A Place of Grace

My journey to serving in Catholic schools began 35 years ago under the watchful eye of my first- grade teacher. Miss Vera Flynn – all five feet and five inches of her with fiery red hair and Irish brogue – she taught forty-two six-year-olds how to read, write, and do arithmetic, but much more than that, she taught us to know and love Jesus. She taught each one of us that we had value because we were made in the image and likeness of God. Her classroom was a place of grace.

As principal and also a parent at St. Mary Magdalen School, I now continue to be blessed with the opportunity to witness more places of grace. Both of my sons started their St. Mary Magdalen journeys in our transitional kindergarten program. Our teacher, Ms. Schuberg, creates an environment where students can flourish and grow. She guides them in coming to know and love God even more deeply while also teaching little minds how to explore the worlds of numbers and words. And every time a student (or principal) leaves the room, they depart to a chorus of little voices saying “God bless you”! This is most certainly a place of grace.

These are scenes that are replicated on a daily basis throughout our campus home. Whether it be a second grader joyfully learning about their upcoming sacraments or an eighth grader deepening their faith life through an off-campus retreat. It may look like a fourth grader talking to her teacher about how to navigate the everchanging landscape of fourth grade friendships or a seventh grader walking past a poster of Catholic scientists on their way to enjoy a hands on lab in their advanced science class. It most certainly looks like the entire campus – students, teachers, parent volunteers, and visitors – pausing wherever they are and whatever they are doing to pray the Angelus immediately following lunch.

The list goes on, but one thing is abundantly clear to me – when our students step on campus at St. Mary Magdalen School, they are able to enter into a different space – “a new environment, one illuminated by the light of faith...an environment permeated with the Gospel spirit of love and freedom.” It truly is a place of grace. 

I invite you to come and visit our place of grace for our Open House on Sunday, November 6 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm, and if you have a school-aged child, to prayerfully consider giving them the gift of a Catholic education at St. Mary Magdalen School.
Siempre Adelante,


Michael Ronan
Principal
St. Mary Magdalen School 

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