On behalf of all the staff at St. Paul School, as well as Father Smith and Father Felix, we welcome you to a new school year! It continues to be a sincere pleasure and honour to serve another year as your Principal.
And we are definitely excited for the year ahead! With the start of the school year, we return to pre-pandemic operations at school, with a continued focus on hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick, and optional wearing of masks. The BCCDC notes that “transmission within K-12 school settings accounts for a minority of COVID-19 cases, even amongst students and staff. Moreover, with high immunization rates in BC and treatment options for people at higher risk of serious disease, public health advises that COVID-19 can be managed as are other serious respiratory infections in the community.” With this reassurance, we can confidently move forward.
And finally, as we continue on our journey in Seeking Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation with this year’s Archdiocesan theme, I recall Pope Francis’ words from his recent trip to Canada this summer: “Our own efforts are not enough to achieve healing and reconciliation: we need God’s grace. We need the quiet and powerful wisdom of the Spirit, the tender love of the Comforter. May he bring to fulfillment the deepest expectations of our hearts. May he take us by the hand and enable us to advance together on our journey.”
Let us walk, pray, and work together.
Yours in faith,
Maureen Moorehead.