Dear Mater Christi Families,

Happy Advent!  As we begin the month of December, the days are growing longer, the nights are getting colder, and we are looking forward with great anticipation for the Season of Christmas. As a school community we are gathering each week for a prayer service or Mass as we learn about and reflect on the Season of Advent and the coming of Christmas. These worship opportunities are led by our students, and I encourage you to attend.  Last week our prekindergarten students led us in a beautiful prayer service to begin the Season of Advent. Under the direction of Mrs. Patty LaMothe and Mrs. Luana McCormick, some of our youngest students did an amazing job leading our school in prayer.  It was so wonderful to see many of our prekindergarten’s parents in attendance, as well as all of our students learning from some of our youngest students.

We will have an all-school Mass on Thursday, December 8 to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at 9 am, and we will have prayer services on Wednesday, December 14 and Thursday, December 22 at 8:30 am.  Please join us if you are able.

I want to extend a special thank you to our outstanding middle school students and parent volunteers who gave their time this past weekend to transform our school gym with two fresh coats of paint. Many hands did in fact make light work, and our students and parents had some fun in the process.  This outstanding group of volunteers was able to transform our gymnasium Friday evening and Saturday morning just in time for our Christmas concerts which begin this week. Many thanks to these outstanding members of our school family.

This week on Thursday, December 8 beginning at 6 pm, we will have our K-4 Christmas concert which features our beginning band, as well as our K-4 students singing several Christmas songs.  Next Thursday, December 15 is our 5-8 Christmas concert that will feature our advanced band students, as well as our 5-8 students singing several Christmas songs.  Many thanks to Mrs. Barb Heath and Mrs. Lori Marino for all they have done to prepare our students. You are in for some spirit-filled concerts featuring some very musically gifted children.

Speaking of featuring our students and school, I recently learned that Mater Christi will be featured as the “Cool School” next Wednesday, December 14 on Local 22.  Reporter Alaina Pinto will be here with a camera crew, and they will be doing live shots every thirty minutes from 5-8:30 am that feature different aspects of our wonderful school.  Some of your children will be asked to be dropped off early so they can be included in these live features. Make sure to tune into Local 22 and see what makes Mater Christi so special.

Finally, I want to share with you that our school received some very positive feedback in the past two weeks about our progress thus far this year.  During the week of Thanksgiving, leadership representatives from the Sisters of Mercy met with members of our administrative team and Board of Trustees.  The purpose of this annual meeting is to provide the Sisters of Mercy with an update about the progress of our school.  Sister Marie Kieslich, President of the Northeast Community of the Sisters of Mercy, was highly complementary of our school’s new leadership model and our shared work over the past few months to create stronger structures that will provide more for our students in keeping with the mission of our school.  In addition, last week our accrediting organization, The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) sent me a letter commending our school on a new curriculum review process that our teachers will begin following this year, as well as crisis response plan that our school now has in place to improve teaching and learning.

I share this good news with you during this Season of Advent because of school has much to be proud of and much to look forward to as we look to the future.  As a school family, we can accomplish much for your children/our students when we work together to advance the mission and ministry of Mater Christi, a school that was founded out of a deep love for children by the Sisters of Mercy.  We are blessed in so many ways each day!

I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming prayer services, liturgies, or Christmas programs.

Gratefully,

Patrick A. Lofton, Ed.S

President/Head of School