From Steve Hammond, Principal

End of Year Chapel Reflection

May 2006

Finishing Strong

We are in a race and have been for a good while now. Since the beginning of this school year we have been racing to this moment where we are nearing completion of our task and the end is in sight. Remember only a few months ago, when we jumped out of the blocks on Granby Street in temporary quarters. Remember the old building the small classrooms. The inadequate lighting. The little courtyard that you played on. Remember it when we started it was all green grass and remember when we left it was a dustbowl. Sort of looked like Oklahoma in the 1930's. Remember? Remember it was a nice place too. A happy place the place where we all met. Developed new friendships. Began to learn what Saint Patrick Catholic School was all about. The seamless integration of faith into our lives. The quest for knowledge in our pursuit of wisdom. Our emphasis on character development and those things that will last.

We started in August, quickly went to September. Remember October Halloween party, and you can't forget Veteran's Day can you? Then onto Thanksgiving and our wonderful Grandparents Day at Blessed Sacrament. Our masses at Blessed Sacrament. Not long after that...Christmas vacation!

After Christmas break it was time to make the big move into the new facility on Bolling Ave. Wow! Was it exhilarating moving into our new facility? While we missed the intimacy and hominess of the Granby, the spectacular learning environment that the new facility provided thrilled and awed each of us. And now we've been here on Bolling Avenue for several months. It is May and we are looking to our final day of school on this Friday, June 9th. Our school year is almost over; our time together, our first year nearly complete. We might be a little tired. You have worked hard. You might be ready for a nice summer break. You certainly deserve it. We all are proud of you. You might have made very nice marks which indicate how much knowledge you have gained throughout the year. If you did, we know that you have had to work hard for it. You might think that it's time to ease up a little bit to take your foot off the throttle...to slow down the race in this final phase.

And to that I would say, "Don't do it"! Despite the fatigue, push on. Despite the normal human temptation of easing up toward the finish line, erase it from your mind!

Finish strong! So many races have been lost just by a head or a hair or a breath of a hair, simply because the runner eased up at the last minute. Don't let that happen to you, Finish strong! Get in the habit of not allowing human fatigue or fear to deter you from fully completing your goals. Finish Strong! Because the person next to you might slacking, might be easing up and allowing others to pass him/her by. Don't succumb to the temptation of doing the same. Finish Strong!

There will be time very shortly to catch your breath. Time to allow those muscles to relax. Time to sit back, look back and enjoy the accomplishments that you have made. The achievements that you have made. The knowledge that you have gained. The skills you have developed. Complete the task. Finish strong!

I can promise you this - You will never regret it. Finish strong this time and it becomes easier to finish strong the next. The habits that you groom now will become a part of you until that time when you cannot separate them from yourself - even if you tried.

We are very proud of you. We know that you have worked hard and we know that in this final leg you will not let anything deter you from Finishing Strong! Take it to the end and good luck.

God bless you,

Your Principal,
Mr. Hammond