fun Run fundraiser is kicking off soon. Be on the lookout for more information and further emails in the coming weeks. For now, mark your calendars with these key dates!
  • Registration Opens on 3/20/2024. Register on MYBOOSTER.COM. We will be sending some information regarding registration very soon.  
  • St. Monica Fun Run Kickoff is on 04/09/2024.
  • Event Day is on 4/18/2024. 
• Re-registration remains in progress. Earlier, we sent home re-registration forms and the tuition matrix for the 2024-2025 year. There are, of course, benefits to re-registering early. There are deadlines explained in the terms and conditions section that some may wish to take advantage of because of the potential discounts. As of now, since it is past March 1st, we have the $50 reduction available on re-registration. Also, and this is important, to ease the registration process, if you are re-registering one student, but will have a new student joining us in the building next year (a re-registration + a new registration in any form), please contact Mrs. Reykjalin directly.    
• Stations of the Cross. Throughout Lent, we will also be participating in the Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 1:00 p.m. First through fifth grade will lead and participate on 3/15. The entire school will participate on 3/22. Please feel free to join us if you so desire.
• Traffic Flow. Please remember that we began placing traffic horses and barriers to control the flow of traffic around the campus during drop-off and pick-up. This means you should travel south down Nottingham, west on Carmen Avenue, and north on Mont Clare. Although some may find this inconvenient, it will do us well to institute this in order to better protect our students as they arrive and depart from school. Please avoid going around our barriers. Your example will hopefully become the example our neighbors and community friends follow.  

I would like to thank all of the volunteers who made this past Saturday’s Easter Egg Hunt a tremendous success. There was a flurry of activities and the smiles on the faces of our students were great to see. I appreciate all the hard work

As always, visit the St. Monica Academy website to sign up for volunteer opportunities and to read about the importance of our fundraising efforts.

Go Mustangs!  

St. Monica, Pray for Us!

In His Name,
Wayne Wenzel, Jr.
Principal