Dear Families,
I am pleased to share with all of you that Mount Royal Academy was recently awarded the 2017 Eagle Times Reader's Choice Award for Best Private School (9-12). When I received the phone call from the newspaper communicating that we received the award, I was honestly quite surprised. I was unaware that such an award was given, and our high school is still a relatively new option for families in the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Region. Back in 2009 when I first began teaching at MRA, there were barely 20 students in the high school. Now, we are approaching 60 total students, as w...
Dear Families,
Catholic Schools' Week was something I always looked forward to as a child attending diocesan schools in Manchester, and I love seeing that same anticipation in our students here at Mount Royal. The kids look forward to the annual traditions of the week, and it is important that we take this time as a school community to honor our mission of education and evangelization.
As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima and look forward to the diocese-wide consecration of Catholic schools to Our Lady in May, the faculty has chosen a Marian theme a...
Dear Families,
Today the Church celebrates the conversion of Paul. There is no otherliturgical event in which the conversion of a saint is honored, as the Churchtypically places the date of a saint's (or martyr's) passing into heaven as theopportunity to publicly recall the life of that saint.
There is a simple reason for this: Paul's conversion marked the moment whereinGod used a broken human instrument to carry the Gospel to all people, not justthe people of the old covenant. The most striking feature of Paul's conversionis the reversal of expectations: how could a pharasical, judgm...
Dear Families,
Our school’s annual trip to the March for Life is fast approaching. Students in grades 7-12 will board a bus for the long ride to Washington, D.C. next week, where they will witness to the belief that every life is a gift. The theme for this year’s march is “The Power of One,” which speaks to the idea that even a small group such as ours can effect huge change. We are so proud of our students for their courage in publically saying “yes” to life and standing up for the weak and fragile of our society.
As our group heads out for the long trip, we are trying to organize snacks...
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Dear Families,
I hope and pray that all of you enjoyed your Christmas vacation. Our family took down the Christmas tree on the feast of the Epiphany, but then I was quickly reminded by a faithful student on Monday that the Baptism of the Lord marks the definitive ending of the Christmas season. The dates can vary depending on how the liturgical calendar falls in the monthly calendar, but the wisdom of this intentional celebration by the Church should not be overlooked.
I am always impressed with how our academic calendar fittingly extends from the liturgical calendar. For exampl...
Dear Families,
Coming up with something meaningful to say in this letter is easier some weeks than others. In bemoaning this to the sixth grade class, they took it upon themselves to help me with this week’s theme. Naturally, they wanted the focus to be Christmas and one suggested the following quote from the Gospel of St. Luke:
The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
As always, ki...
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Dear Families,
Advent and Christmas always elicit quite a range of sentiments. This is due in large part to the intersection of our own individual lives with the message of Christmas. Human nature is such that we often compare our own experience with the experience and stories of others. I think to myself, "What would I do if I was Joseph?" or, "How could such a simple birth result in the slaughtering of thousands of young boys?" That last question might catch you off guard, but shortly after Christmas the Church recognizes the feast of the Holy Innocents, since according to history, Herod co...
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