Welcome to the 2026–2027 School Year

St. Charles Borromeo School

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The 2026–2027 school year is right around the corner, and I am filled with hope, prayer, and excitement as we prepare to welcome our students and families back to St. Charles Borromeo School.

Every school year brings new opportunities, new challenges, and new possibilities. Each of our families comes to us carrying a unique story. Our families experience different circumstances, joys, struggles, celebrations, disappointments, and hopes. These experiences help shape who we are and make each family special.

I often think of a diamond. A diamond is valuable because of its unique characteristics, its facets, and the way it reflects light. In much the same way, every person and every family has unique qualities, gifts, and experiences that contribute to the beauty of our school community.

Our faculty and staff are also individuals with unique gifts, talents, experiences, and characteristics. Together, those gifts make the St. Charles Borromeo faculty and staff uniquely qualified to create an environment in which your sons and daughters can learn, grow, develop, and discover the gifts God has given them. Our faculty and staff have been working very hard throughout the summer preparing for a successful opening of the school year.

I am especially excited and humbled to begin my first full school year as Principal of St. Charles Borromeo School. I look forward to the opportunities before us for academic excellence, spiritual growth, personal development, and stronger relationships among our students, families, faculty, staff, and parish community.

“Broken Crayons Still Draw Beautiful Pictures”

One of the metaphors that has been on my mind as we begin this school year is:

“Broken crayons still draw beautiful pictures.”

A broken crayon may not look the way it once did. It may be shorter, chipped, or broken into pieces. Bu it has not lost its ability to create something beautiful.

There is a powerful lesson in that simple image.

Sometimes we look at ourselves and see only what is broken—the mistakes we have made, the disappointments we have experienced, the challenges we face, or the wounds we carry. Sometimes we may look at a child and see only the difficulty rather than the child who is struggling.

But God does not throw away broken crayons.

Our imperfections do not determine our worth. Our mistakes do not define who we are. God’s grace does.

Like the broken crayon, we may not always look the way we expected, but we can still bring color, beauty, hope, and goodness into the lives of others.

That is an important message for our children—and for all of us.

What Can God Grow From This?

There is another unusual metaphor that I believe has an important lesson for Catholic education: manure and flowers.

Manure is certainly not beautiful. It does not smell like a garden of roses. Yet when it is properly used, it enriches the soil and provides nourishment that allows flowers, vegetables, and other plants to grow.

Our school communities sometimes have their own forms of “manure.”

We encounter academic struggles, challenging behaviors, misunderstandings, disappointments, family difficulties, conflicts, mistakes, and circumstances that can be frustrating or difficult.

But perhaps instead of simply asking, “Why is this happening?”, we can sometimes ask:

“What can God grow from this?”

The difficult student can teach us patience.

The struggling learner can teach us perseverance.

The conflict can teach us forgiveness.

The mistake can become an opportunity for conversion.

The disappointment can become an invitation to trust God more deeply.

The challenge can become an opportunity to discover a strength we did not know we possessed.

As Catholic educators, we cannot ignore difficulties, nor should we pretend that they do not exist. Instead, we are called to look beyond the difficulty and see the person.

A struggling student is not simply a problem.

A child who makes a poor choice is not defined by that choice.

A student who is having difficulty learning is not defined by a grade.

A difficult circumstance does not have to become the end of the story.

Every child is made in the image and likeness of God.

Our Catholic Identity

The spiritual culture of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School is not simply an addition to what we do—it is at the very heart of who we are.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1701, reminds us:

“It is in Christ, the image of the invisible God, that man has been created in the image and likeness of the Creator.”

Think about the profound meaning of that statement.

Every person who walks through the doors of St. Charles Borromeo School is made in the image and likeness of God.

That includes every child.

It includes every parent and guardian.

It includes every teacher and staff member.

It includes every administrator.

It includes every person who serves our school and parish community.

If we truly believe that every child is created in God’s image and likeness, then it should change the way we teach, the way we speak, the way we discipline, the way we encourage, and the way we see one another.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta expressed this beautifully when she said:

“I see Jesus in every human being.”

That is my hope for the culture of St. Charles Borromeo School—that we learn to see Jesus in one another.

Our responsibility as Catholic educators is therefore much greater than simply teaching academic

content. We are called to cultivate the whole person—mind, body, heart, and soul.

We are not simply teaching children.

We are cultivating souls—children who are made in the image and likeness of God.

Academic Excellence, Relationships, and Growth

As we move into this new school year, I want St. Charles Borromeo School to continue building a culture that focuses on the development and strengthening of every student academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

I believe that students flourish when we provide the right balance of:

Rigor — Relevance — Relationship

Students need academic rigor that challenges them to reach beyond what they think they can accomplish.

They need relevant learning that connects what happens in the classroom to the world around them.

And perhaps most importantly, they need relationships with adults who believe in them, encourage them, challenge them, and never give up on them.

When these three elements come together, we may be surprised by what our children are capable

of accomplishing.

Our goal is not simply for students to become successful students.

Our goal is to help them become successful human beings and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

Preparing for the New School Year

I am pleased to report that our school building is in excellent condition as we prepare for the opening of school. Our maintenance staff has worked diligently throughout the summer. The building has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, classrooms have been prepared, and many areas of the school have been cleaned and painted.

Our school is ready to welcome your children!

We are also pleased that our lunch program will continue this year with Duke Catering. Their commitment to providing fresh food for our students is greatly appreciated. We encourage families to pre-order lunches whenever possible, as this assists Duke Catering in preparing appropriately for our students each day.

We are also very happy to welcome new members to the St. Charles Borromeo School family. We look forward to introducing our new faculty and staff members and welcoming them into our community.

A New Year of Hope

As we begin the 2026–2027 school year, I ask that we approach the year with hope.

Hope that our students will grow.

Hope that our teachers will be inspired.

Hope that our families will feel supported.

Hope that our challenges will become opportunities.

Hope that our mistakes will become moments of growth.

And above all, hope that we will recognize the presence of Jesus Christ in one another.

A Catholic school should be like a garden. Every child enters with different gifts, different needs,

different experiences, and different potential. Our responsibility is to provide the soil, nourishment, sunlight, guidance, and care necessary for each child to grow.

Sometimes the soil will be difficult.

Sometimes the growth will be slow.

Sometimes we will need to prune.

Sometimes we will need to begin again.

But if we remain faithful, patient, and committed to our mission, God can bring something

beautiful from all of it.

So, as we begin this new school year, let us remember:

Broken crayons can still draw beautiful pictures.

Manure can become nourishment for a garden.

Mistakes can become opportunities for growth.

Challenges can become opportunities for grace.

And every child who enters our school is a precious child of God, created in His image and likeness.

I look forward to working together with you to make St. Charles Borromeo School a place where our children can learn, grow, believe, achieve, and become all that God has created them to be.

Enjoy the remaining days of summer. May you and your families have a safe, peaceful, and blessed beginning to the new school year.

God Bless,

Deacon Joe Rafferty

Principal

St. Charles Borromeo School