From the Head of School Archives - Saint John's Prep

Head of School Reflection: All guests are to be welcomed as Christ. – RB 53:1

Jill Pauly — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 20:46:37 +0000

All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ. (RB 53:1)

Eleven simple words from Saint Benedict’s Rule, written more than 1,500 years ago, about how to great visitors. It would be easy to interpret them as little more than a call to good manners, a simple instruction to be nice or polite or friendly to guests. That, however, would vastly understate their deeper and richer meaning. Yes, they demand a spirit of friendliness and openness to the people we meet and greet each day. But they ask much more than that from us. To truly welcome someone requires a profound commitment to empathy and understanding. To look beyond first impressions and superficial judgments. To put yourself in their shoes to try to understand their experience and even your own. To approach others first from the vantage point of honor. To move beyond “hello and how are you” niceties.

For 164 years, the call to welcome has served as a sentinel value at Saint John’s Prep. As a community of students, families, faculty, and staff, we are called not only to sincerely greet all but more importantly to engage deeply and profoundly the people we encounter each day. Saint Benedict’s call to welcome demands deep listening with the ear of our heart to the voices of all those around us, particularly the voices of the suffering and the oppressed. It teaches us to actively open our hearts – to ourselves, to others, and to our God. We are called to do all of this through the prism of love: love of neighbor, love of self, and love for creation, which together define a well-lived life and a commitment to a common goodness.

We believe that an exceptional education requires an understanding and appreciation of cultural differences and values many voices, perspectives, and experiences. We have dedicated ourselves to a learning experience rooted in the Catholic Benedictine tradition that reflects respect for all people, honors each person’s dignity and gifts, and teaches our students to discover new truths by engaging others across difference.

At Saint John’s Prep, we strive each day to embrace the unique identity of every person, guiding our students to develop the cultural agility and moral foundation to live, lead, and thrive as individuals and in community. We know that when we act this way, when we truly welcome and support each other, we can begin to make a bigger difference to the people and communities around us. We can indeed change the world.

Jon McGee
Head of School

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Thanksgiving 2020

Jill Pauly — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 16:50:49 +0000

“Gratitude at its deepest level embraces all of life with thanksgiving: the good and the bad, the joyful and the painful, the holy and the not so holy… I am gradually learning that the call to gratitude asks us to say, ‘Everything is grace. “ Henri Nouwen

The popular narrative for Thanksgiving this year has framed it through the lens of loss – the inability to gather in large family or friend groups and celebrate as we otherwise would. That certainly is true; the pandemic has made it so. However, that somber view risks ignoring what makes Thanksgiving so special: the opportunity to reflect in gratitude on the blessings and goodness present daily in our lives. Unlike other years, where we may have been tempted to take those blessings for granted, Thanksgiving 2020 offers us a special, perhaps even poignant opportunity to reflect on the many things for which we are grateful – family, friends, home, experiences – through a different more considered lens that lifts us up, offers us hope, and helps us to see beyond the fears and anxieties that have reshaped our lives since last spring.

We have much to be thankful for at Saint John’s Prep, particularly in this most unusual of years. I am grateful for our students, who bring energy, joy and curiosity to school each day, whether in-person or online. I am grateful for our talented faculty and staff, who create wonderful learning experiences for our students and daily share their gifts to mentor and teach. I am grateful for the parents and families who support our students and our school and have entrusted us with the care of their children. And I am grateful for the alumni and friends who support and sustain our school, ensuring that Prep continues to provide vibrant, transformational experiences for generations to come.

Fr. Don Talafous, OSB, daily writes marvelous about the challenges and triumphs of everyday life. He recently wrote that “[i]f we start with the basic premise that life itself is a gift, not something we produced, we have a basis for looking at everything with thanksgiving. And the result of that is happiness…[H]appiness is the by-product of work well done, life well lived, love and appreciation generously given.” What a wonderful antidote to challenging times. And a reminder that we must embrace thanksgiving and gratitude with a spirit of love and hope.

In this season of gratitude, I wish our entire community the joy of thanksgiving, the happiness of family, the blessings of life and the grace of hope.

Jon McGee
Head of School
Saint John’s Preparatory School

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