P R I NC I PAL’S
Dear Friends,
LET T ER
This edition of Harpstrings is a celebration of God’s many blessings on St. Cecilia Academy. We are still reveling in the gift of the new Fine Arts Center and the beautifully renovated chorus and drama rooms, some photos of which are included in this issue.
have an unshakable confidence and joy that nothing can take away. With this foundation, they can then become builders of a culture that proclaims the truth about the human person as one destined to share in God’s own divine life.
The mosaic of St. Cecilia in the Fine Arts Gallery has been particularly in my thoughts in light of our school theme this year:“Only one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42). You’ll remember that Jesus says these words to Martha when He’s visiting her family home in Bethany. Hard-working Martha is irritated with her sister Mary, and she asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her. But Jesus simply says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and anxious about many things. Only one thing is necessary….”
This beautiful mission of St. Cecilia Academy continues to guide all our planning for both the present and future. In our school strategic planning cycle (usually a 5-6 year cycle), we are again in the midst of an updated strategic plan that will guide us in our continued growth in excellence in all aspects of the school. To this end, we have contracted with the Institute for School and Parish Development (ISPD), a national Catholic development consulting firm, to facilitate this planning process. It is a comprehensive, 10-month process that began in August and will culminate in May. ISPD’s approach is rooted in The National Standards and Benchmarks for Excellent Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, which provide the gold standard for best practices in Catholic education today.
Though Jesus doesn’t say specifically what the one necessary thing is, I think our beautiful new mosaic of St. Cecilia shows us what this one thing is. There she stands—a beautiful, young, talented girl whose gaze is fixed upward toward the heavens. What has so completely captured her attention is the beauty of the truth, the beauty of divine music sung by Truth Himself. Even as she walks the path to her martyrdom, Cecilia has confidence, freedom, and joy that spring from doing this one necessary thing—listening to the voice of Jesus telling her who she is: “You are the beloved of My Father.You are beautiful.You are worthy. You are chosen. You are redeemed. You are infinitely loved with the capacity to love infinitely. You have an eternal destiny.” This, I think, is why she is the patron saint of music— not because she herself mastered the organ or harp or flute—but because she so attuned her entire self to hear the divine music of God that her very life then became a song, drawing others to the beauty of truth as well. This is at the heart of our mission at St. Cecilia Academy: to help young women be rooted in the truth of who they are, so that like St. Cecilia, they will
Every cycle of strategic planning is a special time of grace. It is time for renewal and growth. I am privileged every day to see the wonderful things God is doing at St. Cecilia Academy, especially through the dedicated work of our faculty and staff. May our careful and thoughtful planning assure that St. Cecilia Academy will be an ever more vibrant channel of grace for every girl and her family! Thank you for your friendship and for sharing in the mission of St. Cecilia Academy. Please know of my prayers for you and your families. In Christ,
Sister Anna Laura, O.P.
(Cover) Students Ava Thienel '22, Ceci Cioffi '21, and Flanigen Phillips '22 warm up at the barre in the new Dance Studio. (Left) Natalie Cate '22 and Anna Regnier '20 gaze at student artwork in the new Fine Arts Gallery.
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