The school year 2011-12 has begun with much enthusiasm.  Our first assemblies and orientation days were filled with great spirit.   Our faculty and staff were well prepared and eager to get off to a great start.  Our Student Council and Student Ministers, Cheerleaders, Royalettes, and Golden Blues did a magnificent job of welcoming everyone to begin the year.   

The newest members of our community are quickly adjusting to a new campus, new friends, and a new way of doing things.  Our returning students have moved up another rung on the ladder of high school and are eager to immerse themselves in the flurry of activities of their classes and clubs.  Our Seniors have already demonstrated significant growth from the end of their Junior year and are showing signs of strong leadership!

The Ring Night ceremony and the celebration on campus the next day was significant - filled with the stuff that makes memories and continues the tradition and legacy here at SSA.  Our Seniors were exuberant with joy at reaching this stage of their education.  I was extremely proud of our "Alumnae Moms"-women who themselves attended the Academy and shared their memories from their time here.  I always say that "This is the reason we are still here after all these years!"  To see how our alumnae grow and develop and use their talents and gifts is a great source of affirmation and pride for us as educators.  Truly the values of an SSA education are well apparent in the lives of these women.   

To those of you who attended Mini-Schedule, I thank you for your participation and support.  The faculty truly appreciated your enthusiastic response to their classes.  We have received so many compliments about their presentations and concern for your daughters.   

As our students begin this year, they take another step toward their future as young women taking their place in the world.  The best part about my ministry in Catholic education has always been seeing the growth and transformation of a young woman from the time she starts her first day with us all the way to graduation and into adulthood.  We take great pride in giving young women the tools to reach the fullness of their potential as individuals created in God's image and assisting them to direct their gifts toward building the earth.  We ask ourselves each day whether we are doing all we can to meet the needs of the young women in our care.  Your daughters are precious to each and every one of us here at SSA. All of us:  administrators, faculty, staff, are happy to be partners with you in helping them become the strong, confident, secure young women we expect they will be.  We approach this year with a new hope, a new enthusiasm for meeting the challenges to helping our students grow in wisdom and grace.  Let us work together in a renewed effort to build the community spirit so characteristic of SSA.    

If you have any questions or comments, or if there is anything we can do to serve you better, please call upon us. Through communication and involvement we can build a relationship with you as a family that will result in the growth and development of your daughters toward a bright future.  We believe that, as Catholic educators, we join you in your mission of educating your children.  We thank you for the confidence you have placed in us by entrusting your daughters to our care.    

May God bless you and may He hold you in the palm of His hand.   

Marguerite S. Celestin 

President  

"SSA perpetuates the Benedictine tradition by focusing on a balance of prayer, work, study, and community in developing adolescent girls into Christian women of the future who are grounded in the gospel values of the Catholic faith." (SSA Mission Statement)