Message from the Principal

Hello St. Al Family and Friends,

This has been a wonderful week, with a chill in the air but plenty of sunshine. We were so happy to be back to our normal schedule.  As we transition into another month and end another trimester, I wanted to share a few pieces of news.  First, I am very happy to announce we have officially hired a Development Director.  I am so pleased to welcome Kristen Ferguson to our staff here at St. Al’s.  She is the mother of two students here and brings a great deal of experience in bookkeeping, event coordination, and fundraising in the Catholic school arena.  She will start at the end of this week, continuing the fabulous work started earlier this year by Lena Anderson.

In far less happy news, it is my unfortunate duty to inform everyone that Krissy Altenhoffen will be leaving St. Al’s at the end of this school year.  Krissy loves our St. Al family but she and her husband, John, are about to start their own family.  As they move into this next phase of their lives, Krissy would like to step back to spend more time with her baby.  We are so sad to see her go but we wish her and her future little one all the best.

As we begin Lent next week, I would like to remind everyone that school mass is on Wednesday, March 6th next week.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  Lent is a time of reflection, sacrifice, and preparation.  As Pope Francis said, “Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” This is a time to slow down our day-to-day movement, to think longer and deeper about our God and our relationship with Him.  It is a time to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice Jesus will make on the cross.  Pope Francis encourages each of us to experience our own version of sacrifice in hopes that it will be for the ultimate good and benefit of others.  I would like to encourage every member of our community to think about what making this type of sacrifice might mean for them.  Perhaps you have already decided what your sacrifice will be this season or perhaps you are still considering a few choices.  I encourage us all to think about these decisions through the lens of Pope Francis so that we might “deny ourselves something every day to help others.”

Thank you,
Kathleen Cifu