Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. In all, circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
You know you are in the right place to work when you can pray without ceasing! This is my first year at Royalmont, but I must say, I feel like I am surrounded by family. I was drawn to Royalmont because I heard through the grapevine, there was a school out there with a reputation for being seriously Catholic. There is nothing more important to me than to be in a school where everyone believes our call is bring our students directly into a relationship with Christ and help them to become who God is calling them to be. So, when I saw an advertisement for Head of School at Royalmont, I was interested. I talked to a friend who had a student at the school and he was ecstatic that I was interested as we often shared faith reflections with one another. I also loved the idea of being in a Pre-K through 12 setting. We would have the possibility to really form each child and help them grow in their faith and in knowledge. I started to pray about this school called Royalmont. Before I knew it, they were calling me because my friend ran out to call someone there right away.
After just a few short months, I can tell you Royalmont is such a blessing to the families who send their children here and also to the community. At Royalmont Academy students come to school ready and willing to learn and grow. Their parents walk alongside you as co-educators in Christ. It is absolutely beautiful to knowing that both parents and teachers are working together to help each child become the person God has called them to be. Christ impels us to give our best each day and we model this for the students. From the moment I greet every child in the morning, I know they will be given the best education possible. I have seen incredibly taught classes with fully engaged children. I have also seen students who are learning, laughing, and smiling. The students truly love Royalmont! And, I can tell you being at Royalmont is like visiting heaven.
Royalmont is currently a small but mighty school of 162 students. So one might wonder where will Royalmont go from here? We want to grow and share Royalmont with as many students as we can. Our goal is to expand our school. To this end, we have hired an Admissions Director and Development Director. We know that Royalmont has the best faith formation program in our area. Coupled with high academics, Royalmont is the best faith and academic option for our area. However, this is not enough. We do not want to just grow enrollment, we want to expand our offerings especially in the areas of Math, English, and Science. This year we added Dual Credit courses through Mount St. Joseph University in Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Junior, and Senior English. We also added two STEM courses taught by our in house engineers. Our students love these courses! We also want our students to have experiences outside the school so they can apply their learning. With this in mind, we are investigating the possibility of small internships and/or other experiences with which our students can work side by side with some experts in the fields. We believe exposure to professional careers will help our students to develop more fully into leaders. We also want to expand our extra-curriculars to attract more students.
Royalmont Academy re-joined RCE this school year. It is critical to me that Royalmont lives out its founding charism found in Regnum Christi. During the fall retreat for our staff we learned that the Regnum Christi spirituality focuses on bringing about the Kingdom of Christ. (TKC!) We do this by inviting our students into a relationship with Jesus who is the King and whose Kingdom is our hearts. Being part of RCE gives us a network of spiritual and educational mentors whose advice and counsel are so supportive. From the moment, it was announced I would be joining Royalmont, I was surrounded by a supportive cloud of witnesses. I appreciate all the support and care I have received. Father Kevin McKenzie, Lorianne MacDonnell, and Brother Thomas Fredrickson have been so present to our staff and students with all of their pastoral care, guidance and support. The Consecrated Women and the Legionaries priests in the area have been so gracious to Royalmont with our retreats for both the students as well as the teachers and staff. Truly, I have never had this much spiritual support. It is truly inspiring.