Saint Ursula Academy Magazine Spring 2018 SUA_MagSpring2018 (2) | Page 7

principal’s message
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Dear Saint Ursula Academy Community,
The first time I walked through the halls of Saint Ursula Academy was during a prospective
student Open House. Since it was about a decade ago, I have difficulty recalling details
of what I saw and heard that afternoon about academic classes, athletic teams, and co-
curricular programs. What I have a vivid memory of, though, is the reaction of my daughter
(then in the 6th grade; now finishing her second year of college) to the question I posed to
her on the way home and why I was so pleased with her answer.
“So, what did you think?” I asked.
She stopped looking through the folder of materials she had gathered describing the clubs
and classes just long enough to reply, “I loved it.”
Although I was fulfilling a parental duty by accompanying my daughter to that Open House,
I entered through the Chapel doors that afternoon with the intention of viewing the school
through an educator’s eyes. Having spent my entire teaching career to that point in all-boy
institutions, I was curious to learn how education worked for the other half of the population.
Having a 6th grade daughter gave me that chance.
As an educator at a Catholic school, I understood the importance of the school’s mission
statement. At Saint Ursula Academy, the mission statement is posted in every room. The
first room we entered, I found the mission statement and read it for the first time. There
were the typical words I expected to see—Catholic, education, community—that seem to
be part of every Catholic school’s mission statement. After those obligatory, but important,
words and phrases, schools typically have a sentence or two that are unique to what they do
and what they value. This is what I like to think as the real meat and potatoes of the mission.
It is the part that separates one school from another. As I continued to read Saint Ursula’s
statement, I was struck by three words. As the tour continued, from room to room, I would
find the mission statement posted on the wall of each room. With each subsequent reading,
my eyes would skim over those “required” words and race to the three words that resonated
with me the first time I read them. By the conclusion of the tour, when I located the mission
statement displayed in the final room and looked at it for the last time that afternoon, the
three words were all I noticed.
Faith. Integrity. Courage.
On the drive back to the west side that afternoon, I reflected on what I had experienced
that afternoon. If someone would have asked me then, as a father, what I want from my
daughters’ high school experiences as they grow to be women, I would have stammered
and fumbled trying to find words to express my hopes and dreams for my girls. But the
collective wisdom of the people at Saint Ursula, from the Ursuline sisters to the committed
lay leaders, came up with the answer for me. Faith. Integrity. Courage.
These intrinsic traits lay the foundation for the work done in Saint Ursula’s unique Academy
Alum program. We call our students and alumnae to answer the need for our world to have
reflective thinkers, leaders serving the community, nurturers of self and others, and prophets
committed to the Gospels’ loving message. In the years I have been at Saint Ursula, I see how
these roles resonate with our students much like the intrinsic traits of faith, integrity, and
courage resonated with me so long ago.
Last year, with our school theme of nurturer, the students reflected on how integrity is
crucial to nurturing themselves. This year, as we focus on leadership, students easily
identified that true leadership requires integrity. Next year, when we concentrate on how
we can be prophets, students will undoubtedly see the need for prophets to exhibit faith
and courage. By focusing on the roles of the Academy Alum, students are able to apply
faith, integrity and courage in a meaningful way. By focusing on the roles of the Academy
Alum, Saint Ursula’s administration, faculty, and staff provide a clear message for what is
an important and essential part of the Saint Ur sula Academy education in the first part of
the 21st century. Saint Ursula continues to prepare young women academically, spiritually,
and emotionally so that they will build a better world. With faith, integrity, and courage. As
thinkers, leaders, nurturers, and prophets.
 Sincerely,
Craig Maliborski, Principal, Saint Ursula Academy