Dear John Carroll Parents, As much as I was looking forward to delivering a one-hour major educational policy address in our auditorium tonight, I've decided against that, and instead am writing with a few thoughts you can read in the air-conditioned comfort of your home or office. We had a wonderful birthday celebration on Monday of this week, commemorating the opening of The John Carroll School on September 9, 1964. This week also marks the birthday of the school's new website, the creation of our marketing team Laura Lang and Anne McMahon, the great professionals from A Bright Idea in Bel Air, and many colleagues who provided suggestions, content, and overall assistance. The website does have sections to be completed in the weeks ahead. If you encounter any errors or difficulties while spending time on the website, please let Laura or Anne know as soon as possible. Tonight I will be accepting on behalf of the school a very generous donation from the John Carroll Parent Association. We are most grateful for the support of the JCPA through parents' countless hours of volunteerism and efforts to support the school and its work on many fronts. If you have not done so already, please consider signing up to become involved in JCPA activities and programs. On the occasion of Mini-Mod Night, I also want to extend a welcome-a VERY warm welcome, you might say-to all who are planning to be with us later this evening. A special welcome goes out to all families new to John Carroll this year. It is a great blessing to have all of you in the John Carroll family. The main focus of Mini-Mod Night is following your student's schedule and getting to know a bit better the excellent people to whom you've entrusted your children's high school education and personal growth. I don't have to remind you that you are sacrificing a lot in particularly difficult times to offer them a unique education, all in the hope and with confidence that your kids, throughout their lives, will embrace opportunities and excel as responsible participants in the world beyond high school. That is a serious promise to you. Your choice to send them to an independent school is a serious commitment on your part. And this work, this shared calling we have to educate and form these young persons is very serious stuff also. However, in going about the serious work, it is also important for all of us to maintain a spirit of joyfulness, and for our school to be a place of joy. Maybe that joy is a delight in learning, increasingly coming from within. Maybe it is the feeling of comfort that comes from the students knowing they are safe here, that they are known well, that adults care about them and their progress. Maybe it comes from being in a school that has a sense of humor, as well as a strong sense of purpose. Maybe it is the happiness of being around friends in classes, on teams, in shared activities, and outside of school-or at least being surrounded by school acquaintances who respect them as members of the JCS family and as fellow children of the Creator. Mini-Mod Night, like all similar gatherings, is an acknowledgement and celebration of that shared spirit, and our common purpose in loving and supporting our children. To do so effectively, we must nurture and maintain our partnership with all of you, and so, with great enthusiasm and, yes, joy..., I invite you to join Principal Madelyn Ball, a superb and dedicated faculty, staff, and team of administrators, in our mission of first class teaching and learning. Again, we welcome those of you new to John Carroll to engage in this partnership. To our returning families, I hope that you find Mini-Mod Night a time to reinforce the bonds of common purpose and love for the kids which, despite the challenges and occasional differences of opinion, ultimately bring us together. Throughout the 2013-14 school year, may you and your families continue to know many blessings. Richard J. O'Hara President
We ask for your patience as the School transitions to a new website on Friday, August 4. We anticipate the new site will be live and fully functioning by Sunday, August 6. Thank you!
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