Dear CISND Students, Families, Staff, Clergy, and School Communities,
Welcome Back!
As we open the doors to a brand-new school year, we give thanks to God for the gift of new beginnings. Just as the doors to the school open to a year filled opportunity, hope and potential so does each September bring a fresh start. We welcome our students-they are the heart of our schools, and we look forward to accompanying them as they grow in knowledge, faith, and the wonder of God’s love. May their days be filled with curiosity, joy, and friendship.
This year, our diocesan theme invites us to focus on Proclaiming Our Faith. We proclaim not only with our words, but through the way we live—using the gifts God has given us, striving to reach our full potential, and serving others with love. Every act of kindness, every lesson learned, and every moment of prayer is a chance to glorify God. You as a community, can expect schools to continue to form students in Catholic values, focus on improving literacy ability, and provide a variety of rich educational experiences, both curricular and extra curricular, to ensure our students thrive.
Thank you to our staff, families, and clergy as they prepare for year ahead to ensure our students are well supported. Whether we are forming our students in our Catholic schools or catechising them through faith formation programs in parishes across the diocese. The responsibilities you shoulder daily are outweighed only by the rewards that come when our children share their happiness and reach their milestones. Together, as one Catholic Christian family, let us begin this year with joyful enthusiasm—ready to proclaim our faith by growing, learning, and serving with hearts full of gratitude.
St. Paul says, “Do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31), and this is the very heart of our mission in Catholic education. As the Catholic Independent Schools of the Nelson Diocese, we are committed to educating our students spiritually, academically, emotionally, and physically—in an environment rooted in Gospel values and the teachings of the Church. May everything, we do this year help our students become who God has created them to be as disciples of Christ.
Sincerely,
Pamela Guilbault
Superintendent Catholic Independent Schools of the Nelson Diocese