Message from the Head of School

Archived Letters
January, 2005
March, 2005
September, 2005
August, 2006
December 2006

Books by K. Bohlin

Teaching Character Education Through Literature (London: Routledge, 2005)
Citizenship and Higher Education (London: Routledge, 2005)
Building Character in Schools (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999)
Building Character in Schools Resource Guide (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001)

January 26, 2005

Dear Parents,

I am writing you as fresh snow blankets New England with its beauty and its challenges. We have begun this New Year and new semester at Montrose keenly aware of our blessings as well as our obligation to live in solidarity with those in need.

Montrose blessings and small victories
High among our list of Montrose blessings this year is the wonderful progress in the effort to secure our new campus in Medfield. We just received an excellent environmental site assessment report. We are now ready, with the generous support of friends and benefactors, to close on the property in February. We look forward to celebrating good news with you soon.

Among recent student accomplishments, our Speech Team earned first place in the Small Schools Division of the Hull Speech Tournament. Members of the team have placed in every event they have entered this year. On the athletics front, we invite you to cheer on our Varsity and Junior Varsity Basketball Teams, which are in the final stretch of an excellent season. We have good news from the senior class. A handful of students have already been accepted to colleges of their choice and awarded generous scholarships.

In the classroom—some highlights
Ms. Junkins’ tenth grade biology class demonstrated their mastery of the subject by dramatizing the phases of cell meiosis. (The presentation looked a little bit like synchronized swimming with accompanying carefully timed sound effects.) On February 4, the sixth and seventh grade science classes will visit the local Imax Theatre to see “Aliens of the Deep,” a program that complements their science curriculum. The ninth and tenth grade math classes will participate in an in-house workshop designed by professional engineers: “Engineers Teaching Algebra: Why Do We Need Algebra?” Alexandra Fox ’04, recently named a national AP scholar, visited us from Wellesley College to lead a class for Juniors and Seniors on Flannery O’Connor’s short stories.

Beyond the classroom—in the footsteps of Dante
This May we will be offering a ten day trip to Italy for the Juniors and Seniors. The trip will explore Dante’s Inferno in its cultural, historical, and political context. Chaperones, Katie Elrod, Mary Jane Rice and Norah Smith, will work with our tour-guide, Professor David Alvis (husband of Megan Healy Alvis ’93), to bring this 14th century work to life. The students will enjoy family style living in the Tuscan countryside. They will travel to Florence, Siena, Ravenna…. Thanks to a generous benefactor, we have received scholarship support specifically for this venture. We welcome your ideas on how to grow this scholarship fund and build a tradition of study abroad for our Upper Classmen.

Service, sacrifice, solidarity
We continue to remember those living amidst civil strife, war and terrorism. In addition to keeping these intentions in mind when they visit the chapel, pray the rosary, or participate in the Mass, Montrosians strive to dedicate their exams, class work, athletic practices, club activities, and hours of study to these larger intentions. As St. Josemaria put it, “An hour of study is an hour of prayer.” (The Way, 335)

Among the many tangible ways we live solidarity with those in need is the SOS Club’s campaign for a schoolwide response to the Tsunami disaster. Students at each grade level have been making small sacrifices, such as forgoing a snack from the vending machines or not buying a Coolatta from Dunkin’ Donuts and putting these moneys toward a class contribution to the Catholic Relief Service. To increase students’ awareness of the devastation and need, SOS has created a bulletin board of photos and news highlights.

Over twenty young women were ready to attend the March for Life in Washington DC this past Monday. Hazardous weather conditions precluded the trip but not their commitment to foster greater understanding of the dignity of all human life. This week they will host our distinguished guest speaker, Mrs. Lori Kelly, a freelance journalist whose work has been published in First Things, The Human Life Review, The Pilot, and Society Magazine. Mrs. Kelly has worked closely with the Ivy League Students for Life, and she brings a wealth of insight and experience to this topic.

Montrosians have responded to Pope John Paul II’s invitation to dedicate this year to honoring the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. They have inaugurated a campaign to raise funds to purchase a new chalice for the Montrose chapel. As the chalice holds the Sacred Blood of Christ, the students have wanted to buy a fitting sacred vessel. This fundraising effort, like the others, is based on personal sacrifices and commitment. Students have contributed their own allowances, collected change from younger siblings, and secured gifts from parents and friends. They would like to use the new chalice at our 25th Anniversary Mass.

Please feel free to invite family and friends to our Anniversary Mass and celebration on Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 10:30AM. Archbishop O’Malley will be joining us for this special occasion. We look forward to introducing him to the Montrose Family.

Warm regards,

Karen E. Bohlin