A Grateful Heart

The Greek philosopher Plato said, "A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things."  Gratitude is fundamental to our belief system as Christians.  I have found that as I get older I am more grateful, and that being more grateful leads to a better understanding of the world around me.  It is like looking at a situation and seeing it as a major obstacle, or viewing the exact same situation as an opportunity - an opportunity to grow.  

A grateful heart allows us to move on after tragedy, to accept suffering with grace, and to recognize the good in people.  I want to believe that people are far more grateful than their social media feeds indicate.  I want to believe that given an opportunity -- most people are grateful for the gifts they have been given.  

We have much to be thankful for at the Lafayette Catholic School System, and I would like you to join me in that thanksgiving. As I reflect, here are just a few things that we should give thanks for:

Volunteers:  This past year parents and students donated over 10,000 hours of time to our schools.  This is so important to our success.

Service of our Students:  This past year our students at LCSS donated over 14,000 hours to our parishes, schools and community.

Academic Success:  LCSS has always and must always continue to keep focused on educating the “whole” child, by continuing to improve instruction, programming and curriculum in Religion, Art, Music, Math and the Sciences.  The combination of efforts in technology, staff development, teacher appreciation, and developing an innovative culture are leading to improvements in all aspects of our academic success. While test scores are not alone a measure of success,  we do pay attention to them.  This past year two of our schools were rated as four-star schools by the Indiana DOE, and overall we saw great improvement in our ISTEP scores.  

Dedicated Teachers:  Our teachers were dedicated to learning new instructional methods, integrating technology in the classroom, and identifying ways to utilize data to help individualize instruction, and completed over 2,300 hours of professional development.

Technology:  Through the generous support of our donors and the commitment of our parents we were able to provide each of our faculty members with a new Apple Macbook Air and Ipad mini, and each of our 7-12 grade students with an Apple Macbook Air.  Our school system is becoming a model for other schools in their adoption and use of technology. We look forward to growing technology in our elementary schools.

Financial Support:  The financial support of our parents, alumni, and friends enabled us to provide Student Aid to 465 students last school year, add technology to our four schools, remodel our band and choir rooms at Central Catholic, recarpet the guidance office and teachers lounge, and renovate our outdoor athletic facilities.  

Thank you for all you do for the Lafayette Catholic School System. Let us all be thankful on our way to seeking greatness.