3 minute read
President’s Message
By Andy Morris, President
The 2020-2021 school year was an extraordinary, unforgettable year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also a remarkable year for so many OTHER reasons – this is what I would like to focus on in this message. In fact, this will be the last direct reference to the virus.
We were the first school to open in the city – in fact, we opened a day early, and the milestones continued from that day forward. We would eventually be awarded the key to the city of Evansville by Mayor Winnecke for this achievement, recognizing our commitment to education and extreme courage. It has been a year marked by many firsts and shattered records. This year we were nominated for the first time and named the winner of the Courier & Press Reader’s Choice for Best Private School. We had our biggest Tradition Lottery in its 24-year history by selling all 3,500 tickets. We brought home several state champion titles in wrestling and speech. Our Dei of Giving surpassed historical records by nearly $20,000, raising over $53,000 in just two days. We are also wrapping up one of the most successful annual funds, breaking once again an all-time record. Most recently, as of May 12th, our main gym now has air conditioning for the first time in 72 years.
Students, staff and fans couldn’t be more excited for this long awaited project. Perhaps our greatest achievement this year has been what we have accomplished for our families through the expansion of the Indiana School Choice Scholarship Program. Many more families will now benefit from the largest expansion in the program since its inception in 2011. What changed is the family income requirement and the amount of financial assistance awarded to each family. More middle-class families will now qualify and be able to take advantage of the tuition scholarship program and choose a learning environment that is effective, motivating, and challenging. Over the next few years this will positively and dramatically impact our families in all of our Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Evansville. It has been a pleasure getting to know Senator Jim Tomes (Mater Dei class of 1966) through this legislative process and I thank him tremendously for what he is doing for Hoosier families and advocating for us.
Through all of this we have always been focused on the future. Over the last year we have been developing our new strategic plan – a road map of success for the next three years.
Mater Dei is a community that is thriving and not simply surviving. As we look to the future we have big goals; we have progress to make and we have more records to shatter. We are looking forward to publishing our new strategic plan in the fall of 2021. In Isaiah 61:3, God gives those who mourn in Zion a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair. Through the grace of God, we kept pushing through, letting nothing stop us along the way. We have made sacrifices, but we have achieved great accomplishments. We have given so much up, but we have gained far more in return. We placed our trust in Jesus and relied on the intercession of Mary in countless ways. This is what sets the Mater Dei community apart from everyone else. We are a strong community of faith that prevails in adversity. Our tenacity will never be matched and we will never waiver from what we are called to do.
If we can accomplish these things in a year like this one, then there is nothing stopping us from reaching even greater heights in the days and the years to come. We all have so much more to achieve and I look forward to this next school year and sharing in these milestones with you – in every step and every major accomplishment along the way.
