Dear Saint Ursula Community,

By the time you receive this newsletter, your daughter will have finished her first school day of the 2023-2024 school year. A distinct hallmark of Saint Ursula Academy is our welcoming community, and the tradition of welcoming students back on campus sets that tone on the very first day.  If you didn’t get to see it this morning, the entire faculty and staff were waiting for the girls in the front circle to share high-fives and huge smiles as they arrived on campus - along with our Bulldog mascot and Angelo, our beloved therapy dog.  The Class of 2027 met in the Keller Student Center so that they could be “officially” welcomed on campus as a unified group.  I appreciated the symbolism of their arriving as a class just as they will eventually graduate as a class.  The warmth and care among the students, the faculty and staff, and the girls were so inspiring.

Our students had a lot of “firsts” today.  In addition to meeting all of their new teachers and classmates, they had time with their Advisory and Mentor Match Advisory Group. We gathered for a whole school Kick-off in the gym to introduce our new faculty and staff and review all of the people that are here at SUA to support our students.  At the Kick-off we also introduced the theme for the year:  Change Starts with U: Expand.  There is a lot to unpack about the theme, so I will save that one for next week’s Parent Bulletin.  At its heart, it is all about helping our students learn about themselves so that they can expand their own perspectives, be open to others’ perspectives, and use those skills to build community for themselves and for others.

Lelia, the faculty and staff, and I are so excited to have our girls back on campus!  We are loving the feeling of optimism - one of the great Ursuline values that is so present at new beginnings like today.

Go Bulldogs!

Kathy Restle