Dear Ursuline Families,

Lent is a season of reflection in many ways. Father Alfonse, in his Ash Wednesday homily, encouraged us to see Lent as the time to do the thing you want to do today – to be the person you want to be today – to lay down the thing you know in your heart you need to leave behind today. 

Lent offers each of us a gift of reckoning, of asking what it means to say no to something we enjoy or to say yes to something that is hard, and then to dig deep to gather the strength to say no, or yes, today rather than borrow from tomorrow. I find it comforting to be in a community where I know others are also walking that journey of thoughtfully breaking or building a habit. I am genuinely interested in hearing what our students decide to lay down or take on during Lent; they are so thoughtful in their choices.

In education, we have times of opportunity for reflection. This week we are hosting our Ursuline Identity Assessment visiting team and I am eager to hear their feedback. The self-study process gave us the opportunity to delve into our Ursuline charism and explore how we live it out. It demonstrated great care, involving many people here over many months. I found the complete document written by our internal team to be moving, filled with acknowledgements and affirmations on which to build, and offering us the impetus to begin that work of building today.

In whatever ways each of us engages in this season of preparation, I hope we find the support to stretch and meet our challenges with grace. We are connected in our Ursuline community, and when Easter arrives, we will meet in joy.

You are all in my prayers as we walk the Lenten journey together!

Dr. Andrea Shurley
Principal