May 1 is our special Feast Day – St. Joseph the Worker. Today was made extra special by the celebration of the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist) for our students who have taken part in special preparations during the year. Twenty students in all participated. The girls looked lovely in their white dresses and our boys looked sharp dressed in suit and tie.
At the end of our liturgy, our “Chalk Hills Singers” drum group played a honor song to pay tribute to their fellow students and ask God’s blessing upon them. At times the lineup of family and friends with cameras flashing must have felt like paparazzi, but it was important to everyone to preserve the memories of the day’s excitement . Afterwards we moved over to the school dining hall where the staff prepared a tasty sit down meal, and decorative cakes to mark the day.
I value the opportunities we have to partner with students’ families. Some of the families had to travel quite a distance to be here, so a few stayed the weekend. We have some places on campus to house visiting families, and after our remodeling projects are finished, we will have even more capacity to host and collaborate.