Our virtues of the month for April are Gentleness and Humility. These are important virtues, but hard ones to teach in a culture that values self-assertion and ambition. We can find dozens of great stories for children exemplifying such virtues as courage, diligence, and perseverance. There are also many good stories justifying the quest for human rights. It is much more difficult to find stories that speak to the importance of saying “forgive me,” “after you,” or “I was wrong.”

In March, our Virtue-of-the-Month is Mercy, which means to show compassion to those who may have done us wrong, to one whom we may consider as an enemy, or to those over whom one has power. Mercy extends graciousness to those who, strictly speaking “deserve” much less. It is closely related to forgiveness and acts to reduce or end the distress of others.

The Virtues-of-the-Month for February are Honesty and Justice. The virtue of honesty is a secondary virtue in the service of justice. Honesty is key to the flourishing of strong relationships and free communities. But we can think of situations in which absolute honesty would lead to injustice. For example, in the context of Nazi persecution of Jews before and during World War II, hiding Jews and lying about it, on its face, was untruthful, but it was an act in the service of justice, thus justified.

The Christmas holidays are such a special time for all of us to be reminded of God’s never-ending desire especially in these perilous times to see a world of peace and happiness for all His children. As we look back over the activities of the first part of the school year, we would like to take the opportunity to express our appreciation for your support and involvement. Many of you came to our annual Winter Concert in support of your children. We hope it was a great experience for you all. In addition, recently we had our annual fall Read-a-thon fundraiser. We will use the funds raised to purchase another Promethean smartboard for one of our classes. We wish to thank everyone who supported this recent fundraiser.

This month, as we sense the needs of others, we highlight the virtue of Service. This is an active and natural response to our concern for others. This December once again, in the spirit of service, our choir will be going to City Hall to sing for the Mayor of Clifton and his staff as well as at the nearby senior citizens center. For the first time, our students will have the opportunity to sing for Clifton’s new Mayor Ray Grabowski.

We wish to thank Clifton Mayor Ray Grabowski for his visit to our school last month and speaking to our students on the virtue of Perseverance. Drawing on his own personal experiences, he demonstrated the importance of facing one’s challenges while going through life. This month’s virtue of the month is Stewardship. We take time to reflect on using our natural resources responsibly and, in general, to respond lovingly to the gifts of others. Good stewardship means the thoughtful care of the many gifts we have been given and, in gratitude, to give to others. To this end, we invite you to participate in our annual food drive running from Nov. 3-21 (see flier this Friday). All donations will be forwarded to St. Peter’s Haven for distribution to those in need in time for Thanksgiving.

Next Friday, Oct. 6, at our monthly assembly we are honored to have the Mayor of Clifton Ray Grabowski come to speak to the students on our Virtue-of-the-Month: Perseverance (see below). Parents are also welcome starting at 9:30 am. At the same time, we will be kicking off our first service project of the year—a clothing drive. Please bring in old (but in good condition) shirts, pants, hats, gloves, coats, blankets, shoes, sweaters, sweatshirts, etc., and drop them off in a box that will be in the hallway starting Monday, Oct. 2. The clothing will be given to St. Peter’s Haven for distribution to needy families.

As principal of New Hope School, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2023-24 school year. Our teachers are excited to have students back in their classrooms. We spent all of last week preparing for the new school year while discussing the most effective ways to help students develop themselves academically, socially, and emotionally in the coming year. We reminded ourselves that, above all, our mission is to teach our students God-centered universal values and service to others as the basis for personal integrity, harmony in the family, and peace in the world. We look forward to partnering with you in the coming year to achieve this.

Our Virtue-of-the-Month for June is Lives to Learn From. This month we honor and celebrate those individuals who have lived lives of great intellectual and moral virtue, whether they be scholars, artists, or public figures. Character is not simply the assemblage of many traits but involves the integration of the whole person towards a noble end. Children need to see models of good character, either real or imaginary. Their teachers should be good role models as well as you as their parents. Beyond ourselves, the possibilities are endless. In June, we strive to leave our students with a sense of possibility and challenge them to aspire to greatness.

On Friday, April 28, we held our annual Race for Education Day. Thank you for all the support you have been giving in finding sponsors for your child in this spring fundraiser. Students ran or walked around a quarter-mile track for one hour. Students in each class with the most laps received a medallion. The student with the most laps in the whole school received a trophy. Newly-elected Clifton mayor Ray Grabowski was on hand to show his support and take a picture with our students. We wish to thank all the parents who turned out today and helped in so many ways.