Falcon Family,
As we wrap up another busy semester, this time of year is always full of energy – the campus is buzzing with holiday activities, students counting down the days to winter break, and staff working hard to help the students finish the semester strong.
As we pause to reflect on this season of gratitude, everyone at St. Mary’s wants to thank you for the trust you place in us all year. Serving your family and supporting your students’ success means the world to us. It is why we are here. Your partnership in our ministry is a reminder of why we say “Parents are the primary educators of their children.”
And even amid the celebrations and the rush of the season, it is essential to remember that teaching our students to build on a firm foundation of personal virtue remains a year-round priority. Before you take that well-earned breath to step into the new year, we wanted to share a few important opportunities designed to build our community and show our kids a little slice of heaven right here in Temple, TX:
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass ~ Friday 12/12/25 at 8:15 am
Advent Retreat ~ Friday, December 12th & Saturday, December 13th. Click on the link on the flyer below to reserve your spot!
SMCS Christmas Program with Holy Trinity ~ Thursday, December 18. 6:30 pm at the Pittenger Fine Arts Center in Belton.
Our school is not just about academics—it’s about relationships, virtue, and being steadfast in our relationship with each other and with Jesus.
Peace,The blessing of our new St. Jose Sanchez Del Rio chapel is a joyous milestone. Our goal as Catholic Educators is to help our students grow in wisdom and holiness, as we strive to know Jesus and to make him known. For years to come, our community, young and old, will gather to worship in this beautiful space. We owe a “THANK YOU” to so many!
At this time, I will only extend a formal thank you to one person so we can get to the reception before midnight: Fr. Will lives in a culture of “YES.” Please raise your hand if you have ever told Fr. Will “NO.” Yeah, me neither. It is a beautiful testament to his vision to witness the blessing of this chapel today. When most people see the problems of the world and complain, they ask why. Fr. Will sees a better vision of the future and asks, "Why not?"
Right after the funeral of Fire Chief Mark Taylor, Fr. Will came to me and said, What do you think about putting a chapel in the school, and where would you want it? It's because of his vision that we witness this sacred event, as we bring our own hopes and prayers to this new spiritual home. This chapel will be a sanctuary for Jesus where you are welcome to come for reflection, worship, singing, adoration, individual and community prayer. Jesus is the ever-present teacher in each classroom, but now we have a chapel to reflect even more of Jesus in our school.
It has already been used very well. On Tuesday, after Mass, a student had a pained look on her face and asked to go to confession. It was the fourth grade's day for confession, and she would not get to go until her class went on Thursday. She asked nicely, so Fr. Will let her cut in front of the 4th grade and go first. I stayed behind to walk her back to school. We got about halfway back, and the pained look returned to her face, as she said, I haven’t done my penance yet. I asked her if she wanted to go back to the church or if she wanted to be the first one to do penance in the chapel. She said Chapel as the smile returned.
The Catholic School is a privileged place, which, in the eyes of the Church, exists to support parents in their role as the primary educators of their children. When rightly ordered, both family and school are united in mission, working toward the good of the child, which is, ultimately, the pursuit of sanctity.
Here is a quick Latin lesson: Ora et Labora - Prayer and Work.
In a world searching for meaning, through Ora et Labora and bringing a lot of Jesus to our corner of Temple, TX, we can help heal our world. This school collaborates with parents to cultivate the intellectual, moral, and spiritual virtues that form the foundation of human flourishing. Thank you all for your support of this chapel. May God bless you richly because you help us minister to the students and families of St. Mary's Catholic School.
On September 8th, the Church celebrated the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. How fitting that we, as a school community, honor Mary in a month dedicated to Our Lady, who had the honor of teaching the Child Jesus in the heart of their home.
As we move forward this school year, we fly to our mother, asking for her intercession over all of our classrooms as we dedicate the year to her. Let us ask Our Lady to wrap our teachers, faculty, students, and families under her mantle as we embark on this academic journey. May she lead us ever closer to her beloved Son.
Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us!
Peace in Christ,Abe said it better than I can: |
“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.” – Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863 |
October 8, 2024 Falcon Family, This week, we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, a feast that reminds us of the incredible power of prayer and Our Lady’s intercession. We ask that Our Lady will once again intercede for Classical Catholic Education, as she did at the battle of Lepanto. May all Catholic educators be brave in proclaiming the truth and passing on the faith, that we might transform our culture and lead our children to eternal life through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. In September, we studied the virtues of Moderation, Orderliness, Generosity, and Obedience.Moderation means balancing your life, not being excessive, and setting healthy limits for yourself. Living this virtue could mean setting a time limit for video games or limiting how often you have sweets. Prayer for Moderation: Dear Jesus, help me balance my life by using created things correctly and in the right amount that is best for me. I need Your help to set my limits when doing things I enjoy. Orderliness means keeping oneself physically clean and neat and belongings in good order. An example may be keeping your homework neatly in a folder that won’t get wrinkled or folded and putting away your laundry. Prayer for Orderliness: Oh Infinite Beauty, in Your wisdom, You created all things with perfect order. Orderliness brings peace, beauty, harmony, and joy! Generosity goes with the corporal work of mercy of giving food to the hungry. It means to share with others joyfully and freely. An example of this is offering to help cook dinner for your family or serving food at a soup kitchen. It is a special grace to give of self or personal resources in a very generous or sacrificial way to give all glory to God. One offers their time, talent, and treasure out of the love of God and others. Obedience is submitting one's own will to the will of God or another person out of love for God. An example is to complete a task you were asked to do without complaint or trying to follow God’s will for your life. Obedience is not a virtue promoted by modern culture.At the end of Mass last Thursday, we highlighted the students who were particularly good examples of these virtues. Pre-K -Moderation: Savannah Hill Moderation: Brianna Scioli Moderation: Camila Williams Moderation: Jose Partida Kinder: Moderation: James Murphy Moderation: Gabriella Wright 1st grade: Moderation: Jetson Wood Orderliness: Marla Hebert 2nd grade: Moderation: Juliette Cruz Orderliness: Abigail Wright 3rd grade: Generosity: Allison Wright Orderliness: Jameson Wood 4th grade Moderation: Rebeca Cruz Orderliness: Davis Nguyen 5th grade Moderation: Elizabeth Britt Orderliness: Dylan Flores 6th grade Obedience: Mia Thomas Generosity: Danica Whitzel 7th Grade: Obedience: Jaslyn Paz & Amiyah Terry Moderation: Maggie Von Achen Generosity: KaEun Edwards Orderliness: Paulina Martinez 8th grade Obedience: Gianna Murphy Moderation: Gabe Aviles Generosity: Harper Lee Orderliness: Emily Luke In Christ the Teacher, Sean A. Warfield |
What does this mean? It means that education isn’t something we do to children. This truth runs contrary to most thinking these days. Maybe you’ve heard schools compared to factories that churn out children ready for social activism—but are they equipped to lead happy lives? Too many schools mandate exactly what children read and write, controlling every aspect of what happens inside and even outside the classroom to teach toward a test.
You can read Dr. Arnn’s op-ed here:
In short, Dr. Arnn explains that children are not widgets, and a school is not a factory. Kids grow independently but need help and cultivation from teachers and parents who love them to thrive and become the best version of themselves. This is a part of what we call the St. Mary's Way. We bring “gardeners” back into the classroom to help our children grow in knowledge, virtue, and character.
August 13, 2024
Dear Families,
Listening to the whole school sing to Mary was powerfully moving, as was watching the thousands of flowers brought to our Blessed Mother by the student body. Click here for some fun pictures and Two beautiful letters to Mary written by 8th graders.
As a parent or guardian, you are automatically a member of our Parent Association. Thank you to those who donated time, talent and treasure and worked hard to make this "Teacher Appreciation Week" enjoyable for our faculty and staff. It is fun to watch the smiles on the teacher's faces as the PA serves them breakfast and lunch every day. If you haven't donated to our teacher appreciation effort yet, we are still $536 short of our goal. You can Venmo, PayPal, or drop cash in the PA mailbox in the office.
You are also our most significant asset when it comes to increasing enrollment. Word of mouth is more powerful (and much less expensive) than all other marketing efforts combined.
Peace,
Sean A. Warfield
We would love to double our school enrollment and have two sections for each class.
(This is probably at least a ten-year goal.)
We could fill the Reagan building with PK through 5th grade, make the ORilley building our middle school, and then fill up Holy Trinity High School with outstanding St. Mary's students. Please pray with us for more than 100 new students over the next two years. If we could fill our school, we could do many great things for our students. At the same time, we would feed Holy Trinity a larger freshman class each year. I know it's a big ask, but our God is in the miracle business, so be bold with us and help us pray for a miracle while you also help spread the word about all the great things happening here at SMCS.