Getting Ready

Happy Coast Guard Day everyone! My 21+ years of active service in the Coast Guard, made possible by my education at Bishop O'Connell High School, had a wonderful positive impact on my life. The service celebrates its birthday annually on August 4 as this was the day in 1790 that the Congress authorized Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to create the Revenue Cutter Service - a maritime service to enforce customs laws. What became the United States Coast Guard in 1915 had its first roots in the Revenue Cutter Service. The U.S. Coast Guard served in the Treasury Department until the creation in 1967 of the Department of Transportation. It was in the Department of Transportation until 2003 when it moved to the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

The Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus (always ready) and here at the school, we are working hard to ensure we are ready for the arrival of 1,100 students in a few weeks. This effort runs across all facets of our operation. Our faculty members have been traveling, attending and presenting at conferences, attending professional workshops, and continuing their efforts on various team projects for curriculum enhancement begun last year. Our administrative team has been planning the various processes critical to the success of a school year, including the way new faculty are brought onto the team and put in the best position to help your students later this month. The new group of faculty joining our team is impressive and they bring a diverse range of experiences with them from both in and outside the classroom. I look forward to the opportunity that is coming soon for you and your students to meet them. Mr. Julian Rosas, who leads the team from C&W Services that handles custodial and maintenance issues for us, began the summer with a very long list of maintenance and upkeep projects. That list, which includes very noticeable things like the waxing of the floors in all classrooms and hallways as well as less noticeable preventative maintenance for various systems, has been attacked with gusto over the past seven weeks. In addition to that planned work, we made some nice improvements to Father Thompson's spaces (especially Cafe Vaticano), we created a dedicated space near the auditorium to a new choral rehearsal room, and we have undertaken a major locker improvement project which will be completed in the next few weeks. Our IT Director, Mrs. Jeanmarie McFadden, has guided an effort throughout the summer to install wireless access points in all classrooms while planning for a bandwidth upgrade that will happen soon. We have also completed a significant upgrade to our school-wide security system.

All of this is exciting because it is directed toward a more positive experience for your students. But even as these various activities have been undertaken, faculty and staff have also taken important opportunities to rest and to grow spiritually. Along with students, members of the team have traveled on mission trips, chaperoned work camp and youth discernment camps, and made their own personal retreats. Hopefully, for you and for them, summer has included some time to get away, to be with family, and to enjoy the beauty of God's creation in the summer time.

I look forward to seeing you all soon.