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Letter from the President
– ALAN CARRUTHERS LET TER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear SLUH Community,
The 2019-20 school year is in the books, and I think it is fair to say that it is a multi-volume series whose storyline is perhaps best reflected by Charles Dickens’ line from A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times…the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope…” The last year has in many ways embodied a truly remarkable school year for three quarters, and an incredibly challenging yet hope-filled spring and summer.
St. Louis U. High saw the ongoing realization of Go Forth capital campaign objectives like a fully staffed and energetic College Counseling Department, as well as the completion of renovations for our second campus at the Madonna Della Strada Retreat Center near Silex, Mo. Our curriculum work and James Guth Costigan '62 Innovation Lab complete, the school has launched into a new era of project-based, imaginative learning that will continue to inspire the development of lifelong learners.
Regarding our challenges, we experienced a very short lead time to pivot from in-person instruction to an asynchronous model of virtual learning. Due to the nature of our seven period day schedule, our teachers and administrators were left with few logistical options, but did an incredible job in this shift. This summer was filled with safety and academic planning and professional development as we prepared for the unexpected. Our entire school team has done an unbelievable amount of work all summer to get us to the point where we began with virtual learning and moved to a hybrid approach. Throughout the shifting sands, the “spring of hope” has always been present at the end of every curveball and puzzle as our community members creatively and collaboratively solved a panoply of problems. Whether it was running a virtual Cashbah, recognizing the Class of 2020 through the Driving of the Bills and graduation, or resolving the questions around entrance protocols and daily routines, people dug in and came up with innovative ways to move us forward.
Your ongoing support has never been more important than it is now. As we reboot our Go Forth campaign and respond to increased need-based scholarship demands, we look to our beloved alumni and benefactors to assist us in carrying out our Jesuit mission of forming Men for Others. Our gratitude cannot be expressed suitably in words, but it is true to say that with our collective will and faith, the “worst of times” has and will continue to be our “best of times.”
God bless you and thank you for supporting the young men of SLUH and the apostolic efforts of the Society of Jesus for which we are entrusted.
God bless,
Alan Carruthers
President
